Environmental Monitoring

Air | Ash and Debris | Beach Sand | Coastal Sediment | Coastal Waters | County Parks | West Maui TDS Site | Soil

USACE conducted confirmatory soil sampling for the August 2023 wildfires that affected commercial properties in Lahaina, Maui—areas where USACE completed debris removal activities. USACE conducted this soil sampling to evaluate levels of metals associated with debris and ash after debris removal. The sampling was conducted to confirm that it would be safe for businesses to return and begin rebuilding.

The sampling and analyses were conducted in accordance with the Department of Health (DOH) Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) Technical Guidance Manual (TGM).

Please be sure to read the entirety of the subsections below and follow the instructions to review soil sampling results on the searchable table below and to understand how to interpret the results. A PDF file of the entire dataset is available for download with the link provided.

Please contact the DOH HEER Office at (808) 586-4249 for further assistance in understanding these results.

Accessing the Data

The number of requests to share soil sampling results has increased over time. In response, DOH and USACE are posting the following dataset for efficient access, providing the public with ease of viewing and downloading the data:

• A simplified look-up table (below) displaying the TMK (Tax-Map-Key), property address, sample ID, sample date, analytical results, and applicable cleanup goals.

• A downloadable PDF version of the full dataset showing all rows and columns reported by the laboratory, including laboratory methods, tracking information, and other information. Several columns are blank, and thus were not displayed in the dataset. This dataset also includes the cleanup goals, as defined and presented below. 

Sampling results are presented for each property and compared to “cleanup goals.” Cleanup goals refer to Environmental Action Levels (EALs), which are screening values for human health. These EALs are summarized and explained in more detail below.

Understanding the Tables

Field Descriptions – Simplified Look-up Table

• TMK: The Tax-Map-Key location where the sample was collected.
• Address: The physical address where the sample was collected.
• SMP_ID: The identification number (ID) of the sample collected. Each sample has an ID. For each TMK and address, there are multiple sample IDs. This is because DOH uses a sampling approach to collect many different samples from each location (referred to as “decision units”). The format of the sampling ID is as follows: “TMK” – [12-digit TMK] – CS [indicating confirmation sample] – Descriptor. The descriptors are as follows:
  • -1, -S1, etc.: The decision unit where the sample was collected.
  • -T1/-T2/-T3: Field triplicate, which is used for quality assurance.
• SMP_DT: The date the sample was collected.
• ANALYTE: The parameter being sampled.
• LAB_RESULT: The analytical sampling result.
  • ND = non-detect (meaning that the parameter is absent or present at a level too low for the test to measure).  
• UNIT: The unit of measurement for the sample, e.g., mg/kg = milligrams/kilogram; PERCENT (%) for terbium samples, were used as an internal laboratory QA standard.
• CLEANUP_GOAL: The commercial EAL for the analyte, including background value.
• EXCEED_CRITERIA: A sampling result above the identified EAL, as indicated by:
  • “ND” = non-detect (the parameter is absent or present at a level too low for the test to measure);
  • “No” = no exceedance of the EAL;
  • “#N/A” = EAL is not applicable;  
  • “Yes” = yes, the value exceeded the EAL.

Interpreting Sample Results

The sample result shown in the “LAB_RESULT” column in the table below can be compared to the respective DOH Environmental Action Level (EAL), shown in the “CLEANUP_GOAL” column.

Hawaii DOH establishes EALs for a wide variety of land uses (e.g., residential, commercial, or industrial), proximity to drinking water or surface water, and other potential exposure and toxicity considerations. These EALs may also be adjusted for project-specific considerations. EALs are threshold levels for contaminants in soil, water, or air that indicate whether further investigation or action is necessary to protect human and environmental health. An EAL represents a level below which no adverse health effects are expected; sampling results that exceed an EAL show that contamination may warrant further evaluation or a more detailed risk assessment to determine if remediation is necessary. The image below provides an example screenshot of the simplified look-up table. The sampling result for antimony is shown in the “LAB_RESULT” column. The sampling result is “ND” mg/kg, which is “non-detect”, and thus, below the “CLEANUP_GOAL” of 82 mg/kg. The “EXCEED_CRITERIA” column states “ND” because the sample result was “non-detect” and did not exceed the EAL.

If the laboratory result for a property is below the respective EAL, there is no significant health risk.

For this USACE confirmatory commercial sampling, the EALs for direct exposure on commercial properties were used (Table I-2 of the DOH HEER Office EAL Surfer).

All values have been approved by DOH. The metals assessed and associated EALs are summarized below:

¹  DOH’s EALs for direct exposure may vary from the Tier 1 EALs. EALs are screening values for human health and are referred to as “Cleanup goals”.

For more EAL-related information, please visit the DOH HEER Office website:

HAZARD EVALUATION & EMERGENCY RESPONSE (HEER) OFFICE Environmental Hazard Evaluation and Environmental Action Levels –

For questions on how to interpret these data and understand if there are any health risks, please contact the DOH HEER Office at (808) 586-4249. They will answer your questions and address any concerns.

Searchable Look-Up Table

Users can find the sampling results for different properties by searching by TMK or the property address in the search box below. You must type in the TMK in the exact 12-digit format shown (e.g., 1234-5678-9123). Users can also download the full dataset. The search will return all results for that TMK.

Please note that the following table includes results for terbium. Samples for terbium were used as an internal laboratory QA standard, not as an analyte to evaluate public health, thus there is no DOH EAL.