KEKAHA — Toxicity levels of ground contamination found in Kilauea and Kekaha are low enough for special permit dumping at a certified landfill, say officials, but some residents want it moved off-island. A petition generated by some residents say they
KEKAHA — Toxicity levels of ground contamination found in Kilauea and Kekaha are low enough for special permit dumping at a certified landfill, say officials, but some residents want it moved off-island.
A petition generated by some residents say they are angry that the Department of Health isn’t shipping the waste to an off-island facility.
The petition claims the process was expedited and that the landfill places the ecosystem at risk.
“It is not hazardous waste,” said Department of Health Deputy Director Gary Gill. “It does not need to be shipped to a Mainland facility.”
Heavier contaminations would require more technologies such as washing or burning, and are very expensive. Gill said the poisons found at Kilauea and Kekaha sites do not rise to that level of danger.
The soil is contaminated to some degree with arsenic residue, and to a lesser degree with dioxin, he said. The contamination is low enough to qualify as special waste, which the landfill is already permitted to take.
“To imply that this is some kind of sneaky, special permit is patently false,” Gill said. “It is EPA certified and the Kekaha landfill complied in every way.”
Work began this week to remove and replace 2 feet of topsoil from a former pesticide mixing area on Aalona Place in Kilauea. The contaminated soil is being placed in the Kekaha landfill.
Gill said the solid contamination comes from old pesticide mixing sites belonging to the Kilauea sugar mill. The locations were discovered from century-old mill maps and overlaid with present-day GPS technology.
“Nobody reported it,” Gill said. “We did the investigating and are doing the cleanup of these sites.”
Soil samples showed that poisons used in herbicides were present under two residences and a commercial property. Two feet of topsoil is being removed and replaced with uncontaminated soil.
The soil is first wet down to avoid creating dust when it is moved. The contaminated soil is then put on trucks and shipped to the Kekaha landfill.
“The EPA is handling the cleanup,” Gill said.
A drainage swail at the commercial site showed higher concentrations of poisons. It will be capped with concrete to eliminate exposure, Gill said.
Opponents of moving the contaminated soil to the landfill include the Kilauea Neighborhood Association, which formally supported a letter to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, asking him to recommend the Department of Health to meet with Kekaha residents. They want a better explanation regarding the decision to allow contaminated soil in the landfill.
“Kekaha is a historically marginalized community largely composed of native Hawaiian and multi-generational plantation worker families,” the letter said. “The toxins contain dioxin and arsenic, and should not be deposited in the Kekaha Landfill, which lies in a tsunami zone and near groundwater sources and flood plains.”
The Kekaha Landfill may not accept hazardous wastes, but the facility was certified by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to accept special wastes in 1994. Special wastes include petroleum and other chemically contaminated soils, medical waste, dead animals and asbestos.
When special wastes arrive at a certified landfill, they are immediately placed in a trench and covered. If necessary, a water truck adds moisture to prevent dust.
Special wastes dumped in Kekaha include soil from gasoline spills, chemicals, pesticides, asbestos and construction debris with lead paint or canec, and the historic pesticide soils and waste chemicals not classified as hazardous waste.
Paul Chong, project manager for the Kilauea site for the Department of Health Solid and Hazardous Waste Department, said it is important to distinguish the difference between contaminated material and hazardous waste.
“There is no landfill in Hawai‘i for hazardous waste but there is one for contaminated material,” Chong said. “The Kekaha Landfill is certified for disposal of the soil by the EPA. Everything is permitted.”
The residents want a meeting to discuss alternative methodologies that minimize the risks of toxins in dumped soil. The letter said they feel the dump is a cost-effective and convenient solution that places the island ecosystem at risk.
Gill said the DOH is planning to meet with Kekaha community members next week. They will discuss another former pesticide mixing site near the Kekaha mill.
The contamination at the Kekaha site has toxicity low enough to require ingestion before being dangerous, although there is the potential for kids playing in the dirt to touch their mouths and allow the toxins can enter.
The Kilauea sites had concentrations high enough that it is possible to breathe in toxins from the dust. An even higher cleanup standard will be applied at Kekaha, however, because it is near a native Hawaiian charter school.
“You don’t have children playing with dirt in landfills,” Gill said.
∫ Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
