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Protect Hawaii
Depleted Uranium Education: Hawaii Contaminated

PROTECT HAWAI'I
 
This web site is dedicated to the protection of the land and residents of the Hawaiian Islands. For decades the United States military has used these islands for live-fire artillery training exposing the environment and residents to toxins, including the use of ballistic radioactive depleted uranium (DU) munitions.  The Hawaiian Islands are the most militarized islands in the world.  Every branch of the United States Armed Forces are stationed in Hawai'i.  
 
In August 2005 depleted uranium spotting rounds were disovered on Schofield Barracks, Oahu despite the military's claims that they NEVER used depleted uranium in Hawai'i.  In April 2007 HB 1452 (which was to test Hawai'i for DU) had passed in both State of Hawai'i Houses yet, failed to pass into law.  Despite strong testimony and serious public concerns the Bill was tabled to the 2008 legislative session.  This action convinces many that our islands are grossly contaminated with depleted uranium and the Hawai'i State legislature does not want to deal with it.  (at least not this year) Meanwhile, military live-fire training continues.  Two other military toxins of concern are lead and RDX (the Royal Demolition Explosive) both had recorded high levels in the U.S. Army's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) published in May 2004.   

 Hawai'i is a sacred place on the planet which is loved, enjoyed and visited by millions of people every year from all over the world. Residents and visitors alike are "kept in the dark" about military contamination in Hawai'i.

The Hawaiian Islands are beautiful and majestic with a very fragile ecosystem. There are more endangered plants and animals in Hawai'i than in any other U.S. military base.

 Hawai'i has over one million residents who live, work and play in our paradise. Yet, government and public health officials refuse to look at military toxins as a cause of high incidence of health problems among local residents.


Military Pollution
For over sixty years, the land and residents of Hawai'i have endured tremendous toxic pollution exposure from military use and munitions' training in the islands.  The 2004 Defense Environmental Restoration Program report to Congress listed 798 military contamination sites at 108 installations in Hawai'i, 96 of which were contaminated with unexploded ordnance, seven of the military contamination sites were considered "Superfund" sites.  These sites have not been cleaned up.  Meanwhile, the toxic components of this pollution leach into our environment.

 The U.S. Military has practiced making war in Hawai'i since before WWII with live-fire artillery training. Everything having to do with modern warfare is toxic to the environment and communities downwind.

The U.S Army is building up on Oahu and Hawai'i Island with the Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and over 300 Stryker Vehicles. A Stryker is 43,000 pounds (fully loaded) urban assault vehicle. It is equipped to fire anti-armor rounds.

Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) is located in the center of Hawai'i Island. PTA is an anti-armor live-fire training range. Live-fire is using real and lethal ammunition. Anti-armor penatrators are made with radioactive depleted uranium.

The red areas of the map below show the U.S. military occupation of Hawai'i Island.

Map from DMZ Hawaii		 The red areas in the map below show the U.S. military occupation of O'ahu.

Map from DMZ Hawaii

The Harsh Reality of the United States Military Presence in Hawai'i
 
The six decades of U.S. States military artillery practice has taken a toll on the health of the residents of Hawai'i.  The present military build up will increase live-fire training from 16 million rounds to 20 million rounds a year according to the  U.S. Army's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In the military's Transformation of the 25th Infantry to the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, over 300 Strykers vehicles will be introduced to Hawai'i for anti-armor live-fire training.  Toxic pollution from this activity drifts on the trade winds over our communities.  It can also contaminate our water and soil.  The most hazardous conditions created by live-fire training are considered in the EIS as "mitigable to less than significant."  
  
Hawai'i residents have a right to live in an environment without  toxic pollution and contamination of our air, water and soil.  The quality of air that we breathe will NEVER be less than significant to us!  Since the discovery of depleted uranium spotting rounds on Schofield Barracks, many residents are seriously concerned about DU contamination and being exposed to high levels of radiation.   HB 1452 (to test for DU is tabled for another year)  Sadly for the islands, the biggest polluter of Hawai'i today is the biggest unregulated dirty industry polluting our planet: The United States Military.  Presently, the best that we can hope for is that next year (2008) the Hawai'i State legislaure will take our concerns seriously and Test Hawai'i for Depleted Uranium.  DU has an extremely long half life and vaporized DU dust can not be cleaned up.  Our goal at Protect Hawaii is for the military to stop disrupting the artillery ranges with more live-fire training and remediate land contaminated by their activity.
Health Problems in Hawai'i
and Official Stonewalling
 
One in seventeen births in Hawai'i has a "recognizable abnormality," according to the Hawaii Birth Defects Program website. Cases of diabetes and asthma are on the rise, especially in communities downwind from live-fire training ranges, like Waianae, Oahu.   Heart disease and cancer are the first and third leading cause of death in Hawai'i.  According to the National Center of Health Statistics the national rates for cancer and heart disease are dropping while Hawai'i's rates are climbing.     The Starbulletin reported on March 11, 2004 that 23,000 children in Hawai'i are in Special Education and 720 children were identified as having autism.  "Childhood autism in Hawaii is growing at an epidemic rate, according to Autism Society officials."  No one knows why?  It could be genetic or environmental (chemical exposure)." 
 
 The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DOE) spending for special education needs has risen from approximately 75 million dollars a year in 1994 to over 350 million dollars annually in 2004.  The State of Hawai'i government has never seriously examined military toxins as a cause of the high incidence of life altering and life threatening illness among Hawai'i's residents.  Stonewalling is common with government officials .   Activists are denied access to pertinent public health information.


CALL TO ACTION: For Hawai’i Residents and Visitors    PLEASE HELP US PROTECT HAWAI’I
 
 
Write to each of the State of Hawai'i Representatives listed below: 
Copy email address tenfingers10toes@protecthawaii.ws  Then Ctrl + click on each link below, paste above email in cc (for tracking purposes) Subject:  DU
 
Ask the Hawai'i State Representatives:
 
To Test Hawai'i for DU
 
Key State of Hawai'i Representative House Committees
Energy and Environmental Protection (EEP) 
Representative Hermina M. Morita, Chair repmorita@capitol.hawaii.gov 
Finance (FIN)
Representative Marcus Oshiro, Chair repmoshiro@capitol.hawaii.gov  
Health (HLT)
Representative Josh Green M.D., Chair repgreen@capitol.hawaii.gov
Tourism and Culture (TAC) 
 Ryan I. Yamane, Chair repyamane@capitol.hawaii.gov   
 
Please pass this web site www.protecthawaii.ws and CALL TO ACTION information forward to others who love Hawai’i .        


CALL TO ACTION: For Hawai’i Residents and Visitors   PLEASE HELP US PROTECT HAWAI’I
 
Write to each of the State of Hawai'i Senators listed below:  Copy this email address tenfingers10toes@protecthawaii.ws   Then Ctrl + click on each link below, paste above email in cc (for tracking purposes) Subject:  DU
  
Ask the Hawai'i State Senators:
 
To Test Hawaii for DU
  
Key State of Hawai'i Senate Committees
Health (HTH)
Senator David Ige, Chair senige@capitol.hawaii.gov
Intergovernmental and Military Affairs (IGM)
Senator Lorraine R. Inouye, Chair seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov 
Tourism and Government Operations (TSG)
Senator Clarence K. Nishihara, Chair sennishihara@capitol.hawaii.gov
Ways and Means (WAM)
Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, Chair senbaker@capitol.hawaii.gov  
 
Please pass this web site www.protecthawaii.ws and CALL TO ACTION information forward to others who love Hawai’i.         


LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
 

No DU HAWAII

Good information about DU munitions

#
DMZ HAWAII
Good history of military occupation of Hawai'i
http://www.dmzhawaii.org
Poisonous Legacy
Short video takes a little time to download
Beyond words to describe...see for yourself
      - warning, graphic 
#

 THE FOLLOWING...

PHOTOGRAPHS...

 ARE A FEW REMINDERS...

WHY WE WANT TO...

 PROTECT HAWAI'I


More on Military Contamination of Hawaii
"According to the Navy, the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex alone contains approximately 749 contaminated sites and is treated as a giant superfund site.  Military installations made up five of the top ten polluters in Hawai‘i responsible for releasing persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals, which include lead, dioxins mercury, and polycyclic aromatic compounds. Military contamination hazards include unexploded ordnance, various types of fuels and petroleum products; organic solvents such as perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene; dioxins and PCB; explosives and propellants such as RDX, TNT, HMX and Perchlorate; heavy metals such as Lead and Mercury; napalm, chemical weapons, and radioactive waste from nuclear powered ships."    (by Kyle Kajehiro of American Friends Service Committee.)
Radiation and Chemical Releases
"Cobalt–60, a radioactive waste product from nuclear-powered ships, has been found in sediment at Pearl Harbor . Between 1964 and 1978, 4,843,000 gallons of low level radioactive waste were discharged into Pearl Harbor . 2,189 steel drums containing radioactive waste were dumped in an ocean disposal area 55 miles from Hawai‘i. The military recently disclosed that from 1941 to 1972 it had dumped more than 8,000 tons of chemical munitions, including blistering agents mustard gas and lewisite, in the shallow seas off O‘ahu island.  Fishermen have been burned when they accidentally raised this toxic catch. For many years, the military denied ever using depleted uranium in Hawai‘i. However in January 2006, activists forced the Army to admit the presence of depleted uranium contamination on O‘ahu."  (by Kyle Kajehiro for more information go to www.dmzhawaii.org )

On May 29, 2007 protesters gathered at Mauna Kea State Park at the ceremony opening 6.5 miles section of Saddle Road near the Pohakuloa live-fire training range. There was no live-fire training on this day.

 Activists armed with freedom of speech, signs and a radiation monitor discovered radiation levels of 75 cpm. Normal background radiation is 5 to 20 cpm.

Protect Hawai'i organizes a Depleted Uranium Education Rally in Hilo on the first Wednesday of each month.

 This rally heightens public awareness of the DU issue in Hawai'i. Concerned Hawai'i residents join together from 4-6pm between Ross and Borders on Hwy 11.

RADIATION CONTAMINATION CONFIRMED

THE U.S. ARMY FINDS HIGH RADIATION AT SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, O'AHU
The U.S. Army's SEIS Confirms High Radiation Readings
 
The U.S. Army's Stryker Brigade Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is published in July 2007.  See #
 
In chapter 3 page 7 of this report it states:  “Forty-five separate locations showed Gamma levels higher than background…In total nine samples were collected (six soil samples and three fragments)…Laboratory analysis indicated that three soil samples exhibited uranium-238 above background levels.  Additionally, spectroscopy analyses confirmed that the three fragments collected are comprised of DU.” 
 
We are not out of the woods yet a previous paragraph states:  “In October 2006, a third survey of the area was conducted in areas made more accessible by a successful prescribed burn of the impact area.” 
 
 What toxins were present in the smoke that drifted over downwind communities during this "prescribed burn"?  Concerned resident of Hawai'i interview on KBOO Radio Portland, Oregon:   


ANNOUNCEMENT NEWS UPDATE
AUGUST 21, 2007
 
U.S Army confirms the presence of depleted uranium at Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), Hawaii Island
 
See news article click below, register and read article
 

 DU spotting round found on Schofield Barrack, Oahu