The Department of Defence has issued a detailed new 500-page pollution prevention and management manual to its personnel and contractors, covering key concerns including PFAS, acid sulfate soils and heavy metals.
The Turnbull government's 2018 environmental agenda will affect importers of new chemicals, companies required to report pollutant emissions, suppliers of products that lead to problem wastes, and facilities that emit large quantities of greenhouse gas.
A national snapshot of hazardous waste says tighter pollutant controls could 'fundamentally change' how biosolids are managed and describes saline water from coal seam gas projects as an enormous challenge.
Labor favours making changes to government industrial chemicals bills, to deal with concerns raised by public health experts, but it might not insist on them.
Health and environment groups have told a Senate hearing that bills to rewrite industrial chemical laws will lead to dangerous data gaps, but officials and the chemicals industry disagree.