No health issues from Mapua cleanup

The clean up process at one of New Zealand's most polluted sites is unlikely to cause long-term health problems, the Ministry of Health says.

The ministry today released a report into the effects of soil remediation - a process to neutralise chemicals - at Mapua, near Nelson.

The 3.3ha site near the Mapua wharf included the former Fruitgrowers Chemical Company and nearby land.

Fruitgrowers made pesticides on site for 55 years, leaving the soil contaminated with chemicals such as the highly toxic pesticide DDT.

The report - the latest in a series of Government investigations into the site - was delayed following the death of a key scientist.

It found the site was unlikely to produce long-term adverse health effects for local residents and made recommendations to "further reduce any remaining uncertainty".

"The expert advice from the independent Organochlorines Technical Advisory Group is that it is unlikely that local residents would have experienced a significantly elevated level of exposure to chemicals of concern for a sufficient period to result in any chronic health effects from that exposure," the report said.

Ministry deputy director of public health Fran McGrath said local residents would be given six weeks to make submissions on the report.

"We recognise that there is still some uncertainty about the precise levels of a small number of chemicals," she said.

"We have some sympathy with the local community who would have hoped all these questions to be answered.

"Unfortunately, knowing the level of a contaminant such as dioxins in our bodies does not predict the health consequences."

A report into the health impacts for workers on the site is due to be released by Department of Labour in mid-April.

- NZPA