Newswatch
Environment watchers said, however, that many such accidents go unreported.
Hawaii's lower numbers are partially due to less heavy industry here than elsewhere in the United States, said Steve Armann, manager of the Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office at the state Department of Health. But government offices still received more than 300 calls last year from residents worried about toxic releases.
The law requires companies and organizations to report only those toxic releases that exceed certain thresholds.
"The chemical industry continues to argue that the public has a right to know about toxic chemicals only after they have already been released into the air or water," said Paul Brenner, co-director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group office here.
"A lot of spills and accidents go unreported because of the way laws are set up. We have a right to know when and where toxic chemicals are used and produced within the plant gates even before they are released into the environment."
Armann's office responds to at least two calls a week, with a total 322 calls made last year, from smells of harmless chemicals to more serious complaints.
"For a place without heavy industry, we still have citizens complaining of chemical exposures constantly," Armann said.
The report, co-written with the National Environmental Law Center, was released this morning to mark the 12th anniversary of a deadly gas leak in Bhopal, India, that killed more than 3,500 people. It said more than 20 toxic-chemical spills, explosions and other accidental releases occur every day in the United States.
Honolulu lifeguards posted warnings yesterday at Waikiki, where seven stings were reported in the morning, and Ala Moana, where there was one report.
Ocean Safety Division officer "Landy" Blair said the number of the ocean pests should drop by tomorrow and the shoreline would be all clear by the weekend.
The jellyfish appear nine days after the full moon. The invasion lasts four to five days.
Cayetano has proclaimed a week in honor of family caregivers. He said he understands their plight because he helped care for his father, who suffered from dementia until his death in 1994.
Two years ago, the Governor's Executive Office on Aging proposed a bill to help cover the cost of day care, nursing home care and other services for the aged. The Family Hope Program was rejected by the Legislature this year, and Cayetano hopes to submit a modified plan next year.
Carroll, 53, president of the Hana Cultural Center and Hana Pre-School, assumes the elected position of Councilman Thomas Morrow, who died in an airplane crash Nov. 1. Morrow won re-election posthumously.
Carroll's 30-day term ends Jan. 2, 1997, when a new council convenes. Council members plan to decide next month on a two-year replacement for Morrow.
She was treated at Tripler Hospital and apparently was in stable condition, according to police.
The woman was walking to a friend's home about 8 p.m. when she felt a sting. She didn't realize she had been shot until she reached her friend's home, police said.
Police have no suspects.
Charles Abellana was being held on $15,000.
Abellana is accused of driving away with the truck from the company's Sheridan Street lot.
He allegedly fled a minor collision on Round Top Drive and was finally stopped in Red Hill by a police officer on a motorcycle.
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