Police and an Oahu bomb technician responded Tuesday to a frightening discovery at the Hilo Solid Waste Transfer Station.
Police and an Oahu bomb technician responded Tuesday to a frightening discovery at the Hilo Solid Waste Transfer Station.
A supervisor there alerted county police at about 9:30 a.m. that “an unknown device resembling a bomb” had been found sitting atop one of the dump’s four garbage chutes, said County Department of Environmental Management Acting Director Dora Beck.
“(Police) came on site and took photos and sent them to the Oahu bomb squad for identification and advice,” she said.
In the meantime, police were advised to maintain a perimeter of about 50 feet around the explosive, and transfer station workers cut off public access to chutes 3 and 4 due to their proximity to the device, Beck said. She did not know, however, which of the two chutes had the device on top of it.
The two remaining chutes continued to operate, as they were outside the perimeter recommended by the bomb squad, she added.
“Later in the afternoon, someone from the bomb squad flew out and took the unknown device with them,” Beck said.
The bomb expert spent about a half hour working with the device before ascertaining that it was “nonexplosive,” Beck stated.
“It was described as a 3-inch-wide by 6-inch-tall armor-piercing projectile,” she added.
The two garbage chutes were out of commission for the majority of the day, from 9:40 a.m. to 4 p.m.