A pipeline built without approval by alumina giant Alcoa is at risk of leaking toxic chemicals into a dam which supplies drinking water in Western Australia’s (WA’s) southwest.
The state’s environmental regulator has ordered Alcoa to urgently flush out the pipeline which crosses the Samson Dam, about 100km south of Perth.
It says the pipeline is likely to contain wastewater contaminated with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals” because they are very slow to break down and are associated with a range of serious health issues.
Alcoa built the pipeline to transfer PFAS-contaminated wastewater to a treatment plant at its Willowdale bauxite mining operations….