Open Letter to Port Marlborough re. Draft Code of Practice for Methyl Bromide Use
We have made our position very clear to the Port Company and district council that the Picton community find methyl bromide fumigations on the scale and volume of up to 3 tons of Methyl bromide at a time is a completely unacceptable health and safety risk and we will keep campaigning to achieve those ends.
The only acceptable form of fumigation is to use recapture and destruction technology, or to fumigate with other gas that is able to be used at sea.
We don’t know what the standard or parts per million are that you have set, but if they are any less rigorous than Port Nelsons then they should be brought into line with them.
However we suspect that no matter what the Picton community wants you are going to go ahead regardless, profits ahead of people.
Here we have the bazaar situation where a company is poisoning its own shareholders.
However community participation is an important element in the assessment of human health safety and environmental risk as stated in Chapter 17.2.2 of the Sounds Plan. So have drawn on our local knowledge to come up with a section that could be added to your Code of Practice that is Site specific to Port Shakespeare.
We look forward to working together to lobby central govt to bring an end to fumigations in our town. Have gotta say though all it would take is for you guys to say NO fumigations on Port company premises!
Our Sounds Plan states 17.2.3 as its first objective.
“Avoidance or mitigation of adverse effects on the environment and community health presented by the disposal of hazardous substances.”