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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 14, 2003

Asbestos pipes in Kailua finally removed

By Sara Lin
Advertiser Staff Writer

Four sections of asbestos pipe illegally dumped along Kapa'a Quarry Road in Kailua were removed yesterday by a private company after an environmental watchdog group said the state dragged its feet on the issue.

Workers from Island Demolition Inc. prepare to remove some asbestos pipes that were dumped illegally along Kapa'a Quarry Road, after the group EnviroWatch reported the site to state officials and failed to see any action.

Pipes dumped on Kapa'a Quarry Road were identified as "transite," a mixture of cement and asbestos.

Photos by Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Two months after he said he informed the state Department of Health of the problem, Carroll Cox, president of EnviroWatch, along with state Sen. Melodie Aduja, arranged for Island Demolition Inc. to remove the pipes for free.

On June 11, Cox and Sen. Aduja said, they discovered two pieces of pipe containing asbestos during a routine inspection of Kapa'a Quarry Road, near the junction with Kalaniana'ole Highway. Three weeks later, Cox discovered two more discarded pipes a tenth of a mile away.

In the past six months, Cox has identified a number of illegal dump sites from Hau'ula to Waipahu and Hale'iwa.

The pipes, about 4 inches in diameter and 2 1/2 feet long, had "transite" printed on them, indicating they are made of cement mixed with asbestos. Mike Leary, owner of Island Demo Inc., said transite pipes were used as insulation for industrial hot water lines.

"I tell the state, hoping they would respond, but they never did," Cox said.

The state Department of Health says it sent officials to look at the pipes after being notified.

"I think my department could have acted sooner," said Larry Lau, deputy health director for environmental programs. "It's disappointing it hasn't been picked up sooner. If we thought it was a major public health threat, we would have done something immediately.

"Usually we consider the landowner responsible to keep property clean. I think the ownership of Kapa'a Quarry Road might be a little complicated."

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said the Department of Health several weeks ago asked the city road division to help remove the pipes.

"We would have done it shortly," Costa said.

The pipes will be taken to the PVT Landfill in Nanakuli.

"They shouldn't have been here for 60 days, and that's just since our discovery. They could have been here much longer," said Aduja.