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Effective management of hazardous substances throughout their lifecycle is necessary to avoid adverse health effects from either direct exposure or environmental contamination. Community and Public Health's role relates to situations where, not withstanding other agencies' responsibilities, there exists a need to protect public health. Staff provide information and advice to the public on hazardous substances including:
- Asbestos
- Lead and lead poisoning
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Community and Public Health will coordinate testing of suspected asbestos materials. Please be aware there is a cost for this service.
Other agencies with substantial hazardous substances roles and responsibilities under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act include:
- Department of Labour which responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the Act are enforced in any place of work
- Territorial local authorities who are responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the Act are enforced in or on any premises situated in the district of the territorial authority other than those premises specified in s97 HSNO Act as being the responsibility of another agency.
Additional information about hazardous substances and the HSNO legislation is available from the New Zealand Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA).
Documents
 Guidelines for the management of lead-based paint
Safe Management of PCBs: Code of Practice
Downloads - hard copies available from the Community Health Information Centre
All About Asbestos
Removing Asbestos from the Home
Lead and Lead Poisoning
Repainting Lead-based Paint
Links
ERMA
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