Poison gas to be used more safely as new system kicks in, company says

FUMIGATION: Tarpaulins and methyl bromide gas are used at Port of Tauranga to treat logs. PHOTO / JOHN BORREN

A toxic gas being used to fumigate logs in Tauranga will be filtered in response to concerns about its effects on health and the environment.

Fumigation company Genera said the new system for handling methyl bromide would be fully implemented at the Port of Tauranga by 2019, phasing out an existing method in which gas was released into the air.

Methyl bromide is a highly toxic gas which has been linked with health problems including motor neurone disease. The degenerative nerve condition was suspected to have killed up to six people near fumigators at Port Nelson, although methyl bromide was never proven to have been the cause.

Genera's assurances about the filter method came after the Environment Court quashed a bid by rival fumigator Envirofume to use methyl bromide at Port of Tauranga because of safety concerns. The court's three judges described the effects of methyl bromide as "chilling", noted that Genera continued to use the gas, and said that measurements had found "worrying" quantities of the gas on the port's perimeter.

Mark Self

Genera chief executive Mark Self yesterday disputed the readings at the port's perimeter, stating that the hand-held meters used to measure the emissions could not be trusted.

Mr Self said the meters were unable to isolate methyl bromide from other types of gases and could be influenced by wind gusts.

"Those measurements are fraught with difficulty."

Nevertheless, Genera was bringing in a new system that would make methyl bromide safe after it had been used to treat the logs.

The method aimed for "total recapture" of the gas, meaning it would not be released into the atmosphere. It was already being introduced and would be fully in place by 2019.

Under the new system, methyl bromide would fumigate logs under tarps and then be drawn through a "scrubber" with filters that would convert it into inert products such as salts.

The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to two people worried about the proximity of the gas operations to the nearby Sulphur Pt Marina.

However, marina manager Greg Prescott said boaties had not expressed any concerns to him about methyl bromide.

Phone calls to an Envirofume director have gone unanswered.

Methyl Bromide
● Is colourless, odourless and non-flammable
● Is ozone-depleting
● Has been used as a pesticide
● Has been phased out of use in many countries