Icepak aftermath: Cheesy stench

Waikato Times

ROTTEN STENCH: Neighbours remain blighted by the aftermath of the Tamahere Icepak coolstore fire. Top left: Resident Eunice Steel says the rotten, cheesy odouraggravates her health condition. Bottom: The now filled-in holding ponds have crusted over with a pungent, rotten-cheese smelling fat. Top right: The fire last month.

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The stench of rotten cheese still wafts from the Tamahere coolstore site, forcing neighbours to stay indoors to avoid the revolting smell.

The offensive smell surrounds the cleared Icepak site, the scene of a massive explosion and fatal fire 7½ weeks ago, when tonnes of cheese were destroyed.

Residents are pointing the finger at a pond in the middle of the building site, but when the Times visited yesterday, holding ponds which sit behind the coolstore and have since been filled-in, have also crusted over with a putrid fatty substance.

Icepak have assured authorities it would clean up the pond today.

Arnold Koppens, who built the original coolstore on the site, lives directly across the road. "I'm just saying get rid of that smell. I don't have to put up with that sort of thing ... it's horrible and pungent. If the wind's blowing from the east or northeast, even if it's dead still, the whole area stinks."

His wife, Raewyn, agreed.

"It's ghastly. It's really rotten. It's not constant, you just get wafts of it that come through that are so foul."

Eunice Steel, whose home was at risk of burning down during the April 5 inferno, said the odour played havoc on her weakened lungs and could no longer spend any length of time doing what she loved best - tending to her garden.

"I still hate (the smell). It's my lungs. I think (the smell) does aggravate them."

Mrs Steel and her husband, Alf, were home when the coolstore exploded. A couple of days later Mrs Steel was hospitalised, stressed from the incident.

She's slowly coming back to full health and while she hasn't directly blamed the explosion or the odour for her health complaints, "it certainly doesn't help". They were now getting used to leaving their windows and doors closed.

However, Mr Steel was complimentary of Icepak's efforts cleaning up the site. "I reckon they did well with their clean-up. They worked till dark most days and they were here on Sundays and had these big machines going all the time."

Fiona Jackson and her family, who live on Koppens Rd, were also getting used to staying inside and keeping all windows and doors shut.

David Stagg of Environment Waikato said after queries from the Waikato Times, EW officers contacted Icepak management who said arrangements to have the pond sucked out were under way.

Icepak, who currently operate out of an office in the Tamahere Community Hall, did not return calls to the Times.