Northland toxic chemical stockpile clean-up to cost $3m, take nine months

Thursday, 21 January 2021

Authorities are cleaning up a Marsden Point site where one million litres of toxic chemicals, paints and solvents have been illegally stored.

The $3 million clean-up of a Northland toxic chemical recycling site is so risky, regular monitoring is needed to test for explosive or flammable air.

About one million litres of toxic chemicals and contaminated water needs to be removed from the site at Marsden Point, Ruakākā.

The site was consented to treat and recycle solvents but industrial chemicals are now illegally stored in damaged, leaking and unmarked containers, contaminating both the land and groundwater.

The Marsden Point site was approved for solvent recycling but now contains about 4000 leaking drums and 500 cubes of unidentified toxic materials.

The nine-month clean-up, which started in November 2020, was ordered by the Environment Court over fears of “catastrophic” explosion or fire, which could endanger lives and major infrastructure like the Marsden Point oil refinery's fuel pipeline to Auckland.

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Simon Weston, Whangārei District Council's general manager - infrastructure, says removing the toxic materials will cost about $3 million, but the cost of remediating the site is still unknown.

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The hazardous site near Marsden Point oil refinery is owned by Sustainable Solvents Group and was operated by Sustainable Solvents and Solvent Services NZ.

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Danny Fitzgerald, engineer's representative for GHD, says the site includes paints, solvents and contaminated water.

Authorities stepped in when the clean-up was not done by the three companies involved – landowner Sustainable Solvents Group, and operators Sustainable Solvents and Solvent Services NZ.

The clean-up costs will be borne by Whangārei District Council, Northland Regional Council, WorkSafe and the Ministry for the Environment, although the district council will try to recover costs from the three companies, said infrastructure general manager Simon Weston.

Fire could have a major impact on the site, and clean-up work is done in a way to best reduce the risk.

The $3m pricetag does not include ensuring the soil and groundwater are free from contaminates, as that will be an extra cost.

Taking ownership of the industrial site will not help much with costs, as it has a Government valuation of just $90,000.

The site is located near the sea, as shown in a photo provided to the Environment Court, and the main fuel pipeline to Auckland runs between the site and the sea.

The clean-up work is being done meticulously, to ensure it is both safe and not passing on a problem to somewhere else.

“All substances, including each container, will be tracked to confirm that they are properly managed and are transported to the correct facility and finally disposed of,” Weston said.

Work had to stop for a media site visit on Thursday and, while there was a strong chemical smell similar to nail polish remover, instruments assured us the air was safe.

The chemicals found on site include paints, chlorinated solvents used in dry-cleaning and non-chlorinated solvents used in printing, said Danny Fitzgerald, of engineering company GHD, which is overseeing the clean-up.

The hazardous waste is being evaluated on site by Auckland-based company InterGroup, which repackages the solvents for safe transport to a correct disposal or recycling facility.

The risk of fire is constantly in mind, said Fitzgerald, even though the likelihood of a fire occurring is considered low.

“We use intrinsically safe tools and equipment, it basically doesn't create sparks,' he said.

Monitoring for explosive or flammable atmospheres is conducted daily, and continually in some cases, while firefighting equipment is carried at all times.

“Around the area, we use vegetation clearance, just to keep grass fires from coming on the site.”

Weston said to help prevent such a situation occurring again, the council has increased its compliance monitors from three to five.

But the council cannot hold back on giving resource consent in areas where hazardous activities, like solvent recycling, are allowed, he said.

“Council provides resource consent for operators of this type. We do have staff that monitor what is going on but really the operators themselves need to operate in a professional way, in accordance with their resource consents….

“Ultimately, if there is a failure, public agencies are often the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.”