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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, August 2, 2003

Substance probe closes downtown bank

By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer

An investigation yesterday of a suspicious substance shut down Bank of Hawai'i and some downtown streets after a man left papers with a teller and she and five other bank employees became ill.

Two Bank of Hawaii employees who may have been exposed to a suspicious irritant head to Kaiser Permanente's Honolulu Clinic emergency room after being decontaminated in the parking lot by a Honolulu Fire Department crew.

Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Preliminary lab tests performed at the University of Hawai'i last night indicated that the paperwork did not contain any hazardous compound, said HFD Capt. Kenison Tejada of the Honolulu Fire Department.

"Nobody wants to speculate on why it caused such a reaction," Tejada said. "They'll run some more tests over the weekend."

Officials said that since the tests were negative, it was unclear whether any crime had been committed. Police have opened an investigation.

At 4 p.m., the Honolulu Fire Department had its hazardous materials unit and three other fire companies on the scene, trying to determine whether the papers caused the woman to complain of irritation to her hands and arms. Other bank employees who came in contact with the woman or the paper also complained of irritation to their eyes, hands and face.

Fire officials said a man presented paperwork to the teller just before 3:30 p.m. and told her it contained something for her.

"She became suspicious because she noticed he was wearing gloves," Tejada said. "She tried to give the papers back, but he wouldn't take them."

The bank closed and personnel isolated the paperwork before emergency crews arrived. Honolulu police sealed off parts of Merchant, Bethel and King streets and officers on motorcycles moved crowds away from the building as a precaution.

The paperwork, retrieved from bank security by a firefighter in hazmat gear, was sent to a UH lab for testing, Tejada said.

The woman, who complained of itching and burning sensations, was taken to Kaiser Permanente's Honolulu Clinic by a co-worker, but they were asked to wait in the parking lot so the Fire Department's hazmat crew could handle decontamination, a Kaiser spokeswoman said.

The two employees sat nervously on a clinic sidewalk just inside the lower parking level as firefighters inflated a 10-by-18-foot isolation tent in the parking lot. Firefighters donned protective clothing and spoke to the women through gas masks or across a hedge.

A hospital worker brought out linen so the two could strip off clothes and shoes, wash and wrap up in hospital gowns and towels. Fire Department personnel waved away onlookers from the parking garage railing.

The women were admitted to the clinic and released later that afternoon.

Four other people from the bank went through similar decontamination procedures at a hazmat station set up on Merchant Street. They were later taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where they were to be treated and released, officials said.

Honolulu has had a number of false alarms related to potential acts of bioterrorism since the Mainland anthrax attacks in 2001. No lethal substance was found in any of those incidents.

Stafford Kiguchi, a spokesperson for Bank of Hawai'i, said evacuation of the bank and the decontamination went smoothly.

"We have procedures in place to ensure the safety of employees and customers," Kiguchi said. "Once the teller brought the matter to the attention of security, they stepped in and isolated the document."

The Fire Department also drills regularly for such emergencies, Tejada said. "Even before Sept. 11, we were drilling diligently," he said. "Everything today went smoothly and according to plan."

The Fire Department arrived on the scene within three minutes of the first report at 3:27 p.m., said Capt. Emmit Kane.

The incident closed the downtown bank branch and some adjoining streets as the Friday afternoon rush hour was beginning. Streets reopened about 6 p.m.

A Kaiser spokeswoman said the Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center is set up for decontamination, but the Honolulu Clinic is not.

Staff writers Robbie Dingeman and Beverly Creamer contributed to this report.

Reach Allison Schaefers at aschaefers@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-8110.