Docusign Envelope ID: 86F3CE8C-C551-4F98-9702-05ED9739AA9D
New Zealand Institute
for Public Health and
Forensic Science
22 January 2026
By ema
il: [FYI request #32934 email]
Dear Mike
Official Information Request for Information Regarding Meth Contamination Reports for HUD
I refer to your official information request received by the New Zealand Institute for Public Health
and Forensic Science Limited (‘PHF Science’) dated Thursday 20 November 2025 for the following
information:
“ESR were commissioned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to produce
the following reports:
• December 2020: Methamphetamine Contamination in Residential Environments: Analysis of
Evidence Related to Human Health Effects
• July 2022: Methamphetamine Contamination in Residential Environments: Limits for
Contamination
I request the following information relating to the preparation, peer review, consultation, and
development of these reports.
________________________________________
1. – Basis for Determining “Insufficient Information on Adverse Health Effects”
Page 21 of the 2022 report states:
“There is insufficient information on adverse health effects following third-hand exposure to
methamphetamine residues.”
1. Please provide all information held by ESR that informed or supported this conclusion,
including (but not limited to):
o scientific literature, reviews, or datasets
o internal ESR analysis, briefing notes, draft assessments, working papers
o internal emails or discussions by ESR scientists
o external consultation or correspondence with HUD, contractors, experts, or peer reviewers
o any caveats, limitations, or methodological notes relating to this conclusion.
________________________________________
2. – Correspondence Between ESR and HUD
2. Please provide all correspondence between ESR and HUD relating to the 2020 and 2022
methamphetamine reports, including:
o emails, letters, meeting invitations
o meeting notes, minutes, agendas, or summaries
o draft reports supplied to HUD and feedback received
o instructions, scope changes, or policy direction provided by HUD at any stage.
________________________________________
3. – Correspondence With Dr Jeff Fowles / Tox-Logic
3. Please provide all correspondence between ESR and Dr Jeff Fowles and ESR and Tox-Logic
regarding both the 2020 or 2022 reports.
This includes correspondence with any company, consultancy, or entity associated with Dr Fowles
New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science Limited
Kenepuru Science Centre: 34 Kenepuru Drive, Kenepuru, Porirua 5022 | PO Box 50348, Porirua 5240, New Zealand
www.phfscience.nz T: +64 4 914 0700
Docusign Envelope ID: 86F3CE8C-C551-4F98-9702-05ED9739AA9D
(e.g., Tox-Logic Consulting).
Additionally, please provide:
o the details and amounts of any payments, contracts, subcontracts, or reimbursements made
to Dr Fowles or associated entities
o any conflict-of-interest declarations, procurement documents, or engagement justifications
held by ESR.
________________________________________
4. – Contributors and Advisory Input
4. Please provide the qualifications, CVs (or equivalent bios), and roles of all ESR staff,
contractors, external experts, and peer reviewers who contributed to, or provided advice during the
preparation of, the 2020 and 2022 reports.
This includes:
o internal scientific staff
o external subject-matter experts
o reviewers or contributors consulted by ESR
o any individuals whose input shaped the conclusions, thresholds, or health-risk
interpretations.
Where CVs cannot be released in full, please provide:
• highest qualification(s),
• relevant scientific discipline,
• position held at the time, and
• a summary of relevant expertise.
________________________________________”
Following on from receiving your request, part 2 of your request was subsequently transferred to
HUD on 4 December 2025. As per our previous letter, you will hear from HUD regarding part 2 of
your request.
On 18 December 2025, PHF Science notified you via email of an extension of the time to make our
decision to Thursday 22 January 2026.
Our Response:
1. Basis for Determining “Insufficient Information on Adverse Health Effects”
Page 21 of the 2022 report states: “There is insufficient information on adverse health effects
following third-hand exposure to methamphetamine residues.” Please provide all information
held by ESR that informed or supported this conclusion
Attached is the scientific literature which informed or supported the above-mentioned
conclusion. These articles are contained in a zip file named ‘Mike Holt – Scientific Literature’ and
are titled as follows:
‘Burgess 1996 Skin Irritation’
‘Cooper 200’
‘Ross 2012’
‘Thrasher 2009’
‘Witter 2007’
‘Wright 2016’
‘Wright 2017’
‘Wright 2020’
Docusign Envelope ID: 86F3CE8C-C551-4F98-9702-05ED9739AA9D
As the report referred to in the request has only 15 pages, it has been assumed by PHF Science
that you are referring to the comment found on page 13. The conclusion for the statement, “There
is insufficient information on adverse health effects following third-hand exposure to
methamphetamine residues”, is informed by the earlier ESR (2020) report, specifically section 4.1
(page 27) of the 2020 report.
In relation to the comment “
There is insufficient information on adverse health effects following
third-hand exposure to methamphetamine residues”, there are no internal ESR analyses, briefing
notes, draft assessments, or working papers related to the discussion in the 2020 report or the
conclusion in the 2022 report.
In relation to the comment “
There is insufficient information on adverse health effects following
third-hand exposure to methamphetamine residues”, there are no internal emails or discussions
by ESR scientists related to the discussion in the 2020 report or the conclusion in the 2022 report.
Internal emails or discussions by external consultation or correspondence with HUD, contractors,
experts or peer reviewers have been collated in the
attached documents titled:
‘Mike Holt – Basis for Determining – Emails.’
‘Response to Peer Review Comments Dec 2000’
Please note that contact details have been redacted and withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the
Official Information Act 1982 (‘the Act’) which states that “good reason for withholding official
information exists…to protect the privacy of natural persons.”
Any caveats, limitations, or methodological considerations relevant to this conclusion are
confined to those documented in the 2020 report.
3. Please provide all correspondence between ESR and Dr Jeff Fowles and ESR and Tox-Logic
regarding both the 2020 or 2022 reports.
All correspondence between ESR and Dr Jeff Fowles regarding both the 2020 or 2022 reports have
been collated in the
attached document titled:
‘Mike Holt – ESR and Dr Jeff Fowles Emails.’
Please note that contact details have been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act which states
that “good reason for withholding official information exists…to protect the privacy of natural
persons”.
Details relating to pricing have been redacted and withheld under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act
which states “good reason for withholding official information exists…to protect information where
the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial
position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information;”.
4. Please provide the qualifications, CVs (or equivalent bios), and roles of all ESR staff,
contractors, external experts, and peer reviewers who contributed to, or provided advice
during the preparation of, the 2020 and 2022 reports.
The CVs and roles for ESR staff who contributed to or provided advice during the preparation of the
2020 and 2022 reports have been collated in the
attached documents titled:
‘Mike Holt – ESR Staff CVs.’
Docusign Envelope ID: 86F3CE8C-C551-4F98-9702-05ED9739AA9D
Please note that some details have been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act which states that
“good reason for withholding official information exists…to protect the privacy of natural persons”.
Details of client reports, as seen in the ‘other forms of dissemination’ sections of staff CVs, have
been redacted and withheld under section 9(2)(i) of the Act which states “good reason for
withholding official information exists…to enable a Minister of the Crown or any public service
agency or organisation holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage,
commercial activities;”.
PHF Science is unable to provide qualifications, CVs (or equivalent bios) of contractors, external
experts, and peer reviewers as this information is not held. Under section 18(e) of the Act, part of a
request may be refused if “the document alleged to contain the information requested does not
exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found”. As per the Ombudsman’s Guide,
PHF Science is obliged to collate information already held but there is no obligation to create
information in order to respond to a request.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely,
John McCarthy
Group Leader Health Surveillance
