Study 'clears' landfill dust
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Leeward O'ahu Writer
Findings from an independent lab analysis released last week conclude that dust blowing from the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Leeward O'ahu contains nothing more than small amounts of metals that occur naturally in Hawai'i's soil.
The conclusion came from tests generated after residents living near the landfill said last year that they feared that dust from the landfill contained H-Power ash and was causing an outbreak of asthma in the neighborhood.
Of the 20 residents living at Kahe Homes, six children and five adults were said to be suffering from asthma.
Ruth Gabaylo, who works as rental manager for nine properties at Kahe Homes and whose daughters Cinnamon, 3, and Cayenne, 1, have asthma, said she found the report only somewhat reassuring.
"It helps a little," she said as she leafed through the summary. "But I'm still not convinced. If they want to make a test, come over and test the dirt on our window sills."
Gabaylo said the situation isn't as bad as it was last year, mainly because she now keeps the windows closed on the mauka side of the house and dusts the house two or more times a day.
But Gabaylo says that on hot days, with trade winds cut off and no air-conditioning, she and her husband, David, are forced to herd the kids outside to a shady area on the makai side of the house.
Joseph Hernandez, environmental manager of Waste Management, the independent company contracted to oversee the landfill, disputed the residents' claims, saying the 200 tons of H-Power ash trucked to the landfill daily arrives wet, dries like concrete and is covered with dirt.
He also says it makes no sense for his company to overlook or be unconcerned about public safety.
"There is no reason for us to be negligible," said Hernandez. "We're highly regulated by the state Department of Health. If we didn't comply, the county could come in and say, 'We're canceling your contract.' ... Why would we invite that?"
Hernandez conceded that there is wind at the landfill and dust is blown around. But to show that the landfill operates within acceptable emission levels, he initiated tests in October to determine what is in the landfill dust.
The completed report, dated Jan. 30, 2002, was compiled by Mountain Edge Environmental Inc., an independent consulting firm.
It says Waste Management attached a 48-inch-wide geotextile screen to the chain-link fence between the landfill and Kahe Homes. Static electricity from wind blowing through the fabric causes it to hold dust particles as small as 0.15 millimeters.
Particles collected from the fabric on Oct. 29 and Nov. 21, 2001, samples of landfill cover soil taken the same days and H-Power ash taken on Oct. 29 were submitted to Oceanic Analytical Laboratory Inc. in Ka'a'awa. The lab analyzed the samples for traces of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury.
According to the report, the analysis showed that the only detectable metal in the dust particles was chromium — 5.01 and 6.56 parts per million, respectively. The report described chromium as "a common metal in Hawaiian soils."
Chromium and lead were both found in the cover soil samples, with the soil chromium measuring 66.8 and 93.3 ppm, and soil lead measuring 28.7 and 48.6 ppm.
The sample of ash from the H-Power incinerator that burns refuse to generate electricity contained these amounts of the five metals: arsenic, 33.7 ppm; cadmium,16.0 ppm; chromium, 56.9 ppm; lead, 1,430 ppm; and mercury, 2.88 ppm.
The report concluded:
"... It appears that the dust is derived from the soil cover material and not the H-Power ash. ... (The) dust contained individual mineral grains and crystals common to the cover soil and none of the metallic and glass grains, which made up the ash material."
