Southland District mayor says 'no' gas leaks from paper mill in Mataura

Wednesday, 5 February 2020

Flooding at the paper mill site at Mataura on Wednesday morning. The mill is across the road and to the right.

The Southland District Mayor Gary Tong categorically denies there had been any ammonia leaks at the paper mill in Mataura today.

And, EMS civil defence controller Angus McKay said claims that were was ammonia gas inside the building on Wednesday were 'speculation and rumour'.

Mataura Dross Action Group spokeswoman Laurel Turnbull has called for Government action to remove the ouvea premix at Mataura. (File photo).

A volunteer, who was sand bagging inside the Mataura papermill on Wednesday morning and contacted Stuff, stands by their comment they were driven out by ammonia gas after floodwaters entered the building.

**READ MORE:

Gore District Council chief executive Stephen Parry

* Ouvea premix will still be moved if the Tiwai smelter closes

* Deal under fire as ouvea premix removal discussed at meeting

The Mataura River in flood on Wednesday morning - the river level rose after the video was taken. The building containing ouvea premix is upstream on the right.

* Deal for 1500 tonnes of hazardous substance to be removed from Mataura**

The building has been used to store ouvea premix, which is an oxide residue which is a waste by-product of the aluminium making process at the Tiwai smelter, can produce ammonia when wet.

EMS civil defence controller Angus McKay said: 'We addressed the situation to the best of ability. We have a very large cordon around the paper mill due to the flooding.

'We are aware of the potential risks of the ouvea premix. We've got a wide evacuation zone around the area.'

'There's so much water going down the river that any contaminants that leach into the river will be diluted,' McKay said.

The building it is in is right next to the Mataura River, which has flooded.

EMS said the river had peaked at Mataura but it would stay steady for several hours before it began to drop.

The building flooded in the 1978 floods.

University of Canterbury School of Physical and Chemical Sciences associate professor Sally Gaw and Professor Brett Robinson said the reaction of ouvea with water would slowly produce ammonia gas and aluminium hydroxide, and the heat released by the reaction with water could generate a fire at the plant as well as releasing ammonia gas.

'The actual impacts would depend on how much the ouvea comes into contact with water.'

They said ammonia gas is a serious risk to human health, and impacts on the Mataura River were plausable, and depending on the amount of ouvea coming in contact with the floodwaters, toxic effects could occur downstream as far as the estuary.

Evacuated Mataura residents were told earlier on Wednesday that one of the reasons they were moved from the town was because of the ouvea premix.

And a woman who has always been outspoken about the premix at Mataura says it was time for Government intervention to remove the hazardous substance from their town.

The meeting at the Edendale Christian Activity Centre - one of the sites Mataura evacuees have been sent - was held before midday.

Detective Sergeant Scott Mackenzie, of Gore police told the people gathered that one of the main reasons they had been evacuated from Mataura was due to the ouvea premix.

Gore district council chief executive Steve Parry said on Wednesday morning he couldn't rule out that the ouvea premix being stored in the former paper mill at Mataura was going to be a problem.

'I can't rule it out, we're just doing the best we can.

'We are definitely worried, but we are doing all we can do to make that building as resilient as possible.'

The premix is a class six hazardous substance.

'There are no real measures we can take, we are going to have to react to what unfolds,' he said

The building was in the low-lying area of Mataura, which had been evacuated.

Sort Out The Dross action group spokesperson Laurel Turnbull was evacuated from her home at Mataura on Wednesday but she said she was not told it was because of the premix, and the potential for ammonia gas to engulf the town.

'They have a ticking time bomb in the mill building and they need to get rid of it and stop putting residents at risk.'

She said the deal to remove one truck load a week from the building wasn't good enough, and the council knew exactly what the risk was if the river flooded the building.

'It all needs to go now. We need Government intervention now to get rid of it so that people and the environment aren't at risk.'

The ouvea premix was left in the former paper mill at Mataura and at sites at Awarua, near Invercargill, after Taha Asia Pacific went into liquidation in August 2016, after its contract with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters to process the ouvea premix expired and was not renewed.

Since then, council entered into a contract with Australian-based company Inalco Processing Ltd which would see the removal of 22,000 tonnes of the substance from sites in Mataura and Invercargill during the next six years.

Inalco began removing it from the building in October 2019.

At that time, Parry said the contract ensured the 10,000 tonnes of premix stored at the Mataura paper mill would be moved first.

'This acknowledges the significant risks posed to both the environment and people by having the premix stored next to the Mataura River.'

Funding of $4million has been pledged from all parties involved.

Under the terms of the contract New Zealand Aluminium Smelters contributed $1.75million and the Ministry for the Environment paid $1.25million from its Waste Minimisation Fund.

The landlords contributed contribute $350,000, while the remaining $650,000 would be paid by local councils.

Environment Southland contributed $250,000, with the remaining $400,000 apportioned on a per capita basis between Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council and Gore District Council.

The Invercargill City Council contributed as a landlord and a local authority.