In New Zealand, the issue of potential contamination on timber treatment sites arose in the late 80's due to the long history of use of PCP by the industry. One of the recommendations from the task group set up to investigate the issue was the development of a set of acceptance criteria to define trigger levels for remediation. A technical group from the government, industry and regional councils supported by experienced environmental consultants was formed by the Ministry for the Environment to prepare the criteria. Guidelines for soil and landfill criteria were drafted covering the commonly used preservative products based primarily on human health risk exposure. Guidelines were also developed for specific beneficial uses where other risk exposures may dominant. The guidelines have been peer reviewed and issued in draft form for public comment. Several benefits have flowed from this process namely, a relatively short timeframe, low cost, multiple party ownership, practicality of application and ease of administration.

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