For many years the Fruitgrowers’ Chemical Company (FCC) at Mapua was known as New Zealand’s most contaminated site.
For many years the Fruitgrowers’ Chemical Company (FCC) at Mapua was known as New Zealand’s most contaminated site.
The Ministry for the Environment took over the remediation of the site in 2004, the first time a New Zealand government entity had become the owner of a remediation project.
The clean up posed significant challenges, including the amount of contamination and the site’s location sandwiched between a residential area and a sensitive marine ecosystem. Many lessons have been learnt from this clean up, both by the Ministry and New Zealand as a whole.
The Ministry has published this history of FCC and the clean up to make good a promise to the community to tell their story and that of the site clean up, so they are not forgotten.