[LINK] Carcinogens from Jet Fuel in Darwin Due to Military exercises.

[tomk]

I feel sorry for the poor residents of Darwin who are now having to put 
up with two to three flights every day landing and taking off within a 
kilometre of their homes.

The status quo has existed since July and will continue till mid-October 
or about 90 days.

Reference:PMID:1771370 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Quote:/
A 90-day continuous vapor inhalation toxicity study of JP-8 jet fuel 
followed by 20 or 21 months of recovery in Fischer 344 rats and C57BL/6 
mice.
The kerosene-type jet fuel, JP-8, consists of a complex mixture of 
aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Because of the utility of JP-8, 
studies have been conducted to identify the potential long-term 
consequence of occupational inhalation exposure. Fischer 344 rats and 
C57BL/6 mice of both sexes were exposed to JP-8 vapors at 0, 500, and 
1,000 mg/m3 on a continuous basis for 90 days, then followed by recovery 
until approximately 24 months of age. Occurrence of necrotizing 
dermatitis associated with fighting resulted in an increase in mortality 
in mice (male greater than female) during the 2 week to 9 month 
post-exposure recovery period.
/Quote

In other words, according to the mice - people in Darwin are going to 
start fighting and punching each other more often leading to death. 
Probably not a great outcome for a town that survives mainly from 
tourism and already has an indigenous problem.

Apart from which there probably won't be any tourists in the town, they 
will have been scared off from the constant flights in and out of the 
airport that is located right in the middle of the town.

One has to wonder about the cost of of a full squadron of FA-18's taking 
off and landing twice a day versus letting through a few Indonesian 
fishing boats....
The Carcinogenic long term health effects on Darwinites is far likely to 
exceed the cost of escorting boats to Nauru, PNG or Christmas Island.

I always thought the Military's role was to defend the country, not to 
give everyone long term health problems.
My concern is that no-one asked the people of Darwin if they wanted all 
that Jet fuel dumped on them everyday, nor if they wanted the noise 
pollution associated with trying to scare off would be immigrants.

TomK

References:
http://www.airforce.gov.au/Bases/Northern_Territory/RAAF_Base_Darwin/?RAAF-vlicpVEzRKLvk0AtF7pXCq/tUEqnIuez
http://www.airforce.gov.au/Operations/Flying_Operations/?RAAF-hPR1ZyeqIMWKiaNtrjPMdufiX/RBJSoR