21 July 2016 – Author: Georgia Forrester – Source: stuff.co.nz
The testing for methamphetamine in Manawatu homes has doubled for at least one agency in the past two years.
NZ House Surveys has seen requests for inspections spike amid growing awareness and concern for illnesses related the manufacture of the drug. .
Founder Jeff Twigge said more than 100 houses had been tested in Manawatu so far this year, already surpassing the total number of homes checked in 2015.
He said the number of people wanting tests spiked after the Fair Go television programme reported bank notes testing positive for methamphetamine, a class A drug.
“It’s remarkable actually how much the numbers have increased. We average about six properties testing positive a month.”
Twigge said most houses tested by the agency were rental properties.
Of homes tested this year, 18.8 per cent were returning positive results. This is slightly up on 2015, when 17.8 per cent were found to be contaminated.
REINZ Manawatu spokesman Andy Stewart said more people wanting tests completed out of concerns for their family’s health and the value of their homes.
“People are basically concerned about the value of their homes falling after realising it’s contaminated. Even after going through the decontamination process, there’s a stigma there that can affect the value.
“They’re also concerned about the health effects of living in a home that’s contaminated with P. If you’ve got a family then you’re going to be thinking about your children.”
Palmerston North City Safety co-ordinator Alane Nilsen said she had seen an increase in people wanting their houses tested and asking questions about the class A drug.
“I do get a lot of inquiries from people who have just bought a home or are renting a new home and are wanting to make sure it’s not P contaminated.”
She said renters in particular had shown concern about moving into a home with high levels of contamination.
She said more people were aware of P contamination following media coverage and conversations taking place.
Massey University senior lecturer and toxicologist Nick Kim from the School of Public Health said the use of methamphetamine was “certainly a problem” in New Zealand.
He said while smoking P in a property and handling money could leave traces of the drug, these instances were at the “low end” of the scale and there were minimal health risks associated with it, in comparison to “high end” P labs.
“People are worried about it, if you’ve been told that your house is contaminated then your world will fall apart. It’s a little bit like saying your house is full of asbestos, you don’t know too much about it but it sounds scary.
“My view is that in reality I think the industry has gone a bit overboard.”
A Housing New Zealand spokesperson said the number of state housing drug tests nationally had increased.
In Palmerston North, nine state houses tested positive in 2015.
In Manawatu, Taranaki and Wairarapa regions the number of state houses testing positive spiked from three in 2013/2014, to 45 in 2014/2015 and 63 in 2015/2016.
The spokesperson said there was increased awareness by staff of what to look for, such as signs of cooking P and use. There was also increased collaboration across agencies and raised awareness of the issue in New Zealand.
