I read Leila Fujimori’s article about concerns that firefighter gear may have been exposed to asbestos when they entered the burning Marco Polo building (“Asbestos confirmed in condo during fire,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 11).

Asbestos is a name used to identify different types of commercial fibers that can cause cancer, mostly mesothelioma, a malignancy of the membranes that cover the lungs and abdomen.

Fortunately, only a small fraction of those exposed to asbestos for prolonged periods of time developed mesothelioma.

For example, 4.6 percent of miners who worked continuously for over 10 years mining asbestos developed mesothelioma; 95 percent did not. None of the asbestos miners who were employed for less than three months developed mesothelioma. Thus, there seems to be no risk of developing mesothelioma following one-two days of exposure.

The fact that the Honolulu Fire Department is following all mandated disposal and cleaning precautions makes it even less likely that there will be negative health consequences after this one exposure.

Michele Carbone, M.D.

University of Hawaii Cancer Center

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Don’t put dogs in shopping carts

I love animals, especially dogs, as much as the next person.

When I see dogs in the shopping carts in any store, especially grocery stores, I feel a bit unsure of using the cart for my shopping. I know it’s not safe to leave the animal outside while shopping, but I don’t think an animal should be riding in the cart. The carts are made for grocery shopping. They are not dog buggies.

Sarina Cabaccang

McCully

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Use better tech for bikesharing

I recently returned to Honolulu from college in Shanghai. It was good to be home, but I laughed when I saw Bikeshare Hawaii’s kiosks.

While the new bike share program provides a healthy transportation alternative, the technology is antiquated. Bikeshare Hawaii constructed dozens of bike kiosks around Honolulu where users may rent or return their bikes. This system, however, had large capital costs, limits a rider’s route to locations with kiosks, and takes up space along sidewalks. Chinese companies developed a more cost effective and user friendly system in 2015.

Instead of using kiosks to secure bikes, Chinese bikeshare companies attached locks directly onto their bikes. Users with an account can use their phones to scan a QR code to unlock any bike. With this, bikes can secure themselves and users are free to hop on and off bikes anywhere.

Hawaii may be small and geographically isolated, but that makes it all the more necessary and easier to utilize the most innovative solutions to address local issues.

Jackson Sayama

St. Louis Heights

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Students don’t know religions

The question of whether public schools should put religion in classrooms is timely (“Should public schools put religion in classrooms?” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 14).

Unfortunately, the author who answered “no” seemed to interpret the question in terms of practice, not theory. My public school education left many gaps, particularly in history, in which a fuller understanding of religion’s influence would have helped my understanding of the past and the present.

Religious illiteracy in our country is embarrassingly widespread and growing. I hope that the state Department of Education would consider inserting a short, non-biased curriculum covering the basics of major faiths so that our keiki would be adequately prepared for today’s issues.

Tim Miller

Hawaii Kai

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Religion doesn’t belong in schools

Roger Beckett argues that religion should be taught in public schools (“Should public schools put religion in classrooms?” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 14).

Sadly, though, his reasons are misstatements about the actual history of the Americas. He claims that “many of the people who first came to America were seeking a place to freely practice their faith.”

Not true. None of the people who first came to America were there because of their religion. All the people who came to the Americas, and were there for thousands of years, were our First Nation or indigenous people.

Beckett also is not so subtly telling us that religion in America is basically only Christian, citing a 1630 commentary called “A Model of Christian Charity” and other sources as though there were no other religions in America during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In other words, if he had his way, we would have a biased, racist and mono- poly religion dominating discussion. His essay is exactly why we should keep our schools free from such harmful and distorting perspectives.

Joel Fischer

Waialae