As a young man Brian Zimmerman worked at one of New
Plymouth’s largest and most controversial industrial sites – now the
62-year-old lives less than 100 metres away and can’t wait to see it close.
On Tuesday Corteva announced it was closing its crop protection
manufacturing operations in New Plymouth.
Manufacturing at the Paritutu facility would stop over the
next six to 12 months. The decision impacts 35 employees.
In a media statement the company said there was no decision
on how the site and land would be used in the future, but it would work closely
with local authorities to ensure the appropriate management of the site.
The decision could bring an end to chemical manufacturing at
the site, which has been an industrial facility for decades.
Between 1962 and 1987, the site was used by Ivon Watkins,
later Ivon Watkins Dow, which made most of the herbicide 2,4,5-T used in New
Zealand.
A byproduct of 2,4,5-T is dioxin, a known cause of cancer.
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