DEFENCE’S management of tritium-based light sources will be tightened after a review into a contamination incident at an electrical instrument repair workshop at Bulimba Barracks in 2003.
The review found evidence of a lack of knowledge, complacency and poor work practices in the management of the light sources.
Gaseous tritium light sources are used in small, portable pieces of equipment such as compasses and weapon sights that need to be operated in poor light without battery or electrical power.
The review did not find evidence of a deliberate attempt to conceal the existence of tritium contamination at Bulimba.
The Secretary and CDF have accepted all of the review’s recommendations. They have appointed Maj-Gen Grant Cavenagh, Commander Joint Logistics, to lead the implementation of the recommendations, which will significantly tighten measures for the management of tritium light sources.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said Defence, Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, and Queensland Health Scientific Service experts advised that tritium light sources presented an insignificant health risk to personnel, provided operators and maintainers adhered to simple precautionary measures. Dr Nelson said there was no statistically significant evidence in the scientific or medical literature to suggest a link between exposure to tritium contamination and cancer at the low doses to which the employees at Bulimba were exposed.
