The Defence Department is under pressure to compensate residents living near an army base that have contaminated local groundwater with toxic firefighting foam.

Key points: Defence too bureaucratic in response: report

Defence too bureaucratic in response: report Haaijers in Oakey suffer high PFOS blood levels

Haaijers in Oakey suffer high PFOS blood levels Defence to release health assessment for Oakey later this year

A senate report just handed down has slammed Defence's handling of the issue.

The report found that of the 36 Australian bases that could be contaminated, 16 of those are probably tainted.

They include Oakey Army Aviation Base, west of Toowoomba in Queensland, and Williamtown RAAF base, north of Newcastle in New South Wales.

Committee chairman Senator Alex Gallacher said Defence should have responded to the issue more quickly.

"In brutal terms, we think Defence has been particularly bureaucratic and slow to address what are really widely held and deeply felt health concerns and concerns about people's property values, which have effectively been destroyed," he said.

"We don't want to find out in five or 10 years we were bureaucratically slow in respect to what could be an emerging health issue."

'It comes down to health, not money'

Alma and Bernie Haaijer live about three kilometres from the Oakey army base and said for them the contamination had become a daily concern.

"We ate the lambs, the chooks, eggs — we were self-sufficient," Ms Haaijer said.

She said their livestock have been drinking the water for years.

As a result, they both have high levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS, in their bloodstream.

Brad Hudson's property is down the road from the Haaijers.

Health authorities cannot say whether contaminated water has made his family sick, but he said he was preparing to leave the area to protect them.

"At the end of the day it comes down to health, not money," he said.

"Dollars and cents don't come into the equation. We love this place but it's contaminated."

Although there is no evidence the substance makes humans sick, the Defence Department said it was taking issue seriously and would release a health risk assessment for Oakey later this year.