MEDIA RELEASE

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 more than 30 Big Island residents set up a picket line outside the Pohakuloa training Area (PTA) to protest a closed door meeting between military, county, state, federal officials, and special interests. The secret list of invitees was not released upon request. What ever happened to openness in government? Transparency? The consent of the governed? We the people…

Retired Army Colonel, Ann Wright, requested to attend the meeting to represent the interests of Malu Aina peace organization but was denied entry. Col. Wright then joined the picket. Among the attendees seen entering PTA were Mayor Billy Kenoi and State Representative Faye Hanohano.

On Feb. 21, 2010, a letter from Malu Aina (on the web at www.malu-aina.org.) was sent to the commanding officer at PTA and to all county and state elected officials. The letter states: “We do not believe in ‘Democracy by invitation only.’” The letter said that “we are angry that the military continues to conduct bombing missions and live-fire without a complete independent assessment of the Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation present at PTA and without cleaning up as called for in Hawaii County Council resolution 639-08. The military has been stonewalling the community’s concerns about health and safety for years. The Davy Crockett DU weapons may just be the tip of far more widespread DU contamination.”

The letter listed eight questions and asked the elected officials to ask the questions of the military and to “Please Get Answers.” Some of the questions asked included: Why hasn’t the Army stopped all live-fire and bombing missions ? Are there more forgotten hazards? Why is there plenty of money for new military projects, but little to clean up… When will all of the 50-plus present and former military sites, totaling more than 250,000-acres on Hawaii Island, be cleared of unexploded ordnance, toxins, and other hazards? Why won’t the military participate in public forums on community concerns about health and safety over depleted uranium and other military toxins? What’s the Army afraid of? How much Hawai’i Island land is the military planning to take? Where and when?”

The letter concluded with the following statement: ” If the U.S. stopped spending several $billion/per day on imperial wars there would be more money for county and state budget needs, jobs, and funding human needs. We urgently request that you–as public officials–speak up on these critical issues of War, Militarism and the Health of our island citizens.” With gratitude and aloha.

MEDIA RELEASE

Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA), Hawaii—The Department of the Army Police at Pōhakuloa Training Area is requesting the public’s assistance in gathering information.

Anyone travelling on Saddle Road who noticed any activity around the 51 mile marker area, (halfway between Waiki’i Ranch and Mamalahoa Hwy), during the hours of darkness, from 6:00p.m. on February 2, 2010 to 6:00 a.m. on February 3, 2010, involving flatbed trucks, farm equipment, or other types of medium to large truck vehicles, please contact the Pōhakuloa Training Area Police Desk at (808) 969-2429/2430 (24 hrs).

MEDIA RELEASE BY CORY HARDEN

Memorandum and Order, January 7, 2010, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board

DEPLETED URANIUM PROCEEDING, JANUARY 13, HILO, HAWAI’I

A legal proceeding on an Army application for a depleted uranium (DU) license will be held Wednesday, January 13, from 9 AM to about 3 PM, by videoconference between Hilo, Hawai’i and Rockville, Maryland.

The proceeding is oral argument on standing and contention admissibility before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding hearing requests by four petitioners: Jim Albertini of Malu Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action, Cory Harden, and Isaac Harp, all from Hawai’i Island, and Luwella Leonardi of O’ahu.

The Army denied having DU in Hawai’i until 2006, when citizen groups obtained information from Army e-mails, then announced the Army found DU spotting rounds the previous year at Schofield Barracks on the island of O’ahu. The spotting rounds were from a classified Davy Crockett weapon system used in the 1960s. The Army acknowledged the find, and later also found spotting rounds at Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on Hawai‘i Island. The rounds were also distributed to twelve other states and three foreign countries in the 1960s. There were about 75,000 rounds, each about eight inches long and containing about six and a half ounces of DU alloy.

“It’s unclear whether the Army didn’t know, or didn’t tell, that it had DU in Hawai’i,” says Harden. “But it is clear that information about military hazards in Hawai’i is unreliable.”

Albertini and Harden say that Army searches, reports, and air monitoring plans for DU at PTA are inadequate, so airborne DU from live-fire and dummy bombs impacting undiscovered spotting rounds may go undetected. The same concerns have been expressed by a geologist, a consultant to Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a former Army doctor who is a consultant to the World Health Organization, all from Hawai‘i.

Albertini and Harden call for a search of classified and unclassified records by all military forces in Hawai’i for other forgotten radioactive hazards. Harden asks why an Army report cites a 1996 document about a Davy Crockett DU spotting round at Schofield, when the first find was supposedly in 2005.

Albertini says reports of animal tumors around PTA should be investigated, and says the Army has ignored Hawai‘i County Council resolutions concerning DU.

Albertini and Harp say the Army has not fully disclosed the extent of its DU use in Hawai’i. Harp says there are high cancer rates around PTA, says the Army has violated Federal law, and calls for removal of DU munitions and waste from Hawai’i.

Leonardi says the Army excavated contaminated soil at Schofield, then transported and deposited it near her home, impacting health in her community.

Due to the limited size of the videoconference room at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, the public may not attend. However the proceeding will appear via live webcast at www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=65044. The webstream will be available for viewing for up to 90 days, and a transcript of the hearing will be posted on the ADAMS system on the NRC website.

A decision on the proceeding is anticipated in February.

The Army is temporarily closing Pohakuloa Training Area to public hunting, following incidents of vandalism, theft, and destruction of government property.

According to the message on the telephone hotline, the Army is investigating the incidents before making a determination on when or whether to reopen the area to bird, pig and goat hunting.

“The Army regrets this inconvenience to wild game hunters, and expects to complete the investigation in a timely manner. Pending the results of the investigation, a final determination will be made concerning continued use of PTA hunting grounds,” officials said in news release.

Current status updates on the temporary hunting suspension are available by calling the PTA Hunters Hotline at 969-3474.

Further questions may be directed to the public affairs office at 656-3152.

The proposed new alignment at the western end of Saddle Road. (Illustration courtesy of www.saddleroad.com)

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor

The next step in the Saddle Road project is a pair of Big Island public hearings, where residents can see maps of the proposals and comment on the alignment.

The purpose of these hearings is to present the revised highway alignment and to gather evidence and testimony relating to this final section.

This section is approximately 10 miles long, truck lane for most of the uphill length, 55 mph speed limit except at Mamalahoa Highway, intersects with Mamalahoa Highway near milepost 14, connects to new Saddle Road near milepost 42 and the entire alignment of this section is on Army land.

The hearings are:

* 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9 at Aunty Sally’s Luau Hale, Hilo

* 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 at NELHA Gateway Center, Kona

Marni Herkes, who has served on the Saddle Road task force for 16 years, said it is vital residents support the project, which could cut as much as 30 minutes from the Hilo-Kona commute.

Herkes said although no money has yet been earmarked for this section of the highway, the state and federal transportation departments are committed to seeing it complete, as is U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

The supplemental Environmental Impact Statement has been complete and can be viewed on the Web site.

Comments are due by Jan. 7.

Saddle Road is the shortest and most direct route across the island, extending 47 miles from Kaumana, above Hilo, to an intersection with Mamalahoa Highway seven miles south of Waimea. The proposed alignment would pass south of Waikii Ranch and connect with Mamalahoa Highway on the Kona-side of the Waikoloa road.

The highway is the only road serving Pohakuloa Training Area, the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa observatories, the ranching and residential areas of Waikii Ranch and Kaumana City, Mauna Kea State Park and other recreational areas.

Built by the military to access PTA during World War II, Saddle Road was not originally designed to state highway standards.

In 1992, when the planning stage for project  began, the entire Saddle Road was a narrow, winding, two-lane road with steep grades, sharp curves, poor pavement conditions, substandard drainage, and high accident rates.

Despite its poor conditions, Saddle Road was becoming increasingly important for access to PTA, Mauna Kea, and outdoor recreation areas. It also has become an important route for cross-island business travel, transportation of goods and services, tourism/recreation, shopping and for daily commuting.

— Find out more:

www.saddleroad.com

Fire/rescue crews responded to a 10:02 p.m. alarm Wednesday (Oct 28) for a missing hiker on the slopes of Mauna Loa.

A 43 year-old woman had gone hiking with her husband at 1 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct 28) near the Mauna Loa Observatory. At about 1:45 p.m. the hikers became separated when the husband stopped to rest while the wife continued hiking. The husband was initially lost while looking for his wife but found his way back to the Mauna Loa Observatory at 9 p.m.

The husband stayed with fire/rescue crews at the Observatory for the search to continue at sunrise. At 7:25 a.m. on Thursday (Oct 29) Chopper One began an aerial search for the lost woman who had a cellphone and was talking to fire dispatchers. The woman could not identify the lava field she was in due to unfamiliarity with the area.

A second helicopter was brought in along with a ground crew from Pohakuloa Training Area to aid in the search. Using the hiker’s cellphone signal fire dispatchers were able to gain some information as to her coordinates and crews were able to find her. The woman was in good spirits, did not require medical attention other than something to drink.

Fire crews were back in quarters by 3:45 p.m.

Video by David Corrigan | Big Island Video News

Protesters of the Army’s Stryker vehicles and live-fire training at Pohakuloa Training Area gathered near the entrance to the base on Saddle Road. Supporters of the military also had signs and flags at the entrance to counter the protesters.

Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade test drive a Stryker medical evacuation variant on a test track outside the Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar. (Official Army Photo/ Dustin Senger)

MEDIA RELEASE

Protest of Stryker and other live-fire training at Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA)
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 Mauna Kea State Park

There will be a peaceful protest 10 a.m. Saturday Oct. 10th at Mauna Kea State park — 1 mile east of the Pohakuloa main gate on Saddle Road. (Car pools will leave 9 a.m. from the Hilo Bayfront parking lot at Pauahi and Kamehameha Ave.) The protest will begin at the park and then move to PTA’s main gate. The protest is over Stryker vehicle and other ongoing live-fire training at the base known to be contaminated with Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation from past weapons training. Live-fire and other activities that create dust, risk spreading the radiation off base into civilian areas. The Hawaii County Council passed a resolution 8-1 in July 2008 calling for a halt to all live-fire at PTA until there is a complete assessment of the radiation contamination and clean up of the DU present. The military continues to ignore the Council’s call to action.

Reports are that 100 Stryker 19 ton eight-wheeled vehicle (perhaps more) are currently doing training at PTA. These vehicles have recently returned from Iraq where their 105 mm cannons and 50 cal machine guns have fired DU munitions.

The protest is sponsored by Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action.
Jim Albertini of Malu ‘Aina said: It’s time to Stop Strykers! Stop all live-fire on Pohakuloa, and live-fire in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan. The military needs to clean up its mess and end its occupations, not make more of a mess.”

Let a cry go out by all of us who are charged to be responsible stewards of this ‘aina: Stop Strykers! Stop all live-fire on Pohakuloa, and live-fire in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan. But let us do more. Let us work to end the illegal U.S. occupation of Hawai’i as well as illegal occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. The people and the land are spiritually interconnected as one. So too are the issues of Justice & Peace. Join our non-violent protest, where hearts come together to help remove the obstacles to peace. Mahalo.

For more information please contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760. Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net www.malu-aina.org
–
Jim Albertini
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O.Box AB
Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760
phone: 808-966-7622
email: JA@interpac.net
Visit us on the web at: www.malu-aina.org

MEDIA RELEASE

Depleted uranium report unavailable

By Cory (Martha) Harden
Moku Loa Group of the Sierra Club

After nine months of requests, Sierra Club does not have a report on depleted uranium (DU) from the Army, but does have two extra weeks to try obtaining it from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC.)

DU spotting rounds, left from Army training in the 1960s, were discovered in Hawaii in 2005. DU is radioactive and chemically toxic. It is not hazardous outside the body, but if DU compounds are inhaled or ingested, they can impact health.

NRC is in the process of granting the Army an after-the-fact license to possess the DU.

Sierra Club says the report it seeks, the Archives Search Report (ASR), seems to provide a basis for assumptions about when, where and how DU spotting rounds were used at Pohakuloa Training Area and other Army sites in Hawaii.

Sierra Club filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for the ASR with the Army in December 2008, then followed up with Army officials from Hawaii Island, Honolulu, and Washington D.C., to no avail.

When NRC posted documents on its Web site related to the Army license, and set a deadline of Oct. 13 for request for hearing and petition to intervene, the ASR was not posted. Sierra Club asked NRC to obtain and post the ASR and to set a new deadline 60 days after posting.

NRC didn’t agree to post the report, but did extend the deadline for Sierra Club to Oct. 27.

“Army Colonel Killian told Hawaii County Council there might be about 2,000 DU spotting rounds at Pohakuloa alone, and a Sierra Club consultant also estimated 2,000, but some Army documents refer to the ASR to estimate only about 700 spotting rounds statewide,” according to Sierra Club’s Moku Loa group. “We appreciate the extension, but given these conflicting statements, and knowing the report provides a basis for some decisions about DU in Hawaii, we feel the public should have a chance to see it.”

Sierra Club encourages people with comments on DU in Hawaii to contact John Hayes, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two White Flint North, mail stop T8F5, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738, telephone 301-415-5928, fax 301-415-5369, john.hayes@nrc.gov.

John Hayes, of the U.S. Nuclear Regulartory Commission, talks to the audience at Hilo High School during the commission's presentation. Photography by Baron Sekiya/Hawaii 24/7

Karin Stanton/Hawaii247 Contributing Editor

Informational material from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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 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

MEDIA RELEASE
Kona: 6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 26, King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel 

Hilo: 6-8:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27, Hilo High School

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a notice of opportunity to request a hearing on a license application from the U.S. Army for possession of depleted uranium at two installations in Hawaii where depleted uranium remains from munitions training during 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.

The public meetings will explain the agency review of the Army’s license application and – if the license is subsequently granted – monitor and enforce the license to ensure there is no danger to public health and safety or the environment. 

Finally, the agency is requesting public comment on the Army’s plan.

In the 1960s, the Army used M101 spotting rounds made with depleted uranium in training soldiers with the Davy Crockett recoilless gun. The M101 rounds were used at proving grounds at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island until 1968.

Fragments of expended rounds remain on the ground in impact areas of those training ranges.

Following an Aug. 24 site visit to Schofield Barracks, NRC staff will conduct a meeting with Army representatives at the Hawaii Army National Guard’s Wahiawa Armory 487 FA. This meeting will be primarily for Army officials to discuss their monitoring plans for managing the depleted uranium.  

To request an adjudicatory hearing on this application, potential parties must demonstrate standing by showing how the proposed license might affect them. They must also raise at least one admissible contention challenging the license application. 

Guidance on how to file a petition for a hearing is contained in a Notice of License Application and Opportunity for Hearing, published Aug. 13 in the Federal Register and available online at edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-19449.pdf.

The deadline for requesting a hearing is Oct. 13. 

Members of the public may submit comments on the Army’s application until that date as well, to the NRC project manager, John J. Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T8-F5, Washington, D.C., 20055-0001, or by e-mail at John.Hayes@nrc.gov.

The Army license application and associated documents, including the environmental monitoring and physical security plans and site characterization studies, are available through the NRC’s ADAMS online documents database at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html by entering these accession numbers: ML090070095, ML091950280, ML090900423 and ML091170322.

Also visit: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2009/09-135.html

MEDIA RELEASE

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health, Addison “Tad” Davis, IV, met with Hawaii legislators Thursday, Feb. 26 at the State Capitol to discuss three U.S. Army environmental initiatives on the Big Island, reported the Hawaii House Blog.

“Hydrogen Highway” – The Army is working with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency to implement recommendations from the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. One initiative is working to establish a hydrogen fueling station at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

“I am excited about the possibility of the County of Hawaii and Hawaii state government to partner with the Army to allow and enable our local government fleet to fuel up at a hydrogen fuel station,” said Rep. Cindy Evans, a former vice chairwoman of the House Energy & Environmental Protection committee. “As more county and state vehicles turn to hydrogen fuel, not only will we decrease our dependency on foreign oil, but we will also see significant savings in the future. My hope is that this first station will be one of many that will dot a ‘hydrogen highway’ where private and public vehicles can tap into the benefits of this renewable energy source in the future.”

Sustainable Military Complexes ­ – Wind turbines and photovoltaic solar panels will help the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) and the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC) become completely self-sustainable complexes on the Big Island.

“We are pleased that the Army’s sustainability initiatives are in line with the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan which was the result of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force convened by the Hawaii State Legislature in 2005 and submitted its report in 2008,” Evans said.

Depleted Uranium Update – Deputy Assistant Secretary Davis gave an update on the Army’s continuing assessment on Depleted Uranium (DU) at the Pohakuloa Training Area and Schofield Barracks:

There is a continuing assessment of health risks and data from air monitoring stations to measure levels of DU at PTA. In the near future, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission will review and set restrictions, limits, and mitigation measures on DU levels at Pohakuloa. Currently, based on historical usage and ground assessments, there are 950 acres that will no longer be used.

“The money being spent by the military to insure public safety is important to safeguard and preserve our quality of life on the Big Island,” Evans said.

– Find out more:

Army Web site: www.imcom.pac.army.mil/DU
Hawaii House Blog: www.hawaiihouseblog.blogspot.com