Parents who have pulled their children out of a Hamilton school at the centre of an arsenic and DDT scare will have to wait up to four more weeks before test results from the site are available.
Toku Mapihi Maurea Kura Kaupapa Maori is on the site of a former orchard
near Waikato University (and leased by the university) which has high levels of arsenic and DDT in its soil.
A number of children have been tested for arsenic and DDT poisoning, and two are understood to have tested positive for arsenic.
Last week, school trust spokesman Tipene Wilson said parents had decided to pull children out until they were satisfied the site was safe.
Waikato University's director of facilities management, John Cameron, said tests had taken longer than expected. The university had been given advice on what action to take but the results were still being analysed.
"We're not able to do a lot more until the results are back, but at the moment we've been told there is no immediate risk."
Mr Cameron said the university would consider different options for the school's future.
Education Ministry central North Island manager Derek Devoy said he was finding a temporary site for students, and was confident one would be available by the beginning of the second term.
- NZPA
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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