A 10-month-old baby has been exposed to significant levels of toxic chemicals around a RAAF base near Newcastle, say his parents who are part of a class action against the defence department.
"In nine months he's accumulated three times more [chemicals] than I have and we attribute that to ... hand-to-mouth contact," Samantha Kelly said of her son's blood tests.
She and her husband Jamie spoke to reporters outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday after they decided to move from their Williamtown home.
"Our doctor advised that if it were his children, he wouldn't live in the zone anymore," Mr Kelly said.
They are part of a group of residents who live near the Williamtown base suing the Commonwealth for compensation.
They say their livelihoods and property values had been severely affected since news broke that chemicals once used in firefighting foam had leached into ground and surface water.
Their case came before court for the first time on Tuesday when the judge fixed a timetable for the legal proceedings.
Stephen Free, representing the Commonwealth, said the case involved "complex" legal issues.
"The claim relates to matters going back to the 1970s, about what the Commonwealth did with these substances at particular times across some four or five decades," he said.
The residents also wanted to know what the Commonwealth knew about the substances and Mr Free said this may involve different agencies.
The Commonwealth would also have to consider whether any cross-claims would be launched by it against other parties.
Outside court, the residents' lawyer Ben Allen said that 18 other bases around Australia were being investigated in relation to contamination.
Williamtown and Surrounds Residents Action Group spokeswoman Rhianna Gorfine said families such as the Kellys had been put under immense anxiety and stress.
"We have foam gathering in drains, lying around neighbouring properties. People do not know where to go," she said.
"Imagine living on a property that ... could or could not be harming your family. How do you live with yourself?"
The case will return to court next year.
