Steve Wheeler stands amid the silt surrounding his Esk Valley home. Photo / Paul Taylor.
There’s a grit that forms in your mouth after just an hour amid the silt of Esk Valley.
But it’s what ends up in your lungs that worries resident Steve Wheeler.
He has a chopper spraying a special seed blend in a block surrounding his wrecked Waipunga Rd home next week, in the hope that some grass cover will limit dust storms in the area once spring and the equinox hit.
Associate Professor Peter Almond is the head of the Soil and Physical Science department at Lincoln University.
He’s among the experts consulted by Wheeler, about the silica in the sediment that sits on huge swathes of Hawke’s Bay and the silicosis it can cause to people and animals exposed to it.
Silicosis is what occurs when your lungs become scarred by inhaling silica.
It can be mitigated by shutting your windows and wearing a mask, but the microns are fine enough that it can even wreck the filter in your vehicle.
“You can change the filter in your car. You can’t change your lungs and that’s the issue,” Almond said.
“It’s fine enough that it gets down into the little sacks in your lungs and you can’t dislodge it by producing mucus and coughing. It’s there for good.”
A micron is a thousandth of a millimetre in size.
Almond said a human hair, for instance, measures between 20 and 150 microns. The silt sitting in Hawke’s Bay is between 10 and 2.5 microns in diameter, he said, and too small to be seen once airborne.
Wheeler believes it is a public health issue.
“This is not crying wolf. This is bad,” Wheeler said.
He would like to see Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand declare it as a one and permit the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to follow his lead and seed every area where silt is sitting.
There’s some urgency to that as well, with Almond indicating Hawke’s Bay only has a matter of days to seed affected areas, otherwise it will be too cold to germinate in spring.
The HBRC says it is “looking into” grass-seeding sites where cyclone clean-up has been completed.
A council spokesman said it was managing the dust by watering down sites, using regular street sweepers and water carts.
“This is in place across our deposit sites and affected communities. Downer has been engaged to do this.”
“We are also working with large blocks to ensure that silt dropping on roads is reduced through the type of equipment used to transport silt and having wash downs at sites before trucks and tractors leave sites. This is being pushed out to private landowners doing their clean-up as well.
“We are looking into grass seeding sites where tidy up had been completed, as well as sites where we may be waiting for zoning decisions or funding for private landowners which may delay whether silt is removed or is managed on site.”
Te Whatu Ora had this to say: “As part of public health information post-cyclone, Te Whatu Ora has posted messaging and information sheets on both social media and on its website regarding safe handling of silt,” Medical Officer of Health, National Public Health Service, Te Matau a Māui Hawke’s Bay Dr Bridget Wilson said.
“Te Whatu Ora is also working with Niwa and other key stakeholders on a regional air quality monitoring programme that will give residents better information about the type of dust and the impact on air quality that has been generated after the cyclone.”
That doesn’t wash with Wheeler.
A self-described “social democrat” he served 21 years in the police and military. He is best-known for his skills as a swordsmith, with his weapons used in the Lord of the Rings films.
“This is so brutally simple; if you breathe this stuff in, it’s with you for the rest of your life,” said Wheeler.
“If we get a good strike [of grass] will it sort everything? No, it won’t. But it’ll be better than nothing.’’
In conjunction with BioAg and Shoreline Helicopters, Wheeler has sourced a high-burner seed mix that could be sprayed across a 540-hectare area in and around Esk Valley at a cost of $200,000.
It’s all in a report he has sent to various agencies, including Te Whatu Ora and the HBRC, complete with his claims that acute silicosis cases could put people in Intensive Care Units.
“We created that report and also costed it for real. Not a pie-in-the-sky cost. Real cost,” Wheeler said.
“El Nino is here. It’s started and for Hawke’s Bay, and all of the East Coast, it’s going to be hot, dry and windy.
“We need to seed the valley and seed it quickly.”
● If possible, stay indoors when dust levels are high.
● Avoid exercising in the dust.
● If possible, reduce vehicle numbers and speeds (10-15km/h) over silt-laden surfaces, to reduce dust generation and subsequent exposure.
● Wear suitable respiratory protection if exposure to dust cannot be avoided. Proper face-fit respirators (P2, N95) provide the best personal protection; however, even surgical masks will still offer some protection.
● Wear gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants and gumboots or sturdy shoes when cleaning up.
● Anyone coming into contact with silt should wash and dry their hands and/or use hand sanitiser.
Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom. He went to Esk Valley to compile this report.
