108030 years' hence

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 653, 10 September 1996, Page 4

108030 years' hence

• Remember the Vietnam war, the B52's and the widespread, indiscriminate use of the herbicide 'Agent Orange'. The effects of such ridiculous policy are widespread and ill-health and death has been the result for thousands of people exposed to this mass chemical poisoning. Thirty-odd years later and there is much well-docu-mented evidence to substantiate the claims that the chemical concoctions used to defoliate the vegetation have caused untold suffering to those so unknowingly exposed to it. Now in 1996 we're allowing the same crazy scenario to happen in the Waimarino. Mass chemical poisoning in the form of aerial and ground distribution of the poison 1080 is just totally absurd, it's unjust, unwise, unethical and just down right crazy. Any poison that kills more than once should be outlawed because it is too indiscriminate and the user looses the control of it. There are a number of areas where the environmental impacts of 1 080 have not been fully researched. These are: □ The sublethal effects on humans, birds, animals and other species, especially reproductive effects; Q The impact on populations at high risk - native bird species especially kiwi, kaka, kea, saddleback, kokako and the short-tailed bat; □ The impact on other introduced bird species, inverte-

brates, fungi, reptiles, amphibians and plants; □ The impact on the overall ecosystem health on insect communities and micro-organisms lacking the ability to detoxify 1080; □ Absorption of 1080 by plants and the subsequent risk to insects, birds and grazing animals; □ The breakdown of 1080 under unfavourable climatic conditions. These data gaps cause a real concem given the unstable history of the scientific community for experimenting on such a large scale whilst reassuring the public that they have all the answers. They have not. Deceit, negligence, corruption, greed, death and maiming are the manifestations of this unscrupulous toxic campaign and I just wonder what people will be saying in another 30 years.

Garry

Kristiansen