Napier residents concerned about dust storms at subdivision: ‘Just like the Sahara’

However, Napier City Council says the dust is a result of topsoil and not cyclone-related silt.

Hundreds of existing homes are located near the council-owned development site to expand Parklands Residential Estate, and Shaw said this was the worst he had ever seen in terms of dust blowing onto nearby homes.

“It looked like the Sahara, but instead of sand it was silt,” he claimed.

Shaw said he was concerned about the health effects of local residents who might inhale sludge dust, including the potential of silicosis.

He said it appeared no workers were around Friday morning to water the ground, which they usually did to soften the dust.

He suspected that this had to do with the fact that it was a holiday. Napier City Council did not comment on whether that was correct.

“We want to provide water 24/7. When it is dry, we want it to be watered to keep the dust down,” Shaw said.

A water tanker was on site on Friday afternoon and Shaw said the site had been well watered and managed since then.

Napier City Council is behind the Parklands area four subdivision project and owns the land near the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union headquarters.

Napier City Council commercial director Richard Munneke said a lot of work had gone into reducing dust.

“The dust found last weekend was not silt, but topsoil spread for grass seeding, a process that started this week,” he said.

“We do, among other things, sowing grass, installing sprinklers and installing a new pump to achieve faster turnaround times for the water trucks.”

Another Parklands resident, Bill White, said he expected the groundworks to continue for a few more months and more to be done to alleviate the dust.

He said the use of sprinklers would be a welcome step to complement the water tankers.

He said cyclone sludge was “definitely an issue” in terms of safety, and that he generally kept his windows and doors closed due to the ongoing work.

Earlier this year, a study was released by a government agency Environmental Science and Research (ESR), which found that there was a low health risk from Cyclone Gabrielle’s sludge.

“ESR’s research found that the likelihood of long-term public health impacts from exposure to sludge and dust is considered low,” the study found.

“Communities concerned about crystalline silica in sludge and the risk of silicosis can be reassured that sludge contains no more crystalline silica than normal garden soil and less than most beach sand.”

Peter Almond, associate professor at the University of Lincoln, from the department of soil and natural sciences, said this Hawke’s Bay today Cyclone sludge can pose a health risk if released into the air and inhaled.

He said the way to limit that risk was to keep the sludge wet or covered so it didn’t blow around like dust.

“It is dominated by silica and can cause silicosis,” he said earlier this year.

“When people breathe it into their lungs, it sticks there and causes irritation and … it can cause lung and breathing problems. It’s not benign stuff.”

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay reporter covering a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He previously worked at News Corp Australia.