HONOLULU -- The Transportation Security Administration is collecting so many cigarette lighters at Honolulu International Airport checkpoints; it has become a storage and safety problem.

An anonymous TSA employee complained to the U.S. Labor Department because hundreds of pounds of the confiscated lighters and other flammable materials were being stored near employee offices and a lunchroom. So the TSA has made some changes at the airport.

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The problem is that since mid-April, air travelers have been banned from taking cigarette lighters on aircraft. TSA screeners at Honolulu International Airport are seizing at least 30 pounds worth of lighters a day, sometimes as much as 40 pounds daily.

"It created a storage problem for us with all the lighters that we've seized," Honolulu's TSA Federal Security Director Sidney Hayakawa said.

Hayakawa said workers have seized 1,700 pounds of cigarette lighters at checkpoints in Honolulu since April 14.

"I guess we didn't anticipate the number of lighters that were going to be surrendered to us," Hayakawa said

Last week, after an employee filed a complaint, a U.S. Labor Department compliance officer told TSA officials they had to store the confiscated lighters and other flammable materials outside of the airport and in a safer place.

The state Transportation Department is allowing the TSA to use part of its lost-and-found office to store the seized lighters and other flammable materials. The TSA bought a $700 fireproof locker to store trays and trays of lighters.

The TSA is also trying to get the hazardous waste contractor to take the lighters away more frequently. Previously, it had been coming every two weeks.