Committee recommends compensation for those affected by Edinburgh RAAF base contamination

Businesses and property owners affected by the contamination of potentially deadly toxins detected on Australian Defence Force land including the Edinburgh RAAF base should receive compensation, a government committee recommends.

The Defence Department will take an extra 500 ground samples from the Edinburgh RAAF base

• April: 500 ground samples taken for contamination testing

Businesses and property owners affected by the contamination of potentially deadly toxins detected on Australian Defence Force land including the Edinburgh RAAF base should receive compensation, a government committee recommends.

Chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid that were used in firefighting foams at airports and bases have contaminated defence land and properties across the country have been deemed a “national problem” that will take “many years to resolve”.

The toxins — which do not break down in the environment and have been linked in overseas studies to cancer in people and animals — were used at Edinburgh until 2004 and have been detected on the base, in two nearby wetlands and on other properties in the region.

A Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade yesterday handed down its report into the management of the contamination, and gave several recommendations including the need to improve transparency and voluntary blood testing, review government advice in relation to health effects of the chemical exposure, and upscale its investment and remediation.

It also recommended compensation, including the possibility of buy backs, which it said should be prioritised for the most seriously affected residents, and include:

— Property owners who have been unable to use their land and suffered losses

— People who invested in land before the contamination was made public

— Businesses and other owners of property in the most highly contaminated areas.

The committee also warned that acceptance of an offer for compensation should not preclude people from future health-related claims.

The State Government, in its submission to the inquiry, said it was “not specifically aware” of any considerations of financial impacts to affected businesses and individuals in relation to the RAAF Base Edinburgh investigation area.

SA senator and assistant defence minister David Fawcett, in a joint statement with Environment Minister Melissa Price, said the government will “carefully consider” the recommendations, and that its first priority was to support affected communities and reduce their exposure to PFAS.

“There is still no consistent evidence of human health impacts, the government acknowledges that communities in areas where PFAS contamination has been detected are very concerned about how this may affect them,” it states.