Meetings aim to ease pollution fears

By ELIZABETH BINNING

Two public meetings will be held to try to alleviate the fears of nearly 5000 Auckland City property owners who have this week learned that they may be living on pesticide-contaminated land.

The meetings will be held in Avondale and Glen Innes, two of the three areas where most of the potentially affected homes are clustered.

Experts will be available to answer questions, many of which are expected to focus on health concerns and who will pay for soil tests that can confirm or rule out the presence of pesticide residues.

Yesterday, as the meetings and a council helpline were being set up, the Ministry of Education and Rodney District Council also announced plans to investigate the matter, which is quickly turning into a nationwide problem.

Ministry of Education northern regional manager Bruce Adin said it was too early to say if any schools or early childhood centres were affected.

After meeting Auckland city and regional councils yesterday morning, Mr Adin said the ministry would gather information from authorities throughout the region before deciding how to proceed.

In the meantime, letters would be sent to all Auckland school to advise them about what is happening.

Rodney District Council has also announced plans to undertake a study so it can identify which areas have been used for intensive horticulture.

"This will give us and the public more likelihood of identifying those areas which are potentially affected," said the director of customer service Geoff Mears.

Information about any potentially affected Rodney properties may be added to LIM reports, as is being done in Auckland and Waitakere.

North Shore City Council is also investigating and expects to release its findings within a month.

Meanwhile, Housing New Zealand, which owns 1600 of the homes, is still seeking advice on whether to test the soil for lead, iron and DDT - all of which were identified in a 2001 regional council study.