Defence Peril !

The weapons used by a nations army, navy and air force in the twenty-first century are marvels of ingenuity and sophistication.  They are constantly being upgraded and their need for cleaning and protection involve some very dangerous chemicals.  Unfortunately some of these carry a risk to both the public and service personnel and tests are showing that both the soil and ground water of many defence establishments are sources of danger.

We have long been aware that the chemicals used to clean the fuel tanks of the R.A.A.F's fighter jets is carcinogenic and that asbestos is still used in some critical applications in navy ships.  All the services have a need for Poly-fluoroalkyl, designated as PFAS but its exact use is not disclosed - and it is known to be highly dangerous.  Then there is acqueous  film forming which is an ingredient of fire fighting material.  When this is sprayed during a fire the contaminant soaks into the ground and leaves a permanent hazard.

The list is long and as a result tests at various Australian defence establishments are sounding a warning, but at this stage no off site testing has been carried out.  Civilians living in housing estates that have been established close to defence bases have reason to worry.  The extent of the contamination is yet to be determined.

In the past, states clamoured for the establishment of armed service facilities because they were a source of civilian jobs and they contributed to the local economy.Many of them rubbed shoulders with the civilian population and here in Sydney we have an army base at Holdsworthy, Navy facilities at Garden Island, and a R.A.A.F facility near Newcastle.   There are also extensive naval installations at Nowra and in Jervis Bay.

The potential for contamination extends to every state.  Queensland has a major defence facility at Townsville and the R.A.A.F has forward air fields near Darwin in the Northern Territory.   It will be a case of determining what chemicals are in present use - and what have been used in the distant past that may be leaving a presence in the ground or in the water table.

This will become a major headache for our defence planners.  More work needs to be done to determine the extent of the contamination  at existing defence establishments and there will certainly be pressure to conduct off site testing to determine if the surrounding area is safe.

Then there is the question of what the future will deliver in the way of new hazards.  The world spends billions on weapons upgrades each year and weapon sophistication is ever increasing.  It is inevitable that along with this sophistication will come storage and training hazards that will need to be tailored into our weapons regimens.  In some cases it may be necessary to restrict such weapons to facilities located far from civilian contact.

Unfortunately we can not refuse weapons that include new contaminants.  Our armed services need to be up there with whatever the potential enemy possesses  and the world has been in an armed race ever since someone invented the bow and arrow.   This is a problem we have to learn to live with !