More air tests scheduled after fumes sicken 22
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Isaac Aspera, a courier for Clinical Laboratories of Hawai'i, never knew what hit him.
As he walked into Internal Medicine/Pediatric Associates at 98-151 Pali Momi St. to pick up specimens at about 9:20 a.m. yesterday, he was asked if he smelled anything strange.
"My nose is kind of stuffed, so I couldn't smell anything. So I just kept on inhaling, trying to smell, and then I started feeling dizzy and lightheaded," said the 21-year-old Pearl City resident.
An hour later he was being decontaminated by the Honolulu Fire Department hazardous-materials team in a tent on the street and then sent to the emergency room at nearby Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi for tests.
Aspera said he knew the situation was serious when a clinic worker sitting next to him outside the offices passed out and slumped over onto the ground.
Firefighters still don't know what hit Aspera and 21 other people, even after conducting a thorough search of the medical office and the neighboring Straub Pearlridge Clinic, which shares the same air-conditioning system.
Tammy Martin, manager of Straub's clinical operations, said the first report came at about 9 a.m. from the neighboring office and between 150 and 200 people were evacuated by about 10:20 a.m.
Pali Momi Street between Kamehameha Highway and Haukapila Road was closed to traffic as hazardous-materials specialists checked out the building.
The building was deemed safe and the road reopened at about 2 p.m.
Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada said hazardous-materials specialists searched the building for the cause of the odor, but no chemical leak or other cause could be found. Six fire trucks and 38 firefighters responded to the emergency.
"We didn't find any traces of powder, which would lead us to believe that it was probably either a gas or a liquid that had evaporated," Tejada said.
A total of 22 patients were sent to either the Kapiolani or Kaiser Permanente emergency rooms — 15 patients and workers from the scene and seven others who left later, developed symptoms and went to the hospital on their own.
Symptoms included runny nose, scratchy throat, burning and watery eyes, vomiting and chest pains, according to Tejada.
Straub has hired a private contractor to monitor conditions in the building.
Tests will be conducted early this morning. If all is clear, the clinic will be open today as usual.
Yesterday afternoon, after being stripped, washed and scrubbed, having his blood pressure and other vital signs monitored and spending four hours in the emergency room, Aspera said he felt fine and was more than ready get out of his hospital gown and go home.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
