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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0710.070 2010-2012 uouNaa. • lc c;,fewit s._7[C Ladies, clemen of the County Council and Mr.Mayor, • -fr{1! _71 I rt Tt 9: 53 I am writ t t you to express my concerns regarding the geothermal power plant expatnston in the Puna district, See::'?ally I reference Bills 256 and 257,to relocate geothermal plants away from human habitation and to heee ae evacuation plan for the existing plant. These bills have massive popular support and have been passed h he ounty Council,only to he vetoed by the mayor. I urge our County Council to vote unanimously to pass ti-. sr i .Ils for the protection of our people and our land. I also support Resolution 277-12,regarding the gem:lade' :Jf electrical power from solar sources. As a inc. . >ctor,I am concerned about the health effects that geothermal plants have on people's lives. As a farmer :oncerned about deleterious effects on plant life. As someone living on the slopes of an active volcano>, ! oncerned about the potential geologic effects of multiple vents being drilled on the Eastern rift zone. e: person who cares about Hawaii,I am concerned that turning Puna into an industrial park will destri n .-ie last pristine places in Hawaii and negatively effect tourism. My me. cerns are in reference to the release of pentane gas and the generation of radio frequencies and elect e.e T;- frequencies by geothermal plants. Pentane gas is toxic to people,plants and aquatic life. It is ncuroe ( ;cs brain damage)and narcotic(causes alterations of consciousness,including coma)at doses as low as ti( p- . Smaller doses cause symptoms such as dizziness,nausea and headache. The current power plant ha. .c redly"lost"over 400,000 gallons of pentane during its operation,averaging 40-100 gallons per day of nt .-sit� pentane that has been accidentally released into the environment. I am cc:. that some of the leaks have been on a large scale,as I used to live at the Northeast end of Hinalo at cot rt a house that.abuts the current plant. Not long after I moved there,I began to experience nausea, i :ea >s and headaches. At.first I assumed that I had a virus;but oddly enough,my symptoms disapptee d e en I left the house and returned when I got home again. At that time I did not know that the plant wa, rc.•_ sing pentane,but once I became aware of it it was clear to cue that I had been receiving toxic doses of pct't. .!e. The symptoms were particularly bad at night,which is when the trade winds drop and that neighbor!, Lani Puna)is more likely to receive fumes. The Northeast end of Leilani gets more daytime fumes cis e- ode winds. Residents of these neighborhoods give many testimonials of their symptoms,and have corn to to as their doctor complaining of these problems.In addition to it's toxic effects,pentane is highly e‘ which is clearly not appropriate for a chemical that is being used in a residential area. Further r. o- to plant also releases hydrogen sulfide,another toxic gas that Hawaii already has too much of due to a emissions. Other :.te tects from the plant are due to noise and vibration. The deleterious health effects of electror._ 7. - radiation(EIVIR)and radio frequencies(RE)arc well documented in the scientific literature(see footnote - re ill effects include damage to DNA,generation of free radicals,altered gene expression,gene mutati, a ., teurologic damage due to increased permeability of the blood brain barrier. The World Health Organi . .c.i as classified RE emissions as Group 2B carcinogens. The military has done extensive research in this field ::r-1 insiders EMR/RF to be weapons that can incapacitate the enemy. The generation of biomafT:' I,_t Ids is a by-product of geothermal production. Because of this and because of gas release and explosir,:: rick most nations require a ten mile zone of non-habitation around geothermal'plants. The fact that our cure t 3. at was built next to a residential subdivision was a horrendous oversight on the part of our County . vet nent While I am sure that was an oversight due to ignorance,our current County Council can not all c- u `: t-mistake to be made again. • In rega,. t: rming,both pentane and hydrogen sulfide are bad for plant Iife. We all know what acid rain and sulfur frsr c to crops. Unfortunately,pentane is even worse. Pentane gas falls to the ground and creates ground l .ei c.one,which is toxic to plant life and to people. Ground level ozone is the main ingredient in urban s: •-:c is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds like pentane react chemically in the pre:et.c of sunlight. Ozone is of particular concern during the summer,when heat can trigger health problems e.=p •:ially for children,older adults and those with respiratory disease. Comm. 0. Ref. To: Ref. Date JUL 1 20 I also ha% grave concerns about the geologic effects of additional power plants. While I am not a geologist,I have bet::-told that drilling many geothermal test wells could create new vents for magma along the Eastern Rift Zon-° ERZ). Due to the population increases in Puna,a new lava flow on the ERZ would be catastrophic. Furtherri re,our current plant pumps more than four million gallons of brine per day into the Earth. There is talk of building over 30 new power plants,which would means billions of gallons of chemical laden water being pumped :uto the Earth under Puna every day. What are the chemicals contained in this brine? Are these chemical: poisoning the ground water,the ocean and the hot ponds? Why does the public not have access to inforrnac,,_,n about these issues? The threat to health,life and property from geologic and hydrologic issues is massive. `.'here are the environmental impact statements that address these issues? Finally, 1 .irn concerned that turning Puna into an industrial park which generates energy for Oahu and Maui is not in the Big Island's best interests. While I recognize that the state of Hawaii needs energy independence,this must be a :hietivd without destroying our health or harming the environment. I am in favor of geothermal power pr..-le,:tion,but only if it is done far from homes and farms. Puna is a fanning district that contains many rc ..=ler.tial areas. Are we going to put thousands of lives at risk to generate power for other islands? What d . I`.ma get out of this? I have not heard of a new hospital,new schools,youth centers,public gyms or other fa ies that we will be given in exchange for our land,our health and our energy production, We will get some .cal jobs,but they are jobs with lots of toxic exposure and OSHA problems. In fact,it seems that Puna bc, ., all the risk and gets none of the benefits from geothermal expansion. Further.: rc,the current power plant has a poor safety record,which includes explosions and evacuation. The corpora, tr_lcture of the geothermal entities is made up of shell corporations that have few assets,so that in the ever s disaster there will be no money to help people who have been harmed. The geothermal comparnr•• hFve worked hard to protect themselves from liability. Again,Puna and it's residents bear all the risk and get n tangible benefits,only a reduced quality of life. I urge thr "Hawaii County Council to vote unanimously to pass Bills 256 and 257. Sincerely Ninu-Ale enclri Quirk,MD Kapoho- I iI Pentane rux°rityinformation: • http://app; ,,rg.uk/spripa/Pages/Substancelnformr ation.aspx?pick 79 http:/Iwo',;.. ,,es: as.eom/^Sp ecialt y%20Gas%o20MSDS/Pentane.pdf http://ww 4. dc.t w/niosh/pe188/109-66.html EMF/RIF tv information: laiochirn B y ta.2005 Mar 22:1743(1-2):120-9. 50-Hz ex'-, .r l low frequency electromagnetic fields enhance cell proliferation and DNA damage:possible Involvemo.,t:f a redox mechanism. J Cell Bloc:,---n-21104 Sep 1;93(1):83-92. Extremely :ov,frequency electromagnetic fields as effectors of cellular responses in vitro:possible immune cell activation. Electrorna±tnt= 1:and Radiofrequency Fields Effect on Human Health http://aaer,or,i; e_org/emfpositionstatement_pdf