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North Waikato residents are feeling “sick with concern,” after being told some of them had to leave due to possible toxins from a three-month-long garbage fire.
Glen Afton and Pukemiro residents faced knocking on the door of Waikato district council staff Saturday to tell pregnant women and nursing babies to leave because of possible levels of dioxin in the air.
The garbage fire at the Puke Coal landfill, west of Huntly, has been burning since Aug. 16, covering the villages of Pukemiro and Glen Afton with smoke and a putrid odor at different times.
Five independent government agencies have formed a multi-agency group to try to stop the fire.
Now, a health assessment indicates a possible increase in levels of toxic dioxins in the environment caused by fire.
But the landfill owner at the center of the controversy claims they are “outright lies” distributed by the Waikato Regional Council as he refuses to allow council staff at his site to deal with the problem.
READ MORE:
* Owner of the Waikato landfill fire that has been burning for months with deadline for action
* North Waikato Garbage Fire Stokes Residents’ Anger
* ‘The smell is putrid. It’s toxic, it’s bitter ‘: Waikato’s garbage fire that won’t stop
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / THINGS
Pukemiro residents suffer a putrid odor for two months as the landfill fire burns.
Dioxins have not been confirmed in Pukemiro, but a preliminary public health assessment identifies a risk from them, according to an ESR (Environmental Science and Research Institute) report comparing the Puke Coal fire to a similar fire at a landfill in Canada.
Pregnant women and breastfeeding babies should be kept 3 km from fire. The risk could be related to possible fertility problems for a child once they are grown.
Specialized equipment will need to be transported from Australia to check dioxin levels in the area.
Resident Peggy Molleman said Things the garbage fire turned her home into “hell on earth” for the past three months, and the latest health report made her “sick with concern.”
“I have my two-year-old granddaughter at home, and I am very grateful that the wind is not blowing badly at the moment, otherwise I would not want my family or I to get caught.”
Molleman hadn’t noticed the smell for about a week, but said it had caused her stress, nausea and headaches, occasionally causing her to drive and sleep in her car.
“Our health and our lives matter here … I will fight for our right to breathe fresh air.”
He had heard of a very pregnant mother in Glen Afton who would be affected by the warning.
Dominico Zapata / Things
Natalie Cooper, a resident of Pukemiro, said her daughter may not be able to have her home birth at home, due to the health risks of a nearby garbage fire.
A neighbor, Natalie Cooper, said she had planned to make her home available for her daughter’s home birth in January. The health warning made her doubt the safety of her home, she said.
“It’s worrying, I just hope the fire goes out in January.”
But the landfill owner, John Campbell, said Things the dioxin risks were “outright lies” by the regional council, and there was no evidence of the risk.
He admitted that he was not allowing the regional council at his site to monitor the fire.
“They are doing illegal and clandestine tactics and that’s all I have to say right now, ma’am.”
Campbell denied taking waste without consent or burning illegal waste, and said the claims of a putrid odor were “false.”
He declined to comment on why the fire had burned for three months or if it was his responsibility to put it out.
“I will not answer that question over the phone,” Campbell said.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / Things
Puke Coal owner John Campbell said he will not allow the regional council to go to his landfill to monitor the fire due to his “clandestine tactics.”
Resident Bill Rosoman said the multi-agency group was waiting too long to act.
“We have been told for three months [the councils] we are developing a plan to put out this fire, but we have not seen any of the plan yet. “
Despite improvements in communication, the community still felt dark.
“The [agencies] will not give us specific information. They say the water is fine, they say the air is a bit polluted, but we are still in the dark. “
Brent Sinclair of the Waikato Regional Council, who is leading the response to the fire, said trying to stop the fire was extremely complex.
“On Friday we asked if we could enter the property, the answer was ‘no’, again on Saturday we asked if we could enter the property, again the answer was ‘no’”.
The regional council had limited powers to go to the scene or stop the fire.
Dominico Zapata / Things
Pukemiro residents Peggy Molleman and Bill Rosoman are upset that the council is only addressing the health effects of the fire three months after it started.
All agencies will meet Monday to discuss what other tools they can use to enter the property, Sinclair said.
Although dioxins had not been confirmed, it was best to follow a “precautionary approach”.
“This is the recommendation of the Waikato DHB public health unit and is in place until environmental testing shows that dioxin levels are not elevated or until we know that the fire is out and is no longer a risk.”
The area is not densely populated and the advice is expected to apply to only a small number of people.
Sinclair denied that the councils waited too long to act.
“I have not seen anything to suggest that people have sat on this information for an extraordinary period of time. We are very interested in providing all the information we can to the community ”.
The council is conducting a formal investigation into potential RMA violations at the landfill.
Two abatement notices were issued to the landfill owner, Sinclair said.
Waikato District Council Executive Director Gavin Ion said those temporarily moving to another location should call the council on 0800 492 452.
“For those who don’t have friends or family to stay with, let the council know and we will help them. Waikato Tainui has said that they are also here to help and are raising their 0800 TAINUI number, ”Ion said.
