Birds in Melbourne Have High Levels of PFAS in Their Blood

By Melissa Brown

Topic: Environmental Health

Thu 9 Jul 2026 at 6:05am

Scientists found high levels of PFAS in house sparrows in Melbourne's south-west.

In short:

A study found a high concentration of PFAS chemicals in young sparrows in Melbourne's south-west.

Scientists took blood samples from chicks near contaminated industrial and military sites.

The study found the birds with the highest levels were all from the RAAF Williams-Laverton base.

Scientists found especially high concentrations of PFAS chemicals in young sparrows in Melbourne's south-west.

A team from Macquarie University and Environment Protection Authority analysed blood samples.

Sites included the RAAF Williams-Laverton base, the Altona Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a chemical plant and oil refinery in Altona.

All sites were known to have had previous PFAS contaminations.

PFAS foam was widely used by firefighters in Australia from the 1950s to early 2000s.

The study revealed the average level of the PFAS chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate in the young sparrows was 10 times that of birds in an uncontaminated rural site in Norway.

Lead author Max Gillings said the levels were several times higher than sparrow populations in other parts of the city.

He said the worst site was RAAF Williams-Laverton.

Dr Gillings said the team found highly elevated levels of PFAS in the blood of those birds.

Part of the site has now been rehabilitated and redeveloped into the suburb of Williams Landing.

The team found the sparrows with the highest concentration of PFAS levels were all from RAAF Williams–Laverton base.

Dr Gillings said the base had previously been used as a large air force firefighting training facility.

He said the study did not find any strong evidence of significant off-site contamination.

The Department of Defence has been aware of the PFAS issue at this site for quite a long time.

Prior to developing Williams Landing, they conducted an extensive rehabilitation of the contaminated areas.

The data shows that if sparrows are feeding from areas on these bases, there is still legacy contamination in those areas.

RAAF Williams–Laverton is now surrounded by the residential suburb of Williams Landing.

The Department of Defence has a dedicated web page on the management of PFAS at RAAF Williams–Laverton.

Defence investigations found that PFAS contamination had spread through the suburb of Williams Landing.

But in a statement, a department spokesperson said there was minimal risk to residents.

As part of the investigations, Defence conducted a Human Health Risk Assessment for RAAF Williams–Laverton.

Further risk assessments and environmental studies are underway.

Defence's priority remains to support communities impacted by PFAS contamination.

PFAS passed onto chicks before they hatch.

PFAS are a group of more than 14,000 synthetic chemicals used in firefighting foams, pesticides, building materials and electronics.

A house sparrow captured for blood tests during the study.

They are referred to as 'forever chemicals' due to their resistance to decay.

They are also known to build up in organisms in the food chains, a process known as bioaccumulation.

Dr Gillings said the team found the chemicals were being transferred from mothers into their eggs.

Birds are in contact with the sources in the environment where PFAS tends to accumulate.

The reason we focused on house sparrows is that they have quite a confined home range.

The Altona oil refinery was one of 16 sites where sparrows were tested.

He said the team had been recapturing and testing the birds and finding that their PFAS levels were generally falling as they aged.

But Dr Gillings said there was evidence to show that the early exposure was having physiological and genetic implications.

Egg failure rates are associated with high levels of PFAS.

In terms of the long-term effects, we're not actually sure what the overall implications are.

Sparrows were tested from 16 locations in Melbourne's west.

The Environment Protection Authority said the study provided valuable new evidence about the way PFAS moved through urban land-based ecosystems.

Deputy chief environmental scientist Caroline Martino said the report would strengthen the EPA's understanding of PFAS.

It is one of the first Australian studies to clearly demonstrate PFAS movement through a terrestrial food web in an urban environment.

The findings are consistent with our existing understanding that PFAS can persist and accumulate near known source areas.

Last year, Ellis Mackay was part of a team from the University of Melbourne's veterinary school that studied PFAS levels in possums in Melbourne.

After analysing 46 common brushtail and ringtail possums, they detected PFAS in every liver sample.

The team concluded local possums were some of the most contaminated small terrestrial mammals.

Young sparrows in Melbourne's west had, on average, 10 times the level of a well-known PFAS chemical than birds from a sample group in Norway.

Ms Mackay said she was not surprised by Macquarie University's findings.

Elevated PFAS levels have been documented in a range of wildlife species across the Melbourne region.

She said urban wildlife species act like environmental sentinels, revealing issues in the local environment.

Although PFAS contamination is now ubiquitous around the world, this research led by Dr Gillings is quite concerning.

The overall PFAS levels observed are quite high, especially from the Williams–Laverton air force base site.

Ms Mackay said the identification and management of any current PFAS sources must be prioritised.

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