Risk Management Health Guidance: Low-Level Blast Overpressure 066/24/25 - Documents (pdf, 91.99 Kb)

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 27 Feb 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

Defence released health guidance for managing repeated low-level blast overpressure exposure among personnel, primarily in training environments. The document establishes procedures for health practitioners to minimise occupational exposure from breaching activities, small arms fire, and mortar and artillery training. While high-level blast injuries are well-characterised, health effects from repeated lower-level exposures remain evolving. The guidance uses 4 psi (28 kPA) as a typical exposure limit based on tympanic membrane perforation threshold, though training activities produce exposures ranging from 1-12 psi. The document applies a precautionary approach given uncertain safe exposure thresholds, recommending a hierarchy of controls: elimination of hazardous activities, substitution with lower-exposure alternatives, engineering barriers, and administrative measures including proximity limits, blast monitoring, exposure recording, and personnel training. No redactions are apparent in the released excerpt.