State finds solution to disposal of Agent Orange

WAILUA —The University of Hawai’i is now getting a chance to solve a lingering

dilemma that has basically been fermenting for 30 years: What to do with

contaminated residue left over from Agent Orange testing in the

60’s.

Fourteen drums of the stuff sit languishing at the Kaua’i

Agricultural Station in Wailua.

It was originally thought that the drums

would have to be sent to Canada since no facilities in the U.S. could take the

materials.

But last week one facility in Kansas agreed to temporarily open

its doors and accept the hazardous materials. University officials say they

will have to scramble to meet all the conditions placed on them by the

Department of Health within the Kansas facility’s timeframe.

The DOH, for

its part, is working with the university to fast-track the approval process and

get the materials off-island as soon as possible.

“We are expediting

anything and everything we can to get it there by June 2000,” Grace Simmons,

state environmental specialist, said.

The drums have sat for over 10 years

in a Matson container awaiting disposal after an investigation in a student

paper caused UH authorities to excavate the test residue in the 80’s.

By

that time, the facilities that processed such materials had shut down in the

U.S. The practice of using Agent Orange as a defoliant was discontinued by the

military in the early ’70s.

University of Hawai’i officials have now hired

a contractor and have turned in a plan of action to the DOH of how best to

dispose of the 14 drums of contaminants.

Simmons says that because there

is at least one spot at the excavation site still showing traces of dioxin —a

dangerous byproduct of Agent Orange — the contractor will “overexcavate” the

pit where the contaminants were originally buried by two feet and include the

excess soil in the shipment.

In order to skip the step of waiting for test

results to come back, the DOH will automatically designate the soil as

containing dioxins and then ship it off island. Simmons said it’s a case of

better to be safe than sorry.

Getting the contaminants to the Safety Clean

facility in Coffeyville, Kan., is the first phase of a two-pronged effort,

Simmons said.

The second phase is to confirm that whatever is left over at

the excavation site is clear of contaminants.

Simmons said that she was

confident that the action plan should take care of the problem once and for

all.