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Geothermal Public Health Assessment

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Geothermal Public Health Assessment FINAL REPORT Geothermal Public Health Assessment FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS Submitted By Peter S. Adler, PhD PROJECT DIRECTOR On Behalf of The Geothermal Public Health Assessment Study Group SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 The Original Geothermal Public Health Assessment Study Group 1 Jay Bondesen Alfred Dettweiler Daniel DiDomizio * Edward Fisher * James Haefner LaRee Ann Hiltner Robert Petricci René Siracusa A. Jeff Sutton Laura Travis Thomas Travis Maile Tuali‘i * __________________________________________ Peter S. Adler, PhD Project Director 1 Due to other commitments, Dan DiDomizio, Maile Tuali‘i, and Edward Fisher were unable to complete their participation in the Study Group’s 9-month process. GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 2 Table of Contents PAGE Original Geothermal Health Study Group 2 Acknowledgements 5 Partial List of Terms & Abbreviations 6 Executive Summary 8 I Introduction & Background 13 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Project Initiation 14 Goals & Deliverables 15 Caveats to This Report 15 Initial Interviews 18 Selection of Study Group Members 21 Charter of Commitments 23 Study Group Meetings 23 II Setting & Context ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Setting 24 The Kīlauea East Rift Zone 25 Geothermal Development in Puna 26 Environment & Health Problems 29 III The Issues __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ First Pass ~ Initial Questions 33 Second Pass ~ High Priority Questions 34 Third Pass ~ Additional Questions 35 GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 3 IV General Findings __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Puna’s Public Health Profile is Unclear 38 2 Health Studies are Needed 39 3 Geothermal Operations Carry Health Risks 44 V Specific Recommendations _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Comprehensive Health Effects Study 48 2 Meta-Analysis of H2S 53 3 Monitoring System 54 4 Water Systems 59 5 Health Study Experts 60 6 HGP-A 64 7 Communication & Alerts 65 8 Baseline Studies 67 VI Concluding Thoughts _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Regulatory Problem 69 Native Hawaiian Health Issues 70 Dr. Kaye Kilburn 71 Future Geothermal Development 71 VII Annexes __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Statements by Individual 73 Study Group Members 2 Public Comments 99 3 Bibliographic Resources 159 4 Other Resource Materials 185 5 Project Description 197 6 Study Group Charter 201 GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 4 Acknowledgements rofound thanks first and foremost to Study Group members Jay Bondesen, Alfred Dettweiler, Edward Fisher, James Haefner, LaRee Hiltner, Robert P Petricci, René Siracusa, A. Jeff Sutton, Laura Travis, and Thomas Travis. All volunteered enormous amounts of time and energy to the issues, distilled important knowledge and information, engaged in the sometimes difficult search for consensus, and worked strenuously on the recommendations. Second, to all members of the public who came to meetings, patiently observed, listened hard, and offered constructive comments on the substance and process of the Study Group’s work. Third, to Newton Inouye of the Department of Health, Michael Kaleikini of Puna Geothermal Venture, Jeffrey Melrose, our County of Hawai‘i point of contact, Jon- Pierre Michaud of University of Hawai‘i-Hilo, and F. DeWolfe Miller of the John Burns School of Medicine who served as liaisons and brought forward documents and views for the Study Group’s consideration. All of these individuals provided us with valuable meteorological, historical, public health, and geological information. Last, to the Project Team who did an extraordinary amount of heavy “lifting” to support the Study Group and bring this project to fruition: Ms. Keala Carter of ACCORD3.0, Ms. Catherine Lampton of Mediation & More, and Mr. Xavier Matsutaro of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Peter S. Adler, PhD ACCORD3.0 GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 5 Partial List of Terms & Abbreviations ATSDR U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Anxiety An umbrella term for a variety of problems including excessive worry, fears, Disorder uneasiness, apprehension, ruminations, panic, and post-traumatic stress. BACT Best Available Control Technology BLNR Board of Land and Natural Resources Caustic Sodium hydroxide or lye, which is used in the emergency bypass system to Soda help mitigate the effects of H2S CDUP Conservation District Use Permit CNS Central Nervous System COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease dBA The power of noise calculated in decibels DOH Department of Health DLNR Department of Land and Natural Resources EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency GW Gigawatts, equal to one billion watts HCCD Hawai‘i County Civil Defense HELCO Hawai‘i Electric Light Company H2S Hydrogen Sulfide GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 6 HGP-A Hawai‘i Geothermal Project’s (HGP) initial test plant JFF Joint Fact Finding MW Megawatts, equal to one million watts MA Meta-analysis—a systematic review of a set of studies and their methods Peer Evaluation of an expert’s work by one or more other experts who have similar Review competencies, usually for purposes of acceptance for publication Pentane A hydrocarbon used as a working fluid in geothermal energy operations ppb & ppm Parts per billion and parts per million. The number of parts per million is equal to the number of parts-per billion divided by 1000. 1 ppm = 1,000 ppb. PGV Puna Geothermal Venture L.P., a subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, Inc. Rankine Rankine degree is a measurement scale used by some engineering fields. A Scale temperature of −459.67 °F is exactly equal to 0 °R. RFP Request for Proposal Rift Zone Specifically, the Kīlauea East Rift Zone, a volcanic source of heat underneath part of Hawai‘i Island UH University of Hawai‘i Upset Anything other than normal operations at a geothermal plant; sometimes Condition referred to as an “incident” USGS U.S. Geological Survey Vog Volcanic smog GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 7 Executive Summary n September, 2012 Hawai‘i Island Mayor William Kenoi asked Peter S. Adler, PhD of ACCORD3.0 if he would organize an independent “joint fact finding” I Study Group that would examine the type and extent of health impacts from Hawai‘i Island geothermal operations. Hawai‘i County Council members had shown interest in such an effort, and the Mayor expressed his own belief that public officials, regulators, and residents must consider the health risks that may be associated with geothermal energy production. The specific aims of the project were to: 1 List the public health questions pertinent to the production of geothermal energy in the Puna region; 2 Create a reliable inventory of existing studies that addresses those public health concerns and that could serve as references for decision-makers; and 3 Recommend the priorities and preferred methodologies for future scientific and monitoring studies that may be required or that can best assist the County and the Windward Planning Commission to make informed decisions that protect the long term health of the community. Findings 1 Puna’s public health profile is unclear Puna’s overall public health appears worse than the County and State as a whole. We do not have an accurate and readily available profile of disease and illness patterns for the past and current populations of Puna, and more particularly, for Lower Puna. A health profile could provide a better basis for understanding geothermal health issues. Usable and pertinent public health information should normally include statistics on mortality (heart disease, malignant neoplasms, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory illness, unintentional accidents, etc.); actual causes of death (accidents, tobacco, alcohol, microbial agents, toxic agents, etc.); actual disabilities (arthritis, diabetes, chronic back problems, impaired vision, etc.); and detailed mortality and morbidity information by age, ethnicity, and length of GEOTHERMAL PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT • SEPTEMBER 2013 8 time in Puna. An accurate health picture would normally also include clinic and hospital admissions, numbers of days of sickness, and other statistical snapshots. 2 Health studies are needed Events during the HGP-A era and during the 1991 blowout provided exposures associated with adverse health effects. This knowledge, along with other information contained in this report and referenced in Annexes-3 and -4 has led the Study Group to conclude there is evidence that there were health effects from the exposures during the development of geothermal
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