The select committee's six members are split after their inquiry delivered a report on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have sparked concerns about health and contamination.
The report urges health guidelines and safe exposure levels, subsidised blood testing for particularly affected cohorts and standardised monitoring guidelines for drinking water.
Manufacturer 3M is accused of suppressing scientific evidence about PFAS for decades and producing the chemicals despite knowing the risks, prompting the recommendation of legal action.
Any settlement should be used to fund remediation of contaminated sites, the report said.
Inquiry chair and independent senator Lidia Thorpe wanted stronger recommendations including a ban on all PFAS chemicals outside of strictly essential use.
"Federal health guidance lags behind international science, downplays risks to affected communities, and fails to provide adequate monitoring, testing or support for exposed workers, First Peoples' communities and contaminated regions," she said.
Greens members backed stronger action but government figures delivered a dissenting report that claimed a causative relationship between PFAS and health impacts had not been definitively proven.
Health agencies also argued tolerable daily intakes do not need to be reviewed, despite them not having been updated since 2022.
In its submission to the inquiry, 3M said it had been an industry leader assisting PFAS regulation and were experts at removing the chemicals.
The report dropped as residents living in a PFAS hotspot are being asked about their home-grown produce and backyard chickens after high levels of the toxic substances were detected.
The doorknocking campaign by environmental authorities followed new testing by Western Sydney University water scientist Ian Wright near contaminated dams and creeks in the Blue Mountains.
The water expert found the concentration of man-made PFAS in sediment was about 100 times that of the water.
About 15 homes in the Medlow Bath township were being doorknocked throughout the week about whether they use a specific drainage line of concern.
PFAS binds to soil and has a similar ability to bind to protein, including animals and plants, and the concentration of the chemical can bio-magnify each step up the food chain, according to Associate Professor Wright.
In 2018, the Department of Defence warned locals near the Richmond Air Base to reduce their intake of local fish and eggs after PFAS was found in the groundwater nearby.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a group of 15,000 toxic, synthetic chemicals used for their resistance to heat, stains and grease.
While the science around the chemicals is evolving, the federal health department says they are associated with low birth weight in babies and altered levels of hormones.
Specific chemicals like PFOA and PFOS are linked with an increased risk of testicular and kidney cancer.
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