Fed: F111 process to restart

AAP General News (Australia)
04-10-2001
Fed: F111 process to restart

By Paul Osborne

BRISBANE, April 10 AAP - The RAAF plans to restart a F-111 maintenance process which
has been shut down for more than a year pending an inquiry into health complaints from
defence force personnel.

Giving evidence at the F-111 deseal/reseal board of inquiry in Brisbane, Wing Commander
Steve Secker, who was appointed by RAAF Amberley air base's commanding officer to investigate
the process in February 2000, said a trial process could start as early as October this
year under private contractor Boeing.

He said Boeing, which is expected to use the refurbished paint shop at the air base,
had been asked to develop new safety procedures.

Wing Commander Secker said since February 2000 the air base's fuel tank repair section
has been using a "pick and patch" process on F-111 aircraft.

Maintenance workers were still entering fuel tanks and dealing with toxic chemicals
but there had been major improvements in protective equipment, ventilation, environmental
monitoring, fuel draining and staff numbers, he said.

Today was the last day of public hearings at the inquiry, which was called last July
to investigate health problems relating to the deseal/reseal maintenance process at Amberley
from 1977 to 2000.

Final submissions from counsel assisting will be made to the inquiry on May 10 and
a final report is expected in early June.

Soon after the report is completed, a major study commissioned by the Department of
Veterans Affairs into the health of former maintenance workers, who have claimed memory
loss and other health complaints related to exposure to toxic chemicals, will start.

A public meeting will be held in Ipswich on June 1 to discuss the health study, which
is expected to take at least 18 months.

It is believed 24 former workers out of 750 identified by the inquiry as having been
involved in the deseal/reseal process over 27 years have already lodged compensation claims
and a small number have been settled.

Senior counsel assisting the inquiry Michael Burnett said those seeking compensation
would not be able to use the inquiry's final report as evidence as it would not be binding
in a court or tribunal or with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The inquiry, under Navy Reserve Commodore Ken Taylor, a New South Wales District Court
judge, also today heard calls for compensation authorities to consider the wives and children
of former workers.

Regular Defence Force Welfare Association national vice-president Kerry Mellor said
compensation was wider than the health and disability of the RAAF workers themselves.

"Specifically the health of wives may have been affected by their husbands' health
and children too may have congenital defects attributable to their fathers' health," Mr
Mellor said.

"There is a precedent in respect of Vietnam veterans where certain psychological disorders
and conditions such as cleft lip/palate and spina bifida, are recognised by Government
as attributable to their father's service."

Wing Commander Michael Rowe, director of the new Air Force Ground Safety Agency set
up last week in response to the inquiry, told the inquiry a new occupational health and
safety management system was being developed, which should overcome many of the problems
of the past.

AAP pjo/sc/cjh/de

KEYWORD: F111 NIGHTLEAD (PIX AVAILABLE)

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