If the spaceport in Ka’u gets off the ground, the several hazardous compounds used as rocket propellants will have to find their way to Palima Point. According to the as-yet unreleased draft environmental impact statement prepared for the Department of … Continued
The chemicals used in the launch of spacecraft can pose exceptionally high dangers to human health. Liquid nitrogen and helium can cause asphyxiation. Liquid oxygen can increase fire hazards by enhancing the inflammability of combustible materials. Liquid hydrogen readily ignites … Continued
What effect will a spaceport in Ka’u have upon the health of people on the Big Island? Risk Science Associates, a firm in Corte Madera, California, conducted a study of precisely this question. The results are presented in Volume VIII, … Continued
In 1959, Hawaiian Western Steel was one of the first tenants of the new Campbell Industrial Park. The plant was built and owned by a Canadian steel company, Western Canada Steel, Ltd. The technology used then was the same as … Continued
Starting in the 1970s, the state of Hawai`i’s Department of Health began to issue to Hawaiian Western Steel notices of violation of air quality rules. Violations continued, off and on, until the very last days of the plant’s operation in … Continued
If all goes according to schedule, by the end of March, Hamakua Sugar Company will be but a memory. When Hamakua’s demise is coupled with the less celebrated – though no less significant announcement of the phasing out of sugar … Continued
Controversies surrounding F. Newell Bohnett’s tenure as lessee of state-owned Pu’uwa’aw’a Ranch date back to the early 1970s, when he assumed the lease. The disputes came to a head most recently in 1991, when the state House of Representatives appointed … Continued
On its face, the project proposed by Kip Dunbar of Moloka’i sounds harmless enough, and perhaps even of some benefit. As Dunbar describes it, his project involves rebuilding the ‘Ipuka’iole Fishpond near Kainalu. As his critics describe it, Dunbar is … Continued