Community activists in Queensland have been raising grievances about US military activity for some time

The bombing of the Great Barrier Reef by the US military may seem astonishing to some Australians but to the band of community activists opposed to "war games" in Queensland, the mishap is just the latest in a series of grievances.

The biannual Talisman Saber exercise has attracted community dissent since it started in 2005, long before last week's incident where four unarmed bombs were ditched in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by two jets running low on fuel.

A special "re-zoning" of the Great Barrier Reef marine park in 2003 allowed for the sprawling Shoalwater Bay military training area, which is periodically used for joint US-Australian military training exercises, with licence to strafe places such as Townshend Island, the target of last week's botched drill.

Critics who live in nearby towns such as Yeppoon have complained about noise from explosions and low-flying aircraft. This year has seen the deployment, for the first time, of V-22 Osprey helicopters, which have faced scrutiny over their safety record.

Then there are the environmental concerns. Conservationists have questioned whether bombing islands on the reef and the use of military-grade sonar and underwater detonations cause harm to whales, turtles, dugongs and coral. There have also been allegations that depleted uranium has been used in the area, although this has been flatly denied by both the Australian government and the US military.

"The explosions cause windows to rattle in Yeppoon, which is 70km away," said Steve Bishopric, a local potter and co-ordinator of the Shoalwater Wilderness Action Group. "They start the heavy bombing after the press leaves. I live 2km from the boundary and saw four Osprey helicopters fly low over a residential area last week.

"A big problem is the run-off into the reef. There used to be extensive diving around the coral on Townshend Island, but there's no life there now. The dugong population has decreased too."

In 2009, a group of peace protesters broke into the training area but it appears that civilians can also achieve this unwittingly, given that the bombs unleashed last week were intended for an area where several small boats had strayed.

Local opposition to the war games isn't universal. Council leaders in Rockhampton have welcomed the extra income from the 28,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen and women who take part in Talisman Saber. And some environmentalists have conceded that the training area is actually in fairly healthy shape, given its complete lack of coastal development and agriculture, which has damaged the reef elsewhere.

"I don't think war games are the best use of a world heritage area, but I recognise that the community benefits economically," said Felicity Wishart, of the Australian Marine Conservation Society. "We would rather they not be dropping bombs on the reef but the main thing on our radar is the development elsewhere along the coast."