Fears at sawmill dioxin levels
By KAREN GOODGER AND FAIRFAX - Nelson | Friday, 10 October 2008
Soil contamination at sawmill sites is far worse than first thought, according to a new Ministry for the Environment study that encompasses the Nelson region.
Poisonous dioxin levels at 255 current and former sawmill sites, including 7 in Nelson and 11 in Tasman, were believed to be 2.5 to 5.5 times greater than estimates in the late 1990s.
This was based on a close investigation of 17 sites, including one in Tasman.
The Green Party says the report raises "serious concerns" as some sites are now being used for housing and it isn't clear whether they had been remediated.
It also had concerns that poisons could leach into waterways, and that people using these could be unaware of the risks.
Dioxin can cause cancer and birth defects.
Tasman District Council environment and planning manager Dennis Bush-King on Friday confirmed the land use on some former sawmill sites in the district had been changed, and remediation occurred at this time. He was unsure whether any former sites were now being used for housing.
"Timber treatment sites have always been known to have some legacy issues.
"Property owners are aware of those risks as much as we are."
The council had a contaminated sites register which it refused to publicly release.
This was because it relied on the cooperation of land owners to collect information and address risks, Mr Bush-King said.
The council informed land owners about contaminated sites when they brought a Land and Information Memorandum report at the time of their property purchase.
Without reviewing the council's contaminated site register, Mr Bush-King was unable to say today how many sawmill sites, former and present, it included.
He had yet to review the ministry's report and look at whether the council needed to make any changes to the way it dealt with contaminated sites.
Greens co-leader Russel Norman said on Friday that providing information to property owners through LIM reports was "not a bad compromise. The only issue is that others living nearby may be exposed and not know about it. These sites often come in clusters. People were pretty loose about how they used these chemicals in the past. Even where there's been consistent land use, there are concerns about leaching."
Sawmills at the 255 sites used pentachlorophenol as a fungicide to treat timber. The use of commercial-grade PCP was voluntarily stopped by the timber industry in 1988.
A breakdown of the figures showed there was one very large PCP user, six large, 28 medium and 220 small users.
The report says 100 of the sites are no longer sawmills and are zoned for residential, commercial or industrial use.
Infamous dioxin-contaminated sites in the South Island include the former Fruitgrowers site at Mapua where agricultural chemicals were produced and dumped for more than 50 years, and the former New Zealand Forest Service site at Jollies Pass Road, Hanmer Springs.
Dr Norman said the cleanup at Mapua showed that trying to "dig it all up" was not always the best remediation option.
Contaminated land issues were complex and governments had failed to address them, he said.
"It's about making sure we identify all the sites and provide support to the people living there."
MFE local government group general manager Sue Powell said the risk of health impacts on residents living on top of sawmill sites where PCP had been used was considered low.
