Flavell Te Ururoa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:632;Page:3990] 
11.  
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What resourcing if any has been made available from Vote Health to former sawmill workers in Whakatane who have raised concerns about the numbers of deaths and ill health resulting from chemical poisoning? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) 
: 
 I thank the member for his interest. There has been quite a lot of resourcing. The member will be aware that the full range of primary and secondary services are available to this group and that in addition the Bay of Plenty medical officer of health takes a special interest in ensuring that all services are able to be readily accessed and that local general practitioners are kept up to date on health issues that may emerge from within the former mill workforce. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Kua rongo ia mo te rapunga korero o te tau 2001 i ki nei na te pentachlorophenol tata atu ki te 30 orau o nga kaimahi 62 o te mira kani rakau i mauiui a he aha hoki te take kei te tirohia ano nga morehu kaimahi o taua 62 i runga i te ahua kei te mohiotia he aha i mauiui ai? 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Is he aware of the medical study conducted in 2001 of 62 former sawmill workers that found that pentachlorophenol was the probable cause of health problems in about a third of cases; if so why are the survivors of the original 62 being forced to go through yet another series of tests to confirm what is already known? 
] 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I think the member is making the point that this is an issue greater than dioxin—that it includes pentachlorophenol and indeed a range of other organic chlorines as well. I agree with him that there is a mix in there. The member asks why we are going through further experimentation and research. The answer is that this is an issue for which there is no settled science and we need to try to get some. 
Judy Turner 
: Can the Minister explain then what results or amelioration have come out of the medical study carried out on the 62 sawmill workers in 2001 which found that pentachlorophenol was the probable cause of one-third of health problems amongst workers in this industry? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I am afraid that it is not as easy as we would like it to be to link a particular chemical to a particular condition in a particular population; it just is not. So the Government is continuing to explore relationships as far as it is able with research as far as it can do it. But the most important thing is of course to look carefully after the health of those people who have been or who may have been exposed in a damaging way to a range of chemicals in an earlier time. 
Judy Turner 
: Will the Minister consider compensating first-generation sufferers of dioxin poisoning even if all the research into its effects has not yet been completed in light of the fact that many sufferers will be dead by the time the research is completed? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The Government’s approach has been to meet with to talk with and to provide services as necessary and appropriate to this workforce. We do realise there is a high chance that they are damaged as the result of earlier chemical exposures. It cannot be proved and it cannot be disproved but it is clear that as a population they suffer serious health issues that they should be receiving ongoing special care for and we hope to deliver it. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: I runga i te ahua o te whakapapa o te paitini dioxin ara he orite ki nga aria kino o te Hanga Arani he aha te take kaore i te tirohia i tenei wa mena kua pa te mate ki nga uri tamariki mokopuna hoki o nga kaimahi tawhito o te mira kani rakau i Whakatane? 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
In light of the genetic aspects of dioxin poison—similar to the effects of Agent Orange—why are the children and the mokopuna of the former sawmill workers of Whakatane not being tested in current studies to determine whether their health has been negatively affected? 
] 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I do not have a detailed answer available for the member I am sorry. My recollection—and I am afraid that we will have to go on that—is that there is research under way on DNA disruption. I think it is coming out of Massey University. That should help us understand whether there is a generational issue of consequence.