The F111 Deseal Reseal Tragedy. What went wrong?
We have here an industrial accident that was allowed to continue for over 20 years. We had a leadership in the Airforce that has a canon fodder attitude to the well being of those they had a responsibility to protect. This attitude was alive and well in 1998 when a senior Airforce Officer spoke of the “Greater Lethality” of the Spray seal program. This meeting was attended by other senior ADF Officers and politicians, none of the gentlemen at this meeting asked for this comment to be qualified! Here you have an Airforce Officer stating we are using leathal processes on our own people and NO ONE gave a shit!
This well and truly demonstrates the low regard toward the troops. We are nothing more than expendable canon fodder.
F111 Deseal Reseal Board of Inquiry (BOI). http://www.airforce.gov.au/projects/f111/reports.aspx
For over 10 years now there has been a continual fight for justice. The BOI produced a report that shamed the Airforce. It had been shown that the Airforce had been negligent and that it had caused injury and suffering to its people. Here was proof positive that the wrong thing had been done.
28 May 2001.
The final submission had damming evidence of systemic failures that have injured and killed workers. Was this enough to lead to a compensation payment?
No.
Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personal (SHOAMP)
September 2004.
I was a member of this committee this report showed a relationship between poor health outcomes and peoples involvement in the F111 Deseal Reseal process. So we now have the BOI and SHOAMP clearly displaying that people have been injured and killed. Was this enough to lead to a compensation payment?
No.
Other Studies. http://f111.dva.gov.au/studies.htm
2005 CHALUS Study.
In 2005 the Department of Veterans’ Affairs commissioned a study into the desealant chemical SR51. This study was undertaken by the Chemical Hazard Assessment Laboratory, University of Sydney (CHALUS). The study found that SR51 was unlikely to be mutagenic (ie it did not cause DNA damage), but that it did have the potential to produce mitochondrial damage.
I was on SHOAMP when this study was being planned. This study had a number of problems that make its findings useless.
- What they tested wasn’t SR51 it was their own concoction of what they believed SR51 was. None of the SR51 used in the First Program survived. And Eldorado Chemical Corp would not provide any info on how to make SR51.
- They tested this SR51 mix in isolation. SR51 was never used in isolation during the F111 Deseal Reseal process. Workers were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals. During SHOAMP I argued that we needed to be testing the cocktail not just one chemical. It was rejected on cost.
- They tested the SR51 mix orally. I can assure we never drank SR51.
Interestingly during this study they had knock the mice out to dose them with SR51?
Mitochondria studies.
This series of studies is one of the most compelling. It shows that 100% of those exposed workers who were tested have had damage to their Mitochondria.
The Coxon Report .
Study on the psychological effects on spouses of deseal/reseal workers.
This report was withheld by Defence and DVA. It only saw the light of day when its release was forced by the…
Inquiry into RAAF F-111 Deseal-Reseal workers and their families
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/deseal_reseal/report.htm
This report shows lives lived in horror, It’s any wonder they withheld it. The report however has been ignored.
The Mortality and Cancer Incidence Studies.
40-60% more likely to get cancer that’s the picture this study paints. This study at the time it was written only needed one more cancer death to become significant. Well it crossed that border of significance even before it was published.
http://www.dva.gov.au/health_and_wellbeing/research/Documents/Mortality%20and%20cancer3.pdf
Every thing above shows without a doubt the damaged caused to the F111 Deseal Reseal workers. Was this enough to lead to a compensation payment?
No.
Let me take you back to my opening comments. We are nothing but canon fodder to the Military and Political leaders of this Country. We simply don’t matter to them they pretend to have compassion but it is not genuine compassion it is simply political compassion. I am sure that among some of these so called leaders there is some genuine compassion but it wasn’t enough to drive a genuine and workable outcome for the F111 Deseal Reseal workers.
NO!
Yep, something went wrong!!!!!!
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We used sr51 extensivally at McClellan AFB and never had illness like you claim you had. We did not use Mexican labor like your rumors claimed. All our laborers were American citizens which were usually former air force members and had air craft experience. The US health office ,OSHA, closely monitored this program. Ask RAAF warrent officer J.J.Boyds he knows all about this system.
The name of Ians Ramblings fits vry well .He is just rambling without knowing what he’s talking about.
Manuel
You tried this rubbish on a number of years ago. You are not playing with the full facts. The US government decided to hide this problem by pretending it didn’t exist. At least in Australia they did studies and proved causal links to poor health outcomes and F111 Deseal Reseal processes. So there is actually no doubt that the process caused harm.
I have been reading intensely the comments by RAAF reseal/deseal workers and their family members and how they have been ignored for many years by the ADF and DVA it has taken far to long for decisions to be made to compensate and treat these members with respect and dignity. I have also noticed that a new study is to be carried out surely they know by now that the chemicals used are dangerous to workers health.I think now is the time to find a new party to replace the ALP and the LNP, a party that will look after our ADF personel with the respect they deserve.
i was stationed at mt home afb,working on f111 ‘s and was in fuel cell,we purged fuel tanks to what was considered health safe readings at that time using dash 60′s and c-10′s ,and we desealed and resealed alot,if there were health conditions that are involving us as workers,and they have done the studies ,why arent we as former air force fuel cell repair workers on these birds being compensated for what we were exposed to?we were always exposed to the cocktail of all kinds of chemicals while we were in these tanks ,and although we were supplying air in the tank we were always over come by fumes ,and chemicals on us…why wont our government respond to us?im sure we have health issues too do to this..
I don’t know what you did at Mt Home AFB. At McClellan my responsibilty was the sealing of F111 fueltanks . I constantly was called out to evaluate certain things and I had to crawl in the fuel tanks to investigate. I never once smelled fuel . Our aircraft was cleaned out in the wash rack where the old sealants was removed .The tanks had no odors in the hi bays where they were resealed. I knew many of the resealers and I never heard any one complain or any one falling ill due to the sealing process.
Manuel
Are telling us you know better than all the Doctors and scientists who worked on the studies undertaken in Australia.
You are not seeing the true facts of this situation. For years you have put your head in the sand on this issue.
oh and i was stationed there between 77-79 and worked on E and A models as well as EF conversions of this plane,so im sure that even then the methods that were in play by TCTO orders were even more primative and most likely caused more risk to us,so what is the fair thing to do by our government in the states?are we just to use the VA hospital when we have problems,
Hi Marty,
At least one US servicemen has had his conditions recognised. On http://www.gooptroop.info look for Alberts story on the left frame. Your government has stuck its head in the sand over this issue because the problems would be a 100 times worse than the Australian issues simply because of the numbers involved.
This Government web site shows most of the publicly available information. http://f111.dva.gov.au/index.htm
I think the way forward for the US victims is to get together and form a group like the Australians did. Then start lobbying your Government in numbers that cant be ignored.
I guess you might say that i do know better. The sealant was tested exstensively in the lab the doctors have no idea what is was like. Even some of the witnesses were lying because they claimed they couldn’t see because of the fog or the spray. There was no FOG because the sealant comes out like mustard or ketchup. Blame your air force for not taking precautions .
Manuel
For years you have played this crap. Sealant is only one small factor in the whole story. You have no experience with the RAAF DSRS programs and that what this blog is about.
But I do happen to know that the USAF and your Government are ducking this issue because it is simply a much larger number of people than was the case for the RAAF. The cost would simply be enormous if the USAF and USA Government let the truth be known.
Ian – Thanks for the many years you’ve kept us posted on the good work in Australia. At least your government cares! As to Manuel, you are so full of crap. I worked at McClellan for many years and two of those years were in the deseal/reseal program. I was inside those tanks and smelled of those chemicals so much my wife was constantly sending me to the shower to try to remove the smells. Before I left the program, I was diagnosed by a base doctor with the skin dermetitis which caused welts everytime I scratched myself. Since then, I’ve gone through two rounds of chemo therapy for lymphoma (which does not run in my family) and severe depression. I challenge you to go through either of those two items – no fun to say the least. I have other medical problems too – all of which are listed by the Australian findings. It’s too bad that the United States doesn’t man up to their responsibility. I have wondered how many others feel so left out and struggling!
Ed
Ed.
What you need to do is get enough people together so that your Government stops ignoring the issue. You then need to find someone in the Press who is willing to run your story.
I am willing to help in anyway I can.
Ian
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