THE list of abbreviations in the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee inquiry into the firefighting foam that has rocked the community in the vicinity of RAAF Base Williamtown is enough to make your head hurt and eyes glaze over.
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And that is before you acknowledge what terms like perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid could mean for Katherine if preliminary testing indicates the aqueous film-forming foam used by firefighters at our own base from 1988 until 2004 has contaminated groundwater, surface water and soil.
What is also cause for concern is the Department of Defence’s track record when it comes to keeping the community informed.
PFOA and PFOS were detected at RAAF Base Williamtown at eight out of 12 sites during “routine monitoring” in 2012, yet the community was officially kept in the dark about the contamination and its potential implications until almost three years later.
While that strategy can reasonably be assessed as an exercise in bureaucratic arse covering, it appears at face value that the Department of Defence has learnt from its New South Wales public relations failure and is now committed to engaging stakeholders from the outset.
It is a supposition every Katherinite – irrespective of how contemptuous they may be – will need to reluctantly make in order to avoid scaremongering, speculation and, most importantly, damaging the strong bond between RAAF Base Tindal and the town until we know what we are dealing with.
The firefighting foam at the centre of the contamination controversy was used at military and civilian aviation facilities across Australia for the best part of 50 years.
Any environmental damage has well and truly been done, so looking back over our shoulder with the accusatory wisdom of hindsight will achieve nothing but take the focus off of judiciously assessing how much, if any, impact the AFFF has had locally.
That means there is little value in mounting a emotion-fuelled community firefighting effort until it can be confirmed there are actually problematic flames to douse.
But if preliminary testing proves contamination has occurred, Katherinites will have every right to expect unambiguous answers from the Department of Defence, in addition to a transparent and immediate response to minimise further damage to our most precious resource.
