Source: Greenpeace
Greenpeace is welcoming a report from the Human Rights Commission into the human rights implications of the use of PCP in New Zealand and is calling for the Government to implement the recommendations of the report.
PCP (pentachlorophenol) is a highly toxic chemical that was used on a very large scale in New Zealand for decades, particularly in sawmills for timber preservation. PCPs cause a range of very serious health effects on people, and are ecotoxic. They are a persistent organic pollutant which bioaccumulates in the fatty tissues of humans and other animals.
“The widespread use of PCP has left behind a legacy of death and disease for those who worked in the mills, and their families, a high proportion of whom are Māori,” says Dr. Russel Norman, Greenpeace Aotearoa Executive Director.
“Their human rights were breached by the companies that exposed them to the poison, and they were breached by governments that delayed action to stop it.
“It has also left a legacy of hundreds or even thousands of contaminated sites which continue to pose a risk to people and the environment.
“Community advocacy, including Greenpeace, managed to get PCP banned. But the legacy of government-endorsed corporate poisoning still lives with us today.
“We need to learn the lessons of PCP. We must take a precautionary approach to novel chemicals. The current Government’s recent decision to de-regulate the approval of agrichemicals opens the door to another PCP disaster.
Commission Recommendations:
- 1. National inquiry into PCP contamination
- 2. Support and compensation for affected workers and whānau
- 3. Environmental risk assessments and site testing
- 4. National remediation fund
- 5. Regulatory reform and corporate accountability
Greenpeace campaigned against organochlorines including PCP throughout the 1990s and 2000s. This long campaign included multiple publications, such as “The Deadly Legacy”, by Gordon Jackman in 1992, and tours by the Rainbow Warrior and multiple civil disobedience activities. Civil disobedience was essential to get the Government to act.