Save Kauai brings together current information about Kauai and web-based tools that allow you to take action. If we want to affect the future of Kauai in a pono way we must organize and begin implementing solutions, not just fighting the problems.
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Westside noxious odor study funded
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/04/news/kauai_news/doc490ffd826c5...
Waimea Canyon Middle School has been the site of numerous incidents where a noxious odor has left students and teachers ill. Funding has just been released by Gov. Linda Lingle to pay for a study as to the source of the odor. File photo by Sheadon Ringor/The Garden Island
Pesticide residues, odiferous compounds near school to be assessed
By Nathan Eagle - The Garden Island
Published: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 1:14 AM HST
Funding was recently released for a study to determine the source of noxious odors that have forced Westside students and faculty in at least four incidents over the past two years to undergo emergency treatment for a sudden onset of flu-like symptoms.
Community members have pointed the finger at pesticide sprayings by GMO-giant Syngenta Seeds, which leases test fields near Waimea Canyon Middle School. But company officials have repeatedly denied the claims, blaming in some instances wild spider flower also known as stinkweed. Authorities have been unable to conclusively determine the cause of the illnesses.
The study’s start date has not been set, but Gov. Linda Lingle on Oct. 17 authorized the release of $100,000 from the Pesticides Revolving Fund to contract services:
∫ To design and carry out a study to determine pesticide residues in the ambient air at Waimea Canyon Middle School from November through February.
Aloha
Yesterday Kaua`i County Council passed a bill to put $50,000 towards studying the odiferous drift sickening teachers and students at Waimea Canyon Middle School. This bill has been heard 3 times in the last month. The bill now needs a signature and additional funding from the Governor in order ot go forward
While some were concerned it would only look at stinkweed and not pesticides, the consensus was to start somewhere. Others were against the county giving money to the state at all.
Before the last hearing, the DOA said they would take county money to look at the stinkweed and they would look at the pesticide drift by matching the $50,000. DOA then put CTAHR in charge of doing both studies.The questionable confidence in CTAHR doing the study was discussed, as was the relationship CTAHR has with the seed companies.
Yesterday two men from CTAHR (Oahu) testified, Dr. Li and Dr. Rauch (sp?).
They said they would love for the students to help gather data on this study. The intend to gather ambient air samples and have the DOH toxicologist on Oahu do the lab work.
The principal from Kekaha's St Theresa School, as well as residents from the westside, including County council candidate Bruce Pleas, shared their mana`o. 2 staff members from Waimea school testified that they concluded the illnesses were from stink weed.
Pesticide study bill back to committee
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/09/25/news/news01.txt
by Blake Jones - THE GARDEN ISLAND
A bill to allocate $50,000 in county funds to the Department of Agriculture for a pesticide study and monitoring of odiferous compounds will move back into committee following yesterday’s public hearing.
Three residents offered varying testimony on the use of county funds for a state study, expressing concern about how it would be carried out.
Bill 2278, introduced by Councilman Mel Rapozo, would provide a $50,000 grant through the Office of Economic Development to the Department of Agriculture to investigate the source of noxious odors that have sickened Westside students and faculty. The funding would be supplemented with state funds and technical assistance.
Between November 2006 and April 2008, there have been at least four incidents in which dozens have suffered flu-like symptoms from unidentified odors and been forced to evacuate schools and seek medical treatment.
The state departments of Health and Agriculture have been unable to confirm the source.
Many community members suspect pesticide sprayings on nearby fields leased by Syngenta Seeds, but authorities have pointed to a noxious weed called cleome gynandra.
According to Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro, who led yesterday’s hearing, the county funding would be earmarked for the stinkweed portion of the study.
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/08/29/news/news01.txt
County to fund study of pesticides on Westside
by Nathan Eagle - THE GARDEN ISLAND
The Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the first reading of a bill to appropriate $50,000 as a grant to the state Department of Agriculture to be used to conduct a pesticide study on the Westside.
Councilman Mel Rapozo introduced the legislation in response to various incidents of chemical odors affecting students and residents in Waimea and Kekaha between November 2006 and April 2008.
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Bill 2278 would provide county money, which would be supplemented with state funds and technical assistance, to identify and monitor samplings of “odiferous sources.” The Office of Economic Development would administer the grant.
The council will hold a public hearing at 1:30 p.m., Sept. 24, at the Historic County Building.
“This bill is basically putting our money where our mouth is,” Rapozo said. “I’m trying to get something done on the Westside. I think it’s a priority issue.”
There have been at least four incidents over the past two years in which dozens of Westside students and faculty have suffered flu-like symptoms from unidentified odors and been forced to evacuate schools and seek medical treatment.
The state departments of Health and Agriculture have been unable to confirm the source.
Many community members suspect pesticide sprayings on nearby fields leased by Syngenta Seeds, but authorities have pointed at a noxious weed called cleome gynandra.
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/news02.txt
Odor at schools wasn’t propane
by Adam Harju - The Garden Island
With the source of the odor that sent students from two Kekaha schools out into the fresh air early last week still unknown, The Gas Co. officials say their propane truck could not have been the cause.
The principal of one of the schools said Wednesday that investigating officials and emergency responders speculated it may have been a propane truck making deliveries in the area Tuesday that caused the odor.
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That day, at 12:31 p.m., St. Theresa’s School called 911 to report a chemical smell making students ill. A half hour later, and a half mile away, Kekaha Elementary School was evacuated, sending some students to a nearby emergency room.
The Department of Agriculture official sent to the schools the next day, Ann Kam, did not detect the presence of pesticides, according to pesticide program manager Robert Boesch, on Wednesday.
St. Theresa’s principal, Mary Buza-Sims, said last week the officials who visited her school the day after the incident, including one from the Department of Health, speculated a propane truck “down the street” may have been the source of the odor.
The day that speculation was printed in a newspaper article, The Gas Co. spokesman Steve Golden sought to clear up the misperception.
“We did have a truck in the area making residential deliveries,” Golden said. “But that truck was not leaking.”
Visit http://maluiawcms.blogspot.com/ for the full article and other information regarding pesticide spraying near schools on the westside.
Today Kekaha School was evacuated due to a noxious odor. Symptoms were similar to those expressed by students at Waimea Canyon Middle School this past Jan. and indicative of pesticide exposure. Despite the school being evacuated as well as numerous students experiencing illness at St. Theresa's school (also in Kekaha), Dept. of Ag official Ann Kam has stated that the department has received only 2 complaints. More info to follow later this week at http://maluiawcms.blogspot.com/.
Chemical smell forces school evacuation
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/04/16/news/news01.txt
by Nathan Eagle - THE GARDEN ISLAND
Students and teachers yesterday afternoon suffered headaches, breathing difficulty and nausea after a pungent chemical smell from an unidentified source wafted through two Westside schools, officials said.
Kekaha School was evacuated and emergency personnel reportedly rendered medical aid to three students.
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St. Theresa’s Elementary Principal Mary Buza-Sims said students and staff were cleared from classrooms to find fresh air.
“At first I thought it was someone tarring their roof,” she said. “It was so strong my eyes started to burn. The kids all held their noses and were coughing.”
Fire and police authorities responded to her 911 call around 12:30 p.m., but failed to detect the source of the smell.
Shortly after the St. Theresa’s incident, Kaua‘i Police Department Assistant Chief Clayton Arinaga said Kekaha School was evacuated into a nearby park around 1 p.m.
The message below was sent out on Tuesday by Dom Pueo Acain, a Kekaha resident. We must demand answers to this ridiculous disregard for public safety. Action must take place on this issue swiftly and immediately.
If you would like to support a grassroots effort for answers and accountability please add your comments below.
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Aloha Friends,
Today around 1030 a.m., I came home to my house in Kekaha and was overwhelmed with a strong chemical smell in the air. I usually leave my windows open to have the fresh air blow through, but as I entered my home, the smell was collected in my rooms facing the east. I opened all the doors in my house and the chemical smell became less apparent but still
present. At about noon, I started feeling nauseas and had extreme headaches. I jumped in my care and drove to the beach to get fresh air. After about 15 minutes or so, I started feeling better.
My daughter who attends Kekaha Elementary came home after 2 p.m. and told me that they had to evacuate their classes earlier in the day and go into the park because of the"chemical" smell, and that many of the children became ill. A neighbor of mines also mentioned that the EMT also had to visit St. Theresa's School in Kekaha.
Someone is poisoning us, and if there is anyone out there who knows whats happening, please let me know. The only ones who would be spraying chemicals in our area is Syngenta or Pioneer.
Dom Pueo Acain
P.S. Please forward this to all of your connections.
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/03/01/news/news01.txt
Spraying bill evolves
by Rachel Gehrlein - THE GARDEN ISLAND
When Senate Bill 3170 was introduced by Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau, at the end of January, it addressed community concerns of pesticide use by Syngenta Seed Inc. near Waimea Canyon Middle School. The bill originally proposed a pesticide-free buffer zone around schools statewide.
But now the bill is aimed toward establishing a task force to make recommendations on implementing the pesticide-free buffer zones near schools.
According to Hooser, the bill changed course when Syngenta agreed to stop spraying in Field 809 near the school through the end of the year.
“When Syngenta put it in writing to stop spraying, it took the pressure off to pass something immediately,” Hooser said. “This was seen as a compromise; they agreed to not spray and I agreed to pull back on the bill.”
On Feb. 14, in a hand-delivered letter from Syngenta to Hooser, the GMO company said it would stop spraying near the school until Dec. 31.
The letter came a week after the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against Syngenta to prevent them from spraying near the school.
The restraining order was dissolved after both sides came to an agreement in which Syngenta would construct a 12-foot-high dust-fence along the vegetated buffer zone separating the field from the school.
Classified Ads February 16, 2008 - 1:39 P.M. Subscriptions
KAUAI News
Spraying near school to stop
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by Rachel Gehrlein - THE GARDEN ISLAND
A bill that called for pesticide-free buffer zones around schools was watered down this week after Syngenta Seed Co. agreed to stop spraying near Waimea Canyon School through the end of the year.
An amended version of the legislation — drafted last month by state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau, and approved yesterday by the Senate education and environment committees — requires a “working group on pesticide use in proximity to schools” and no longer mentions the buffer zones.
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In a hand-delivered letter from Syngenta to Hooser Thursday, the GMO company said it would cease
pesticide spraying near the K-8 campus until Dec. 31.
Parents, teachers and community members have alleged that the chemicals are the cause of recent health problems for students and teachers.
Students and staff at the school have complained headaches, nausea and dizziness on multiple occasions since 2006, claiming the pesticides sprayed on Field 809 adjacent to the school were to blame.
However, officials cited cleome gynandra, or stinkweed, as the cause of the illnesses.
Hooser introduced Senate Bill 3170 last month, a few days before a group of students and teachers were sent to the emergency room.
Though the bill received opposition from various agricultural organizations throughout the state, negotiations have been taking place in an attempt to reach an amended version.
