Dotted in the snow at Australia's abandoned Wilkes Station in Antarctica at least 3000 rusting fuel drums, many still full of oil and other chemicals, are a leaking hazard in the pristine environment.

The toxic dump left over from an era when rubbish was turfed out onto the ice is a 45-year-old problem requiring millions of dollars and a decade-long commitment to clean up.

But the Australian Antarctic Division's program leader in charge of human impacts research, Martin Riddle, said while there was broad agreement on a need to clean up Wilkes there was no plan or money to do it.

The full extent of the waste is not known because the site is buried under decades of snow and ice.