By TONY GEE
KAITAIA - Residents living near Kaitaia's mill say its gas emissions are giving them burning lips, stinging eyes, headaches and nausea.
Their complaints are supported by a local doctor who has referred seven cases to public health authorities in Whangarei for further investigation.
The Juken Nissho triboard mill was ordered last week by the Northern Regional Council to stop emissions of isocyanates - the chemicals which are blamed for causing the health problems - by November 3.
The company says the order is unjustified but will not release a consultant's report which shows what gases the mill produces.
Pensioners Jean and Frank Lockyer live in Donald Rd, just above the mill which employs more than 200 people.
"We don't want the mill closed down because the town needs the employment but we do get strong smells in northwest winds and that upsets me," Mrs Lockyer said.
"They can be very unpleasant and we both feel nauseous. My lips burn like they're on fire, and my eyes run and sting.
"The mill manager and the safety officer have been to see us and they said they were concerned and were trying to get things right."
Mrs Lockyer said she and her husband had put their life savings into their home. "But we can't live here like this for ever and I don't know whether anyone would want to buy our house."
Another Donald Rd couple, who did not want to be named, said they had been forced to leave their house and live in Mangonui because of the effect mill emissions were having on their health.
A specialist's report on the pair said both reported an improvement in their health when they were away from their Kaitaia home.
The woman, a registered general and obstetric nurse and certified health manager, suffered headaches, respiratory tract irritation, sore throat and coughing, the specialist said.
The man suffered from fatigue and poor memory. His lungs - after a spirometer test - showed impairment. Although his chronic respiratory disease was based on a previous history of smoking, his condition had deteriorated during the past six months, the medical report said.
Kaitaia doctor Dr Doug Mearns, who has notified the cases of seven patients to public health authorities in Whangarei, believes all have symptoms compatible with the effect of being exposed to isocyanate-related chemicals in the air.
His patients are among nine people in Kaitaia whose similar conditions have been referred to specialists for further assessment.
"Patients tell me that when they go away from the area, they are okay but when they come back, the symptoms return," he said.
The public health medicine registrar in Whangarei, Dr Joy Robinson, said public health authorities were watching the situation in Kaitaia.
They would consider "various options" depending on the final assessment on the mill's emissions.
The regional council said the presence of isocyanates had been detected in air sampling and, more importantly, had shown up in a draft report by independent consultants, who ran extensive tests in August on gases being discharged from the mill's chimney stacks.
Mill manager Dennis Clarke yesterday would still not say why Juken Nissho was not releasing a final report on results of the consultants' chimney stack emission testing to the regional council.
He also said the company was still deciding whether to appeal against the council's abatement notice and "where to [go] from here."
Mill neighbours burn at mouth
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