Editorial, September 25: Wallace sends mixed message

Somewhere deep in the ground under a concrete slab at Waitoa is a ticking time bomb.

Oil containing highly toxic - and illegal - PCBs is leaking into the soil and quite probably making its way to the nearby Waitoa River. The PCBs will not degrade, are carcinogenic, and once in the food chain cannot be removed. It is 10 years since 13 capacitors, each the size of small shoeboxes, were buried at Wallace Corporation's Waitoa site, and more than seven years since the company's risk compliance manager Barry Oldridge urged general manager Neville Cross to retrieve them and dispose of them properly. "This is a disaster waiting to happen," he said in a letter to Mr Cross, adding, "when these capacitors deteriorate we can expect a significant impact on the surrounding environment."

Nothing was done and Mr Oldridge's letter was subsequently tabled during court proceedings this year against Wallace Corp and two of its managers for concealing the burial. Environment Court Judge Fred McElrea has now released his decision and it is a disaster for Wallace Corp and its managers. Cross, and fellow manager Barry Dew, may well go to jail for their negligence and they and the company also face fines that could total almost $9 million.

In his decision Judge McElrea commented several times that court action was avoidable at several stages over the past decade had Wallace's managers decided on a different course of action. But instead of admitting culpability it chose to go on the attack against former employee Andrew Ellis, a storeman who was first asked to bury the capacitors and became the whistleblower. Unfortunately for Wallace, Judge McElrea found Mr Ellis to be a "very impressive witness" who "seemed committed to the truth".

The actions of Cross and Dew are inexplicable. But the company itself also appears less than willing to accept the seriousness of its employees' actions - a stance that will dent public confidence in its environmental management ability.

Last week the company issued a statement headed: Wallace Corporation Ltd proactive in addressing environmental issues. It has all the makings of a Tui billboard. The statement claims Wallace is dedicated to improving the environment and makes much of the court finding that had managing director James Wallace known about the PCB burial "immediate action would have been taken".

It is curious, therefore, why the company chose to vigorously deny the burial of the capacitors for so long. Surely the most appropriate action from any company claiming to have a strong environmental policy is to act as soon as information comes to light. Instead there has been a decade-long cover-up. The company is simply lucky no PCBs have yet been detected in soil and ground water. There is still time to avert a major disaster and Wallace now needs to commit to finding the capacitors regardless of cost.

- © Fairfax NZ News