Toxic foam: Officials underplaying risks - US expert

An American expert in public health says New Zealand officials are deliberately underplaying risks from firefighting foam that's contaminated water supplies near air force bases. On Morning Report the Environment Ministry was asked about the health impacts. Howard Freed was the director of the New York Department of Health's Center for Environmental Health from 2008 to 2012 while that state grappled - and is still grappling - with the impacts of foam contamination on water supplies. He says government agencies usually respond to public health problems in one of two ways - they either try to persuade the public the risk is minimal, or they take a precautionary approach and begin acting immediately. And after listening to Vicky Robertson's interview, Dr Freed says New Zealand is going down the path of trying not to alarm people.