Webinar series April-May 2026 - Webinar 1 - The Australian PFAS cauldron - same contaminants, different journey
Investigation and remediation of PFAS contaminated land in Australia has paved the way internationally, whereas other aspects of PFAS response in Australia are now lagging. The reasons for this are complex, combining social, regulatory and technical drivers and contraints. In some cases, response has been driven by key individuals, rather than official processes, and community outrage has played a critical part in the pace of response. This talk briefly discusses some examples that help to explain the different responses to PFAS in Australia versus other parts of the world.
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Karl Bowles
Dr Karl Bowles is a Senior Principal Environmental Scientist with Jacobs, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Queensland (QAEHS), and currently sits on the IChEMS committee, advising the Australian government on scheduling of industrial chemicals. With over 30 years in consultancy, government, research, and university sectors, and around 50 peer-reviewed publications, he has a unique blend of experience investigating, managing, and developing or influencing guidance for chemical contaminants. PFAS have been Karl's focus for 10 years, during which time he has been a key scientific advisor on PFAS, earlier to NSW government, and more recently The Australian Department of Defence. Much of Karl's current focus is on using science to inform sensible management of PFAS in the Water and Wastewater sectors. -
Matthew Askeland
Dr. Matthew Askeland is a Principal Environmental Scientist at ADE Consulting Group, engaged in the contaminated land, resource recovery, and circular economy sectors specialising in the management of emerging contamninants. Matthew is the Chair of the Australasian Land and Groundwater Associations Emerging Contaminants of Concern (EMCOC) Special Interest Group (SIG). Matt enjoys solving problems, challenging conventional approaches, and being generally disruptive.