Strykers (and DU) on Parade in Hilo?

Post Date November 06, 2009

Comments 3 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category 'A'ole Stryker, Depleted Uranium, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News

Mahalo to Joan Conrow and the Hawaii Independent for this article about Hilo residents’ opposition to Strykers and possible Depleted Uranium contamination being in the Veteran’s Day Parade.

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http://thehawaiiindependent.com/page-one/read/veterans-parade-hit-with-du-concerns/

Hilo Veterans’ Day parade hit with depleted uranium concerns

Nov 05, 2009 – 12:35 PM | By Joan Conrow | The Hawaii Independent

HILO—Plans to include vehicles from Hawaii Island’s Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) in Saturday’s Veteran’s Day parade in Hilo have met opposition from those concerned about glorifying war and possible contamination by depleted uranium (DU).

Jim Albertini, director of the Malu Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action, said that after event organizers told him Stryker vehicles would be participating in the parade, he wrote to Lt. Col. Warline S. Richardson, the PTA’s commanding officer, to express his concerns.

“Including Stryker vehicles in the parade is a provocative action that glorifies war disguised as honoring veterans,” Albertini wrote in his October 30 letter. “I urge that Strykers and other combat weapons be kept out of the parade. To parade these killing machines through our peaceful streets desensitizes young and old to the horrors of war.

“As you know, basing Strykers in Hawaii has been a major controversy,” the letter continued. “Their use of Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons in Iraq contaminating that country forever is equally controversial, and likely related to the Gulf War Syndrome that has effected [sic] the health of hundreds of thousands of disabled U.S. veterans and millions of Iraqi citizens. The fact that these Strykers are currently doing live-fire training at Pohakuloa, known to be contaminated with DU, risks spreading that contamination, endangering the health and safety of troops and the citizens of this island. Bringing these Strykers, that may be contaminated with DU, down the streets of Hilo adds insult to injury.”

Albertini said that Richardson contacted him early the next morning and said she was willing to keep mobile weapons out of the parade in order to avoid a protest, and instead would send “command Strykers” that were outfitted with communications equipment rather than weaponry.

But he said Richardson was not receptive when he raised the concern that any vehicles from PTA could be contaminated with DU oxide: “I don’t think she takes that issue very seriously.”

Albertini said that fear about possible DU contamination from the training area was widespread on the Big Island, and had prompted the Hawaii County Council to pass a 2008 resolution “ordering a complete halt to B-2 bombing missions and all live firing exercises and other actions at PTA that create dust until there’s an assessment and clean up of the depleted uranium already present.”

When contacted by The Hawaii Independent, Richardson said: “Those vehicles aren’t contaminated. What would they be contaminated with?” Richardson also denied that she had agreed to let command Strykers participate in the parade. “I don’t control those vehicles,” she said.

“She’s telling two different stories,” Albertini countered.

Loran Doane, media relations chief for the U.S. Army Garrison, said that event organizers had asked the Army to participate in the parade, but “no final determination has been made as to exact form that participation will take.” He said a decision likely would be made by noon Friday.

He also said that the Army has a “process and standards for cleaning military vehicles before entry into the U.S.”

The fact sheet for cleaning vehicles states: “Those identified as contaminated with DU are wrapped in plastic and tarps (encased) to prevent the spread of any removable contamination or residues. They are then shipped through the Port of Charleston, South Carolina, to the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland. Here, the vehicles are assessed for decontamination and repair, or for recovery of parts.”

Richardson also said she could not understand the objection to Styrkers. “It’s just a wheeled type of a piece of equipment. I just don’t understand a little bit of the concern,” she said, likening them to Toyota releasing a new version of the Maxima. ”Part of it is education. That’s why you want to let them participate in parades.”

Meanwhile, Major Doug Rokke (Ret.), the former director of the U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project, issued a statement in response to the parade plans that read:

“Any and all combat vehicles and equipment (everything) returned from Iraq should be prohibited from any civilian area. A standard wash rack is useless for decontamination. Keep all contaminated equipment isolated to the army post. Army regulation 700-48, section 2-4 requires isolation from all human contact.

“Even after extensive depot level cleaning, I found DU and other radiological, chemical, and biological contamination in vehicles years later.

“The gross contamination of equipment, vehicles, terrain, air, water, soil, and food is reflected in, and verified by, the hundreds of thousands of U.S. casualties with serious medical problems that are unrelated to bullets or bombs, but are directly related to all of these toxic exposures.

“Hawaii’s isolated and pristine environment should not be exposed to, and consequently placed in danger through, any exposure to any of the contaminants brought back by the U.S. military from war zones.”

Dr. Lorrin Pang, a consultant to the Big Island County Council on the issue of DU, also advised caution, noting that Dr. Rosalie Bertell has said the weaponry causes nano-particles to be released, as well as DU oxide.

“There is a newly recognized associated threat called nanotoxicity, especially from small metallic particles,” Pang said in a written statement. “Yet another unknown. With so many unknowns I suggest we adhere to the precautionary principle and honor our veterans by not further exposing them (and the public) to further unknown agents. Remember both Rokke and I are former Army and we are still watching out for the soldiers.”

Army's depleted uranium application now before NRC

Post Date August 31, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, Projects and Campaigns

http://www.hawaii247.org/2009/08/27/armys-depleted-uranium-application-now-before-nrc/

Army’s depleted uranium application now before NRC

Updated at 9:05 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2009.

Karin Stanton/Hawaii247 Contributing Editor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission began its review of the U.S. Army’s application to possess depleted uranium this week on the Big Island.

The procedure to grant a license – and establishing any conditions to that license – is expected to last into next year.

The application covers nine sites across the country, including Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island and Schofield Barracks on Oahu.

“We’re basically in the beginning stages here,” said Dave McIntyre, NRC Public Affairs Office. “We’re here to review the process and the conditions that could be put on the permit.”

Although the application includes mainland sites, McIntyre said Hawaii was a logical place to start.

“We understand there is a long-standing relationship with the military and we understand there is some mistrust there,” he said.

More than 700 spotting rounds for the 1960s Davy Crockett weapons system were shipped to Hawaii, according the U.S. Army records. They since have been confirmed at Schofield in 2005 and at PTA in 2007.
Presenters from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Hilo High School Thursday (Aug 27).

Presenters from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Hilo High School with a radiation detector Thursday (Aug 27).

The Army now needs a possession permit from the NRC, an independent federal regulatory board that ensures the use of radioactive material is done safely.

The series of meeting this week included Oahu, Kona and Hilo. The final meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at Hilo High School.

Public comments will be accepted until Oct. 13; members of the public also can make a hearing request as outlined in the National Federal Register.

More than three dozen residents attended Wednesday’s informational meeting at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.

Among the concerns

* The Army’s continued dropping of 2,000-pound test bombs in the area, despite the county council passing a nonbinding resolution in 2008 requesting the military halt live-fire training.

* Sen. Josh Green, who also is an emergency room physician, said he is alarmed about the ‘cancer clusters’ in Kona.

* Residents called for the NRC to research whether depleted uranium may contribute to cancer, birth defects, deformations and other illness.

* Highlights of testimony from Kona resident Shannon Rudolph

I was across the highway from Pohakuloa in May 2007, with other residents watching radiation monitors for an hour and a half staying at, or below normal background radiation levels of 5 to 20 counts per minute.

A visible “dust devil” blew up off the training range and traveled directly over the monitors and all of us. As the dust blew over us, the radiation monitors spiked 4 times, up to 75 cpm. We were horrified.

Our State Dept. of Health was contacted and they came up the mountain to measure. Their protocol for measuring radiation was to practically hold their old monitor out the window of their car for a few moments and declare safe levels.

Cabrera Services was hired to monitor, and flew over a very small portion of Pohakuloa for a couple of days in a helicopter, which residents know, wasn’t nearly enough.

Residents have gotten no answers they feel are reliable regarding questions we have about DU on our mountain, we’ve mostly gotten stalling, misinformation, and disrespect.

We need some straight answers to our questions and residents are counting on the NCR to protect us as one of our last lines of defense against the military who have a historically poor record of telling the truth.

Many residents think many more radiation weapons systems have been used beyond the Davy Crockett, tail fin spotter rounds.

I ask that in addition to absolutely foolproof, verifiable, long term, air, soil, and water monitoring, preferably by independent professionals, for all Hawaii bases that are contaminated, I plead with you to do some independent testing of sick, life long, Hawaii residents living downwind, especially in South Kona, which is at the business end of the Pohakuloa wind tunnel, in addition to wildlife near perimeters.

It is well past time that we have some straight answers from someone.

Let’s cut to the chase, IF depleted uranium is discovered in any life long resident or animal, it means the radiation is migrating off of the property.

I ask that you make the Army follow its own regulation AR 700-48 according to regulation author, Dr. Doug Rokke; to shut down these Hawaii training areas now, clean up every speck of DU, and take care of and compensate well, any soldier or resident they may have harmed.

Personally, I think if widespread contamination is discovered, the army should build us a new hospital or pay to relocate those who care to leave. If you have to pave over Pohakuloa to stop the dust, do it. We’ll have to worry about the groundwater later.

I dearly hope you will take all of our comments seriously, hold the military’s feet to the fire on the DU issue, and babysit their every move as your sacred duty to us all.

– Find out more:

Army application material: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html, click on ADAMS Web Search, then enter docket number 04009083 in the search box.

Written comments may be sent to: John Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two White Flint North, Mail Stop T8F5, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738. Or send an e-mail to: john.hayes@nrc.gov

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From: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/

Poll Results

The U.S. Army says there is no danger or health risk posed by depleted uranium ordnance at Pohakuloa Training Area:
I believe what the Army says and am not concerned for my health. (35 Votes, 11%)

I’d like to believe the Army’s report but will not be satisfied without an independent risk assessment of the depleted uranium situation. (69 Votes, 21%)

I don’t believe a word the Army says. Bring in outside experts and let the truth be known. (225 Votes, 68%)

NRC faced angry citizens on DU in Hawaii

Post Date August 30, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, Projects and Campaigns

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/08/28/18620043.php

NRC faced angry citizens on DU in Hawaii

by DLi
Friday Aug 28th, 2009 11:40 AM

Last night the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a meeting in Hilo, Hawaii on the Army’s application for a license to deposit unknown amounts of Depleted Uranium(DU)at the Pohakuloa Training Area on Mauna Kea, considered by many native Hawaiians as a sacred temple. Over 50 concerned citizens confronted the NRC on its checkered past in safeguarding health & safety of citizens from the nuclear industry, as well as its rubber-stamping of the Military’s mishandling of DU. It was revealed that the NRC had never turned down an application from the U.S. Military.

But the bulk of the citizens’ anger was focused on the Army’s willful non-compliance of Hawaii County Council’s resolution to demand a stop to all live fire exercises at PTA until an assessment and cleanup of DU has been completed. Dozens of citizens from the environmental, kanaka maoli, Peace and scientific communities all testified on the U.S. Military’s sordid history of stonewalling, disinformation and illegal dumping of toxic wastes on the revered aina of Hawai’i.

The consensus from the community? Stop all bombings and live fire at Pohakuloa! And Stop desecrating the land while training troops for foreign invasions! As in the previous night’s meeting in Kona, citizens are united in demanding that the NRC do its job and deny any license for the Army to leave DU and other toxic substances in place. All citizens agree that they will not accept a nuclear dump site to be established up at Pohakuloa or any other community in Hawai’i. And the Public is asked to write to the NRC(website: http://www.nrc.gov) before October 13, 2009 to demand a formal hearing to be held.

CORRECTION:

To review the application and other documents, visit http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html

Click on “begin ADAMS search”.

Select “Advanced Search”

Enter docket number “04009083”

Comments may be sent to: john.hayes@ncr.gov

'Blowing in the Wind' – Kona speaks out against DU

Post Date August 28, 2009

Comments 1 Comment

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, Projects and Campaigns

http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/?p=8314

‘The Answer My Friend Is Blowing In The Wind’; Depleted Uranium At Pohakuloa And How The U.S. Military Seeks To Further Contaminate The Island

27 Aug 2009

By Megan Magdalene

A meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in Kona last night, Aug. 26, 2009, brought out concerned citizens who testified before the Commission. Testimony from the public will be heard tonight, Aug. 27, 2009, at the Hilo High School Cafeteria from 6-8 p.m.

If it isn’t YOUR business what goes on our mountain top, then whose is it? Consider coming to Hilo’s meeting to testify tonight! Mahalo to the excellent work of Big Island Live who will be streaming a live broadcast of the Hilo meeting. To listen in to live streaming audio broadcast from 6pm please go here: http://www.bigislandlive.com/

Written testimony can still be submitted via email at OPA.Resource@nrc.gov to request that the NRC investigate further community concerns regarding the licensing process for nuclear waste on Pohakuloa. Also, call NRC at (301) 415-8200 to air concerns.

“Nobody likes being on a bummer” was the explanation someone gave for the the small but lively meeting between the public and a panel of NRC employees, to discuss the unsavory subject of nuclear waste on the base of Pohakuloa. She was referring of course, to contrast between this meeting and the the much more well-attended meeting earlier this week concerning the closure of the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).

Clearly, it seems that it is easier to get 400 to 500 people out about “beach access,” with various council members, former council members and politicians showing up to be “champions” of this cause. It seems that it is harder for citizens to face up to the now well-established fact of nuclear contamination on the island.

A lively meeting was hosted last night in Kona by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission involving 60 well informed citizens. The task of the NRC was to explain to the public the process they have initiated since receiving an application from Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) for a license to store nuclear waste on the mountain training base.

This license is to be granted to the PTA to manage an area contaminated by Depleted Uranium (DU). The meeting hosts delivered the PR message of the evening: This panel is in charge of taking public comment and showing us that they are “very concerned'” to know the community input. It was made clear that once the license is granted, there are supposedly “experts” that the NRC will be sending in to observe and monitor the licensing and implement the “plan” that is delivered (by the NRC) for the PTA to implement. It was spelled out to the audience that this pretty much is a standard procedure that results in a license being granted.

Through the course of asking questions of the panel, it was established that this Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a very detailed “plan” that they explain to communities about the process they go through before they grant a license to a military base to have nuclear waste on their base. They have never actually refused a military base a license once the licensing process begins.

The basic format was that the entire evening was introduced by a woman who identified herself as Hawaiian and explained that she would be facilitating the meeting. She led a pule, saying she was going to chant to “call in the Ancestors.” The pule was followed by a ‘power-point’ presentation which was around 30 minutes long. The power-point presentation was presented in sections, each presented by a member of the panel and it was interrupted twice with a question. It seemed that the panel went to answer those questions but both times the facilitator stopped them. Basic tenets of the ‘science’ around radiation were put up on the screen. Considering all the facts available about Depleted Uranium, this seemed a glaringly obvious case of ‘glossing over the facts’ and ‘over simplification of the facts’. It was pointed out by several speakers throughout the evening that the people attending seemed to know more about the hazards of DU than the panel did.

Many testifiers who spoke, brought up the fact that DU is known to be a hazardous waste that they cannot possibly contain on the base because it is extremely ‘pyphoric’ (ie it burns spontaneously or at below room temperatures). For this reason any military activity up on Pohakuloa is going to increase the spread of DU because it will disturb DU on the base, causing it to ignite and turn into fine dust that travels on wind currents off base and to populated areas on the island.

Given this key scientific fact concerning DU, the idea that Pohakuloa Training Area will be granted a license to ‘contain DU contamination’ on the base, is of course ridiculous. It means that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is nothing more than a ‘rubber stamp’ that says the military don’t have to clean up the DU and can continue to drop bombs on the area and engage in live-fire training that will continue to spread the contamination of the radioactive dust.

If one were to summarize this meeting, I think that it would be appropriate to say, This panel of NRC representatives seems like it is made up of a bunch of people who feel conflicted and miserable about their job and they cover it over with a lot of repetitive meaningless phrases such as ‘The NRC is an independent organization and is not a part of the Department of Energy of the Department of Defense’. Also we heard a lot ‘We take our job very seriously’ ‘We take your concerns very seriously’. ‘You should know that we consider all of the information you are giving us very seriously.’ etc. The testimony that the public provided was informed by current research, statistics and scientific findings. Testimony ranged from the ironic and humorous to the angered and outraged.

The following is a summary of the key points of testimony given at the meeting:

The Land doesn’t belong to the USA

Several Hawaiian Kupuna spoke and challenged the legality of the NRC hosting such a meeting because of issues never resolved between Hawaiian Kingdom and USA. One was asked if the meeting were ‘formal’ or ‘informal’ in a legal sense and he was told it was ‘informal’ but it was at this point that they identified the attorney present. Several Hawaiians who spoke, brought up issue of liability on the part of the panel for issuing permits in a process that is not legal because of land claim issues. Each time the legal question of whether USA was entitled to be in negotiation over annexed sovereign land, members of panel referred to the ‘political process’ that was outside of their scope. One uncle made fun of the ‘Hawaiian Translator’ hired by the NRC for the evening by making a sexual reference which the young female translator wasn’t able to translate. “See they don’t teach you the real Hawaiian, up at that college you go to”.

There is a Hawaii County Council resolution in place already requiring the Military to “cease and desist” and this has been ignored

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was informed by several testifiers that the council of Hawaii County has passed a resolution that required the military to stop training & live-fire until DU hazard is remediated. They were told that this resolution has been ignored by the US Military and the command personnel that are stationed there and given responsibili\ty for handling Depleted Uranium contamination issue. Hawaii’s county council has requested that a medical doctor, Dr. Pang and the nuclear physicist Dr Rainer be included in their meetings and procedures, to date, they have not been included and willful obstructions on the part of the military to include them have been noted by Hawaii County Council during hearings on the subject. Public involvement in the process was also requested and to date, this also has been obstructed

The science is poorly presented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

A man who works in the field of medicine says he’s researched the facts about DU. Complained that they didn’t name specific compounds associated with the DU. Specifically they didn’t talk about Alpha radiation and how harmful that is when a particle of DU dust is lodged right next to the cell tissue.

DU is dangerous because it is highly flammable and can easily become airborne

A testifier spoke further to the fact that the science presented in the Powerpoint was lacking substance. “The people out here know more about this than you do”. He raised the issue of the pyphoric nature of DU and the likelihood of Du igniting and spreading off base that was extremely high. He cited an instance where a group of residents had gathered to protest the opening of the new Saddle Road in May 2007. While there, along with a group of dignitaries including U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Mayor Harry Kim, the group of residents observed a spike in radiation readings recorded by a handheld radiation device. An explanation of this has been needed said the speaker but could best be explained by understanding the fact that DU easily burns and once ignited, forms aerosol-ized particles which become airborne. The distinction was made for the public record between large visible chunks of DU in it”s metal form (fragments of weapons) and the microscopic particles of aerosol-ized dust. “These are microscopic, smaller than a virus that can travel a long way from the base. In understanding how easily DU burns, we can understand how easily it causes a hazard for the whole island.”

The Animals on the base are sick and have tumors

A man who identified himself as Hawaiian and speaking for Hawaiian hunters on the island, said that he noticed a number of animals and birds that appeared to have tumors on their bodies. “Sometimes we have to throw aside the carcass because it cannot be used. It’s been too damaged.” He requested an explanation for the kinds of deformities he and other hunters were observing in the animals on and around the Pohakuloa base.

Cancer Clusters in Kona and other illnesses for “down winders” in Kona

Sen. Josh Green, an emergency room doctor, was present at the meeting and raised concern about “cancer clusters” in Kona. Further testimony backed this up. A woman expressed concern that she had been diagnosed with “trigeminal neuralgia,” a rare neurological disorder affecting 1 in 35,000 people. She says she knows of twenty two people in her immediate neighborhood who have reported some kind of condition with symptoms of ‘shocks to the face’ and is still looking for the answer as to why this disease is showing up in a ‘cluster pattern’. Another testifier spoke of the need for the NRC to test residents who live downwind of Pohakuloa for traces of Depleted Uranium. There are tests available and she said one resident returned a positive test for DU in their body but the results couldn’t be conclusive because this was not a lifelong resident. The lab conducting the test has since been shut down so it is not clear where such a test could be obtained. Tests are needed because there are unexplained patterns of illness in the Kona community. “Now purportedly, we have seen a 1992 study of the Hawai’i cancer map, by the State Public Health Dept. that shows Kona to have one of the two, highest cancer rates in the state, the other being Pearl Harbor; a giant ‘Superfund’ site. We have no heavy industry here to account for this high rate and no official wants to talk about it.” This testifier also went on to say:

“The highly reputed study that I read of recently talked of U238 (99.8% of DU) as heavy metal alpha emitter. It will concentrate in bones where it will bombard bone marrow leading to leukemia and can mutate genes and make them cancerous. Alpha particles are 20-30 times more biologically damaging per unit of energy than beta or gamma radiation. ..I know of an inordinate amount of adults and young people in our little town suffering from leukemia and other cancers. Nearly every month lately, it seems I see a couple of ads in our local paper for “benefits” for people with leukemia. I personally know of six people who have died in the past couple of months, three of them, twenty five years old from the same school, along with their principal, who all had leukemia. I’m no expert but I think something is very wrong here.”

Further testimony came from a woman who was also involved in the citizen protest at the Saddle Road. She had witnessed the spike on the radiation monitor and since that time, she says she has had”‘leukemia-like” symptoms and believes that her illness is as a result of the radiation she was exposed to at the Saddle Road in May 2007.

Can you protect us from those crazy maniacs with bombs?

Humor, be it of a dark, ironic sort, was ever-present at the meeting. A man asked the panel who the public should actually contact if a violent fundamentalist group with a distorted world view were to take over the top of the mountain and start setting off bombs and spreading DU. “Will the Nuclear Regulatory Commission come out to save the community if this is the case? I don’t think they will so can you please tell us who we should talk to who can protect us?”

If you aren’t a “rubber stamp,” then what are you?

The panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was asked, was there an instance that they could cite of a military base being denied a license? The “manager” of the NRC panel, Keith, turned to his whole panel and asked if they knew of any because he didn’t. Nobody could think of an instance where that had ever happened. This brought forth lots of laughter from the public attending the meeting because in that moment it was made crystal clear that the NRC would be granting a license to Pohakuloa Training Area no matter what evidence was brought against them. One testifier made a complaint for the record that the format of the evening was to provide a smokescreen to hide from identifying themselves. She objected to what she said was “The fake ‘Aloha’ of a Hawaiian facilitator who has the job of leading a Hawaiian prayer, and cutting people off after 4 minutes.” She noted that it was culturally insensitive to ask a Hawaiian and a translator to make it seem like this was a genuine process when clearly it is a rubber stamp for a “license” that is going to be granted anyway.

“Wake up and realize the truth”

A man in his forties identified himself as a member of the “next generation” … “Since our Kupuna are passing on, I’m stepping up.” He gave the most powerful delivery of the evening and pretty much wrapped up the night. He took the microphone and stood before them, making eye contact with each of the panelists. He spoke to them of their responsibilities to their creator, to their children. “You know this is wrong. But everybody’s got to eat eh?.. You just doing your job, aren’t you?” His tone was sometimes loud and sometimes soft and he covered a range of emotions and fears that were present in the room. He spoke about the fear generated from the lies being told by the government to the people. He spoke clearly and delivered to them this message: “This mountain is not your mountain. It’s the most sacred mountain. It’s not your place to allow it to be contaminated.”

The Qualifications of members of the Panel were in question

Several people attending spoke to the procedural “errors” of the evening. The panel members never introduced themselves and identified their qualifications. Eventually, at the end of the meeting, they did so and it was established that the panelists’ qualifications consisted of either a Bachelor degree or a doctorate in fields of nuclear engineering, environmental science, geology, chemical engineering – plus a bunch of years experience in a government agency and with the NRC. The man in charge of the process is a man named Keith and he said, “I’m no longer a practicing geologist. I’m a manager.” He noted that he had been with the NRC about 20 years. There were no qualified medical doctors represented on the panel. At a certain point in the meeting, a man introduced himself as an attorney who had been employed by NRC for about 10 years.

Summary of Meeting:

A well informed group of citizens turned out for the meeting. They came affiliated loosely with a number of groups, like the Kingdom of Hawaii, or simply as interested citizens representing themselves and their concerns. People who testified were sometimes funny and sometimes had an angry and indignant tone. The fact that many of the testifiers who spoke wanted particular surveys and scientific findings entered onto the record made it clear that this was a well informed citizenry.

Over and over people testified that the proceedings didn’t seem legitimate because it had failed to address legal issues over the US entitlement to use of land at Pohakuloa and that the science they were presenting didn’t seem valid or thorough. The conclusion testifiers made repeatedly was that this process was not a genuine inquiry as to the merits of granting a license, but a routine checklist of procedures that would result in a license being granted.

It was noted that there were no Hawaii County Council representatives present. This truly was a missed opportunity to look out for the interests of the community as this license is about to be issued and the DU matter literally “dispersed to the winds.”

This lack of interest on council members’ part is a little out of character, since last year they passed a resolution stating that there are well-documented health hazards relating to DU requesting that the Military cease all bombing and live-fire training until the DU contamination is thoroughly identified and the DU is cleaned up.

Council members Brenda Ford, Emily Naeole, Dominic Yagong and Pete Hoffman are all on record as showing they were very concerned to know of the DU hazards. Brenda was on record as saying that she wanted a meeting with Pete Hoffman and the military. Unfortunately, when we contacted her about that this week, she didn’t seem to remember this fact and reported that no such meeting had occurred. It seems as though the fear and concerns raised by council members, when they listened to testimony from an informed public and from key witness Dr Lorin Pang, have now been forgotten.

As Bob Dylan would say, “How many times can a man turn his head, pretending that he just doesn’t see? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind… ” It will take a lot more than just 60 citizens paying attention to see that we are protected. Amazingly, it is still not too late to become involved. You have until October to contact the NRC and let them hear you say “…not in my backyard.”

Megan Magdalene is a resident of Hilo concerned about depleted uranium and a number of other issues our island community faces.

Army applies for permit to 'possess' depleted uranium

Post Date August 28, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Ho’ola Hawai’i – Environmental Justice

Army applies for possession permit, says it cannot remove depleted uranium

Aug 28, 2009 – 12:38 PM | by Austin Zavala | The Hawaii Independent | Ewa

For years, U.S. Army has denied there being any use of depleted uranium weapons on training grounds in Hawaii, until two years ago when rounds were found dating back to the 1960s. The military trained with an M101 weapon, also known as the “Davy Crockett,” firing off depleted uranium (DU) rounds up until 1968 when the weapon went obsolete. After finding DU on Schofield training grounds, the Army has limited the DU findings to the Barracks on Oahu and Pohakuloa of the Big Island.

Since the first discovery of the DU on the islands, the Army has submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a possession-only license of depleted uranium. According to the impact area characterization report from the Army, the amount of DU found is roughly 300 pounds over both training areas combining for more than 55,000 acres of land. This possessed amount requires the Army to hold a license by the NRC. Once the Army receives the possession-only license, they will need to implement the preplanned environmental monitory and physical security system that provides safety and protection of the public health.

The NRC, an independent federal agency that reports directly to Congress, takes the application and goes through a three-step review. They do a safety review then a security review that is put into a Safety Evaluation Report and lastly an environmental review is performed and documented. Once all three are completed, the NRC makes the decision on the application.

Submitted to the NRC on November 6, 2008, the application was accepted for review on August 3 of this year and the NRC is now the process of completing a Safety Evaluation Report.

On Tuesday, August 25, the NRC held a public meeting at Wahiawa District Park to inform anyone that was concerned with the Army’s license application. Present at the meeting were several members of the NRC, including project manager John Hayes and deputy director Keith McConnell. Some of the public in attendance ranged from surrounding community members near Schofield to Army personnel.

Since direct contact with depleted uranium can cause damage to the kidneys and lungs, there was much concern during the meeting on the monitoring system the Army will have and if it will entirely protect the public. However, the NRC assured the people in attendance that during their review process, they would make sure the monitoring system is suitable for the area.

Kyle Kajihiro, program director of the Hawaii American Friends Service Committee and DMZ-Hawaii, was in attendance and asked why the Army or NRC couldn’t just remove the depleted uranium from the area.

“To me it just sounds common sense, if I dropped a glass on the ground I would surround the area and pick it up and clean the entire area, so no one gets hurt,” Kajihiro said.

McConnell replied: “The DU found is not an issue of safety to the public because the levels of radiation and radioactivity of the DU is so low. Since the range is currently active, decommissioning is not possible. Until the training area is inactive or not being used, it can’t be fully cleaned up.”

Kajihiro also expressed concern that many ancient Hawaiian cultural sites might be affected by the proposed security systems.

Hayes of the NRC said protection of the cultural sites is something they are going to cover during the environmental assessment so that anything already protected by the State of Hawaii will be protected in the Army’s monitoring system.

If the U.S. Army receives the possession-only license for depleted uranium, it will cover both trainings areas on Oahu and Big Island. The NRC is tasked with making sure that the proposed systems by the Army are being performed and will make necessary changes if the public is inadequately protected. The public has until October 13 of this year to request a hearing by electronically filing a complaint or comment, before the application is approved or not.

To send in any public comments or for more information on the license application contact John Hayes at (301) 415-5928 or email him at john.hayes@nrc.gov. For more information on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission visit http://www.nrc.gov.

Source: http://www.thehawaiiindependent.com/local/read/Ewa/army-applies-for-possession-permit-says-it-cannot-remove-depleted-uranium/

Kona residents reject finding that DU at Pohakuloa poses no health risk

Post Date August 27, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, Social and Economic Impacts

Residents Just say no

Army’s depleted uranium claims questioned

by Chelsea Jensen
West Hawaii Today
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com

Thursday, August 27, 2009 9:42 AM HST

Despite a report released by the U.S. Army in July saying that depleted uranium at the Pohakuloa Training Area poses no risk to the public, Big Island residents urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Wednesday evening to investigate deeper before granting the Army a license to possess the radioactive material.

“The facts scare us. We know the facts and we also know the misinformation because we’ve had two, three years of the military trying to twist the facts around to make it seem depleted uranium is safe and we have nothing to worry about,” said Meghan Isaac Magdelan. “It makes people sick and it makes people die.”

Jon Viloon added, “We need a second opinion because I’m not convinced that your calm reassurances reflect reality.”

About 40 people attended the public hearing on the U.S. Army’s application to possess residual quantities of depleted uranium on Wednesday evening at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. The commission, an independent agency created by Congress, also outlined the agency’s review process and inspection and enforcement policies.

The Army’s application would cover nine locations throughout the United States, including the Pohakuloa Training Area and Schofield Barracks on Oahu, said John Hayes, a project manager for the NRC’s Materials Decommissioning Branch.

An inspection would initially only be required every two years for PTA, however, compliance could extend or decrease the period between inspections, said Region IV Inspector for the NRC’s Nuclear Materials Safety Branch Robert Evans.

Depleted uranium is the leftover byproduct of the process that enriches uranium for commercial and military use.

Following its discovery at Schofield Barracks in 2005, research led to records of 714 spotting rounds for the now-obsolete Davy Crockett weapons systems being shipped to Hawaii during the 1960s. The discovery of depleted uranium at Pohakuloa was announced in August 2007 after a single M101 spotting round was discovered. Two additional pieces of radioactive material were later found during a survey at the military training area situated between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Among the top concerns raised by residents was the Army’s continued dropping of 2,000-pound test bombs in the area, despite the county council passing a nonbinding resolution in 2008 requesting the military halt live-fire training.

“The name ‘depleted uranium’ is very deceptive. It’s ‘lethal uranium’ — that’s what it should be called and we have a lot more knowledge about it because we have been faced with it, we are downwind of it and many of our friends have died or suffered,” said Barbara Moore, president of the Hawaii Island Health Alliance, who added that she believed radiation she was exposed to near Pohakuloa in 2007 may have lead to her being diagnosed with leukemia.

She added, “We’re asking you to stop the bombing, to close down the live fire at PTA. We want remediation. … We don’t want to kill our citizens with depleted uranium that is being blasted around in dust.”

Further, residents requested that the commission look into the effects depleted uranium radiation may have had on Hawaii’s population citing an increase in cancer, birth defects, deformations and other maladies, said Marya Mann, a local psychologist.

The public has until Oct. 13 to submit comments or to make a hearing request as outlined in the National Federal Register.

Source: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2009/08/27/local/local01.txt

Chain Reaction: Nuclear regulators hold hearings in the Islands after the Army's depleted uranium problem is uncovered by chance

Post Date August 26, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Ho’ola Hawai’i – Environmental Justice

Joan Conrow wrote this excellent piece in the Honolulu Weekly about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission public meetings in Hawai’i to take comments on the Army’s application for a permit to “possess” nuclear material, in this case, Depleted Uranium (DU), since they don’t intend to clean up the DU that contaminates O’ahu and Hawai’i island.

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Chain reaction

Nuclear regulators hold hearings in the Islands after the Army’s depleted uranium problem is uncovered by chance.

Joan Conrow

Aug 26, 2009

Environment

The Army doesn’t know how much depleted uranium it has lost in Hawai‘i.

After years of denying the existence of depleted uranium (DU) at its installations in Hawaii, the Army is now seeking a permit to possess tons of the radioactive material.

DU has been confirmed at Schofield Barracks and the Pohakuloa Training Area, and is suspected at the Makua Military Reservation and Kahoolawe. The toxic material was used to make M101 spotting rounds for the Davy Crockett recoilless gun, one of the smallest nuclear weapons ever built. Soldiers were trained on the weapon in Hawaii and at least eight other states throughout the 1960s.

“Enough depleted uranium remains on the sites to require an NRC possession license and environmental monitoring and physical security programs to ensure protection of the public and the environment,” according to a press release from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which this week is conducting hearings in Hawaii on the Army’s application.

The material is of concern because it has been found on active firing ranges, including the area where the Stryker Brigade plans to train at Schofield. When DU is burned or exploded, it creates tiny particles of depleted uranium oxide (DUO) that travel on the wind and can penetrate skin, respiratory masks and protective clothing, said Dr. Lorin Pang, a medical advisor to Hawaii County on the issue of DU.

“If it’s inhaled, then it’s in your lungs,” Pang said. “[It’s] insoluble and persists in the body for decades and becomes the most dangerous form of radiation of all, because it’s in the body.”

The Army is pursuing a single permit to possess and manage residual quantities of DU at all of its American installations. The Army’s disclosure responsibilities under the permit application are limited to the big Davy Crocket round, even though uranium munitions are used in more than 24 weapons systems. The Army’s application does not address DUO.

“It seems like the Army is trying to do the minimum possible on this,” said Cory Harden of the Sierra Club’s Moku Loa group. “Overall, this should be a wakeup call. If something like this was forgotten [from decades past] what else was forgotten?”

Some 29,318 M101 spotting rounds containing 12,232 pounds of DU remain unaccounted for, according to the Army’s permit application. The Army is seeking permission to possess a maximum of 17,600 pounds of DU.

It’s unclear how much DU is located in the Islands, or exactly where. Initial surveys were conducted at just three Hawaii installations, and the effort was severely limited by dense vegetation, rugged terrain and what the military characterized as “safety considerations” due to unexploded ordnance.

“This is exactly the problem,” said Kyle Kajihiro, executive director of the American Friends Service Committee. “If you don’t look, you don’t find and you don’t have to report and be accountable for it.”

Kajihiro said NRC officials advised him they likely will issue the permit because the material is already here. But the agency can impose conditions on how it is possessed and monitored.

The Hawaii County Council has asked the Army to conduct no live fire training in areas contaminated with DU in order to minimize the creation of DUO. But absent a public outcry, Kajihiro believes it’s unlikely the NRC will impose such restrictions, given the strong political support the military enjoys in Hawaii.

The existence of DU in the Islands came to light inadvertently through the ongoing litigation over live fire training at Makua. Kajihiro said the Army has stalled Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests he made in 2007 seeking more details about contamination at Schofield and Pohakuloa.

“There’s just been a sustained effort to keep the public in the dark and bury this,” Kajihiro said. “There needs to be some sort of call to account by the Army: why was this material here and why didn’t you know about it?”

Harden concurred. “The Army has appeared in rather controlled situations where it’s difficult to ask questions. We have repeatedly invited them to a public forum. They’ve been putting us off. Yet they make statements that there’s no risk to public health.”

Kajihiro said the discovery of DU underscores the ongoing environmental contamination issue at Hawaii’s military sites.

“It’s really the toxic cocktail of all the hazardous material out that there that we’re concerned about, with DU one of the more insidious ones,” Kajihiro said. “We need to be prepared to deal with this toxic legacy for a long time and just insist on the highest level of clean-up that’s possible. This stuff wasn’t here to begin with. We shouldn’t have to live with it. It’s a basic decency issue.”

Pang believes it’s “virtually impossible” to clean up the DU, which is why he’s urging the Army to “stop the activities that create DUO” and conduct meaningful air monitoring programs.

Comments on the permit will be accepted through Oct. 13. Submit to John J. Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T8-F5, Washington, D.C., 20055-0001 or [email: John.Hayes].

To review the application and other documents, visit [www.nrc.gov], click on begin ADAMS search and enter ML090070095, ML091950280, ML090900423 and ML091170322.

Source: http://honoluluweekly.com/feature/2009/08/chain-reaction/