Category: Local Campaigns

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Army to discharge Ehren Watada next month

Army to discharge Ehren Watada next month

By Gregg K. Kakesako

POSTED: 04:10 p.m. HST, Sep 25, 2009

First Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned military officer to refuse deployment to Iraq because he believed it was an illegal war, has won his three-year legal battle with the Army.

With little fanfare, the Army at Fort Lewis in Washington state accepted the resignation of the 1996 Kalani High School graduate last Friday and he will be discharged during the first week in October.

Rather than seek a second court martial against the infantry officer, the Army will grant Watada a discharge “under other than honorable conditions.”

Joseph J. Piek, Fort Lewis spokesman, said “this is an administrative discharge and the characterization of Lt. Watada’s discharge is not releasable under the privacy act.”

Watada, 31, told the Star-Bulletin an phone interview today that he was “glad to finally bring this chapter to a close and to move on.”

“The actual outcome is different from the outcome that I envisioned in the first place, but I am grateful of the outcome.”

Watada said there were “many skilled lawyers” who represented him and that he was “thankful to the people from all walks of life that supported me and agreed with my stand.”

In May, Watada won a significant legal victory when the U.S. Department of Justice dropped efforts to retry him. The Army had wanted to appeal U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle’s decision last October that a second court-martial would violate Watada’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy.

Following the Justice Department’s decision, the Army made it clear the only course available to Watada is what the Army calls “Resignation for the Good of the Service in Lieu of General Court-Martial,” he said. Either Watada could voluntarily resign or be forced out with a discharge “under other than honorable conditions.”

Either way, Watada said today, the result would be the same except it would take longer if he was forced out.

Watada said he turned his resignation papers in July and it was approved by the commanding general at Fort Lewis and sent to his higher headquarters. Watada learned of the Army’s final approval on Sept. 18.

Watada was initially charged with missing the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team’s deployment on June 22, 2006, considered by the Army as the most serious charge, and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Source: http://www.starbulletin.com/news/bulletin/Army_to_discharge_Ehren_Watada_next_month.html

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Women Activists Explore Post-military economy

Activists explore post-military economy

Friday, 18 September 2009 03:18 MVG Reporter

PEOPLE will have to work together if they want to sustain an economy after the military. This was emphasized during the fourth day of the 7th Meeting of the International Network of Women Against Militarism at the University of Guam in Mangilao.

The morning a panel focused on the topic “Beyond the Military Economy: Exploring Alternatives for Sustainability.”

Participating were Alma Bulawan of the Buklod Center Philippines, Dr. Hannah Middleton of the Australian Anti-Base Campaign, Dr. Miyume Tanji of Curtin University of Technology in Australia, and Isabella Sumang of Palau.

Each panelist gave a perspective of the impact the military has had on their respective regions.

Bulawan had indicated that when there were bases in the Philippines, businesses were set up to cater to the military as well as prostitution. It appears now that with those bases closed, businesses and the prostitution still remain.

She referred to the Subic Bay and Clark Freeport Zones, which formerly hosted the U.S. Naval Base and the Air Force Base and have each seen the creation and development of businesses.

Despite the conversion of the old bases, Bulawan said the Philippines continues to face economic challenges.

As for Australia, Middleton explained how millions of Australian dollars are spent on military defense and other armed forces programs. A recent poll showed that 70 percent of Australians do not want any more money spent on the military.

She added that the Australians believe the money should go on helping the environment, improving hospitals and even to create jobs.

“We expect one million Australians will be unemployed in 2010, money should be spent to help them find jobs,” she said.

During the open forum, several concerns were brought up including a question on whether they felt that the threat of an invasion and war is real here in Micronesia.

Sumang responded that it could be the case especially when there is a military presence. “You have that threat hanging over your head,” she said.

Middleton offered another perspective saying that the threat is an excuse to keep military bases in the region.

“It’s not real,” she pointed out.

The women’s conference concludes today at the Carmel on the Hill Retreat Center in Malojloj or the former Carmelite Convent.

Participants are expected to discuss Human Trafficking and Prostitution and gather together in group meetings to develop short term and long term goals.

The conference wraps up with an art celebration featuring music, visual artworks and poetry reading starting at 6 p.m.

Source: http://mvguam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8568:activists-explore-post-military-economy&catid=1:guam-local-news&Itemid=2

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Waikane Valley Restoration Advisory Board Meeting

Waikane valley was used by the military for live fire training during WWII until the 1970s.   According to the lease, the military was supposed to clean up the unexploded ordnance and return the land in its original condition when they left.  Instead, the Marine Corps condemned the land from the Kamaka Family.  After many years of resistance from Raymond Kamaka and protest in 2003 when the Marine Corps proposed to conduct jungle warfare training in Waikane, the Marine Corps scrapped its plans and began the closure and clean up of Waikane.  The Restoration Advisory Board is part of the process of planning, implementing and evaluating the clean up.   The next Waikane Valley Restoration Advisory Board Meeting will be on September 23.   The meetings are open to the public.  We need to keep the pressure on for a thorough clean up of the valley and the return of the land to the community to perpetuate traditional Hawaiian practices.  See the agenda below.

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AGENDA

Waikane Valley Restoration Advisory Board Meeting
Waiahole Elementary School
September 23, 2009
7:00pm to 9:00pm
I. Welcome and Introductions (10 min)
Major David Hudock
Marine Corps RAB Co-Chair / Environmental Department Director
Marine Corps Base Hawaii

David Henkin
Waikane RAB Community Co-Chair
II. April 2009 Meeting Action Items (10 min)
• Enter April 2009 meeting minutes into record
III. Waikane Valley Site Inspection Report and Remedial Investigation (RI) (30 min)
Lance Higa
Munitions Response Program
NAVFAC Pacific

IV. Available RI Detection Technology and Limitations (25 min)
Bob Nore
Program Manager
USA Environmental
V. Waikane Valley RI and Cultural Resources (25 min)
June Cleghorn
Senior Cultural Resources Manager
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
VI. Open Discussion – Adjourn at 9:00
• Next RAB meeting

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Women’s Vigil for Peace and Solidarity

In Solidarity with the 7th International Network of Women against Militarism (INWAM) Meeting: Guahan

Hafa Adai, my name is Angela T. Hoppe-Cruz. I am a Chamoru woman born and raised on the island of Guahan, now residing in Makaha. The INWAM formed in the mid 1990’s in response to the rape of a young Okinawan woman by a U.S. Marine. In 2004 women from Hawaii represented DMZ Hawaii Aloha Aina at th 5th INWAM Meeting held in the Phillipies. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is part of the alliance that makes up DMZ. Hawaii’s participation continued, followed by the 2007 delegation in San Francisco, and this year Guahan. This year Hawaii is represented at the Guahan conference by Auntie Terri and Melanie Medalle. The meeting location is strategically selected based on the current militarism efforts against the people. In 2006 the U.S. military announced the transfer of U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa to Guahan. The influx will result in 50,000 more people and immense development of the land for military use.

The 7th INWAM Meeting kicked off early this week, as I followed in spirit and prayer our sisters and brothers, there is an ache to be part of such a historic event, especially at this moment in time. Many sisters from the Micronesian region, here on Oahu have expressed that same ache and desire. I was moved and inspired by them to organize a gathering for our sisters living on Oahu, who cannot be in attendance at the INMW. On the final day of the conference there will be a community vigil to “honor the past and heal for the future “Fuetsan I Lina’la’: Famalao’an I Tano’ Strength of Life: Women of the Land”. Detailed information regarding the conference is at this site: http://genuinesecurity.blogspot.com/.

In solidarity with the INWM Guahan conference, we ask that you join us for a community vigil to be held on Oahu, to honor the past and heal for the future. This is a call for solidarity and sisterhood and that our connection brings hopeful collectivity. Militarism and empire building has wrought upon indigenous peoples’ across the globe a deep trauma and loss. The INWM is a collective of women standing up against the continued injustices and desecration of our lands, and communities. This is the thrust of the Gathering, women collectively overcoming militarism and putting forth a new vision of security. We ask for your full participation, this is not a performance. It is a space for us to gather, to re-member. Please call with questions Angela at 366-5777 or e-mail atacruz@gmail.com.

When: Sunday, September 20th at 4:00p.m.

Where: Makua Beach, Ku la`i la`i

  • Hi`uwai (water cleansing ceremony). Procession to Papa Wai Ola cared for by Auntie Leandra.
  • Oli by Auntie Leandra
  • Song from our Sisters’ (open to all)
    • Chamoru, Chuukese, Palauan
  • Resilience and Healing across Oceania
    • Sharing our stories of struggle and hope
  • Potluck and drinks

**Please bring a potluck dish and drink to share. Also, please bring kukui nuts they will be used to represent the hurt you wish to be transformed.

The following is a timeline of military rule and impact in the Micronesian Islands and Hawaii. There are not words to describe the history of oppression and hurt that connects us. Nor are there words to describe our inherent power to heal and move beyond. We take with us not spears, but the power of our voice, love and ancestors collectively to challenge and resist the continued rape of our tano/aina.

The Transgressions: A timeline of militarism in our islands. (this is not a comprehensive list)

  • 1893: The Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown and placed under U.S. rule, annexed as a territory.
  • 1898: The islands of Micronesia, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Isalnds and the Republic of Palau were divvied up as spoils of war after the Spanish American war.
  • Guam was ceded to the United States of America while the rest of the islands were awarded to Germany.
  • 1919: The Japanese through the Treaty of Versailles took control of the islands, except for Guam, which continued to be ruled by the U.S.A.
  • 1920: Guam is forced to follow: English Only Law.
  • 1941: Guam was under U.S. rule, until the Japanese Occupation, which lasted until 1944
  • 1944: Guam was ‘liberated’ from Japanese Occupation by the United States of America.
  • 1944: Following WWII the FSM, RMI, ROP and CNMI became Trust Territories of the Pacific, through the UN administered by the USA.
  • 1950: Through the Organic Act of 1950, Guam became a United States Territory.
  • 1954: In the name of Humanity, Marshall Islands are used as testing site of BRAVO an HBOMB, the equivalent of 10000 Hiroshima bombs.
  • 1959: Hawai`i nei annexed into statehood.
  • 1979: Four of the trust territory islands ratified the constitution to become the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Ponepei, Kosrae, Yap). RMI, ROP and CNMI chose not to participate.
  • 1986: Compact of Free Association took effect, for the FSM and RMI entities.
  • 1993: President Clinton issued an apology to the Kanaka Maoli for the overthrow of their Kingdom.
  • 1996: Compact of Free Association took effect. The conflict which this contract brought to the people of Palau was devastating. Their first President was assassinated and the 2nd committed suicide as a result of the pressure to get the people to agree to this. From the perspective of an elder, the third President gave in.
  • 1996: Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act, distinguishes Micronesians as aliens and ineligible for Medquest, based on “alienage” Sect 412, 431.
  • 2006: US announced transfer of Okinawan base to Guam, influx of 50,000 people and development as result. No community consultation.
  • 2009: Linda Lingle attempts to alter healthcare coverage to migrants from Micronesia, possibly endangering lives of individuals in need of chemo and dialysis.

As I write this my heart is heavy…the connections that have severed us are many and have been brutal. I ask you to join us; sisters in solidarity, to relieve ourselves of the cultural historical trauma…if not relieve, to ask for the strength to continue fighting for our people, our land. What we shed will flow out into the ocean and become one with the current.

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Micronesians fight for health care

Micro-managing

Pacific immigrants face a death panel of their own.

by Alan D. McNarie

Sep 2, 2009

Retired cook Calvin Nelson says that when he came to Hawaii from Kwajalein after the United States had seized his home for a new missile range, he was told, “everything will be covered.” But 20 years later, he learned that a new health program that the state government was issuing for himself and thousands of other Micronesian immigrants wouldn’t pay for the kidney dialysis that kept him alive.

He vowed that if that happened, he would go back and reclaim his home on the missile range.

“Well, I guess I don’t have any choice but to go home and to go to heaven. There’s no other way for me to receive treatment,” he told the Weekly.

Trucy James was in a similar situation, except there was no home left for her to return to. It was destroyed in a nuclear bomb blast-one of 67 such nuclear tests that devastated much of the island chain. Now, like Nelson, she faced a cutoff of her dialysis, without which both would be dead in a matter of days.

Nelson, James and approximately 108 other legal Micronesian immigrants on dialysis got a last-minute reprieve from the governor on August 31, when Senior Policy Advisor Linda Schmidt and Health and Human Services Director William Koller told a group of Micronesian protestors outside Lingle’s office that their kidney dialysis would be covered for the next two years.

Not so lucky, perhaps, were 130-160 Micronesians, including Marshallese nuclear test refugees, who need radiation therapy or chemotherapy for cancer. According to a Health and Human Services press release, the dialysis patients could be treated because Federal courts had ruled dialysis an “emergency treatment” and the Federal government would eventually reimburse the State for such treatment-but “We cannot cover chemotherapy in the same way because the Federal Government does not consider it an emergency.”

“We are working with the American Cancer Society and other providers to find a way to continue chemo treatments,” said the press release. Queens Medical Center said Tuesday it will continue to treat Micronesian cancer patients at no cost, for now.

Hundreds of Micronesian immigrants may lose their benefits entirely, because they didn’t file the proper paperwork on time.

Who pays?

At the heart of the Micronesian health crisis is the state’s budget crunch and a dispute between the U.S. and the State over who should foot the bill for the immigrants. The U.S. is obligated to provide for Micronesian immigrants’ health needs under the Compact of Free Associations, which guarantees residents of the former U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands access to some U.S. domestic programs and services in exchange for military concessions from the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau and Republic of the Marshall Islands-including the missile range at Kwajalein. Under COFA, the federal government also divides $30 million of “Compact Impact” money annually among Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands to help defray the cost of providing services to Micronesian immigrants. The Lingle administration maintains that it spent over $101 million to provide such services in 2007, but only got $11 million in Compact Impact payments from the U.S. government.

In response to this gap, the Lingle administration is removing Micronesian immigrants over the age of 18 from a program that provided the equivalent of QUEST (Medicaid) coverage, and is enrolling them instead under a new program called “Basic Care Hawaii,” which provides only a fraction of the former coverage. The administration claims it will save $15 million dollars by making the change. Critics contend, however, the change will force the immigrants be forced to use hospital emergency rooms instead of their former health care providers, thus straining the ER’s ability to provide services to all residents.

From Eniwetok to Ocean View

Particularly hard-hit may be the Big Island-especially the rural district of Kau, where relatively cheap land prices and rental costs have lured thousands of Micronesians. According to Dr. Keola G. K. Dowling, who serves as Care Coordinator for COFA Immigrants at the Big Island’s nonprofit Bay Clinics, the island holds 2,000-3,000 Marshallese, 3,000 Chuukese, 1,500 Kosraeans, 150-300 Yapese, 1,500-1,800 Pohnapeians, and 200 Palauans. But Dowling believes those estimates are low. He says more than a thousand Marshallese reside in the remote Kau community of Ocean View alone.

“Almost all of the Eniwetok refugees live there,” he says. “Some Bikinians too. They definitely consider themselves nuclear refugees.”

The U.S. Eniwetok and Bikini were used as nuclear testing grounds, setting off 67 open-air atomic and hydrogen bomb blasts that equaled, Dowling says, “1.7 hiroshima-sized bombs every morning 12 years…One of the islands in their homeland was turned into white light. It was vaporized.”

“Of 160 Micronesians who are under chemotherapy in Hawaii, most of them are from the Marshall Islands, and most of those came from where they blasted those bombs on Eniwetok and Bikini,” Dowling notes.

Bureaucracy vs. culture

The Micronesians’ supporters also claim that many immigrants didn’t know to register for the new program, thanks to a combination of cross-cultural difficulties and poor government planning.

“Their exposure to bureaucratic systems and the necessity of doing paperwork has been pretty limited,” says retired UH-Hilo Professor Craig Severance, who has lived in Micronesia and who wrote a letter to Lingle supporting a delay in the implementation of the new program. He notes that while “Those that have been here for a while are well adjusted,” newcomers from the outer islands have trouble with bureaucracy, and “part of the trouble is not so much their fault as it is the agencies…It’s the responsibility of the agencies to make that transition easy, and not difficult. It’s also to make the translation and the communication of expectations clear, rather than simply stereotyping all Micronesians as being the same.”

When members and supporters of Micronesians United called an ad hoc to discuss the health crisis, some participants brought stories of immigrants who were stymied in their efforts to get their paperwork in for the transition, because they were referred to automated phone services that were either entirely in English or were so badly translated that Marshallese islanders didn’t recognize the reputed Marshallese phone recordings as their own language.

“A lot of them that did call them said that the recording was automated and ‘We didn’t understand it, says Leilani Resureccion of the nonprofit Alii’s Hale, which works with Pacific islanders in Kau. “If you don’t get your form in, then you will lose your health care for yourself and for your family.”

Both Severance and Resureccion note that state law requires the government to supply translators for those who need them.

But translation wasn’t the only problem. Ocean View has no post office. Many of the immigrants get their mail at post office boxes in Kona, 40-plus miles away, and many do not have cars, so they don’t often check their boxes often. So many may not have gotten the notification letters and forms that were mailed out.

Resureccion notes that the Marshallese are a “very communal” people and that the best way to get the word out was through meetings.

“Did the health workers actually come out here and hold meetings to inform them of the change?” she asks rhetorically. “You know what the answer is? No.”

So the Lingle administration may save even more money than it anticipated, by dropping many members from its health care rolls entirely.

Cream-skimming

Participants at the August 31 meeting accused the Lingle administration of achieving the savings it claimed by essentially cream-skimming-keeping Micronesian patients who were unlikely to cost much and dumping high-expense, chronic care patients. One noted that the State of Hawaii was probably actually making a profit off under-18 Micronesians, who required little health care.

“Migrants under 18 are not being taken off of Quest because they get two-for-one matching funds from the Feds,” he claimed.

Downing also notes that the Lingle Administration could have saved money simply by reducing bureaucratic waste. He notes, for instance that both Bay Clinics and another organization got grants to do redundant studies of the immigrants’ needs.

“There was a third entity called the COFA task force, and they had very big funding. As far as I know, they’ve never published anything of what they did,” he adds.

PR problem

On top of their bureaucratic woes, Micronesians in Hawaii are also battling the same image problems that many immigrant groups face. When the Honolulu Advertiser ran a story about the health care crisis, online comments ran heavily in favor of the cuts; many of those commented made remarks to the effect that the Micronesians were freeloading.

That’s far from the truth, according to their supporters. Resurecion says that in Kau, many of the Micronesians work as macadamia nut and coffee harvesters.

“Most of the Micronesians we know are working and some of them are working in professional capacities,” says Severance.

Downing agrees.

“We do not want people ever to be saying of Micronesians that they were victims.”

Source: http://honoluluweekly.com/feature/2009/09/micro-managing/

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Army’s depleted uranium application now before NRC

http://www.hawaii247.org/2009/08/27/armys-depleted-uranium-application-now-before-nrc/

Army’s depleted uranium application now before NRC

Updated at 9:05 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2009.

Karin Stanton/Hawaii247 Contributing Editor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission began its review of the U.S. Army’s application to possess depleted uranium this week on the Big Island.

The procedure to grant a license – and establishing any conditions to that license – is expected to last into next year.

The application covers nine sites across the country, including Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island and Schofield Barracks on Oahu.

“We’re basically in the beginning stages here,” said Dave McIntyre, NRC Public Affairs Office. “We’re here to review the process and the conditions that could be put on the permit.”

Although the application includes mainland sites, McIntyre said Hawaii was a logical place to start.

“We understand there is a long-standing relationship with the military and we understand there is some mistrust there,” he said.

More than 700 spotting rounds for the 1960s Davy Crockett weapons system were shipped to Hawaii, according the U.S. Army records. They since have been confirmed at Schofield in 2005 and at PTA in 2007.
Presenters from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Hilo High School Thursday (Aug 27).

Presenters from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Hilo High School with a radiation detector Thursday (Aug 27).

The Army now needs a possession permit from the NRC, an independent federal regulatory board that ensures the use of radioactive material is done safely.

The series of meeting this week included Oahu, Kona and Hilo. The final meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at Hilo High School.

Public comments will be accepted until Oct. 13; members of the public also can make a hearing request as outlined in the National Federal Register.

More than three dozen residents attended Wednesday’s informational meeting at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.

Among the concerns

* The Army’s continued dropping of 2,000-pound test bombs in the area, despite the county council passing a nonbinding resolution in 2008 requesting the military halt live-fire training.

* Sen. Josh Green, who also is an emergency room physician, said he is alarmed about the ‘cancer clusters’ in Kona.

* Residents called for the NRC to research whether depleted uranium may contribute to cancer, birth defects, deformations and other illness.

* Highlights of testimony from Kona resident Shannon Rudolph

I was across the highway from Pohakuloa in May 2007, with other residents watching radiation monitors for an hour and a half staying at, or below normal background radiation levels of 5 to 20 counts per minute.

A visible “dust devil” blew up off the training range and traveled directly over the monitors and all of us. As the dust blew over us, the radiation monitors spiked 4 times, up to 75 cpm. We were horrified.

Our State Dept. of Health was contacted and they came up the mountain to measure. Their protocol for measuring radiation was to practically hold their old monitor out the window of their car for a few moments and declare safe levels.

Cabrera Services was hired to monitor, and flew over a very small portion of Pohakuloa for a couple of days in a helicopter, which residents know, wasn’t nearly enough.

Residents have gotten no answers they feel are reliable regarding questions we have about DU on our mountain, we’ve mostly gotten stalling, misinformation, and disrespect.

We need some straight answers to our questions and residents are counting on the NCR to protect us as one of our last lines of defense against the military who have a historically poor record of telling the truth.

Many residents think many more radiation weapons systems have been used beyond the Davy Crockett, tail fin spotter rounds.

I ask that in addition to absolutely foolproof, verifiable, long term, air, soil, and water monitoring, preferably by independent professionals, for all Hawaii bases that are contaminated, I plead with you to do some independent testing of sick, life long, Hawaii residents living downwind, especially in South Kona, which is at the business end of the Pohakuloa wind tunnel, in addition to wildlife near perimeters.

It is well past time that we have some straight answers from someone.

Let’s cut to the chase, IF depleted uranium is discovered in any life long resident or animal, it means the radiation is migrating off of the property.

I ask that you make the Army follow its own regulation AR 700-48 according to regulation author, Dr. Doug Rokke; to shut down these Hawaii training areas now, clean up every speck of DU, and take care of and compensate well, any soldier or resident they may have harmed.

Personally, I think if widespread contamination is discovered, the army should build us a new hospital or pay to relocate those who care to leave. If you have to pave over Pohakuloa to stop the dust, do it. We’ll have to worry about the groundwater later.

I dearly hope you will take all of our comments seriously, hold the military’s feet to the fire on the DU issue, and babysit their every move as your sacred duty to us all.

– Find out more:

Army application material: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html, click on ADAMS Web Search, then enter docket number 04009083 in the search box.

Written comments may be sent to: John Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two White Flint North, Mail Stop T8F5, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738. Or send an e-mail to: john.hayes@nrc.gov

+++

From: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/

Poll Results

The U.S. Army says there is no danger or health risk posed by depleted uranium ordnance at Pohakuloa Training Area:
I believe what the Army says and am not concerned for my health.  (35 Votes, 11%)

I’d like to believe the Army’s report but will not be satisfied without an independent risk assessment of the depleted uranium situation.  (69 Votes, 21%)

I don’t believe a word the Army says. Bring in outside experts and let the truth be known.  (225 Votes, 68%)

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NRC faced angry citizens on DU in Hawaii

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/08/28/18620043.php

NRC faced angry citizens on DU in Hawaii

by DLi
Friday Aug 28th, 2009 11:40 AM

Last night the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a meeting in Hilo, Hawaii on the Army’s application for a license to deposit unknown amounts of Depleted Uranium(DU)at the Pohakuloa Training Area on Mauna Kea, considered by many native Hawaiians as a sacred temple. Over 50 concerned citizens confronted the NRC on its checkered past in safeguarding health & safety of citizens from the nuclear industry, as well as its rubber-stamping of the Military’s mishandling of DU. It was revealed that the NRC had never turned down an application from the U.S. Military.

But the bulk of the citizens’ anger was focused on the Army’s willful non-compliance of Hawaii County Council’s resolution to demand a stop to all live fire exercises at PTA until an assessment and cleanup of DU has been completed. Dozens of citizens from the environmental, kanaka maoli, Peace and scientific communities all testified on the U.S. Military’s sordid history of stonewalling, disinformation and illegal dumping of toxic wastes on the revered aina of Hawai’i.

The consensus from the community? Stop all bombings and live fire at Pohakuloa! And Stop desecrating the land while training troops for foreign invasions! As in the previous night’s meeting in Kona, citizens are united in demanding that the NRC do its job and deny any license for the Army to leave DU and other toxic substances in place. All citizens agree that they will not accept a nuclear dump site to be established up at Pohakuloa or any other community in Hawai’i. And the Public is asked to write to the NRC(website: http://www.nrc.gov) before October 13, 2009 to demand a formal hearing to be held.

CORRECTION:

To review the application and other documents, visit http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html

Click on “begin ADAMS search”.

Select “Advanced Search”

Enter docket number “04009083”

Comments may be sent to: john.hayes@ncr.gov

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‘Blowing in the Wind’ – Kona speaks out against DU

http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/?p=8314

‘The Answer My Friend Is Blowing In The Wind’; Depleted Uranium At Pohakuloa And How The U.S. Military Seeks To Further Contaminate The Island

27 Aug 2009

By Megan Magdalene

A meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in Kona last night, Aug. 26, 2009, brought out concerned citizens who testified before the Commission. Testimony from the public will be heard tonight, Aug. 27, 2009, at the Hilo High School Cafeteria from 6-8 p.m.

If it isn’t YOUR business what goes on our mountain top, then whose is it? Consider coming to Hilo’s meeting to testify tonight! Mahalo to the excellent work of Big Island Live who will be streaming a live broadcast of the Hilo meeting. To listen in to live streaming audio broadcast from 6pm please go here: http://www.bigislandlive.com/

Written testimony can still be submitted via email at OPA.Resource@nrc.gov to request that the NRC investigate further community concerns regarding the licensing process for nuclear waste on Pohakuloa. Also, call NRC at (301) 415-8200 to air concerns.

“Nobody likes being on a bummer” was the explanation someone gave for the the small but lively meeting between the public and a panel of NRC employees, to discuss the unsavory subject of nuclear waste on the base of Pohakuloa. She was referring of course, to contrast between this meeting and the the much more well-attended meeting earlier this week concerning the closure of the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).

Clearly, it seems that it is easier to get 400 to 500 people out about “beach access,” with various council members, former council members and politicians showing up to be “champions” of this cause. It seems that it is harder for citizens to face up to the now well-established fact of nuclear contamination on the island.

A lively meeting was hosted last night in Kona by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission involving 60 well informed citizens. The task of the NRC was to explain to the public the process they have initiated since receiving an application from Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) for a license to store nuclear waste on the mountain training base.

This license is to be granted to the PTA to manage an area contaminated by Depleted Uranium (DU). The meeting hosts delivered the PR message of the evening: This panel is in charge of taking public comment and showing us that they are “very concerned'” to know the community input. It was made clear that once the license is granted, there are supposedly “experts” that the NRC will be sending in to observe and monitor the licensing and implement the “plan” that is delivered (by the NRC) for the PTA to implement. It was spelled out to the audience that this pretty much is a standard procedure that results in a license being granted.

Through the course of asking questions of the panel, it was established that this Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a very detailed “plan” that they explain to communities about the process they go through before they grant a license to a military base to have nuclear waste on their base. They have never actually refused a military base a license once the licensing process begins.

The basic format was that the entire evening was introduced by a woman who identified herself as Hawaiian and explained that she would be facilitating the meeting. She led a pule, saying she was going to chant to “call in the Ancestors.” The pule was followed by a ‘power-point’ presentation which was around 30 minutes long. The power-point presentation was presented in sections, each presented by a member of the panel and it was interrupted twice with a question. It seemed that the panel went to answer those questions but both times the facilitator stopped them. Basic tenets of the ‘science’ around radiation were put up on the screen. Considering all the facts available about Depleted Uranium, this seemed a glaringly obvious case of ‘glossing over the facts’ and ‘over simplification of the facts’. It was pointed out by several speakers throughout the evening that the people attending seemed to know more about the hazards of DU than the panel did.

Many testifiers who spoke, brought up the fact that DU is known to be a hazardous waste that they cannot possibly contain on the base because it is extremely ‘pyphoric’ (ie it burns spontaneously or at below room temperatures). For this reason any military activity up on Pohakuloa is going to increase the spread of DU because it will disturb DU on the base, causing it to ignite and turn into fine dust that travels on wind currents off base and to populated areas on the island.

Given this key scientific fact concerning DU, the idea that Pohakuloa Training Area will be granted a license to ‘contain DU contamination’ on the base, is of course ridiculous. It means that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is nothing more than a ‘rubber stamp’ that says the military don’t have to clean up the DU and can continue to drop bombs on the area and engage in live-fire training that will continue to spread the contamination of the radioactive dust.

If one were to summarize this meeting, I think that it would be appropriate to say, This panel of NRC representatives seems like it is made up of a bunch of people who feel conflicted and miserable about their job and they cover it over with a lot of repetitive meaningless phrases such as ‘The NRC is an independent organization and is not a part of the Department of Energy of the Department of Defense’. Also we heard a lot ‘We take our job very seriously’ ‘We take your concerns very seriously’. ‘You should know that we consider all of the information you are giving us very seriously.’ etc. The testimony that the public provided was informed by current research, statistics and scientific findings. Testimony ranged from the ironic and humorous to the angered and outraged.

The following is a summary of the key points of testimony given at the meeting:

The Land doesn’t belong to the USA

Several Hawaiian Kupuna spoke and challenged the legality of the NRC hosting such a meeting because of issues never resolved between Hawaiian Kingdom and USA. One was asked if the meeting were ‘formal’ or ‘informal’ in a legal sense and he was told it was ‘informal’ but it was at this point that they identified the attorney present. Several Hawaiians who spoke, brought up issue of liability on the part of the panel for issuing permits in a process that is not legal because of land claim issues. Each time the legal question of whether USA was entitled to be in negotiation over annexed sovereign land, members of panel referred to the ‘political process’ that was outside of their scope. One uncle made fun of the ‘Hawaiian Translator’ hired by the NRC for the evening by making a sexual reference which the young female translator wasn’t able to translate. “See they don’t teach you the real Hawaiian, up at that college you go to”.

There is a Hawaii County Council resolution in place already requiring the Military to “cease and desist” and this has been ignored

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was informed by several testifiers that the council of Hawaii County has passed a resolution that required the military to stop training & live-fire until DU hazard is remediated. They were told that this resolution has been ignored by the US Military and the command personnel that are stationed there and given responsibili\\ty for handling Depleted Uranium contamination issue. Hawaii’s county council has requested that a medical doctor, Dr. Pang and the nuclear physicist Dr Rainer be included in their meetings and procedures, to date, they have not been included and willful obstructions on the part of the military to include them have been noted by Hawaii County Council during hearings on the subject. Public involvement in the process was also requested and to date, this also has been obstructed

The science is poorly presented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

A man who works in the field of medicine says he’s researched the facts about DU. Complained that they didn’t name specific compounds associated with the DU. Specifically they didn’t talk about Alpha radiation and how harmful that is when a particle of DU dust is lodged right next to the cell tissue.

DU is dangerous because it is highly flammable and can easily become airborne

A testifier spoke further to the fact that the science presented in the Powerpoint was lacking substance. “The people out here know more about this than you do”. He raised the issue of the pyphoric nature of DU and the likelihood of Du igniting and spreading off base that was extremely high. He cited an instance where a group of residents had gathered to protest the opening of the new Saddle Road in May 2007. While there, along with a group of dignitaries including U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Mayor Harry Kim, the group of residents observed a spike in radiation readings recorded by a handheld radiation device. An explanation of this has been needed said the speaker but could best be explained by understanding the fact that DU easily burns and once ignited, forms aerosol-ized particles which become airborne. The distinction was made for the public record between large visible chunks of DU in it”s metal form (fragments of weapons) and the microscopic particles of aerosol-ized dust. “These are microscopic, smaller than a virus that can travel a long way from the base. In understanding how easily DU burns, we can understand how easily it causes a hazard for the whole island.”

The Animals on the base are sick and have tumors

A man who identified himself as Hawaiian and speaking for Hawaiian hunters on the island, said that he noticed a number of animals and birds that appeared to have tumors on their bodies. “Sometimes we have to throw aside the carcass because it cannot be used. It’s been too damaged.” He requested an explanation for the kinds of deformities he and other hunters were observing in the animals on and around the Pohakuloa base.

Cancer Clusters in Kona and other illnesses for “down winders” in Kona

Sen. Josh Green, an emergency room doctor, was present at the meeting and raised concern about “cancer clusters” in Kona. Further testimony backed this up. A woman expressed concern that she had been diagnosed with “trigeminal neuralgia,” a rare neurological disorder affecting 1 in 35,000 people. She says she knows of twenty two people in her immediate neighborhood who have reported some kind of condition with symptoms of ‘shocks to the face’ and is still looking for the answer as to why this disease is showing up in a ‘cluster pattern’. Another testifier spoke of the need for the NRC to test residents who live downwind of Pohakuloa for traces of Depleted Uranium. There are tests available and she said one resident returned a positive test for DU in their body but the results couldn’t be conclusive because this was not a lifelong resident. The lab conducting the test has since been shut down so it is not clear where such a test could be obtained. Tests are needed because there are unexplained patterns of illness in the Kona community. “Now purportedly, we have seen a 1992 study of the Hawai’i cancer map, by the State Public Health Dept. that shows Kona to have one of the two, highest cancer rates in the state, the other being Pearl Harbor; a giant ‘Superfund’ site. We have no heavy industry here to account for this high rate and no official wants to talk about it.” This testifier also went on to say:

“The highly reputed study that I read of recently talked of U238 (99.8% of DU) as heavy metal alpha emitter. It will concentrate in bones where it will bombard bone marrow leading to leukemia and can mutate genes and make them cancerous. Alpha particles are 20-30 times more biologically damaging per unit of energy than beta or gamma radiation. ..I know of an inordinate amount of adults and young people in our little town suffering from leukemia and other cancers. Nearly every month lately, it seems I see a couple of ads in our local paper for “benefits” for people with leukemia. I personally know of six people who have died in the past couple of months, three of them, twenty five years old from the same school, along with their principal, who all had leukemia. I’m no expert but I think something is very wrong here.”

Further testimony came from a woman who was also involved in the citizen protest at the Saddle Road. She had witnessed the spike on the radiation monitor and since that time, she says she has had”‘leukemia-like” symptoms and believes that her illness is as a result of the radiation she was exposed to at the Saddle Road in May 2007.

Can you protect us from those crazy maniacs with bombs?

Humor, be it of a dark, ironic sort, was ever-present at the meeting. A man asked the panel who the public should actually contact if a violent fundamentalist group with a distorted world view were to take over the top of the mountain and start setting off bombs and spreading DU. “Will the Nuclear Regulatory Commission come out to save the community if this is the case? I don’t think they will so can you please tell us who we should talk to who can protect us?”

If you aren’t a “rubber stamp,” then what are you?

The panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was asked, was there an instance that they could cite of a military base being denied a license? The “manager” of the NRC panel, Keith, turned to his whole panel and asked if they knew of any because he didn’t. Nobody could think of an instance where that had ever happened. This brought forth lots of laughter from the public attending the meeting because in that moment it was made crystal clear that the NRC would be granting a license to Pohakuloa Training Area no matter what evidence was brought against them. One testifier made a complaint for the record that the format of the evening was to provide a smokescreen to hide from identifying themselves. She objected to what she said was “The fake ‘Aloha’ of a Hawaiian facilitator who has the job of leading a Hawaiian prayer, and cutting people off after 4 minutes.” She noted that it was culturally insensitive to ask a Hawaiian and a translator to make it seem like this was a genuine process when clearly it is a rubber stamp for a “license” that is going to be granted anyway.

“Wake up and realize the truth”

A man in his forties identified himself as a member of the “next generation” … “Since our Kupuna are passing on, I’m stepping up.” He gave the most powerful delivery of the evening and pretty much wrapped up the night. He took the microphone and stood before them, making eye contact with each of the panelists. He spoke to them of their responsibilities to their creator, to their children. “You know this is wrong. But everybody’s got to eat eh?.. You just doing your job, aren’t you?” His tone was sometimes loud and sometimes soft and he covered a range of emotions and fears that were present in the room. He spoke about the fear generated from the lies being told by the government to the people. He spoke clearly and delivered to them this message: “This mountain is not your mountain. It’s the most sacred mountain. It’s not your place to allow it to be contaminated.”

The Qualifications of members of the Panel were in question

Several people attending spoke to the procedural “errors” of the evening. The panel members never introduced themselves and identified their qualifications. Eventually, at the end of the meeting, they did so and it was established that the panelists’ qualifications consisted of either a Bachelor degree or a doctorate in fields of nuclear engineering, environmental science, geology, chemical engineering – plus a bunch of years experience in a government agency and with the NRC. The man in charge of the process is a man named Keith and he said, “I’m no longer a practicing geologist. I’m a manager.” He noted that he had been with the NRC about 20 years. There were no qualified medical doctors represented on the panel. At a certain point in the meeting, a man introduced himself as an attorney who had been employed by NRC for about 10 years.

Summary of Meeting:

A well informed group of citizens turned out for the meeting. They came affiliated loosely with a number of groups, like the Kingdom of Hawaii, or simply as interested citizens representing themselves and their concerns. People who testified were sometimes funny and sometimes had an angry and indignant tone. The fact that many of the testifiers who spoke wanted particular surveys and scientific findings entered onto the record made it clear that this was a well informed citizenry.

Over and over people testified that the proceedings didn’t seem legitimate because it had failed to address legal issues over the US entitlement to use of land at Pohakuloa and that the science they were presenting didn’t seem valid or thorough. The conclusion testifiers made repeatedly was that this process was not a genuine inquiry as to the merits of granting a license, but a routine checklist of procedures that would result in a license being granted.

It was noted that there were no Hawaii County Council representatives present. This truly was a missed opportunity to look out for the interests of the community as this license is about to be issued and the DU matter literally “dispersed to the winds.”

This lack of interest on council members’ part is a little out of character, since last year they passed a resolution stating that there are well-documented health hazards relating to DU requesting that the Military cease all bombing and live-fire training until the DU contamination is thoroughly identified and the DU is cleaned up.

Council members Brenda Ford, Emily Naeole, Dominic Yagong and Pete Hoffman are all on record as showing they were very concerned to know of the DU hazards. Brenda was on record as saying that she wanted a meeting with Pete Hoffman and the military. Unfortunately, when we contacted her about that this week, she didn’t seem to remember this fact and reported that no such meeting had occurred. It seems as though the fear and concerns raised by council members, when they listened to testimony from an informed public and from key witness Dr Lorin Pang, have now been forgotten.

As Bob Dylan would say, “How many times can a man turn his head, pretending that he just doesn’t see? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind… ” It will take a lot more than just 60 citizens paying attention to see that we are protected. Amazingly, it is still not too late to become involved. You have until October to contact the NRC and let them hear you say “…not in my backyard.”

Megan Magdalene is a resident of Hilo concerned about depleted uranium and a number of other issues our island community faces.

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