University of Hawaii researchers landed $3.6 million to find out whether old farm chemicals in the soil are making people sick — worrying for residents near former plantation land, but a step toward answers.

• The money comes from the National Institutes of Health and covers five years of work.
• Researchers will test soil on former farmland for lead and arsenic left over from the plantation era.
• A key question is whether floods and wildfires stir up that buried pollution and spread it through smoke, ash, dust, and water.
• Fire does more than burn plants — it also burns older homes and pipes, releasing contaminants that sat untouched for decades.
• The study will track 1,000 people across the state who may have been exposed.

Outlook: Results will take years, but early findings could shape how Hawaii handles cleanup and rebuilding after the next fire or flood.