12 June 2026
Ref: OIA 26098
Kay Robson-Thomas
[FYI request #34694 email]
Tēnā koe Kay
I refer to your request for official information received on 13 May 2026:
One. Where New Zealand is currently sourcing technical grade sodium fluoroacetate
following the fire at Tull Chemical Company in Oxford Alabama in October 2024 and
whether there have been any supply disruptions to the 1080 programme as a result?
Two. Whether Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research or any other accredited
laboratory tests for 1080 breakdown products including fluorocitrate in water samples
collected following aerial 1080 operations and if not why not?
Three. The basis for the provisional Maximum Acceptable Value of 3.5 micrograms per
litre for 1080 in New Zealand drinking water including what toxicological studies or
international guidance it was derived from?
Four. Whether there is any systematic monitoring of 1080 in private bore water in
areas subject to repeated 1080 operations over time and if not what the rationale is for
excluding private bores from the monitoring programme?
Five. A copy of any review of the 1080 drinking water MAV that has been conducted
since it was set and whether any review is planned in light of the absence of a WHO
guideline value.
On 29 May the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) extended the date to make a
decision on your request to 25 June 2025, to allow for consultation with other agencies to
take place.
As you are aware, parts of your request have been transferred under section 14(b)(i) of the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), as the EPA does not hold the relevant information:
• Question One (sourcing of technical grade sodium fluoroacetate): WorkSafe New
Zealand
• Question Two (testing for 1080 breakdown products): Manaaki Whenua – Landcare
Research
• Question Three (drinking water standards) and part of Question Five (review of the
1080 drinking water MAV prior to 2021): Ministry of Health (MoH)
• Part of Question Five (reviews of drinking water standards since 2021): Water
Services Authority – Taumata Arowai
These agencies are better placed to respond to those aspects of your request.
The former Environmental Risk Management Authority reassessed sodium fluoroacetate
(1080) in 2007 (under the HSNO application number HRE05002). Information regarding
water monitoring following 1080 operations, as part of the 1080 reassessment, is publicly
available on the EPA website:
HSNO Application register - HRE05002 Appendix E includes a review of monitoring of environmental mediums following 1080
operations, and its water-quality section summarises published monitoring data for aerial
1080 operations. That monitoring included a mix of streams, surface water, groundwater, and
some treated water supplies.
Appendix E also records that requirements for water quality monitoring were specified in
conditions applied to permissions by the MoH. Therefore, we recommend contacting the
MoH regarding monitoring requirements applied to permissions for operations involving
1080. Regional councils may also require site-specific monitoring via resource consents. We
recommend contacting the relevant regional council if you have queries regarding monitoring
of 1080 in water at a specific site/s.
The EPA does support regional councils and territorial authorities in four-yearly sampling of
ground water, but does not itself regulate or undertake operational monitoring of private bore
water. Therefore, the part of your request relating to systematic monitoring of 1080 in private
bore water is refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, because the information requested is
not held by the EPA and we have no reason to believe it is either held by or is more closely
related to the functions of another agency.
Although the EPA does not hold specific information on monitoring of private bore water,
relevant background information is available from the 2007 reassessment. The
reassessment includes a detailed evaluation of human health risks, particularly indirect
exposure through drinking water, and draws extensively on monitoring data for surface water
and drinking water supplies. However, the documents do not include any monitoring
requirements of 1080 in private bore water in areas subject to repeated 1080 operations over
time, nor do they explicitly discuss the exclusion of private bores from a monitoring
programme.
I hope this information is helpful. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by
the Ombudsman of this decision under section 28(3) of the OIA. You can contact the
Ombudsman on 0800 802 602, or by email at [email address]
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us via
[email address]
We may publish your request and our response on our websi
te, www.epa.govt.nz. We make
OIA responses available so others can read more about the work we do and the questions
we are asked. Any information that might identify you wil be removed to protect your privacy.
Nāku noa nā
Fernando Torres-Vélez
General Manager, Hazardous Substances and New Organisms
