Alert issued for removal
of gas tanks at Keehi

The state Department of Health is having two compressed gas cylinders of unknown origin removed from Keehi Lagoon this morning.

Residents, boaters and workers are asked to avoid the area or to stay inside, with windows and doors closed, from 8 to 10 a.m., while the cylinders are removed from the shoreline of Keehi Lagoon, near Keehi Marine Center.

Motorists are advised that Sand Island Access Road between the Sand Island Bridge and Auiki Street and some streets leading to Auiki might be closed for periods of time between 8 and 10 a.m.

The Health Department has retained a professional hazardous material contractor to dispose of the cylinders.

The cylinders are very corroded and their contents are unknown, so precautions are being taken to ensure their safe handling and to limit public exposure to them, a Health Department official said.