1080 Poison Dropped Directly into Auckland's Water Supply - Flight Chart

The Graf Boys

In August and September 2015, Auckland Council aerially spread 40,000 kilos of 1080 poison bait across 21,000 hectares of Auckland's water catchment, the Hunua Ranges.

The toxin flight chart for the Hunua operation, which was released by Auckland Council under the Official Information Act, shows that all streams within the drop boundaries, and that feed into the four Auckland dams, had 1080 poison dropped directly into them.

The deadly pesticide 1080, rated by WHO as A1 (their highest rating), was targeted at possums, rats, pigs and deer, but also kills insects and birds. Anything that consumes a lethal dose and breathes air, dies. There is no antidote.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service set conditions "to protect human health", and also helped with the "drinking water monitoring plan", stated Auckland Council in a project document. However, it's sobering to note that in 2008 the Ministry of Health stated "To date there are no known epidemiological studies that have been carried out in relation to 1080 and potential adverse health effects on humans." It's now 2016, and still no studies on chronic impacts have been done, but the areas the poison is being dropped into our environment continues to increase.

Auckland Council also stated that seven local iwi were consulted and apparently agreed to permit the drop, which distributed enough 1080 poison to kill over 380,000 people.

Local resident Penelope Young, whose dog Lulu was poisoned after consuming part of a possum carcass, says she was told the poison wouldn't be dropped anywhere near the streams or waterways. "I'm a nurse, my husband's an anesthetist, we're concerned about the possible effects from 1080 in our drinking water. We're aware that it can be an endocrine disrupter at parts per trillion, and that Watercare tested at parts per billion. Where's the research to say that it doesn't affect us, it doesn't hurt us, it doesn't have any impact on our health? I'd like to know where that research is, we're worried."

Watercare undertook rigorous water testing following the drop. It states its samples came back clear. However, water testing often returns negative results after aerial operations. The negative results are not as a result of the poison not being dropped directly into water, because it always is (as is revealed by the toxin flight charts). The negative results are achieved in most cases because the testing is delayed, and undertaken to prove the absence of the poison not the presence. Most often the samples are taken 24 hours or more after the operation. Landcare Research protocol states that samples should be taken within 8 hours of the drop, which is before the poison has been up-taken by aquatic life or passed through the water column and been diluted in bigger water bodies. Negative water sample results are often used to mislead the public, and demonstrate poor protocols and methodology, or incompetence in testing.

The Auckland Council also stated in its pacifying document that it used "highly accurate GPS application technology to apply bait". The truth is that that GPS technology was used to ensure every stream and watercourse within the drop boundaries was spread with 1080 poison. To view the short video clip of the Hunua poison drop, flight-chart, and independent researches messages copy and paste this link to your browser ... https://youtu.be/YKB1q5JDNvY

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