Halawa mercury cleanup nears finish
By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer
Only two units at the Pu'uwai Momi public housing project in Halawa are still contaminated with mercury, according to Mike Cripps, on-scene coordinator for the state Department of Health, but those apartments were the most thoroughly contaminated and still need a lot of work.
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"We are even removing woodwork to get under baseboards," Cripps said yesterday. "The mercury in these places was everywhere."
When the state began its mercury contamination cleanup at Pu'uwai Momi last week, Katie Williams and her 11-month-old daughter Leona were moved to temporary quarters.
That means that only two families displaced by the March 12 incident are still barred from their homes. Dozens of families were displaced initially and have gradually been allowed back in as units were declared mercury free.
Six other families received permission since Tuesday to move back into their units.
Six incidents of mercury contamination have occurred in locations from Halawa to the Leeward Coast since March 12. Health authorities have determined that the mercury at Pu'uwai Momi came from an abandoned pumping house below Pearl Harbor's Richardson Recreation Center now owned by the state.
Cripps could not say when all work at the 260-unit complex would be completed.
"It's hard to get the last remaining stuff out," he said. "We keep going back and checking and rechecking. We are being very careful."
Cripps said one area at Makalapa Park is still closed, but he expects work to be completed and the park to reopen today.
Crews are also working on decontaminating items taken from homes and put into large trash bags. The bagged items, which contain mostly clothes and toys, sit along side a few sofas and mattresses removed from homes, he said.
Elemental mercury is an odorless, silvery liquid metal. It can cause burns to the skin and eyes and, if inhaled, could lead to health problems such as pulmonary edema and neurological and kidney damage.
