Hawaii seems like a dream destination of sun, sea and……something nasty lurking in the water!
Warning signs have been posted along the Ko Olina Lagoons where the medical waste including syringes and vials of blood were found. the State Health Department is advising all beach goers to stay out of the water.
The sea in that area has turned a nasty brown colour with extensive contamination that is claimed to come from the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill. On the supposition that the landfill is insecure and has failed, this has let to calls for it to be shut down. However, there are suggestions that the “fault” is temporary, and associated with bad weather. That hardly seems appropriate for landfill operation, so close to a storm drain and to the sea. Environmental protection from a filed landfill must operate continuously, not only in good weather!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110115_rain_dislodges_medical_waste.html
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A day later and it is reported that more medical waste is still appearing at the ocean’s edge
and that syringes, some filled with what appears to be blood, continue to litter Ko Olina’s shores,
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110116_More_medical_waste_at_oceans_edge.html