Re: WEST HAWAII TODAY- CITIZENS SAY THEIR EFFORTS LED TO RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL DISCOVERY

Aloha all,

I thnk we need to press DOH Russell Takata to hold a public meeting (and invite the Army, Cabrerra Services and politicians) to share data to back the claim of no problem and why live-fire should not be stopped immediately.  The military says it has no idea how much DU is at PTA. They have no idea if DU spotting rounds involving other n-weapon systems have been used at PTA? How many air samples did Takata take? Where were they taken?  What were the wind conditions and weather?  Given the precautionary principle doesn't it seem prudent to stop all live fire till additional data is gathered?

Other questions and insights please.

Jim Albertini
Malu `Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box AB
`Ola`a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760
Phone 808-966-7622
email ja@interpac.net
www.malu-aina.org

----- Original Message -----

From: shannon rudolph

Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 12:08 AM

Subject: WEST HAWAII TODAY- CITIZENS SAY THEIR EFFORTS LED TO RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL DISCOVERY

(jim and lorrin, here's your answer; tests will be completed by the end of the year, 
(....or maybe next year,  ...or they're hoping we'll forget all about it) ... don't expect any data soon... caution, spin doctors at work)

Depleted uranium confirmed
CITIZENS SAY THEIR EFFORTS LED TO RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL DISCOVERY


BY ERIN MILLER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
emiller@westhawaiitoday.com
Concerned citizens who persistently
asked the Army to test for possible depleted
uranium at Pohakuloa Training Area
say their efforts are behind the confirmation
of the presence of the radioactive
material, but the Army says the discovery
of the substance on Oahu 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,
and 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 to
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 the
general public would 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, Noise,
Radiation and Noise Air
Quality Branch Program
Manager Russell Takata said.
"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 a range
of three to 12 micro roentgens
per hour. He will review each
step the Army and its contractor,
Cabrera Services, take 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 the
Health Department and Army
assessments that the evidence
of depleted uranium doesn't
yet constitute a health threat
for residents. Albertini also
called on the Army to stop all
live fire testing at the site until
tests show just how much
depleted uranium is in the
soil at Pohakuloa. Additional
rounds hitting the ground,
even if those rounds do not
contain depleted uranium,
blows depleted uranium particles
into the air, which are
the then blown into populated
areas, he said.
Albertini, who co-authored
a book in the early 1980s
about the military's presence
in Hawaii, questioned the
Army's record-keeping practices,
which required the use
of an outside contractor to
determine that Davy Crockett
spotter rounds were used at
the Army's own facility.
"What I found then (doing
the research for his book),
there were roughly 60 different
kinds of nuclear weapons
in the U.S. arsenal," Albertini
said. "My question is, if they
used depleted uranium in the
Davy Crockett rounds, they
may have used depleted uranium
in other spotter rounds."
He accused military officials
of lying to Hawaii residents
for decades and of gaining use
of state land under false pretenses.
He called for independent
oversight of the Army as
the testing and investigation
continued.
Gardin said the Army wasn't
intentionally withholding
information about the use of
depleted uranium. Training
the with 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 Aug. 16
to 18 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."