PS. Hazards in Hawaii. 2023

August 2023 Update:

• Map of brownfields in Hawaii 
  
• A Marine Corps water treatment facility discharged into the ocean wastewater that contained high levels of fecal bacteria into Kailua Bay: https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/02/marine-corps-discharged-high-levels-of...
• Operations at Hawaii's former sugarcane plantations are associated with pesticide exposure and dioxin contamination: https://health.hawaii.gov/heer/files/2021/06/HDOH2011d.pdf
• History of widespread asbestos use: https://www.swmwlaw.com/asbestos-exposure-hawaii/

October 2023 Update:
Hazardous Waste after the Lahain fires: After the Lahaina fires, chemical pollutants in the air and water present a hazardous health issue. Chemicals include benzene, polcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead, asbestos. Half the buildings in Lahaina predated the 1978 federal health ban. Symptoms from this chemical exposure can include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite. Apart form these predictable materials, the debris contains combustion by-products of a unique construction material--caneck, made from sugarcane fibers and treated with arsenic as a termite repellant. 

Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/maui-residents-face-lingering-toxic-...
https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/08/toxic-debris-from-the-lahaina-fire-wil...