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A Napier subdivision project has received backlash from neighbouring residents, who say more needs to be done to prevent dust from being whipped into clouds and causing potential health hazards.
Parklands resident Kelvin Shaw went for a morning walk with his dog during last Friday’s windy public holiday and wasshocked by the amount of dust blowing into the air at a subdivision site off Orotu Drive in Poraiti.
About 92,000 cubic metres of silt from Cyclone Gabrielle has been transported to the site to date, which is being used as groundworks for future housing (and to create new rugby fields nearby).
However, Napier City Council says the dust is the result of topsoil rather than cyclone-related silt.
Hundreds of existing homes are located near the council-owned development site to expand Parklands Residential Estate, and Shaw said it was the worst he’d seen in terms of dust blowing on to nearby homes.
“It was like the Sahara desert, but instead of sand it was silt,” he claimed.
Shaw said he was concerned about the flow-on health impact for nearby residents possibly breathing in silt dust, including the potential of silicosis.
He said it appeared workers were not around to water the ground on Friday morning, which they usually did to mitigate dust.
He guessed that was due to it being a public holiday. Napier City Council did not comment on whether that was accurate.
“We want to see 24/7 watering. Whenever it is dry, we want it watered to stop the dust,” Shaw said.
A water tanker was on-site by Friday afternoon, and Shaw said the site had been kept well-watered and managed since.
Dust being blown around at the development site in Poraiti.
Napier City Council is behind the Parklands area-four subdivision project, and owns the land nearing the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union headquarters.
Napier City Council commercial director Richard Munneke said a lot of work had gone into reducing dust.
“The dust seen last weekend was not silt, but was the topsoil that had been spread for seeding grass, a process which began this week,” he said.
“The things we’re doing to help reduce any dust include sowing grass and installation of sprinklers, and a new pump being installed to achieve quicker turnarounds for the water trucks.”
Another Parklands resident, Bill White, said he expected the groundworks to continue for a matter of months and more should be done to mitigate the dust.
He said using sprinklers would be a welcome step to complement the water tankers.
He said cyclone silt was “definitely a concern” in terms of safety, and he generally kept his windows and doors shut due to the ongoing works.
Dust blowing from the site last week.
The development site is area four of the Parklands subdivision, where more housing will be built in the future. Photo / NCC
Earlier this year, a study was released by Government agency Environmental Science and Research (ESR) which found there was a low health risk from Cyclone Gabrielle silt.
“ESR’s investigations have determined the likelihood of long-term public health impacts following silt and dust exposure is deemed low,” the study found.
“Communities concerned about crystalline silica in silt and the risk of silicosis can be reassured that silt contains no more crystalline silica than normal garden soil and less than most beach sand.”
However, Lincoln University associate professor Peter Almond, from the soil and physical sciences department, told Hawke’s Bay Today cyclone silt could pose a health risk if it became airborne and was inhaled.
He said the way to mitigate that risk was by keeping the silt wet or covered, so it could not be blown around as dust.
“It’s silica-dominated and it can produce silicosis,” he said, earlier this year.
“If people breathe it into their lungs, it gets lodged there and causes irritation and ... can cause lung problems and breathing problems. It’s not benign stuff.”
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
