Package danger ebbing

Searchers looking for toxic fumigant packages off Northland's east coast believe the danger posed by the chemicals inside has passed.

Specialists on board the Navy support ship Manawanui, helped by a spotting helicopter, retrieved another 10 orange-coloured packages and their attached pods yesterday off the Poor Knights Islands, northeast of Whangarei.

That brings to 23 the number recovered since Monday morning.

It appears no packages have washed ashore on any islands in the Poor Knights group or on the Northland coastline.

Response team incident controller Graeme MacDonald said an estimated 20 degrading packages, used as a wood fumigant in ships' holds, might still be at sea within a 400 square kilometre area.

Tests on packages recovered yesterday did not detect any gas from the magnesium phosphide originally in the pods, although some found earlier were still emitting small, non-harmful amounts.

Mr MacDonald said the searchers, together with health and Department of Conservation officials, believed the packages still at sea posed little risk to people or the environment.

This was because of the properties of the chemical involved, the deteriorating state of the cardboard pods and the time they had been in the water.

The Manawanui was to be stood down last night when it returned to Marsden Pt while the packages were being taken to a secure hazardous chemical storage area.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Safety Authority is following a number of leads on where the packages came from.