Up to five people a day are being sent to private hospitals in New Zealand for diagnosis and treatment for what may be radiation illnesses and Temaru has accused France of covering up the health and environmental consequences of the testing, the Christchurch Press said.

"We have a lot of health problems," he said while flying here with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark after attending the Pacific Forum summit in Papua New Guinea.

France conducted 41 atmospheric nuclear tests over Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls between 1966 and 1974, and followed with 134 underground tests at the same sites between 1975 and 1991. Eight more tests tok place in 1995-96.

A commission set up by Temaru to investigate the consequences of the nuclear tests is due to report next month.

But he said the French Defence Ministry was refusing to cooperate, kept secret files in Paris, and insisted Mururoa and Fangataufa were off limits.

Commission members recently went to Tureia, 115 kilometres (70 miles) northeast of Mururoa and the closest resident population to the tests, and found "very high levels of contamination" in the atoll, Temaru said.

"We need a neutral organisation to come to Tahiti, and France should open those secret archives," he said.

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