Methyl bromide used within Port without recapture technology
"CentrePort has moved to containment for its fumigation processes, but does not recapture the toxic gas, methyl bromide
when used," according to Regional Councillor Paul Bruce. Councillor Bruce said that other ports such as Nelson were now
using recapture technology, and it wasn't good enough for CentrePort to continue with its use. "Contributing to ozone
depletion is dark-ages behaviour, and worse still, workers and communities are being exposed to an invisible, odourless,
tasteless, neurotoxic and carcinogenic compound."
Professor Ian Shaw, Toxicologist and Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Canterbury, investigated the use of methyl
bromide at Nelson Port and found a strong correlation of motor neurone disease and the toxic gas. Six Nelson port
workers died of motor neurone disease while it was in use. A cluster of deaths such as this is 25 times the
international average for the general population.
Figures show that methyl bromide use has doubled in the past five years to 469 tonnes in 2011, which means that last
year New Zealand destroyed 236 tonnes of ozone.
Blair O'Keefe, CEO CentrePort, said that they had stopped the practice of fumigating logs under tarpaulins or in ship
holds.
O'Keefe claimed that recapture technology was still too expensive and CentrePort would only move to alternatives to
methyl bromide when they became available.
Government and industry have jointly given $6 million to the Crown forestry research institute Scion to develop
alternatives to the wood fumigant methyl bromide. Steffan Browning, Green Party primary industries spokesperson, said
that the potential development of alternatives is not an excuse for still allowing this toxic and ozone depleting gas to
be released directly into the atmosphere when effective recapture technology exists.
"Recapture technology is practical, available and effective, so Government and Local Government inaction to require it
is pure negligence," Councillor Bruce concluded.
http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/recapture-needed-methyl-bromide-until-alternatives-available
ENDS