By Niva Chittock, RNZ
A report on Napier’s contaminated Awatoto industrial area shows local authorities have not completely followed expert advice given in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The report was completed on March 3 by a scientific and technical advisory committee (STAC), made up of Fire and Emergency NZ, Napier City Council and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) staff.
It was released to RNZ this week under the Official Information Act.
On February 21, samples were taken at nine sites in the Awatoto industrial area that was inundated by floodwaters during the cyclone event, the report began.
The samples were taken from spills, overflows, floodwaters and silt.
On 27 February, the Defence Force and Napier City Council did an area risk assessment.
In the STAC report, it was recommended a hard cordon be set up around the Awatoto industrial area after the assessment “identified risks to human health”.
A key concern raised was the mixing of a wide range of chemicals in the industrial zone, “some of which are highly hazardous”.
“There is the potential for uncontrolled reactions, release of toxic gases, and reactions with water. The best-case scenario is that major issues don’t occur but there is not enough information at this stage to understand the risks,” the STAC report said.
Initial testing revealed the hazards present in February were human waste or wastewater, animal waste, blood, offal, bone, untreated trade waste, motor and hydraulic oil, sulphuric acid, insecticides, urea sulphate, soda ash, sodium hydroxide and minapol.
There was also estimated to be 55,000 kilograms of hydrogen peroxide, 1105kg of phosphoric acid, 28,162kg of formic acid and 36,550kg of boric acid.
A cordon was set up on March 8, five days after the report was given to officials on March 3.
It is still in place.
The STAC report recommended authorities engage with communities nearby about the cordon and said “discussions may benefit from having a range of people in different specialities to answer questions”.
Officials were told to consider discussing “the chronic health risk”, and the report said “it will be important to notify medical officer of health”.
The report also recommended “engaging with local iwi”.
When the report was published on March 3, it said “Napier City Council have had reports that there have been some people experiencing significant gastro-enteritis in the area. This is particularly so along McLeod Road”.
The council has since confirmed there was at least one confirmed case of gastro-enteritis among Awatoto residents.
A community meeting was held for those affected by the contamination on March 9.
The council confirmed the meeting was attended by council representatives, Civil Defence Emergency Management’s emergency operations controller and police.
But there were no health officials present.
A council spokesperson was unable to confirm when a medical officer of health was first contacted about the Awatoto contamination when asked by RNZ yesterday.
They were not to able say when the first contact was made with local iwi about it either.
More extensive testing had been carried out in Awatoto since the STAC report was released, both in the cordoned-off industrial zone and in the surrounding residential area.
Napier City Council said it expected to get all results back this week, and was aiming to complete result reports by the end of March.
The STAC report also discussed Napier’s wastewater treatment plant, which received extensive damage in the cyclone and was inside the Awatoto industrial cordon.
“The wastewater treatment plant is operating on gravity only and the ponds are full so there is no capacity at all for more volume,” it said on March 3.
“A risk exists that further flooding in the area will overflow the system and spread further hazardous biological matter ... It is estimated that the [plant] could be reinstated at the earliest within two weeks,” the report said.
Napier City Council said this week the plant was still not operating.
It has now been 20 days since the report was given to Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management and Napier City Council.
A council spokesperson confirmed the plant would be restored in stages.
The contaminated material being moved out of the damaged plant was being stockpiled on-site inside the cordon, they said.
But work was progressing, with Hawke’s Bay Regional Council yesterday announcing the Awatoto stopbank breach had been repaired.
“Twenty-one pumps have removed the equivalent of 1440 Olympic swimming pools of pooled water in the area behind the Ravensdown [fertiliser] plant. The pump station has been repaired and wood debris is being removed,” said asset management group manager Chris Dolley.