Organochlorines Bulletin 1
July 1995, Ref. INFO 2
This bulletin is intended to inform industry, interest groups, regulatory authorities and the general public about the Ministry’s Organochlorines Programme. Further bulletins will be issued at stages throughout the programme.
Background
The Ministry has initiated a study to address issues associated with the presence of organochlorine substances in the New Zealand environment. This study, the Organochlorines Programme, will be carried out over a three year period. The organochlorine substances that are the focus of this study are the chlorinated dioxins, pentachlorophenol (PCP), chlordane, the chlorinated agricultural insecticides such as DDT and dieldrin, and the PCBs.
- Dioxins are produced as by products of a number of industrial, manufacturing and combustion processes, and were found as contaminants in a range of organochlorine chemicals, including PCP. They are now considered to be ubiquitous contaminants of the environment.
- PCP was used extensively in the timber treatment industry as an anti-sapstain.
- DDT was an insecticide used widely in horticulture and agriculture.
- Dieldrin was used as an agricultural insecticide and along with chlordane was used in the timber manufacturing industry.
- PCBs were used in the electrical supply industry, principally in transformers and capacitors.
Many of these substances do not break down readily in the environment and are known to bioaccumulate through the food chain. This programme will determine the levels in the environment of these contaminants and assess the risk, if any, to people and ecosystems. A management strategy will be developed to deal with waste chemicals, contaminated soils and materials.
In the past decade, organochlorine contaminants and wastes have generated a high level of awareness, both nationally and internationally, within industry, governments and communities. New Zealand’s response to these concerns is to determine the status of these chemicals in our country and to set up procedures to address this and associated problems.
Programme Objectives
The Organochlorines Programme is a major undertaking. To ensure a focused study, five key objectives have been defined:
- To assess organochlorine levels:
- to determine the level of key organochlorine contaminants within New Zealand ecosystems and to assess their significance in terms of environmental impacts; and,
- to determine where practicable, the level of key organochlorine contaminants within the New Zealand human population and food products, and to assess their significance in terms of human health.
- To estimate the extent of chemical holdings; and to identify potential sources and continuing emissions of dioxins and other key organochlorines. Work on this objective will run concurrently with objective 1.
- To develop environmental standards for key organochlorine contaminants in air, soil and water. Work on this objective will take place during the final 18 months of the study.
- To identify further requirements to develop an integrated management strategy for organochlorines in New Zealand. Work on this objective will occur during the last 12 months of the programme.
- To evaluate selected technologies for the destruction of organochlorine wastes. The evaluation will cover pilot trials to obtain performance information and to identify Resource Management Act consent requirements. This objective will be ongoing throughout the duration of the Organochlorines Programme.
Management of the Process
The Ministry for the Environment will carry out the Organochlorines Programme in an open consultative manner with the purpose of achieving consensus among interested parties. A small Consultative Group will be established to provide guidance for the Organochlorines Programme. It is expected that the Consultative Group will include representatives from industry, public interest groups, regulatory authorities and central government, and will be assisted by technical specialists. The members of the Consultative Group should reflect the interests and viewpoints of the groups they represent. All members will be expected to provide both input to the Organochlorines Programme and feedback to their respective groups.
Programme Outcomes
Upon completion of the Organochlorinesd Programme, a number of well defined yet interdependent outcomes will have been achieved. These outcomes have been summarised into three key areas and are as follows:
Status of Organochlorines in New Zealand
- Data on the extent of organochlorine contamination of New Zealand ecosystems will have been collected and an assessment made of the relative contributions from historical and current day emissions. This, together with an evaluation of human exposure, will enable the level of contamination of the New Zealand environment to be seen in an international context.
National Environmental Standards and Management
- National environmental standards for the key organochlorines in air, soil and water will have been developed. These will include clean up criteria for contaminated sites as well as environmental standards for resource consents involving these substances.
- The key elements necessary for the development of a management strategy to reduce environmental risks associated with organochlorines will have been identified.
Disposal Technologies
Performance criteria to identify which technologies are publicly acceptable and will achieve the required destruction of organochlorine waste will have been established. Technical trials of some technologies will have been undertaken; from this, any emissions and waste products will have been identified and Resource Management Act consent requirements will be known.
Programme Information
In addition to consulting interested parties, an information programme will be designed to keep the general public up to date with key developments of the Organochlorines Programme.
