Auckland City Council acts to remove suspect chemicals in pre-school's soil
{{date|April 1, 2006}}
{{New Zealand}}
Chemicals, which the Auckland City Council said are a suspected cause of cancer and are considered toxic, have been found in soil at a children's playcentre in [[w:Auckland|Auckland]]. The contamination was found at the Auckland Central Playcentre in [[w:Freemans_Bay|Freemans Bay]], and the Council will now spend $100,000 removing the top 50 [[w:Centimetre|cm]] (about 20 [[w:Inch|in]]) of soil at the playcentre, doing landscaping and replacing playground equipment.

The presence of "[[w:Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon|polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]], including [[w:Benzo%28a%29pyrene|benzo-a-pyrene]]," was suspected at the school playground and was confirmed by a chemical analysis on Tuesday. The chemicals may cause temporary digestive and respiratory distress, as well as irritation of the eyes and skin. The levels of benzo-a-pyrene found were between 0.06 and 4.82 milligrams per kilogram of soil at surface level, according to the Ministry of Education. A potential risk is present at levels above 3.5 mg.

==Sources==
*{{source
|title=New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz: Cancer-causing chemical found in soil at pre-school
|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3623911a10,00.html
|author=
|pub=stuff.co.nz
|date=April 1, 2006}}
*{{source
|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200604011202/342dc245
|title=Radio New Zealand - Toxic soil alert at playcentre in Freeman's Bay
|author=
|pub=Radio New Zealand
|date=April 1, 2006}}

[[category:New Zealand]]
[[category:Health]]
[[Category:Oceania]]
[[Category:Environment]]
[[Category:Auckland]]

{{Publish}}
{{Archive-unreviewed}}
Chemicals, which the Auckland City Council said are a suspected cause of cancer and are considered toxic, have been found in soil at a children's playcentre in Auckland. The contamination was found at the Auckland Central Playcentre in Freemans Bay, and the Council will now spend $100,000 removing the top 50 cm (about 20 in) of soil at the playcentre, doing landscaping and replacing playground equipment.

The presence of "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including benzo-a-pyrene," was suspected at the school playground and was confirmed by a chemical analysis on Tuesday. The chemicals may cause temporary digestive and respiratory distress, as well as irritation of the eyes and skin. The levels of benzo-a-pyrene found were between 0.06 and 4.82 milligrams per kilogram of soil at surface level, according to the Ministry of Education. A potential risk is present at levels above 3.5 mg.

category:New Zealand
category:Health
Oceania Environment Auckland