'Arsenic house' boy sues councils

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

A 12-year-old Hamilton boy who says his life has been ruined by arsenic poisoning is suing the Hamilton City Council and the Waikato Regional Council for $500,000.

Joshua Wete is claiming for loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earning potential, medical costs and special education costs after he and his family lived for seven years in a house contaminated by arsenic.

The claim, filed in the High Court at Hamilton, alleges that both councils knew in 1991 that toxins were contaminating the Wete home but did nothing about it, despite being obliged to by the Health Act and the Resource Management Act.

Both councils dispute the claim.

The Wete family bought their Frankton home in April 1991. Backing on to their property was a timber treatment plant operated initially by Timpro International and after 1993 by Hamilton Timber Treatment.

Joshua's claim says both councils knew the timber plant was storing, using and discharging hazardous chemicals, including arsenic.

Between June and August 1995, chemicals leaked on to the Wete property, contaminating the back yard and house.

The chemicals leaked because stormwater outlets were inadequate and holding pads did not contain all chemicals during treatment processes.

After that, the regional council tried to force the plant owner under the Resource Management Act to remove all hazardous chemicals.

But the plant went into receivership and nothing was done.

The Wete house was still contaminated when the family moved out in March 1998. The city and regional councils jointly paid them $80,000 for the house, and $35,000 for legal costs.

Yesterday, Hamilton City Council regulatory manager Graeme Fleming said the new legal action was disappointing, as the council did not believe it had any responsibility for the timber plant's chemical leak.

Joshua claims to have been so severely poisoned by the chemicals that he now suffers fatigue, pain and lethargy, is prone to sores erupting all over his body and has permanently impaired learning abilities.

His claim says tests show he has slipped from having a "high average" intellect to a level 90 per cent below other children his age, and that he operates at the level of a 6-year-old.

It says that under the Heath Act, the Hamilton City Council had the power to "secure the removal and prevention of the ongoing risk of contamination" of the Wete house, but did not do so.

Joshua's claim says the city council breached the Resource Management Act by not controlling "any actual or potential effects of the use of land," and the regional council breached the act because hazardous chemicals from the plant drained into the Waitawhiriwhiri Stream beside the Wete house. It had not granted water rights for the timber plant to discharge chemicals into the stream.

Joshua's lawyer, Athol Bishop, says the claim includes $250,000 for pain and suffering, $150,000 for loss of enjoyment of life and $50,000 for anxiety and distress.

But the final claim is likely to be much higher once the cost of Joshua's loss of earning capacity and the cost of medical treatment and education needs are decided.