Mercury found in Waipi'o park
By Brandon Masuoka and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
A mercury spill in Waipi'o yesterday forced health officials to close the only restroom at a popular neighborhood park and prompted officials at nearby Kanoelani Elementary School to keep students inside during recess as a precaution.
Honolulu Fire Dept. photo
It was the second time in a week that mercury was found in a public area in Central O'ahu. On Monday, an unknown amount of elemental mercury was discovered throughout the Pu'uwai Momi public housing project in Halawa.
Mercury can be seen on the floor of a pumping station in Richardson Park near Pearl Harbor.
Health officials were forced to evacuate many in the 260-unit housing project while they inspected and cleaned the mercury. The cleanup is expected to last several weeks.
Yesterday, the Honolulu Fire Department responded to a call from Waipi'o Neighborhood Park at about 10 a.m. after a park worker noticed "visible amounts" of mercury near the restroom. The park is at 94-1111 Oli Loop, adjacent to Kanoelani Elementary.
The chemical was confirmed as mercury at 11:25 a.m. and contained by workers from the department's hazardous materials team, and the restroom was sealed off, said Honolulu Fire Department spokes-man Capt. Richard Soo. The park worker did not touch the mercury, Soo said.
It's unclear how long the mercury was there or who brought it in, Soo said. He could not confirm if it was related to the Halawa spill earlier this week.
City spokeswoman Carol Costa said a fence was being erected around the affected area late yesterday. She said a guard will be at the site around the clock.
Costa said a contractor hired by the city was on the scene late yesterday afternoon to begin the cleanup effort. She said the work was expected to be completed last night and that the restroom would be reopened.
Children at Kanoelani Elementary play at the park during recess but were kept away from the area yesterday, said principal Vernon Young.
The school has 832 students, Young said.
"We're OK," Young said. "Normally the (park) bathroom is off limits. We do not have much of a field and children can play at the larger park playground. But we tell them, if they need to use the bathroom, to use (the school restroom) before they go out."
The cleanup effort at Pu'uwai Momi continued yesterday as more displaced families were allowed to return home.
At least 216 of the 260 apartments were checked by health inspectors. Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said 176 were cleared of mercury and those families were allowed to return.
She said 40 units showed some signs of mercury contamination and 15 have been cleaned. Okubo said at least 25 apartments still need to be cleaned but did not know how long that would take.
Also yesterday, six staff members from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency arrived in Honolulu to assist the state with the cleanup.
