Oakey mum devastated after toxic chemicals contaminate bore water supply near army aviation centre

JUST months after she celebrated paying off her mortgage, this Queensland mother received a “shocking” letter that said its value could be a fraction of what she’d just paid.

Kristy Banks and her two-year-old son Nash Groves at their Oakey home. Photo: Claudia Baxter

AN OAKEY mother paid off her mortgage just months before she was told her property was contaminated with toxic industrial chemicals.

The Darling Downs town is in the grip of a water contamination crisis after toxic firefighting foam leached perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA) into its bore water systems.

The property is near the Oakey Army Aviation Centre.

Kristy Banks and Dale Groves purchased their home in 2006, next door to Ms Banks’ parents.

After a horse riding accident in 2011, she decided to invest her money into paying out the mortgage on her home.

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DESPERATE: Oakey residents seek Defence Department help

But the young mother was devastated when a letter from the Defence Department in 2012 informed her that the property’s bore water was contaminated with high levels of PFOS and PFOA and instructed her not to drink the water.

“I had just paid off my house a few months earlier and to get that letter was shocking,” she said.

Ms Banks has moved her family to a home outside of the contamination plume but said the damage to her property had left it worthless.

“At the moment there’s no chance I would be able to get anything near what it is worth,” she said.

According to Ms Banks the lack of answers or assistance from the Defence Department has left many locals furious.

“Why notify the residents of a contamination issue and then refuse to help them?” she said.

“People in town are worried because they’ve worked hard all their lives and now they don’t know what these chemicals are capable of.”

The Defence Department did not respond to requests for comment.