A remote area nurse working in the Northern Territory says if more is not done to reduce petrol sniffing in Aboriginal communities the future cost to the public health system will be enormous.

David Castorfen says chronic petrol sniffers will most likely develop renal disease and someone is going to have to pay for their ongoing care.

He says the current situation is like a time bomb waiting to go off.

"It's heavy metal, it's lead going into the body it's attacking the kidneys, it's attacking the various organs," he said.

"We see stunted growth, we see poor learning and the long-term consequences is the ongoing care that we have to provide."