Arsenic suburb residents give go-ahead for tests

Children at Moanataiari School, Montessori Pre-School and Moanataiari Early Learning Centre will be the first tested for arsenic traces. Photo / APN

More than half of the people living in a Thames suburb built on arsenic-contaminated land have given their permission for further testing.

The Thames-Coromandel District Council has urged the rest of the 212 households in the Moanataiari subdivision - which also has three schools - to fill out the permission form online as soon as possible so the problem can be fixed before someone becomes ill.

Council spokesman Ben Day said testing would be carried out at Moanataiari School, the Montessori Pre-School and Moanataiari Early Learning Centre this weekend.

"They're a priority because it's the children who are at risk - particularly the children who eat dirt," he said.

Tests carried out last month revealed the arsenic levels in some areas of the suburb to be up to 235 times more than the national soil contaminant standard of 20mg to each kilogram of of soil.

On Tuesday night, about 350 residents of Moanataiari subdivision attended an urgent public meeting about the contamination.

Thames-Coromandel Mayor Glenn Leach said each property needed to be sampled so the council could work out what had to happen on each site.

Initial tests revealed showed the highest concentrations were in the part of the subdivision east of Kuranui Rd.

"We envisage the testing to begin before Christmas, especially for our schools so we can get plans well underway for them and other high-priority areas," Mr Leach said.

At the two-hour meeting in the Thames Civic Centre, residents raised their concerns to Environment Minister Nick Smith, Green Party toxics spokeswoman Catherine Delahunty, Mr Leach and Thames-Coromandel councillors.

Questions asked ranged from health issues to fixing the problem and who would cover the costs.

Ms Delahunty said the feeling at the end of the meeting was a positive one towards the way the Thames-Coromandel District Council and the Waikato Region Council had handled the contamination.

"The community don't feel abandoned," she said.

"They feel that the councils have been pro-active and are doing a good job with being upfront ... which I think is a very positive thing because it is very shocking to find levels of arsenic in your community."

It was decided that meetings would be held every Thursday at Moanataiari School so residents could be kept up to date with the progress.

The regional council is in the process of applying for 50 per cent funding from the Ministry for the Environment for the more comprehensive tests.

The Moanataiari subdivision was built on land reclaimed from the Firth of Thames and was filled with mine tailings, mine waste and clean fill.

The area was subdivided in the 1960s and houses were built in the 1970s.

"Undertaking a subdivision in this way would be unacceptable today," Dr Smith said.

The Green Party said it would also stand alongside the community of Thames after the discovery of the contaminated land.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said she was committed to cleaning up contaminated sites in New Zealand and that the party would be seeking to significantly increase the clean-up fund.

Residents in the Moanataiari suburb should go to the Thames-Coromandel Council website at http://www.tcdc.govt.nz/ to download a registration form for funding.