Hawaii firm tries gel on Fukushima school

Soap and water can keep kids clean, but keeping children protected from radiation might require more than just a soapy concoction.

A Hawaii company is spraying its light-blue decontamination gel onto surfaces of a small kindergarten in Fukushima, Japan, where children currently stay inside all day to avoid dangerous nuclear pollution.

If this weekend’s decontamination of Asahimachi Baptist Church and School is successful and more effective than traditional soap and water scrub downs, Honolulu-based CBI Polymers hopes to expand use of its product, called DeconGel, to many other hot spots affected by radiation leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after the March 11 tsunami and earthquake.

Workers for the company and a researcher were at the school beginning Friday to spray DeconGel onto concrete and tile surfaces.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Volunteers clean up illegal dump sites around subdivision

Volunteers are devoting three days to cleaning up illegal dump sites at Hawaiian Ocean View Estates on Hawaii island.

The cleanup effort began Saturday with a safety briefing from the Hawaii County Fire Department.

The work was organized by an alliance of community volunteers and businesses led by Keep Hawaii Beautiful and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Kau ward.

Arrow Hawaiian, Atlas Recycling Center, Big Island Scrap Metal, Pacific Waste Hauling and Superior Sanitation Waste Hauling are participating in the cleanup.

Additional work days are scheduled Thursday and Friday.

Corpse flower set to bloom and reek at Hawaii isle zoo

HILO » A corpse plant at a Hilo zoo is on the verge of making a big stink.

Panaewa Rainforest Zoo officials said Friday its corpse plant is ready to bloom. The plant, which stands 40 inches tall, is known for emitting an odor that many people have described as the smell of rotting meat.

Unlike previous bloomings, the plant will bloom in the ground and not in a pot.

Trollers may fish near Kahoolawe during 2 weekends

Waters within two miles of Kahoolawe will be open to trolling on the first and third weekends of August, the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission announced.

Vessels must be registered with the commission and file a catch report. A $25 permit fee applies.

To register, contact Dean Tokishi at 243-5889 or dtokishi@kirc.hawaii.gov, or visit kahoolawe.hawaii.gov.