The Defence Department could be staring down the barrel of one of the biggest compensation payouts for environmental damage in the nation's history over it's handling of the contamination issue at RAAF bases across Australia including Williamtown.
It's been revealed the department knew about the potential danger to human health from firefighting chemicals leaching into ground water at Williamtown more than 3 years before it told residents.
An ABC Four Corners investigation has found Defence knew about the potential risks since the 1980's and yet continued to use the firefighting foam containing the toxic PFAS chemicals for decades, allowing runoff to leach into ground water.
Defence Department Deputy Secretary, Steve Grzeskowiak has told the ABC, they'd approach the issue differently if they had their time again.
"Today, with the knowledge that we have, I think we'd have done things differently - I think of that there's no doubt. I think if we had our time again, should we have told the community back in the middle of 2012? - we probably should," he said.
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| Defence Department Deputy Secretary Steve Grzeskowiak |
Macquarie University Professor Mark Taylor was appointed by the NSW government to investigate the contamination and has told the ABC the issue was very poorly handled by Defence.
"I am not the judge, but I wouldn't want to be Defence. When you look at the train of documents and the history, there have been significant delays. They knew quite a lot of information about the chemical. They knew it was a risk. They knew it was leaving the base and they delayed on taking action and indeed, the evidence shows they were resistant t actually informing the public," he said.
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| Professor Mark Taylor Picture:econews.com.au |
