Waste dumping a threat to water?

Press, 2 July 1979, Page 6

Waste dumping a threat to water?

Christchurch industries may be threatening future water supplies by dumping chemical wastes illegally, according to a fire safety officer.

Mr I. S. Semple, the Christchurch divisional fire safety officer with the Fire Service, told an Institute of Safety Management seminar that the effects of waste dumping might not be recognised for another 10 to 20 years. Christchurch was built on swampy ground which contained artesian water, he said. Chemical wastes buried in the ground might seep through into the water in 10 years or tomorrow.

"Christchurch may be sit-[ ting on a lethal bomb,” Mrl Semple said. An industry wanting to getchemical wastes off its hands might dump tanks, withoutconsulting anybody, in the city’s rubbish tips, leaving the fire brigade to find them when they caused slow-]

burning fires. "Others may be going outby the stealth of night and dumping dangerous goods,”. Mr Semple said. The position was aggrav-i ated by the lack of adequate! disposal facilities for indus-i trial wastes. Mr Semple said

[to take a couple of cans of Jpaint or pots of glue with •[their baggage. Our main proi|blem is the ordinary Joe [Blow’ off the street,” he said, i However, the airline also i knew of some businesses i!which tried to get around J the regulations against flying (dangerous goods out of New ■Zealand. When Air New Zealand si had put a special watch on ■i goods going to the Pacific ; i Islands, it had been labelled [“racially prejudiced,” Mr CasIsidy said. A recent case, in which I four bottles of methyl ethyl [ketone peroxide were found •i smoking in a suitcase on > | board a Boeing 737 at Christi:church Airport, was not isoillated, be said. It could hap,pen again. i! “How do we stop it? We r can’t search every’ passenger’s , I baggage, otherwise there ■'would be a big backlog at : II every airport.” ] Mr Cassidy said there were ■[“enough teeth” in the regu■llations covering air freight, I and, offenders were severely (dealt with by the courts. He ;| said that education of manufacturers and private packagers was probably the anil swer to the problem.

that a disposal unit should; be formed by the relevant] authorities, and industries! could consult this unit wheni they had wastes to disposed Industries had to approach] any one of several author-i ities at present: the Health! Department, local authority,! the Labour Department’s dan-'| gerous goods inspectors,, or the Fire Service. Mr Semple said that he did not know how many in-1 dustries consulted authorities] before dumping, or how many] were dumping illegally. “I am not saying that it] is going on, only that it could be,” he said. The best method of chemi-! cal waste disposal was to| burn it, but this required ai suitable incinerator which! could be very expensive. , Problems associated with! hazardous substances were not only found on the ground, | the seminar was told. Pas-' sengers on Air New’ Zealand, flights were occasionally] caught trying to take highly! flammable substances in their baggage. Mr M. Cassidy, speaking for the airline, said that the, offences w’ere caused bv ig-; inorance m most cases. “We catch persons trying: