New Year’s sufferers
By Harold Morse
seek safe haven
Star-BulletinGreet the millennium at the movies?
That's what the American Lung Association of Hawaii has in mind as a way to get away from the smoke expected to be caused by fireworks this New Year's Eve.
The association is trying to determine if the demand is there for it to rent a theater for people seeking refuge from the smoke. Theater chains already have been approached, it said.
"We'd pay the cover charge and then just watch movies all night long," says Allison Beale, the association's environmental director. If not enough seating is available, the association may sound out enclosed Oahu shopping malls for the purpose.
The name of the proposed project is Safe Haven 2000.
"Last year's New Year's Eve fireworks created a dense fog that covered many of our communities and affected many of the nearly 200,000 people who have lung ailments in Hawaii," Beale said.
"This year, we are anticipating even more smoke from fireworks, and we want to make sure people have a safe place to go."
Austin Dias -- who lives near the Punchbowl area and whose mother-in-law is over 80 and has a history of lung ailments -- thinks it's a good idea.
"We expect the fireworks to be as wild as ever, probably more than it's ever been because of the celebration for the millennium," said Dias, a Spanish professor at the University of Hawaii and a former president of the lung association in Hawaii.
Louisa Lindow of St. Louis Heights, who has chronic bronchitis, also likes the lung association proposal. But since she has a respirator and air cleaners and her house is entirely enclosed, she plans to endure New Year's Eve at home.
"I have some pets," Lindow noted. "They need calming and soothing."
Association President Jan Meadowcroft said if demand is shown, the group will "take the steps now to protect the public."
"We do know that overexposure to thick smoke can be quite dangerous," Meadowcroft said. "There are thousands of young children and elderly people who would have difficulty breathing if the fireworks we expect are exploded that night."
People who are interested can call 537-5966, ext. 304.
