Safety first as tonnes of material removed from tip
Asbestos has been found among the 320 tonnes of material so far removed from an old tip site in western Southland, but explosives have yet to be detected.
Residents of Bluecliffs, which has 18 houses and cribs, were last weekend evacuated from their homes, near the historic tip, so its contents could be extracted over a three week period.
Local residents have told authorities explosive materials may be in the tip, which is in danger of falling into the sea due to coastal erosion gnawing at the bank it sits on.
The Government gave $1.35m to Southland councils to clean up the contaminated tip site, with work starting on Tuesday after strong winds prevented a start on Monday.
Emergency Management Southland controller Paul le Roux said an explosives expert was monitoring the job which was being done by Fulton Hogan staff.
“The site is under constant surveillance by an explosives expert as material is carefully assessed and removed.
“Approximately 320 tonnes has been removed. So far no explosives have been discovered, however asbestos is present and being separated by specialists.”
As of yesterday afternoon, the majority of material removed from the tip was household rubbish which was being sent to the AB Lime landfill at Kings Bend, near Winton.
The separated asbestos was being wrapped and would be removed to a specialist site capable of handling the material, Le Roux said.
It was unclear how many tonnes of material were still in the tip, but it may take three weeks to clear it out.
Southland District Mayor Rob Scott said a camera had been set up on-site as a safety precaution, monitoring in real time what the large digger was doing.
The digger had a long reach and a cab, and the site had been set up to protect the workers as much as possible.
Scott said a total of 500 tonnes of material had now been removed from the tip – the 320 tonnes so far this week plus another 180 tonnes in September, prior to work being halted when authorities were made aware explosives may be present.
The tip is not the only focus at Bluecliffs, which has been under a local state of emergency since February 8.
The houses and cribs in the village were in danger of falling into the sea due to the coastal erosion, largely as a result of ocean waves whipping through the Waiau River mouth near the village at high tide and in rough conditions.
Authorities have had one crack, albeit unsuccessful, at digging out a new Waiau River mouth several hundred metres away from the homes to halt the erosion.
Authorities copped flak for that effort, but a second attempt may be made.