'Money for Minginui Just the Beginning'

'Money for Minginui Just the Beginning'

Te Ururoa Flavell, Local Government spokesperson and Member for Waiariki

Friday 6 July 2007

The announcement of $150,000 to clean up the contaminated former sawmill site at Minginui is a good start, but it mustn’t stop there says Local Waiariki MP, Te Ururoa Flavell.

“I have attended various hui around Minginui and know of the concern from the local community about three particular issues related to the clean-up of the site” said Flavell.

“They have spoken of their concern about the waterways in particular – the likelihood of chemicals leaching from the landfill site into adjacent waterways and streams".

"I am also aware of the risks emerging from the excavation of the contaminants – we need to have better information about how they will be transported and where they will be transported to" said Flavell "and the third major issue is the actual methodology that will be applied in the remediation process”.

“The Maori Party was amazed to learn that the skills and expertise of others involved in this critical area of work have not been involved in the Minginui project, particularly a group like SWAP” said Flavell.

SWAP (Sawmill Workers Against Poisons) have led the charge against those responsible for the chemicals workers handled throughout their sawmill careers from the 1960s to the 1980s.

“I would also hope that the expertise of people such as Professor Al Rowland (a geneticist at Massey University) would be brought to bear in this project" said Flavell.

“We need to learn from current best knowledge about the association between sites contaminated by PCP and the inexplicable cancers, ulcers and other health conditions suffered by those who worked in the forestry and sawmills”.

“The Government is to be commended for taking action in Minginui” said Mr Flavell. “It is good to see that the investigation will also include possible asbestos contamination and that further viability studies are in progress”.

“But at the end of the day, it would be better to have a comprehensive, nationwide approach which gives priority to action in cleaning up all the contaminated former sawmill sites – and is informed by the relevant community and professional expertise – than a piecemeal package which does nothing more than slap a sticking plaster on a sore which will continue to fester” ended Flavell.

Background

- Pentachlorophenol, or PCP, was used to prevent sapstain - a fungal infection - in freshly sawn timber from the 1960s right through until 1988. It was absorbed through the skin of many workers, affecting various systems in the body. The dioxins in PCP are toxic, causing health problems from severe skin rashes to liver damage and possibly cancer.

- A medical study in 2001 of 62 former sawmill workers found that pentachlorophenol was the probable cause of health problems in about a third of cases.

ENDS