A toxic landfill buried under south Ōtepoti Dunedin is at risk of being exposed by the Pacific Ocean and coastal erosion.
Contractors are drilling bore holes into Kettle Park, home to a historic landfill, trying to dig up clues about what exactly is underneath.
Inch by inch, scientists drill into the depths of the park to assess the risk posed by toxic waste buried below.
"The last report found some asbestos, some iron, every type of metals, bricks, a lot of things," said coastal scientist Raphael Mariani from te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti, Dunedin City Council.
At ground level, sports fields cover the park.
But seven metres underneath the fields is a landfill which was last used more than 70 years ago.
Contractors pulled out core samples to help build a two-dimensional map before the Council decides what to do.
"Whether we're going to need to treat the material and how much material we're going to have to treat, to take out. Or what is natural or what is landfill," Mariani told Newshub.
Already, capping material like rusted metal and bricks are piercing out from the sand dunes, exposed just metres away from the Pacific Ocean along St Clair beach.
"We want to avoid having a situation like Fox Glacier," said Mariani.
"That could be catastrophic for the environment."
Erosion is a problem all along this part of Ōtepoti Dunedin's coast.
Sand sausages near the esplanade act as some defence, but they often need repairs and rebuilding.
"It's extremely vulnerable because we've got very strong swells and its really exposed," Mariani added.
The long-term options for protecting the coast will likely have a multi-million-dollar price tag.
Though the cost to the environment could be far greater if the toxic waste below Kettle Park resurfaces.
