Maui mayor seeks WAILUKU >> Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana said he's been talking with Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' office about borrowing a hazardous materials kit that tests for the presence of bacteria and viruses, including anthrax.
help in anthrax testing
Kimo Apana asks Mayor Jeremy
Harris to loan him a test kitBy Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.comApana made the statement yesterday, following an anthrax scare on a passenger jet Saturday on Maui that forced more than 100 passengers to extend their stay on the Valley Isle a day.
Maui firefighters put a white powdery substance found on the cabin floor of the jet into a sealed container but did not have the capability to conduct preliminary tests to determine if it was harmful.
The container was flown to Oahu Monday, and state health officials yesterday conducted a preliminary test and determined the white powdery substance was not harmful.
The lack of field testing capabilities on Maui prompted American Airlines to send a hazardous materials team to the Valley Isle to decontaminate the jet and fly it without passengers to Los Angeles Sunday.
Honolulu Fire Capt. Carter Davis said firefighters on Oahu, responding to calls from the airport, have taken under 50 minutes to conduct preliminary tests to determine if a substance is harmful.
Davis said while the tests are not as accurate as those conducted in laboratories by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are designed so that mistakes occur on the side of caution.
Davis said the cost of an initial test kit was about $6,500.
County of Maui