It is my great pleasure to welcome you to issue 18 of Remediation Australasia. You may be aware that it has been a while since issue 17 was published. This is no accident. In 2015, CRC CARE relocated its headquarters from Adelaide to Newcastle, where we are now based at the University of Newcastle. Unsurprisingly, this heralded a disruption to business as usual, as dozens of staff, researchers and PhD students uprooted their lives to make a new home on the east coast. As a result, the past 2 years have allowed us to refocus our priorities and redouble our efforts to achieve a cleaner, safer environmental future – for not only Australia but also the wider world. The importance of this mission is underscored by a recent World Health Organization report revealing that, in 2012 alone, more than 12 million people died as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment, with air, water and soil pollution, and chemical contaminant exposure the leading factors.

With Remediation Australasia on hold over this period, we have had the opportunity to freshen up the magazine’s look and feel. We have also moved to a predominantly digital product, which will see 3 online issues per year with an annual print issue that compiles the best articles across the 12 months. By moving to a digital platform, the magazine will be easier to read online (be it on your desktop, laptop, tablet or phone) and much easier to search, with the ability to find articles based on a keyword search or according to a categorised list of topics. Remediation Australasia will still be downloadable as a PDF and individual articles on the website will be print-friendly.

We’ve also printed this first issue of the new-look Remediation Australasia so that it is available for delegates at the 7th International Contaminated Site Remediation Conference, or CleanUp 2017. This year, CleanUp incorporates the 1st International PFAS Conference, in recognition of the growing issue of per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). Indeed, this issue of the magazine takes a look at PFAS, particularly those that have received prominent recent news coverage because of their presence at sites contaminated through firefighting foam usage. We also examine other contaminants of emerging concern, including benzo[a]pyrene and methyl tert-butyl ether.

I very much hope that you enjoy the new Remediation Australasia. I would also like to extend my best wishes to those of you attending CleanUp 2017, where I hope to meet as many of you as I can.