With the source of the odor that sent students from two Kekaha schools out into the fresh air early last week still unknown, The Gas Co. officials say their propane truck could not have been the cause. The principal of
With the source of the odor that sent students from two Kekaha schools out into the fresh air early last week still unknown, The Gas Co. officials say their propane truck could not have been the cause.
The principal of one of the schools said Wednesday that investigating officials and emergency responders speculated it may have been a propane truck making deliveries in the area Tuesday that caused the odor.
That day, at 12:31 p.m., St. Theresa’s School called 911 to report a chemical smell making students ill. A half hour later, and a half mile away, Kekaha Elementary School was evacuated, sending some students to a nearby emergency room.
The Department of Agriculture official sent to the schools the next day, Ann Kam, did not detect the presence of pesticides, according to pesticide program manager Robert Boesch, on Wednesday.
St. Theresa’s principal, Mary Buza-Sims, said last week the officials who visited her school the day after the incident, including one from the Department of Health, speculated a propane truck “down the street” may have been the source of the odor.
The day that speculation was printed in a newspaper article, The Gas Co. spokesman Steve Golden sought to clear up the misperception.
“We did have a truck in the area making residential deliveries,” Golden said. “But that truck was not leaking.”
Glen Takenouchi, Kaua‘i Gas Co. branch manager, said the company knows with absolute certainty their truck was not leaking.
“The Department of Health called us at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, to ask us if our truck was leaking,” Takenouchi said. “The driver checked immediately and we reported that there was no leak.”
The driver was able to complete deliveries in the area. “Had it been leaking, residents would have been complaining,” Golden said.
When the first school was overcome by the odor, around 12:30 p.m., the Gas Co. truck was at 8436 Kopaa Road, Takenouchi said. By the time Kekaha Elementary School was evacuated, the truck had made its way to 8315 Kekaha Road.
“The wind was blowing straight off the ocean and the truck drove mauka of Kekaha School,” Takenouchi said.
It drove mauka of the school to its next delivery at 8039 Ulili Road, by way of Amakihi Road southbound. It was about the time the truck had reached the Ulili Road delivery — 1:30 p.m. — that the Department of Health placed the call to the Gas Co.
“The driver sprays a soapy solution to determine if there are any leaks,” Takenouchi said. The bubbling soap would indicate escaping gas.
Propane is heavier than air and will seek the lowest point to settle. Takenouchi said it is stored and pumped in liquid form and when it is used it is vaporized.
The Gas Co. truck at the time of the health department call was carrying 300 gallons, or 10 percent of its capacity. Not only did the soap not bubble, the Gas Co. said, but there was no smell.
The most obvious evidence of a propane leak is a smell similar to rotten eggs, Golden said. “Since propane is odorless, a scent is added so that it can be detected.”
Takenouchi said first responders — firefighters and emergency personnel — are well aware of the dangers of propane and how to detect its presence.
According to Boesch with the Department of Agriculture, first responders could not detect the presence of anything.
Kaua‘i Fire Chief Robert Westerman was off-island last week and was not prepared to comment yesterday, but indicated that the department may be prepared to comment this week after reports have come in.
Gas Co. officials state that the concentration required to affect two schools in the way that occurred last week could not have come from its vehicle.
The day the incidents occurred, Pioneer Seed had sprayed a field within 2 miles of the schools at 9 a.m., but spokesman Steve Lupkes said last week the company had concluded there was no connection. Later in the day, Syngenta Seed sprayed a field in Mana, farther removed from the schools.
Some reports indicate the painting of road striping and crosswalks occurred the same day near the schools, but could not be confirmed by press time yesterday.
