Rotorua gases could kill again

By REBECCA DEVINE in Rotorua
Rotorua contractors are dicing with death every time they dig a hole, says council inspector Peter Brownbridge.

He wonders why more people have not died from the city's poisonous gases.

Mr Brownbridge said he was surprised more contractors, like plumbers and drainlayers, hadn't succumbed to the toxic hydrogen sulphide that seeps out from under the ground.

"I still see some sites that make me wonder why there haven't been more deaths."

Mr Brownbridge, a geothermal inspector with the Rotorua District Council, said some work practices were just tempting fate.

He said there was a lot of complacency among those working around Rotorua - and out of town workers who "sort of know about hydrogen sulphide but don't know the dangers" were the worst.

The colourless toxic gas has been attributed to at least 11 deaths in Rotorua over the past few decades and is continuing to overcome people today.

Mr Brownbridge said it was not uncommon for workers to move the gas detector away from the site because the alarm - which was warning of dangerously high gas levels - was "too noisy".

While none had been killed over recent years, several had been "knocked out" by the gas.

Mr Brownbridge doesn't want to scare the general public into thinking they're at risk from the gas that gives Rotorua its "rotten egg" smell.

However, he said there were certainly dangers around the gas.

"It can be managed so I don't think it is a worry - but it is never nice when someone dies. There are other factors in some of the cases and it takes more than just a funny smell."

The hazard level of the gas depends on both the duration of exposure and its concentration.

Levels of hydrogen sulphide in the air are being constantly monitored - and people who notice "funny smells" can call the council to check on the levels in their buildings.

Places in town have been evacuated and some buildings have had to be shut down while the source of the gas is found.

Mr Brownbridge said the worst area of the central business district was the area of Fenton St between Amohau and Eruera Sts.

However, it isn't just limited to the inner-city. A home in Sophia St has been condemned as uninhabitable for more than four years.

"At this stage we don't have the technology for it to be lived in again.

"It has beaten all of us."



Rotorua's geothermal gases were also linked with higher than average asthma rates in a 2003 study.

The study found that between 1991 and 2001, people living in six Rotorua suburbs were admitted to hospital with asthma and other breathing diseases five to 10 times more often than people living in other suburbs.

Internationally it is widely accepted that exposure to hydrogen sulphide could be an irritant for people with asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Another study, done by HortResearch, suggested that watercress grown in geothermal-fed waters accumulates high concentrations of arsenic - and people eating it could be at higher risk of developing skin cancer or rashes.

Mr Brownbridge said one of the most dangerous aspects of Rotorua's geothermal activity was people ignoring fences and warning signs.

"Sometimes I wonder what more we can do," Mr Brownbridge said.