Residents not told of danger from toxin | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Residents living on a former Masterton gasworks site say they have risked their health and lost tens of thousands of dollars because they were not told the site is contaminated with cancer-causing toxins.

People on the site, on the corner of Bannister and Kirton streets, have been growing vegetables and letting their children play in the soil there - unaware Masterton District Council identified it as contaminated 10 years ago and was warned to prevent such activities.

Others who bought houses on the site say they were not advised of the contamination before they purchased and say their house values have been slashed by almost $40,000.

Testing commissioned by MDC from 1999-2004 revealed cancer-causing toxins in the soil on the site.

A report in 2000 on the testing recommended that the most contaminated part of the site, at 12, 14, and 16 Kirton St, be either rezoned to prevent residential use or that the top half-metre of contaminated soil be removed - neither of which has happened.

The 2000 report also advised that until such action, "control should be exercised over significant exposure pathways, in particular children playing in exposed ground, gardening activities and consumption of homegrown produce [and] this may be in the form of advice to residents".

An investigation by a group of Massey journalism students on behalf of the Wairarapa Times-Age has found six out of seven households on the site said they had not been made aware of the contamination - and none knew of the safety recommendations.

Scientists spoken to by the group said people should not be living on land so contaminated, and some said the risk may be even worse as the testing was not thorough enough.

University of Auckland Head of Nutrition Professor Lynnette Ferguson, who is also Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre's director of mutagen testing, said the amount of BaP - a cancer-causing compound - was concerning.

"This level would make me nervous. This is a well recognised carcinogen. Let's say I wouldn't let my children play in the dirt."

Natasha van Gulick, said she had been growing vegetables and her three children had been playing in the contaminated soil at their home at 14 Kirton Street without knowing of the risk.

"I dig my gardens all the time. The kids even play in there.

"They play in it like a sandpit and I don't know any better because that's what kids do."

Her landlord had not told her of the risks and had dug up the ground to re-level it while she and her family were there. She was worried for her children and wanted the council to take responsibility, she said.

"It's a moral obligation."

Nathan Fraser, at 16 Kirton Street, said he was unaware of the report's recommendations and but he would liked to have known.

"The landlord should have have told the real estate agent and the real estate agent should have told me."

The owner of 14 and 16 Kirton St, Neil McKay, said he had received a copy of the report and knew there was contamination, but was under the impression the sites were safe.

"[The report] was nothing that I could understand but the upshot of it was there didn't seem to be anything to worry about.

"I would have thought that if there had been something serious there ... there should have been an order put up by somebody deeming the house uninhabitable. It's public health at the end of the day."

He said he would not have bought the properties if he had known of the contamination.

Another landlord, Marie Sayer, said she had not been aware the land was contaminated, and had not received a report from the council when she and her husband bought 2 and 4 Kirton Street four years ago.

They had just sold the houses and believed they had lost $37,000 due to the contamination.

Another owner, who did not want to be named, found out about the site's history only after they moved in 10 years ago, and said her house value had been slashed by at least $15,000 due to the contamination.

MDC chief executive Wes ten Hove said the contamination levels were slightly above residential guideline values, and not high enough for the council to need to act under the Health Act.

Asked if the Council should have put up warning signs, he said it could not do so unless it believed a 'nuisance' existed under the Health Act and this was not the case.

The council did not see the need to put up warning signs on the part of the site it owned, which was vacant, rarely visited, and had "generally not very high" contaminant concentrations.

It was a good idea that landlords advise tenants of the condition of their properties, but the Council had no legal authority to interfere in private transactions between landlords and tenants.

"However the Council also believes it is prudent for residents to minimise any risk by reducing their exposure to bare soil, and has advised residents accordingly.

"Simple things like washing hands after gardening greatly reduce any risks that might exist."

He said the Council had no liability for the contamination on private land. It had no obligation to undertake testing but did so to assist owners and the information relevant to each property was given to the owners at the time. It was available as public information.

Greater Wellington Regional Council environmental monitoring and investigations manager Ted Taylor said landowners were responsible for contamination.

"Basically, it's buyer beware. It's your own risk."

But Otago University environmental law expert Nichola Wheen said both district and regional councils had a legal responsibility to help clean up pollution even though landowners were liable under the Resource Management Act.

"I would argue the regional council has a responsibility to make sure that no one is using the property [dangerously], and to work with the landowner to clean up the site."

The 0.6 hectare block was the site of Masterton's first gasworks, built by the MDC in 1887 to produce gas for domestic use from coal. The plant was demolished in 1965 and the land sold to private developers in the 1970s.

Several houses have been built on the land, though three that were owned by the Housing Corporation were removed shortly after the contamination was confirmed.

Housing New Zealand regional manager Peter McKenna said after the tests revealed that one of the three sections in Kirton Street owned by HNZ had an unacceptable level of contamination, it made its tenants aware of the issue and warned that they shouldn't plant gardens or allow children to play in exposed ground.

The properties were not re-let once when they were vacated, and the houses were moved off the site. HNZ sold the land back to MDC for $10,000 in 2004. It has been left vacant since.