Nearly 700 former sawmill workers have been enrolled in the Ministry of Health's Special Support Service for Former Sawmill Workers Exposed to PCP.
The ministry's environmental and border health, clinical leadership, protection and regulation manager Sally Gilbert said the special support service was for former sawmill workers who had been exposed to pentachlorophenol (PCP) and other hazardous substances at sawmills throughout New Zealand from the 1950s to the 1980s.
''The service aims to help people stay healthy by supporting the early detection of diseases, promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing modifiable risk factors,'' Ms Gilbert said. She said the service advertised each year, including in Southern Rural Life and the The Ensign, and had received more than 70 inquiries as a result of the latest round of advertising.
''There are 697 in total enrolled in the special support service and, of those, there are 145 people from across the whole South Island and 27 people recorded as living within the Southern DHB region.''
She said between the 1950s and the 1980s, PCP was used in the sawmill industry as an anti-sapstain agent and a preservative.
''Long-term health effects that have been associated with historical exposure to PCP include non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, some neurological and neuropsychological effects, respiratory effects, possible liver effects, dermatological effects, and some issues with fever.
''There is no published, peer-reviewed evidence to suggest that chronic exposure to PCP is genotoxic or that it damages DNA.
''There are no effective treatments that can remove dioxins from the body.
''However, PCP will already have been removed by natural biochemical processes,'' Ms Gilbert said.
Further information is available on www.health.govt.nz and search for sawmill.