Class action against toxic foam begins amid alleged inaction
Residents say contamination has spread into groundwater and food, affecting health
The federal government is in denial about the effects of toxic firefighting foam and has failed to help trapped residents move, one of the lawyers bringing a class action against the Defence Department has said.
Hundreds of residents living near the Oakey army aviation centre allege toxic chemicals used in firefighting foam have spread onto their land, and contaminated groundwater and food sources.
Shine Lawyers, which is running the class action, alleges more than 4,000 residents have been affected in Oakey, near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. The class action, involving more than 450 residents, has been launched in the federal court in New South Wales.
In the face of evidence
Shine’s special counsel, Peter Shannon, said the position of the federal government flew in the face of international evidence on the effects of the chemicals.
The chemicals — perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — were developed in the early 1950s by the corporate giant 3M and are used to provide resistance to heat, or for dispersion, wetting and surface treatments. They have been used in firefighting foams as well as common household products such as Scotchgard.
The chemicals came to public attention through the DuPont contamination scandal in the US, which prompted a massive class action and an investigation by an independent panel of experts, known as the C-8 Panel. The panel, which finished its work in 2013, found the chemicals had probable links to high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension. The US Environmental Protection Agency ordered 3M to cease production in 2000.
More recently, the United Nations’ persistent organic pollutants review committee to the Stockholm convention ruled that the chemicals had significant human and environmental health effects.
The Oakey suit is the second class action launched against defence over its use of the chemicals. Residents of Williamtown launched a similar case late last year over contamination around the Williamtown air base.
The two court actions are being run by different firms, but are funded by the firm IMF Bentham.