WorkSafe yet to decide next steps in inquiry on Port of Tauranga incident

Log fumigation under a tarpaulin at the Port of Tauranga in 2017. Photo / John Borren

WorkSafe is still making inquiries into an incident at Port of Tauranga on Thursday that resulted in three workers seeking hospital treatment.

A man and a woman, both aged 45 and from Tauranga, were discharged from Tauranga Hospital later that day but the third worker was kept overnight.

The 50-year-old Te Puke man was discharged from hospital on Friday.

A union representative for the 50-year-old told the Bay of Plenty Times the worker had sought medical help when he felt nauseous and believed he had been exposed to methyl bromide, a toxic gas used to fumigate logs at the port.

WorkSafe confirmed last week that the incident had been reported to them, and a spokeswoman said yesterday afternoon that it was still making inquiries into the matter and had not decided what the next steps would be.

The use of methyl bromide - a toxin linked to motor neurone disease among other ailments - at the port has been controversial, and an Environment Court ruling last year was heavily critical of its use at the port.

The Tauranga Moana Fumigant Action Group, which formed last year, said this week that it is extremely concerned about the latest incident report and wants answers from the authorities and commercial entities involved about what happened.