Doubt cast on test results

The Temuka fisherman who found a mysterious substance washed up on the coast north of Timaru has cast doubts on Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) test results.

Robin Brokenshire found a white, greasy substance on the sand along the coast between the mouths of the Orari and Opihi rivers on November 27.

Of the three samples ECan took on November 28, two came back showing nothing significant, while one looked to contain an oily or fatty substance.

ECan said it would look into how many discharge pipes were in the area, and how far away they were from the site where the substance washed up.

However, Brokenshire said results from an independent tester he sent samples to showed the substance contained 80.1 per cent lac- tose, a sugar found in milk.

‘‘I’m very disappointed in ECan’s response on the hotline. If they’d turned up straight away they would have seen the full extent of the problem on the beach.’’ By the time an ECan officer arrived, which Brokenshire said was about 12 hours after he found the substance, there had been at least one high tide.

Brokenshire suggested the substance came from Fonterra’s Clandeboye dairy factory, though the company denied this. ‘‘Fonterra, I believe, is doing great things for South Canterbury, [it’s a] big employer and it’s helping lots of businesses throughout South Canterbury, but I don’t believe that the environment should suffer,’’ he said.

Brokenshire got a sample of sand with the substance to indus- trial chemist Allan Campbell on Tuesday morning. Testing was done by Dr Nick Wall that night.

Campbell said the results pointed to ‘‘a huge dumping of tens of thousands of litres of waste from a cheese plant’’. He believed it came from Fonterra.

Fonterra media relations manager Philippa Norman said it relied on ECan, the environmental regulator, and its investigators.

Asked about Brokenshire’s comments, she said tests had shown Fonterra wasn’t responsible for the substance. ECan was the authority, and it would determine what the cause of the substance was.

Norman said Clandeboye’s wastewater discharge pipe was not responsible, and ECan was satisfied with checks it had made at the plant as a result of the find.