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+--- Thread: Letter from Mililani on Geothermal Health Issues (/showthread.php?tid=9412)
Letter from Mililani on Geothermal Health Issues - Mililani - 04-21-2012
Health Problems in Puna by Mililani B. Trask
For years the folks living next to the PGV plant in Puna has suffered numerous health problems that they attribute to the PGV plant. These problems include coughing, choking, headaches, lung & respiratory problems, burning eyes & nasal passages, fevers, abdominal pain & a slew of other symptoms. Most of the complainants believe that their illness is attributable to hydrogen sulfide escaping from the PGV plant, and other emissions.
Although efforts have been made to bring these concerns to the State Department of Health, DOH has done little to investigate and verify these complaints. In part, the problem is due to the State’s inability to monitor, track & assess environmental effects from the Puna plant and its impact on residents in the area.
Federal EPA also has jurisdiction in this field but it is unclear whether the Puna complainants have actually filed and ‘official’ request for federal intervention based on their health issues. The EPA did get involved with the refusal of the PGV to implement an Emergency Response plan for evacuation in the event of a blowout. (See letter of March 26 1998 from Gerald Hiatt, Senior Risk Assessment Advisor EPA to Michael Ardito, Puna Team Comments to the Draft EPA report on the Geothermal Power Plant in Hawaii Emergency Response plan.) At that time EPA found …”There are a number of observations in the report concerning the fact that Puna Geothermal Venture does not cooperate or communicate well with the County and local emergency responders and with the community surrounding its facility”. The EPA report also noted that.” …not only does PGV’s attitude alienate the community, it puts members of the community at risk…”.
In any event, it is clear that neither the State nor Federal oversight agencies with authority have acted to gather data or initiate an investigation into the health problems in Puna for the past several years.
Years ago, an effort was made to interface with the University of Texas (Division of Environmental Toxicology) which sent researchers to Puna to gather data. This project was undertaken by Dr. Marvin Legator who interviewed 97 residents of Puna. Information regarding his research & related reports can be accessed on the Internet. Legato’s effort focused on collecting data re: the symptoms of residents in order to determine the basis for future studies. (Sulfur dioxide causes respiratory diseases & hydrogen sulfide impacts the central nervous system). Legator’s studies were roundly criticized in Hawaii because all of his subjects were people opposed to geothermal development. Dr. Jeanette Sherman who conducted research with 70 people from Leilani Estates for litigation against PGV also had a small sample from the immediate location.
In 2004 the Hawaii Supreme Court struck down their claims when they could not show that the PGV plant was the cause of the emissions that resulted in their illnesses. One very significant factor as that the volcano spews out tons of sulfide etc.
Compared to the small amount of emissions from the PG plant.
The Leilani Estate case used data from a small group. The data was old & go older as the case dragged up to the Supreme Court. Since that time at least 10 years have elapsed (ie. the data used in the case is at least 10 years old). There is now much more data that could be collected if an effort was made to undertake this. EPA could assist here as wall as the JABSOM. Legatore & Sherman were toxicologists, I do not know if we have their expertise in Hawaii, if not there may be a need to affiliate another medical University with a background in this area.
This area is not under the County, but State & Federal officials.
If you trace the history of problems with the old Ormat/PGV plant (events, emissions, venting, fines by the EPA, critical EPA reports, litigation) you can see that there are common threads in the problems reported by folks there. Such problems were commonplace when geothermal technology was first developed in the 60’s & Ormat was a leader in geo development at that time. If you think about cars designed & manufactured in the early 60’s it’s a good analogy. They were fossil fuel hogs, emitted stink smells, created toxic discharge strong enough to kill people. The same is true for early geo-development technology.
One reason Ormat is global is because it came out early and used a cookie cutter approach. Today Ormat is considered an old technology. Format’s business model is the BOOT model. They Build, Own Operate & then Transfer plant at the end of the lease. Ormat plants are packaged in 25 megawatt packages. They can be assembled into deliverable packages, flown to poor countries & reassembled like a toy puzzle.
All parts come from Ormat. They make a killing on profit because they get all the construction fees, revenues and Operation & Maintenance contracts & keep the benefit until the plant is old & the lease is ending, then they transfer it back to the owner of the land. This is attractive to many poor undeveloped Countries that lack infrastructure & engineering capacity to develop & run newer tech designs & plants.
Today, the Ormat plants are considered old, & outdated by many. Modern technologies are quieter, safer, cleaner and also have anther strength, they integrate other components from other businesses that are interchangeable. Many technologies use Japanese made turbines, they are the strongest and most reliable & clean, but are being upgraded regularly. Their components are interchangeable. This means that plants can be upgraded as new technology is developed. This is not the case with the old Ormat technology.
There are many newer, cleaner & safer technologies. Today we know that scientific testing is done first, then based on the data; an appropriate technology is identified for use in the project. There are many clean & safe technologies that could be used in Hawaii. Ormat’s technology should nit be expanded in Puna or seed for future development. We need development under the IDG model with new technology.
Mililani B. Trask, Attorney
Indigenous Expert to the United Nations
Indigenous Consultants, LLC