Mahalo to friends/activists on the Big Island! Ho‘omaika‘i ia! And thanks to everyone who submitted testimony and responded to action alerts–the resolution on depleted uranium passed without bad amendments–you helped make it happen!
From West Hawaii Today:
The council approved a resolution from Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole that requests the U.S. Army to halt B-2 bombing missions and live firing exercises until it’s determined whether depleted uranium is present at the Pohakuloa Training Area.
Although the resolution does not carry the power of law, the council spent more than six hours Wednesday discussing it and listening to testimony from numerous residents in favor of it.
The council heard from Dr. Lorrin Pang with the state Department of Health who, speaking as a resident, painted a grim picture regarding the lack of information there is on DU levels on the island and the circumstantial evidence that depleted uranium may be responsible for a spike in new cancer cases.
From 2000 through 2004, Pang said 444 new cancer cases were reported on the Big Island, which is more than new cases from the other Hawaiian Islands.
A majority of the county’s new cancer cases were from Kona, where dust originating from PTA usually ends up because of wind, he said. “It is prudent a survey be done to put to rest our uncertainty about (the military’s) record-keeping,” Pang said. “Something’s cooking here on Big Island.”
Depleted uranium was discovered at PTA in 2006, which originated from spotting rounds in Davy Crockett weapons systems tested in the 1960s.
The council approved a few amendments to the resolution, including one from Ka’u Councilman Bob Jacobson that states the “U.S. military shall conduct a search of all records for firing of depleted uranium at (PTA) and all other Hawaii state military sites and release pertinent information to the public.”
An amendment from Council Chairman Pete Hoffmann, Kohala, to remove language in the resolution that requests the military to halt bombing missions and live firing exercises was defeated in an 8-1 vote, with Hoffmann the only one to cast a favorable vote. Hoffmann, who served in the military for more than 28 years, said he agrees the country should not be in Iraq, but because that is the case, the request in question would lead to inadequate training.
Other council members said the Army should find a different place to train until it’s determined if depleted uranium is causing problems for residents and military personnel.
Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong said the council’s favorable vote puts the military on notice “that you have to investigate.”
Army Col. Howard Killian told the council the military plans to have a citizen monitoring committee in place by the end of the month. South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford plans to introduce a resolution that requests Pang is placed on the committee as the council’s representative.
photo: The Davy Crockett Atomic Battle Group Delivery System fired on the Big Island (island breath post)
lil’ background info from shannon rudolph-
“MAHALO to all of you who came to the meeting or sent testimony!!!!!!!!!!!! its been a long haul to get this far. democracy lives in hawaii county!
chairman pete hoffman was the lone hold out. he was completely in favor of the resolution ….except for the provision of stopping all live fire and B2 bombing at pohakuloa training range. his reasoning was that we must not stop troops from training. some council members concluded that it may be hazardous for the troops TO train at pohakuloa and wanted to err on the side of caution until we find out the total extent of what’s going on up there.
even though the reso means very little and doesn’t have the force of law, it may be a start to begin to get the truth. it sounded like all on the council are finally getting on the same page as the residents and i think, they will keep on this. i think they finally realize the seriousness of this issue and i’m very proud of them all. ( many are up for election, HELP them! ..and vote for SEPT. 20th! )
to the best of my knowledge, we are the first county in the u.s. to have such a reso. i hope it will spread across the country like wildfire to other communities situated near training ranges, who may be similarly affected by the concern of depleted uranium radiation in or near their area, and hopefully, spread to the halls of congress to put a stop to the manufacture of this horror for good and also, to start taking real care of our veterans.
hope lives.
dr. lorrin pang came over from maui and was awesome, we all owe him a huge debt. this was his 12th trip to hawaii island on this issue, usually with his own funds, against the blessings of his bosses at the dept. of health. thank you lorrin, we are all so very grateful to you!
very special thanks go out to kahea.org for helping to get the word out quickly across the country! send your thank$! also to leuren, doug, doug, cory, lisa, shannon, gunter, megan, jasper, cathy, rosalee, jim, kyle, lindafaye, lance, marti, jay, mele, bob, marya, galen, barbara, josh, john, dick, vivianne, ace, liz, and many more, for helping to educate us and getting the word out!
max karma credits!
MOST OF ALL…to our county council for doing the right thing, this is the best council we’ve EVER had! you rock!!!”
[...] The Hawaii County Council by a vote of 8-1 on July 2nd, passed resolution 639-08, calling for the halting of all live-fire that could spread military radiation and independent, comprehensive, testing Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Hawaii County Council to Consider DU Cleanup ResoIndia Prepares for the Bird-Flu as the Lab Results are delayed.VindicationIsrael Detonates Tactical Nuke Bunker Buster in Lebanon? [...]