Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited has been fined $169,000 after firefighting foam banned from use in training exercises was used multiple times at Marsden Point Oil Refinery, with foam ending up in Whangārei Harbour.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) laid seven charges against the company (formerly the New Zealand Refining Company Limited) under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO Act) and a further seven charges under the Resource Management Act.

Channel Infrastructure entered guilty pleas to all 14 charges, which relate to the prohibited use and unauthorised discharge of firefighting foam containing per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on seven separate occasions in May and June 2021.

The company estimated that staff sprayed up to 600 litres of concentrated foam during the training exercises - up to 60,000 litres of liquid (the concentrated foam mixed with water) in total. It’s not known how much then entered Whangārei Harbour.

Whangārei Harbour is valued for its environmental, cultural and economic significance to Northland, and particularly for its kaimoana (seafood) and its role as an important nursery and feeding ground for commercial fish species, as well as being used for commercial vessel navigation and a wide variety of water recreation activities.

In sentencing at the Whangārei District Court, Judge J A Smith observed that the emergency response trailer that was used in the training exercises was only intended to be used for emergency fires. The trailer indicated on it that it contained a fluorine-free foam but in fact it contained the PFAS foam.

He noted that the company had mechanisms in place intended to ensure that the emergency response trailer was not used for training, but the systems did not function as they should have.

Judge Smith found that there was no satisfactory explanation for why the emergency response trailer was used. "Its use on seven occasions for training can only be described as extraordinary," he said.

The EPA’s General Manager of Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement, Gayle Holmes says, "Hazardous chemicals need to be carefully managed, to protect the environment and the people of New Zealand.

"Firefighting foams containing PFAS can cause serious land and water contamination. That’s why there is international agreement on the need to address these ‘forever chemicals’.

"These substances don’t break down - they build up and bioaccumulate over time in living organisms, including in terrestrial and marine mammals.

"Cumulative and long terms effects may seem less tangible in the immediate aftermath of an incident of this nature, but we need to ensure steps are being taken today to prevent these types of longer-term effects simply becoming a problem for future generations.

"The EPA takes failure to meet hazardous substances and resource management requirements very seriously. We hope this case raises awareness of the importance of having robust systems which are fit for purpose and followed when managing hazardous substances."

Firefighting foams that contain PFAS are prohibited from use in training exercises. Further restrictions come into effect from December this year. A complete phase out comes into effect in 2025, after which the use of legacy PFAS firefighting foams will be prohibited in any circumstance.

Find out about restrictions on the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams

Notes to editors:

- PFAS is a large family of manmade chemicals which have been used in many different types of manufacturing since the 1940s, and in foams since the 1960s. PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are members of the PFAS family of chemicals.

- PFAS are persistent organic pollutants (or POPs), that do not readily break down through chemical or biological processes, and can cause harm to the environment and human health.

- PFOA and its related compounds are classified as POPs under the Stockholm Convention, an international agreement to limit the production and use of such chemicals. This update has been reflected in New Zealand’s Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, and in a new decision on the Fire Fighting Chemicals Group Standard.

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