Former Oakey resident calls for town’s children to be tested amid contamination fears

A WOMAN is terrified for her children’s health amid a water contamination scare with the potential to affect thousands of Queenslanders.

Kathryn Cherry, with her sons Elliott Cherry, 8, and Todd Catton, has called on the Department of Defence to immediately test the blood of Oakey children. Picture: David Martinelli

• Ground Zero: There’s something in the water

MUM-OF-FIVE Kathryn Cherry spent seven years living in Oakey and said the town’s contamination crisis had left her terrified for her children’s health.

Ms Cherry was pregnant while the family lived on a contaminated property, opposite the Oakey Army Aviation Centre, for three years.

CONTAMINATION ALERT: What’s in the water at Oakey

Her son Todd, now 18, was diagnosed with the auto-immune condition Graves’ disease two years ago.

“This particular disease is normally hereditary but no one on either side of our family has ever had it,” Ms Cherry said.

According to Ms Cherry, attempts to contact Defence to have herself and her children tested for PFOS and PFOA had failed.

“I was told Defence aren’t doing any more blood tests and that they were too expensive,” she said.

“But if these chemicals are in my family’s blood, what will happen to them in the next 20 years? It’s just a ticking time bomb.”

Ms Cherry called on Defence to immediately test the blood of Oakey children.

And Ms Cherry is not alone, with 5000 residents of Oakey concerned about the potential health risks they have been exposed to.