Army admits to the contamination of Hawaiian islands with depleted uranium spotting rounds on Schofield Barracks, O'ahu and Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawai'i Island. Help us save paradise from this most toxic substance.



Public comment to U.S. Army SEIS deadline Oct. 30, 2007

Email Army at PublicComments@aec.apgea.army.mil

Hawaii Tourism Authority at info@hawaiitourismauthority.org

(Hawaii) Depleted uranium (DU) is stored in Hawai'i under the Naval Radioactive Materials Permit. The Navy accidentally fired two DU rounds from Pearl Harbor in 1994. The rounds landed somewhere above Aiea and were never recovered. The Environmental Impact Statement of the 25th Infantry Transformation to the Stryker Brigade Combat Team published in 2004 states emphatically that depleted uranium munitions were never part of the Army's arsenal.

Despite this claim spent DU spotting rounds were found at Schofield Barracks, (An army base and live-fire training range on O'ahu), in August 2005. This discovery was not disclosed by the military but through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) instigated by concerned residents of Hawai'i.

In August 2007 the army admits the Pohakuloa Training Area (An army base and live-fire training range on Hawai'i Island) is also contaminated with depleted uranium spotting rounds. There are hundreds and hundreds of these spent DU rounds on these two live-fire training ranges.

Any uranium product used as munitions becomes ballistic once it is fired, launched or dropped. Ballistic depleted uranium contamination is a serious problem in Hawai'i.

Depleted uranium is a toxic radioactive waste product of the nuclear industry that has a half life of over 4 billion years. In other words, DU is radioactive forever.

The military claims that depleted uranium munitions are low level radioactivity and are not harmful to health and environment. The military's claims are false.

The military's talking points are about the solid form depleted uranium, the military never addresses Hawai'i residents' concerns, which is the ballistic form of depleted uranium. When depleted uranium munitions are used in war or artillery practices, these munitions have a devastating effect on public health and the environment.

Once DU munitions are launched, they become ballistic. They catch fire, and on impact they can punch through anything with tremendous force causing trillions of tiny radioactive particles of DU dust to be scattered in the environment and carried in the air.

This is when the real public health problem begins. Once airborne, these vaporized radioactive heavy metal particles can be inhaled or ingested because of radioactive contamination of air, food or water supply.

Many of our U.S. Veterans, serving in combat areas that use DU munitions, are getting sick. Support legislation to test our troops returning from Iraq for depleted uranium.

We must stand up for Hawai'i. We must protect our precious islands and our veterans.

The military live-fire ranges in Hawai'i are radioactive! See www.sbct-seis.org/ (published July 2007, chapter 3 page 7 Depleted Uranium).

We want all live-fire military training stopped in paradise. We want the Stryker Brigade Combat Team to relocate elsewhere.

We want our sacred lands to be cleaned up. Practicing to make war in the land of Aloha is inappropriate.

Please be pro-active and help us protect Hawai'i; demand the military not store, use or transport depleted uranium in the Hawaiian Islands.

Five million tourists visit Hawai'i every year. Would they stop visiting if they knew how contaminated Hawai'i is?

We are asking for people all over the world who love Hawai'i to help us protect Hawai'i. Write to the U.S Army by October 30 at PublicComments@aec.apgea.army.mil

Say no Stryker Brigade in Hawai'i and clean-up depleted uranium contamination on live-fire training ranges.

Also write the Hawai'i Tourism Authority at info@hawaiitourismauthority.org with the same request. For more information on the military's contamination of Hawaii see www.protecthawaii.ws or www.dmzhawaii.org.