[ad_1]
A fire has been put out in the former Paper Mill building in Mataura, where toxic aluminum waste is stored.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A Fire & Emergency spokesperson said crews had contained the blaze inside the building on Kana Street, which was reported around 1.40pm, with the attendance of more than 30 firefighters.
The paper mill is where about 8,500 tonnes of aluminum waste known as ouvea premix, from the Tiwai Point Smelter, is stored.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said the fire was 30 meters from the debris and did not pose an immediate threat.
Mataura Southland Fire Service Incident Controller Scott Lindsay confirmed to RNZ that sprinklers were activated inside the building, so firefighters wore gas suits as a precaution, but the water had not reached the waste product and did not had reacted.
The waste product can react with water to produce toxic gas and was threatened by floods in February. Despite the warnings and evacuations, the floodwaters did not react with the scum and the residents returned to the village the next day.
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said the Environment Ministry recently allayed concerns that the debris would react to the fire, or that it was something similar to what sparked a massive explosion in Beirut this month.
“MFE (The Ministry of the Environment) gave information on the stability of that particular product in terms of explosion … I think the real risk with the ouvea premix is water rather than fire.”
Firefighters were working to isolate power at the plant this afternoon. They said the fire was on the floor below the premix, about 100 feet from where it was stored.
The fire covered an area of 10 square meters in the hydroelectric generator and was contained in about two hours.
There are other fires burning around the South Island, including a large uncontrolled forest fire in Aoraki / Mount Cook that has been burning for more than a day, and another bush and pine fire just outside Oamaru.
Storing the waste has been a sensitive issue for the locals, who have been pleading with the government and the owner of the Rio Tinto smelter to remove it.
