Special
Training Needed for Cave Cleanups?
by Bill Halliday
The Hawaii Chapter of the NSS has encountered what may be a
serious obstacle to the dump cleanups planned in follow-up of its highly
successful August 2000 conference. As described in the November 2000 NSS News, the grotto organized the
first-known conference on lava tubes and groundwater pollution. It was well
attended and well received, with the appropriate Health Department and other
governmental agencies initiating follow-ups on the alarming data presented at
the conference.
The grotto planned to begin
actual cleanups in January 2001. However, Dr. John Bowen, retired University of
Hawaii-Hilo professor, has told us that OSHA regulations require persons
involved in such cleanups to have had training in handling of hazardous and
toxic substances.
John is the person who
trains the Hilo Fire Department in handling such wastes, so we cannot ignore
his instructions. We are attempting to arrange such training-at least for some
people, but it certainly will impact the availability and the enthusiasm of
many volunteers and the momentum generated among the government agencies.
It may be that cave dumps
in Hawaii contain a much larger percentage of
hazardous and toxic substances than elsewhere in the USA. Automotive wastes are very
prominent-everything from rotted motor blocks, auto bodies and transmissions,
to disintegrated batteries, rusted oil cans, and drums that long ago lost their
residue to the groundwater. Nearly empty herbicide and pesticide drums and
other agricultural wastes are common. Household medical wastes are obvious, and
so are discarded druggie syringes and needles. All these and many more
components of Hawaii cave dumps qualify as hazardous or toxic substances and we
know that special care is needed in removing them. But
special training to comply with OSHA regulations?
If you have successfully
dealt with this kind of situation or have useful information, feedback is
urgently needed. Please contact Ric Elhard caver@hialoha.net
Reprinted
from March 2001 NSS News