break down in natural water containing living organisms, such as aquatic plants or micro-organisms. Water-monitoring surveys, conducted during the 1990s, have confirmed that significant contamination of waterways following aerial application of 1080 bait is possible, but unlikely. Research by NIWA showed that 1080 deliberately placed in small streams for testing was undetectable at the placement site after 8 hours, as it washed downstream. Testing was not done downstream. In New Zealand, surface water is routinely monitored after aerial application of 1080, and water samples are collected immediately after application, when there is the highest possibility of detecting contamination. Of 2442 water samples tested in New Zealand between 1990 and 2010, following aerial 1080 operations: 96.5% had no detectable 1080 at all and, of all the samples, only six were equal to, or above the Ministry of Health level for drinking water, and none of these came from drinking water supplies. Of 592 samples taken from human or stock drinking supplies, only four contained detectable 1080 residues at 0.1ppb (1 sample) and 0.2 ppb (3 samples) – all well below the Ministry of Health level of 2 ppb. In an experiment funded by the Animal Health Board and conducted by NIWA simulating the effects of rainfall on 1080 on a steep soil-covered hillside a few meters from a stream, it was found that 99.9% of the water containing 1080 leached straight into the soil (See 4.3 of) and did not flow over the ground to the stream as had been expected. The experiment also measured contamination of soil water, which was described as the water carried through the soil underground at short horizontal distances (0.5-3m), downhill toward the stream. The experiment did not measure contamination of deeper soil and ground water immediately beneath the site of application. Soil The fate of 1080 in the soil has been established by research defining the degradation of naturally occurring fluoroacetate (Oliver, 1977). Sodium fluoroacetate is water-soluble, and residues from uneaten baits leach into the soil where they are degraded to non-toxic metabolites by soil microorganisms, including bacteria (Pseudomonas) and the common soil fungus (Fusarium solani) (David and Gardiner, 1966; Bong, Cole and Walker, 1979; Walker and Bong, 1981). Birds Although it is now infrequent, individual aerial 1080 operations can still sometimes affect local bird populations if not carried out with sufficient care. In New Zealand, individuals from 19 species of native birds and 13