More than 40 years since a vermiculite-processing facility near the Honolulu airport was shuttered over concerns about asbestos contamination, harmful vermiculite and asbestiform tremolite residue remains in the soil placing nearby Honolulu residents at risk.
Hawai’i factory’s troubled history
For decades, the facility known as the Vermiculite of Hawai’i Plant operated near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport processing vermiculite shipped from a Libby, Montana, mine operated by W.R. Grace & Co. The plant used an exfoliation process that released asbestos particles into the air.
Although the Hawai’i facility closed in 1983 and remediation was performed in 2001, a new study confirms that dangerous levels of vermiculite and asbestiform tremolite remain. As asbestos and fibrous particles can persist in soil and air for years, the risk to nearby residents remains.