Health groups: Add pong to toxic fumigation gas

A toxic gas used to fumigate shipments at city ports should have an odour added so it cannot creep up on people without them knowing, say concerned groups.

The stinky suggestion was made by Ports of Auckland, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service and the environment group Friends of the Earth in submissions to the Environmental Risk Management Authority.

Erma is looking at the use of methyl bromide, an odourless and colourless poison, after concerns were raised about the safety of port workers and the depleting effect the gas has on the ozone layer.

Several groups suggested manufacturers could add an odour so people working and living near ports would be warned if methyl bromide escaped from the fumigation area.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service wants use of the gas quickly phased out from New Zealand ports but a preliminary staff report to Erma recommends keeping it in use for another 10 years.

The health service said ports should warn emergency services and people working and living around them before fumigating with methyl bromide.

The nurses' union the New Zealand Nursing Organisation, which wants the gas banned within five years.

It said the country was moving too slowly to find alternatives and risked losing its credibility as a signatory to ozone-protecting treaty the Montreal protocol.

The biggest user of the gas is the $130 million-a-year pine log industry.

It has been using more gas in recent years because of rising log exports to countries such as China, which expect fumigation with methyl bromide.

The user group Stakeholders in Methyl Bromide Reduction said it was looking at ways to recapture the gas - as Nelson port does - and other alternatives such as heat treatment and other fumigants.

But the Government-owned science company Scion said a simple chemical replacement was unlikely in the next five years. Non-chemical pest killers would take even longer to develop.

Log exporters told Erma users they were doing everything in their power to find another option.

In the meantime, the health service wants Auckland ports to keep the gas in a sealed treatment pit rather than fumigating under tarpaulins and lifting the covers to disperse the gas into the air.

POISON ALERT

* Methyl bromide is used to fumigate shipments at city ports.
* It is an odourless and colourless poisonous gas.
* Concerns have been raised about safety to workers.
* Health authorities say a smelling agent should be added people will be aware of it.
* Some groups want the gas banned from New Zealand within five years.