HILO >> A retired geologist and Big Island resident has questioned the Pohakuloa Training Area’s radiation monitoring plan, prompting federal regulators to give the plan another look.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency review board agreed last month to review some of the concerns raised by retired geologist Michael Reimer.

Reimer is concerned with the frequency of sediment sampling, number of sediment sampling sites and data evaluation methods for depleted uranium.

Reimer said he doesn’t think the plan requiring one sediment sampling site downstream of the U.S. Army training facility is sufficient to monitor depleted uranium.

Agency spokesman David McIntyre said any recommended changes would go out for public review, likely early next year.

Asbestos work to shutter convention hall for 6 months

LIHUE >> The Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall will be closed for six months starting Jan. 1 for asbestos removal and the installation of new flooring and ceramic wall tiles.

Workers will remove asbestos-laced floor tiles, install new floor tiles, and also install new ceramic tiles on the kitchen walls, the county Department of Parks and Recreation announced.

Reservations for the convention hall will not be accepted during the closure.

The contractors involved with the roughly $181,000 project are Pacific Concrete Cutting & Coring Inc. and Creative Partition Systems.

For more information on this project, call the department office at 241-4460. To make reservations for the convention hall before or after the closure, call Eddie Sarita at 241-6623.