16/06/2006
- Consultation on how to protect people and the
environment from persistent organic pollutants
starts today, Environment Minister David Benson-Pope
announced.
“New Zealand has signed up to
an international treaty, the Stockholm Convention,
which will help us to have a future free from
concern about twelve dangerous chemicals. We now
invite people to have a say on what we should
do to achieve this,” Mr Benson-Pope said.
Chemicals such as dieldrin,
DDT and dioxins are known as persistent organic
pollutants (POPs) because they are highly toxic
and can last for decades in the environment. They
enter the food chain and are retained in human
and animal tissue.
“In recent years we have put
considerable effort into clearing the country
of POPs. The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms
Act now bans the production, the import and use
of POPs in New Zealand.
“Government is partnering with
local government to collect and dispose of old
stocks of these banned agricultural chemicals
from farms and rural properties. As of June 2006,
we have cleared 225 tonnes of POPs from rural
properties,” said Mr Benson-Pope.
“Thirdly, the Government’s Contaminated
Sites Remediation Fund assists regional councils
to investigate and help owners clean up contaminated
sites that pose a risk to human health and the
environment. The clean-up of the former Fruitgrowers
Chemical Company site at Mapua is a good example
of this.
“Levels of POPs in human tissue
have significantly declined in New Zealand over
the past decade. This demonstrates that measures
such as those being undertaken under the Stockholm
Convention do make a difference in protecting
human health from POPs,” said the Minister.
The Government seeks feedback
on a draft National Implementation Plan that sets
out measures for meeting our obligations under
the Stockholm Convention.
The measures aim to:
minimise the release of dioxins, collect unwanted
agrichemicals such as DDT and dieldrin from farms,
and
make contaminated land safe for use.
The draft National Implementation Plan can be
viewed on the website of the Ministry for the
Environment www.mfe.govt.nz.
The closing date for submissions
is 15 August 2006.
