Asbestos is a naturally occurring minerial which was utilised for it’s durability and fire resistant qualities.  Asbestos is a common feature amongst many commercial and even domestic buildings, in particular those built between the 1930’s and 1970’s,  although use of Asbestos continued through to the middle 1980's.  Common products containing Asbestos (for both commercial and domestic properties) include;

·                    Asphalt roofing material

·                    Building Wall Cladding and cement wallboard

·                    Super Six Roofing

·                    Acoustic Ceiling material

·                    Sprayed on Fire-Proofing Insulation

·                    Water Heater Vent seams

·                    Textured and suspended ceilings

·                    Pipe Lagging (for insulation)

·                    Tile or Lino Flooring adhesives

In New Zealand,  there are three common forms of asbestos found (so named and coloured from the area from which it was mined);

·                    Blue - Crocidolite

·                    Brown - Amosite

·                    White – Chrysotile

Asbestos fibres,  when inhaled, can cause serious scarring to the lung tissues and can be cancerous.  Symptoms for many asbestos related diseases often do not become evident until fifteen to twenty years after exposure. 

If you suspect you have asbestos products in your workplace or commercial property,  we can provide you with an initial on-site assessment, with safe collection of samples,  arrange for testing and if returning a positive result,  safely remove and dispose of asbestos building materials within OSH regulations and guidelines. 

To download a copy of these guidelines in .pdf format,  please click on the link below:  www.osh.govt.nz/order/catalogue/pdf/asbmgmt.pdf

Around the world,  there is a growing awareness and concerns within communities affected by contaiminated materials. 

Although some of these materials may occur naturally within the ecosystem,  many do not,  or are found  in concentrated levels far above what is considered normal for the area.

Many of these contaminates are residues from historial uses of the land,  such as manufacturing and storeage of chemicals. Thier run off into the environment can cause serious,  long term, negative effects on the surrounding communities,  in terms of human,  plant, and animal damage.  This contamination is often not identified until the materials have leached into subground water systems,  which can often take many years to occur.

Nikau works in conjunction with territorial authorities and government bodies for the effective and safe removal of such contaminants and the monitoring process's identifying and tracking such contamination.

Previous contracts have involved the safe cleanup of petroleum hydrocarbons (caused mainly by leaking underground storage tanks) and heavy metals such as cadmium and lead (found in common household batteries) and remediation of these sites.  We have also been involved in the clean up and remediation of timber milling sites,  where preservatives and antisapstain chemicals contaminate soil and leach into groundwater.

Our Clean-Up service is based on, and works in conjunction with, Health and Safety Guidelines on the Cleanup of Contaminated Sites (OSH Publication) and Ministry for the Environment Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sites

Nikau Contractors were pioneers in the identification of, and development of systems to remediate, the largely unknown and unacknowleged problems caused by bird guano (waste). There is combination of serious respiratory diseases that can be transferred from wild birds (such as pigeons) to humans via inhalation.  These diseases include the following;

• Histoplasmosis : very common fungal infection amongst wild birds.  Spread to human by inhalation of its spores found in the bird’s droppings (direct from the droppings or from disturbance of contaminated soil).  Primary result of Histoplasmosis is acute respiratory illness.  Symptoms include fever,  chills,  muscle aches,  cough,  rashes and joint pain or stiffness. 
• Blastomycosis : fungal infection that is spread to humans through inhalation (direct from bird droppings or from disturbance of contaminated soil).  Primary effect is inflamed lesions to the lungs and skin.  The disease subsequently disseminates into the bones,  liver,  spleen and central nervous system.  This disease is often found in conjunction with Histoplasmosis,  Tuberculosis,  Bronchogenic carcinoma or severe pulmonary disease.

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Both diseases are extremely serious with Blastomycosis having NO CURE.