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Green Party spokeswoman Sue Kedgley wants an independent inquiry to see whether New Plymouth residents suffered harmful effects from toxic chemicals produced at a nearby factory in the 1960s.
The Minister of Health, Annette King, has announced the Ministry will take blood tests from about 100 residents, as well as investigate claims that chemicals made at the Ivon Watkins Dow plant in the 1960s were dumped in the area.
Kedgley says while the tests are a step in the right direction they do not go far enough. She says blood tests are a crude way to test for dioxin levels and additional tests will also be needed.
However, she says the decision to take blood tests is a sign the Government is finally recognising there is a serious health problem in New Plymouth
Earlier, the Dioxin Investigation Network called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
Local resident Andrew Gibbs from the Dioxin Investigation Network says the group is pleased that the Ministry is taking some action.
However, he wants a full inquiry as he says there are high levels of serious illness, such as multiple sclerosis, among people who live near the former chemical plant.
"We've got 22 cases of MS when we should have one or two. Surely that's worth looking at," Gibbs says.
He also says people living near the former chemical plant have also developed cancer and children have been born with birth defects.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Annette King gave the go-ahead for her staff to work with the Taranaki District Health Board to review statistics on cancer rates in New Plymouth and to test residents' blood.
This comes despite a Government inquiry in 1986 that found there was no risk.
"Their knowledge in 1986 about 245-T and dioxin was less than they have now," says King. "I don't know what will come out of the blood tests but I've committed myself to them."
However, Gibbs is less charitable.
"We've looked at this problem in 86-87 and the Brinkman inquiry ensured the public there was no evidence that the general population were exposed to dioxin when they knew damn well that the soil levels in that area were elevated," he says.
King says the tests are part of a combined effort with the Taranaki Regional Council and the Ministry for the Environment to find out as much as possible about the site and to allay the fears of residents.
Chemical company Dow AgroSciences, which operated the factory in the 1960s, has welcomed the investigation.
