Press Release on on latest NRC/Army Whitewash of DU in Hawaii and U.S.
Press Release: March 23, 2016 U.S. Army and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) latest Whitewash on Depleted uranium (DU) in Hawaii and throughout the U.S.
further contact: Jim Albertini 808-966-7622, email ja@malu-aina.org
Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org www.malu-aina.org
Below is the latest from the NRC on rubber stamping military Depleted Uranium use in Hawaii and elsewhere — just concerning the Davy Crockett DU spotting rounds used from 1960-1968. The Army has said DU was not prohibited from being used in training until 1996, but the Army and the NRC have blinders on. Today, there is a wide variety of DU rounds in the military arsenal. They are not going to investigate possible additional DU used in training. Only the DU from old Davy Crockett spotting rounds that they got caught using. The Army also says that the Davy Crockett “DU is mostly in large fragments” which I believe is nonsense at least at Pohakuloa (PTA) which has been used for more than 50 years for bombing, artillery, etc. since Davy Crockett was first used. If the DU is in large fragments, then shows us the fragments and clean them up. It’s likely more than 2000 Davy Crockett DU rounds were fired at PTA alone. More at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and likely Makua Valley and possibly Kaho’olawe. SHOW US ALL “THE LARGE FRAGMENTS.”
The long and short is the military wants to continue bombing and turn any big pieces into small pieces to blow in the wind. DU is most dangerous when inhaled in small dust particles. It is common knowledge that strong winds travel through the area where the 133,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area is located in the center of Hawaii Island. It appears that the military doesn’t want their live-fire restricted and they want to do minimal monitoring, if any at all. In short, it’s onward with the military mission, even if it endangers the health and safety of its own troops and the very people (residents and visitors) it is suppose to be defending.
On July 2, 2008, the Hawaii County Council passed Resolution 639-08 by a vote of 8-1. That resolution called for stopping all live-fire at Pohakuloa until there is a complete assessment of the DU present and it is cleaned up. 7 other actions were also called for. The Army has ignored the county’s call and continued bombing business as usual. From all appearances the Army, and its so called nuclear regulators, neither care about the health and safety of people or the environment. And the Hawaii State Department of Health has been no better in standing up to the military for the environment and citizens health and safety from DU contamination.
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——– Forwarded Message ——–
Aloha,
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Amendment No. 1 to Source Materials License No. SUC-1593 to the Army. This amendment authorizes the U.S. Army to possess depleted uranium (DU).
The NRC has added 15 installations to Source Material License No. SUC-1593. The initial license applied to Schofield Barracks on the Island of Oahu and the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii. The amendment license now also applies to Forts Benning and Gordon (Georgia); Forts Campbell and Knox (Kentucky); Fort Carson (Colorado); Fort Hood (Texas); Joint Base Lewis-McChord/Yakima Training Center (Washington); Fort Bragg (North Carolina); Fort Polk (Louisiana); Fort Sill (Oklahoma); Fort Jackson (South Carolina); Fort Hunter Liggett (California); Fort Wainwright (Alaska); Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (New Jersey); and Fort Riley (Kansas).
The physical security and radiation safety programs are similar to those in the original license. But the environmental monitoring program will change. The Army showed, and the NRC agreed, that less environmental monitoring is needed because the exposures would be well below the NRC limits even during ground disturbing activities. The program now has criteria for developing separate environmental monitoring plans for each of the installations. These plans would generally require limited monitoring of potential routes for transport of contamination out of the impact areas. They would also include criteria for periodic review to address any changes that may affect risk, tailored to the conditions at each installation. The license requires the Army to develop these site-specific plans within six months and submit them for NRC review. If they are approved, the Army must implement the plans within six months. They would then be subject to NRC inspection and enforcement.
The license does not authorize the Army to use the DU or decommission the sites. Any cleanup would require additional review and approval by the NRC to ensure that public health and safety will continue to be protected.
The press release and the fact sheet are found on the NRC’s public web page at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/, and http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/bg-license-app-du.html), respectively.
The NRC’s safety evaluation report and the license amendment will be publicly available on March 28 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16039A225).
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Mahalo.
Amy
Amy Snyder, Senior Project Manager
Materials Decommissioning Branch (MDB)
Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs (DUWP)
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Washington, D.C. 20555
( Office: (301) 415-6822
7 Fax: (301) 415-5369
– Mail Stop: T8-F5M
- Location: T8-E06B
8 E-mail: amy.snyder@nrc.gov
