Newcastle Herald
The Sorrow on Cabbage Tree Road

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In 2016, the Newcastle Herald produced a six-part special investigative series titled The Foam and the Fury uncovering a contamination scandal in the Hunter region of NSW.

The investigation revealed, for the first time, the extent of the impact of a chemical contamination surrounding the Williamtown RAAF Base.

Residents living inside the contaminated "Red Zone" surrounding the base faced devastated property prices, and serious concerns for their health.

The six-part series sparked a years-long ongoing investigation by the Herald uncovering the mental and emotional fallout for residents around the Base, the response from the Australian Defence Department, and inquiries into the health effects of exposure to high levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl otherwise known as PFAS.

Read the complete investigative series in six parts, below:

Part I: The homes

Part II: The The blood

Part III: The fishers

Part IV: The mental fallout

Part V: The response

Part VI: The health risk