In early September 2015 the discovery of a chemical contamination around the Williamtown RAAF base in the NSW Hunter Valley was made public The NSW Environment Protection Authority warned that chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonate ( and perfluorooctanoic acid ( had been found in surface water, groundwaters and some fish species in nearby waterways Residents living near the base were warned to take precautions such as not eating fish or oysters from local waterways or drinking bore water. The NSW Government formed an expert panel and conducted an investigation into this issue The Expert Panel, after undertaking a major study, has advised that the levels of PFOS and PFOA within seafood in the region are at levels that provide minimal risk to most consumers Commercial and recreational fishing in the Tilligerry Creek and Fullerton Cove areas has re opened since October 1 st 2016 with an ongoing restriction on dusky flathead caught in the Hunter River for commercial fishers. A market research study was initiated to provide an estimate of the likely ‘ and ’ of this issue The research was conducted with two target groups of consumers:
o first, among Newcastle consumers (those who live within 50 km of Newcastle) and
o secondly, consumers who live 50 km 200 km from Newcastle