Health Experts: Flooding, Sea Level Rise Could Release Chemicals At Hundreds Of Hawaii Sites 1 Many of those sites were historically used for agriculture and heavy industry and include military installations.
Rising seas and increased flooding could eventually release, spread and mix together a host of chemicals contaminating more than 800 sites across Hawaii, exposing the public to more potential health risks linked to climate change, local health experts warned lawmakers on Wednesday.
Those vulnerable spots are among the 1,000 or so sites with “stable” chemical contamination monitored by the Department of Health’s Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office, according to Diana Felton, the state’s toxicologist.
They’ve been found to contain compounds ranging from old paint lead and oil spills to more complex industrial chemicals, she said. Many of the sites were previously used in heavy industry and agriculture on the islands.
