Citizens: Persistence led to DU discovery

August 22, 2007 9:39 AM HST
Critics forced probe that revealed depleted uranium at training area
by Erin Miller
Stephens Media
Hawai'i Tribune Herald

Citizens who persisted in asking the Army to test for depleted uranium at Pohakuloa Training Area say their efforts led to confirmation of the presence of the radioactive material.

The Army, however, says the discovery of depleted uranium, or DU, on Oahu military facilities prompted further investigation on the Big Island.

"I knew it was there," resident Shannon Rudolph said Tuesday morning. "If it was on other training ranges, it had to be here."

The Army on Monday announced that a government contractor had confirmed the use of a formerly classified weapons system, the Davy Crockett recoilless gun, in Hawaii, along with the presence of depleted uranium at the training area.

Rudolph credited county residents who purchased monitors to measure radiation levels, and who repeatedly questioned Army and state officials about the likelihood of depleted uranium having been used on the PTA firing range.

"If people wouldn't have howled, they never would have tested," she said. "It shows that a few people can make a difference." She said she'd like to see the Army test Big Island residents for possible side effects from the depleted uranium.

Stefanie Gardin, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Garrison in Hawaii, said the 2006 discovery of depleted uranium at Schofield Barracks on Oahu led to the Aug. 16-18 aerial survey of Pohakuloa Training Area. In response to a question about testing for members of the public concerned about the discovery, she said it was unlikely that the general public would have come into contact with the depleted uranium.

So far, the Department of Health doesn't consider the Army's announcement a reason to declare any emergency or health hazard, said Russell Takata, program manager for the state Health Department's Noise, Radiation and Indoor Air Quality Branch.

"There is no immediate hazard to the public," Takata said Tuesday afternoon. "As far as we're concerned, the background levels are within the normal limits."

Takata said air samples taken around Pohakuloa show readings of three to nine micro roentgens per hour; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's acceptable background reading is three to 12 micro roentgens per hour. Takata will review each step the Army and its contractor, Cabrera Services, takes to determine how much depleted uranium is at Pohakuloa.

"The soil studies and air studies will tell us if any depleted uranium has become airborne," he said.

He anticipated those answers by the end of this year.

Big Island peace activist Jim Albertini disagreed with assessments that depleted uranium doesn't constitute a health threat for residents. Albertini also called on the Army to stop all live firing at PTA until tests show how much depleted uranium is in the soil.

Additional rounds hitting the ground blows depleted uranium particles into the air, he said, which could allow them to be blown into populated areas.

Albertini, who co-authored a book in the early 1980s about the military's presence in Hawaii, questioned the Army's record-keeping, which required the use of an outside contractor to determine that Davy Crockett spotter rounds were used at the Army's own facility.

Gardin said the Army wasn't intentionally withholding information about the use of depleted uranium. Training with the Davy Crockett system ended in 1968, and the classified nature of tests meant that a "minimal" number of people knew the system was being used in Hawaii. The Army is no longer authorized to fire systems that use depleted uranium, she said.

Just how much depleted uranium is at Pohakuloa is unknown, Gardin said, adding that the survey done last week was to identify the presence of spotter rounds that contained the depleted uranium.

Island residents shouldn't be affected by the presence of depleted uranium, she said.

"The impact area where the depleted uranium was found is a remote area that is not open to public access," she said. "It is highly unlikely that any members of the general population would come into contact with depleted uranium there.".