The Davy Crockett, U S Portable Nuclear Bomb, world's smallest nuke.
"NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) TO ISSUE LICENSES FOR DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) TO MILITARY" WAS THE HEADLINE THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
THE NRC MAY AS WELL HAVE ISSUED LICENSES TO KILL.
JUST MY OPINION, STILL MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO EXPRESS IT...FOR NOW, AT LEAST.
THIS STORY CENTERS AROUND HAWAII, THE OLD "DAVY CROCKETT" RECOILLESS 'RIFLE' AND ITS DU "SPOTTING ROUNDS', BUT IT HAS ITS ROOTS IN SECRET WEAPONRY OF THE 1950S AND THE DENIALS THAT SPAN ALMOST HALF A CENTURY.
LICENSES THAT EXPIRED IN 1978 ARE BEING RENEWED BY THE NRC FOR THE ARMY AND NAVY, ALLEGEDLY BECAUSE IT WAS "DISCOVERED" IN 2005 THAT REMNANTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) ROUNDS WERE LYING ABOUT ON TEST RANGES FROM HAWAII TO ALASKA AND POINTS IN BETWEEN, AND THE MILITARY HAD NO "LICENSE" THAT ALLOWED THEM TO MANAGE THIS MATERIAL.
THE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE HAVE REQUESTED CLARIFICATION ON A REPORTED SIX ATOMIC DETONATIONS ON ONE HAWAIIAN ISLAND AND HAVE NOT BEEN ANSWERED BY THE NRC.
IN A SUMMARY OF A DECLASSIFIED GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT, THE ORIGINAL OBTAINED BY FOIA, HAWAII WAS ONE OF NINE PLACES WHERE ATOMIC BOMBS WERE ADMITTEDLY DEPLOYED.
18 OTHER NATIONS HAD THEIR NAMES BLACKED-OUT.
[THAT AND THE ACTUAL DECLASSIFIED, THOUGH REDACTED, OFFICIAL REPORT History of the custody and deployment of nuclear weapons
ARE TWO OF THE MOST FASCINATING DOCUMENTS I HAVE EVER READ.]
HAWAIIANS HAVE REQUESTED INDEPENDENT TESTING OF THE SEVERAL ISLANDS' SITES, BUT NONE HAVE BEEN DONE.
THEY HAVE REQUESTED FINAL AND COMPLETE CLEAN-UP OF KNOWN MUNITIONS FRAGMENTS AND DECONTAMINATION OF THE RADIOACTIVE SITES TO NO AVAIL.
IN THEIR SO-CALLED 'HEARINGS' PRIOR TO LICENSING THE DU FOR THE MILITARY, THE NRC FAILED TO RESPOND TO 8 QUESTIONS ASKED BY A CONCERNED HAWAIIAN CITIZENS GROUP.
A LITTLE HISTORY...
ABOVE IS THE M-101 'SPOTTING ROUND' OF THE 'DAVY CROCKETT WEAPON SYSTEM', NOT QUITE 8 INCHES IN LENGTH, A DEPLETED URANIUM ROUND.
THIS WEAPON SYSTEM AND ITS 'SPOTTING ROUNDS' ARE THE CENTER OF THE ONGOING CONCERN OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE OR LIVED NEAR THE MILITARY TEST-FIRING RANGES WHERE THEY WERE USED, WHERE THEIR FRAGMENTS HAVE REMAINED FOR DECADES.
WHEN FIRED, THE ROUND DID NOT EXPLODE, AND WE'RE TOLD IT DID NOT "AEROSOLIZE" ON IMPACT AS DID THOSE USED IN THE PERSIAN GULF WAR, BUT PIECES LAY ON THE GROUND OF THE TEST RANGES FOR AS LONG AS 54 YEARS, CONTAMINATING THE ENVIRONMENT AND POSING A THREAT TO LIFE, HUMAN AND OTHERWISE..
BELOW IS THE DAVY CROCKETT RECOILLESS GUN MOUNTED ON A TRIPOD, LOADED WITH THE M-388 ATOMIC ROUND.
THAT'S RIGHT, IT LAUNCHED SMALL ATOMIC BOMBS.
DETAILED STATS ON THIS WEAPON CAN BE FOUND BELOW.
A VIRTUAL WEALTH OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR TESTING RANGE CLEANUPS AND FULL DISCLOSURE IN HAWAII AND OTHER PLACES CAN BE FOUND AT
http://www.wise-uranium.org/dissti.html.
The M-388 round [shown loaded above] used a version of the W54 warhead, a very small sub-kiloton fission device.
The Mk-54 weighed about 51 lb (23 kg), with a yield equivalent to somewhere between 10 or 20 tons of TNT—very close to the minimum practical size and yield for a fission warhead.
The only selectable feature with either versions of the Davy Crockett (M28 & M29) was the height-of-burst dial on the warhead.
Post-Davy Crockett versions of the W54 nuclear device apparently had a selectable yield feature.
The complete round weighed 76 lb (34.5 kg). It was 31 in. (78.7 cm) long with a diameter of 11 in. (28 cm) at its widest point; a subcaliber piston at the back of the shell was inserted into the launcher's barrel for firing.
The M-388 atomic projectile was mounted on the barrel-inserted spigot via bayonet slots. Once the propellant was discharged the spigot became the launching piston for the M-388 atomic projectile.
The nuclear yield is hinted at in FM 9-11: "Operation and Employment of the Davy Crockett Battlefield Missile, XM-28/29" (June 1963).
The M-388 could be launched from either of two launchers known as the Davy Crockett Weapon System(s): the 4-inch (120 mm) M28, with a range of about 1.25 mi (2 km), or the 6.1-in (155 mm) M29, with a range of 2.5 mi (4 km).
Both weapons used the same projectile, and were either mounted on a tripod launcher transported by an armored personnel carrier, or they were carried by a Jeep (M-38 & later M-151).
The Jeep was equipped with an attached launcher for the M28 or the M29, as required, whereas the Davy Crockett carried by an armored personnel carrier was set up in the field on a tripod away from the carrier.
'Davy Crocketts' were operated by a three-man crew.
[ MORE ON THIS "SECRET WEAPON" IN THE 'ADDENDUM' SECTION AT END OF BLOG.]
THERE ARE SEVERAL PDFs ON "STUDIES" CONDUCTED BY OTHER U.S. AGENCIES FOR THE ARMY AT MAKUA AND THE OTHER SITES, AND ONE THING WE SEE OVER AND OVER AGAIN ARE THE WORDS,
"As requested by the Army, the study focused on depleted uranium rather than addressing other potential contaminants at these sites."
HOW CAN ANY STUDY BE VALID IF IT IGNORES "OTHER CONTAMINANTS", AND WHAT ARE THE CONTAMINANTS THE ARMY IS HIDING?
ESPECIALLY THE SO-CALLED "HEALTH STUDY" IS INVALIDATED BY LEAVING OUT "OTHER CONTAMINANTS"!
WHEN WE READ IN THAT STUDY THAT, "The Kilohana Girl Scout Camp is within
five miles to the west of the training area. The Army has agreed to install an air monitoring system at this location," THEN WE KNOW THAT SITE HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY MONITORED IN THE PAST.
HOW IRRESPONSIBLE AND UNCARING IS THAT?
THE NRC (NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION) WAS DESIGNED, SUPPOSEDLY, TO PROTECT US FROM THE MANY DANGERS OF RADIATION, INFORM US OF THREATS, REGULATE ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONRY DISPOSAL, ALL NUCLEAR FACILITIES AND THEIR ENORMOUS ANNUAL WASTE, AND YET IT HAS BEGUN ISSUING LICENSES TO THE ARMY AND NAVY SO THAT THEY CAN LEGALLY HAVE DEPLETED URANIUM PRESENT ON FIRING RANGES FROM HAWAII TO ALASKA, AFTER IT ALLOWED THE MILITARY TO LEAVE DEPLETED URANIUM LYING ABOUT AT DOZENS OF TEST RANGES ACROSS AMERICA.
THE NRC APPARENTLY DID NOT QUESTION THE LAPSE OF LICENSES FOR DU IN 1978, DID NOT MONITOR THOSE TEST RANGES IN WAYS THAT ASSURED RESIDENTS NEARBY THAT THE ENVIRONMENT WAS SAFE, AND WILL NOT NOW, OBVIOUSLY, RESPOND TO THE VERY CONCERNED RESIDENTS OF HAWAII WHO ARE ASKING EIGHT SIMPLE QUESTIONS THAT THE NRC COULD CERTAINLY ANSWER, IF THEY WANTED TO.
NOW, THE DEPLETED URANIUM HAS BEEN THERE FOR YEARS, DECADES, BUT THE LICENSES MAKE IT LEGAL FOR IT TO BE THERE.
THE LICENSES, AS ALL LICENSES (?) ISSUED BY THE NRC, GIVE PLENTY OF LEEWAY AND PLENTY OF TIME TO THE ARMY AND NAVY TO CLEAN UP AND REALLY, AS IN HONESTLY, MONITOR THOSE SITES, THOSE OLD, OLD SITES.
AS ONE COMMENTER ON THE NRC WEBSITE ASKED, BUT GOT NO ANSWER:
" But what is the rationale for the authority over the depleted uranium? And what is the basis for the exemptions listed in 10CFR40? I just scanned through them and it seems like it’s simply a list of pre-existing uses (e.g., uranium in pottery glaze is OK, thorium in lantern mantles or photo lenses is OK). I’m not trying to start an argument here, I’m genuinely curious as to the rationale since (at first blush) it seems like a waste of time."
WASTE OF TIME...TO IMAGINE THAT THE NRC WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS POSED BY ANYONE WHO APPEARS TO DISAGREE WITH THEIR (LACK OF) REGULATIONS.
FROM THE NRC WEBSITE:
NOVEMBER, 2015
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing an application from the U.S. Army to possess and manage depleted uranium (DU) at training sites across the country.
Filed in June 2015, the request would add 15 sites to a license the NRC issued in October 2013 for two sites in Hawaii.
The Army wants to apply the same programs for environmental monitoring, radiation safety and physical security to all 17 sites.
The proposed physical security and radiation safety programs are similar to ones in the existing license.
But the proposed strategy for routine environmental monitoring differs from what is in the license.
The new program would address exposure from ground disturbing activities.
It contains criteria for developing separate environmental monitoring plans for each of the 17 sites.
If the NRC accepts the new program, schedules to develop and implement plans for each site would become requirements in the amended license. They would then be subject to NRC inspection and enforcement.
[WOW! DOES THIS MEAN THE NRC IS ACTUALLY GOING TO START INSPECTING AND ENFORCING? THAT WOULD BE GREAT!]
The license is needed for DU from spotting rounds that were part of the 1960s-era Davy Crockett weapon system.
[The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, gave the NRC regulatory authority over “source material,” which includes any form of uranium. The Army must obtain an NRC license because it does not qualify for any exemptions from licensing provided in our source material licensing requirements (10 CFR Part 40). ]
Used for targeting accuracy, the spotting rounds emitted white smoke on impact but did not explode. Remnants of the tail assemblies remain at sites where the Army trained on the weapons system.
This system was previously classified and records of its use were closely guarded.
A number of Army sites have DU fragments from spotting rounds left from training with the Davy Crockett system from 1960-1968.
The Atomic Energy Commission, the NRC's predecessor, gave the Army a license to make and distribute the spotting rounds.
Under that license, the Army distributed the rounds for training.
Each round contained about six ounces of DU.
That license expired in 1978, after the Army had stopped producing and distributing the spotting rounds.
In 2005, the Army found tail assemblies from the spotting rounds at the Schofield Barracks on Oahu.
That discovery prompted a review of all sites that trained with the system.
The Army found DU at other sites, including the Pohakuloa Training Area on the big island of Hawaii.
[The above is the Army's website used to assuage the public's concern.]
On Sep. 10, 2012, the Army Installation Command submitted to NRC its comments on the draft license, requesting exemptions from all regulatory burden:
"Request an exemption for the US Army from licensing residual Davy Crockett M101 DU on its operational ranges under the provisions of 10 CFR § 40.13(c)(5) or 10 CFR § 40.14(a).
If the NRC denies the Army's request for a license exemption, issue the source material license with no conditions other than those pertaining to possession and decommissioning.
If the NRC denies the above requests, modify certain draft license conditions that place undue restrictions on the Army's use of its operational ranges in support of its national security mission and delete all license conditions that require environmental radiation monitoring based on prior testing and monitoring that shows no reduced risk to human health or the environment as a result."
Under NRC regulations, the Army must have a license to possess this material.
It applied in November 2008.
The NRC approved a license for the two Hawaiian sites in 2013.
SO, THE ARMY HAD NO LICENSE TO HAVE THE DEPLETED URANIUM FROM 1978 UNTIL 2013, NOR DID THEY WANT THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR A COMPLETE CLEANUP OF THOSE CONTAMINATED SITES..
WE ARE TO BELIEVE THAT, EVEN THOUGH THE ARMY KNEW THESE ROUNDS DID NOT EXPLODE, IT DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE STILL LYING AROUND ON THE GROUND AT THESE SITES?
A VERY ROSY, 14-PAGE, UPBEAT REPORT ON URANIUM IN THE AIR SAMPLES TAKEN AT THREE SITES, 437 AIR FILTERS, CAN BE FOUND AT
http://www.garrison.hawaii.army.mil/du/reports/PTA%20Air%20Sample%20Analysis%20Tech%20Memo%20Final.pdf
AND COMES COMPLETE WITH MAPS OF THE WIDE AREA AFFECTED.
THEY FOUND "VERY MINOR AMOUNTS" OF URANIUM OXIDE AS WELL AS "THE PREDOMINANT CHEMICAL FORM PRESENT", WHICH WE ARE TOLD IS NOT THE MORE DEADLY 'SOLUBLE URANIUM SALTS'.
HOWEVER...WE DON'T GET A LOOK AT ACTUAL SAMPLE RESULTS!
NEITHER OF THE FOLLOWING TWO RESULTS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Appendix A, ICP-MS Sample Results, BLANK.
Appendix B, Sample Airflow Data & Sample Locations, BLANK.
INSTEAD, THERE IS THE NOTATION ONLY THAT THOSE RESULTS WERE
"Submitted in electronic format on compact disk."
NOR IS THE 'CHAIN OF CUSTODY' INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
THE ONLY DATA WE CAN SEE IS THE LOCATION APPENDIX D,
AND THE UTM-E AND UTM-N COLUMNS CAN BE "TRANSLATED"
BY NOTATIONS GIVEN IN THE DOCUMENT.
AN "E" SIGNIFIES: "The reported value is estimated because
of the presence of interference. An explanatory note may be
included in the narrative.
AN "N" SIGNIFIES: "Spiked sample recovery not within
control limits. A post spike is analyzed for all
6020A analyses when the matrix spike and or
spike duplicate fail, and the native sample
concentration is less than four times the spike
added concentration.
THERE IS A LIST OF OTHER "REPORTS" ON THE ARMY'S WEBSITE.
THERE IS A PDF THAT GIVES SOME BACKGROUND TO THIS:
http://www.garrison.hawaii.army.mil/du/reports/ATSDR-DU%20at%20Hawn%20Mil%20Sites.pdf
FROM THAT PDF, WE LEARN:
" Depleted uranium, a Cold War legacy, was used in spotting rounds
for the Davy Crockett recoilless guns that were produced from 1956
until 1963 and were used in soldier training exercises in Hawaii
from 1962 through1968.
The Davy Crockett launched a large projectile from either a
120-millimeter or 155-millimeter recoilless rifle with maximum
ranges of 1.24 miles or 2.49 miles, respectively.
Before firing the large projectile from the 120-millimeter recoilless
rifle, a smaller 20-millimeter spotting M101 cartridge was fired
mirroring the trajectory of the larger projectile to identify where
the weapon system was aimed and to identify the need for
adjustments to obtain correct positioning of the rifle.
The cartridge consisted of several components which included
a nosecone, a body,and a tailfin.
The body of this spotting round was made of a depleted uranium
alloy. (For more detail, refer to the Brief History and Description
of Weapon System section of this report.)
After the cartridge was fired and upon impact of the spotting
round, a small cloud of smoke identified the impact point.
The use of these spotting cartridges is significantly different
from the use of depleted uranium armor penetrating rounds
in the Persian Gulf where depleted uranium partially aerosolized
when the penetrator hit a hardened target such as steel or
concrete.
As requested by the Army, ATSDR focused on depleted
uranium rather than addressing other potential
contaminants at these site
[WHAT OTHER CONTAMINANTS? WE AREN'T TOLD.]
Records indicate that 714 rounds of the Spotting M101 Cartridges
were shipped to Oahu in 1962 (USACE 2007).
[THEY WERE USED THERE FOR 6 YEARS, AT LEAST, BUT ONLY SHIPPED IN 1962, JUST ONE YEAR OF SHIPMENT?
AS WE WILL SEE LATER, THE ESTIMATE GIVEN 10 YEARS AGO OF ROUNDS FIRED ON JUST THE POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA (PTA) WAS OVER 14 MILLION ANNUALLY, BUT LESS THAN 1000 WERE DU ROUNDS? ]
These rounds were used at the Schofield Barracks and the
Pohakuloa firing ranges and possibly at the Makua Military
Reservation.
[SPECIAL NOTE: THE MAKUA VALLEY IS A SACRED SITE TO THE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE. THERE HAS BEEN CONTENTION ABOUT THE MILITARY'S USE OF THIS SACRED SITE FOR 87 YEARS, BEGINNING IN 1929.
SEE Army sued again over access to Makua
AND Army denies Hawaiian groups access to cultural sites.]
The Makua Military Reservation has easier accessibility,
has cultural significance,and has a different history and
use of the impact areas than the other sites.
[DIFFERENT? BECAUSE, AS RUMORS AND LEAKS HAVE SAID, SIX ATOMIC "MIN-BOMBS" WERE EXPLODED THERE?
THE AREA, ONCE VERY FERTILE, IS NOW A DESERT WHERE ONLY SCRUB WILL GROW. IT LOOKS LIKE A POORLY RECOVERED WAR ZONE.]
Since use of the depleted uranium spotting rounds at the
Makua Military Reservation has not been determined and
insufficient environmental survey data are available at this
time, ATSDR did not make a determination for this site.
WHY?
BECAUSE THE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE WOULD BE ENRAGED BY THE FINDINGS?
BECAUSE RESIDENTS EXPOSED TO THE DEPLETED URANIUM MIGHT SUE?
HOW CAN WE BELIEVE THAT THE ARMY, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, NOR THE NRC HAVE NO DATA ABOUT MAKUA?
NRC RESPONSE TO ARMY DU AT POHAKULOA QUESTIONED
March 24, 2015
HAWAIIANS WANT ANSWERS TO JUST 8 QUESTIONS.
DU “spotting rounds” were used with Davy Crockett weapons systems in the 1960s to assist with targeting accuracy.
Decades later, the public learned about the training with depleted uranium, and concerns grew over the effects on health and the environment.
Meanwhile, the NRC started the process to allow the Army to possess the DU, after the fact.
A long series of hearings and teleconference calls culminated in a decision to issue a license allowing the U.S. Army to possess DU at the two sites in Hawaii.
Jim Albertini, president of the Hawaii Island-based Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action, listened in on the teleconference early Tuesday.
“I submitted 8 points including questions to be addressed at the meeting today (see below) and none were addressed,” Albertini wrote afterwards.
“Today’s meeting was originally set by the NRC for 3 AM Hawaii time. It was later changed to 5AM when I complained how inconsiderate that was for encouraging Hawaii participation in the meeting.
Bureaucrats often lose sight of who they are suppose to be serving.”
Here are the 8 questions posed by Albertini, distributed in a media release before the meeting:
1. I have been informed by an investigative source that up to six Davy Crockett nuclear weapons were actually detonated at Pohakuloa in the late 1950s-early 1960s, not simply up to 2000 Davy Crockett DU spotting rounds used in training there.
Please attempt to confirm or deny this by the March 24, 2015 meeting date and investigate if any U.S. nuclear explosions took place at military ranges other than the Nevada, Alamogordo, New Mexico, the Marshall Islands nuclear testing grounds, and Johnston Island.
It took 43 years to confirm that DU spotting rounds were used at Pohakuloa.
I hope it will not take another 43 to confirm or accurately deny that nuclear weapons were detonated at PTA in the 1950s or early 60s.
2. On July, 2, 2008, the Hawaii County Council by a vote of 8-1 passed Resolution 639-08 calling for a halt to all live-fire at PTA due to the presence of Depleted Uranium radiation. The resolution called for clean up of the DU present at PTA and 7 other actions, none of which have been done by the Army.
This has been brought to the attention of the Army and NRC.
Why hasn’t action been taken as called for by the Hawaii County Council?
For years Army officials repeatedly denied that DU was ever used in Hawaii.
They lied.
Then they were caught with their pants down by Peace activists discovering in court documents that DU had been used on Oahu at Schofield Barracks but the Army was keeping it quiet.
Peace activists on Hawaii island stepped up radiation monitoring at Mauna Kea State Park near the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) and recorded initial radiation spikes several times background readings on May 29, 2007 with winds coming from the south off the base toward the park.
Three months later the Army admitted DU was used at Pohakuloa at some ranges approximately 1 mile south of Mauna Kea State park.
Peace activists suspect DU was also used at the Army’s Makua bombing range on Oahu, the now closed military bombing range on the island of Kaho’olawe, Ka’ula bombing range near Ni’ihau, and perhaps other Hawaii sites.
3. Citizens want comprehensive, independent, testing and monitoring to determine the full extent of radiation contamination at PTA.
To date, the community has no confidence in the Army, NRC, etc. that such testing and monitoring will be done.
It’s now more than 50 years since DU was used in Hawaii and we still have nothing to assure the confidence of the community.
When will this pattern of denial, passing the buck, and delays change?
Or will it ever change?
To date the response of the Army, State and federal officials has been shameful.
4. With the new and improved Saddle Road passing through Pohakuloa, traffic has increased considerably.
So too the risk of radiation being spread by vehicles, high winds in the area, and flash flooding.
If nothing else, what does the NRC have to say about PTA, with all its known military toxins being located adjacent to a Girl Scout’s Camp?
5. How many live rounds are fired annually at PTA.
A Stryker EIS done more than a decade ago said 14.8 million.
What is the current figure and name all the weapon systems used?
6. The Army has said that DU was prohibited in training as of 1996. No word on if and when DU was prohibited in training by the other military branches.
If DU was not prohibited from being used in training, was it used at PTA until 1996 in other weapons besides Davy Crockett?
Today DU is used in a wide variety of weapons by all branches of the military: 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, 105mm, 120mm, etc..
Have any of these weapons been used at PTA, Schofield Barracks, and all the other sites where Davy Crockett DU spotting rounds were used?
Or will we have to wait another 40 plus years for these questions to be addressed?
7. The Hawaiian Island of Kaho’olawe (28,000 acres) was used as a bombing and live-fire target for more than 50 years.
A citizens movement led by Native Hawaiians stopped the bombing.
$450 million was spent to clean up the military mess.
It was supposed to clean the entire surface of UXO (Unexploded ordinance) and 2/3 of the island to a depth of 4 feet so vegetation could be replanted.
The $450 million is gone and not even the entire surface has been cleared of UXO. UXO is buried all over the island and in the waters surrounding the island.
It’s still a mess and, as far as I know, has never been tested for the presence of DU.
PTA, at 133,000-acres is nearly 5 times as large as Kaho’olawe. It has been used as a target for more than 70 years and has confirmed radiation contamination.
What will be the cost of clean up at PTA?
Do the math.
And who is going to pay for it?
Not far from PTA is the Waikoloa 120,000-acre live-fire area that was used just for 2 years of training during WWII.
Today the estimated clean up cost of that site alone is over $700 million.
A measly $5-10million a year is presently being appropriated for clean up. At that rate, at today’s prices, it would take 70-140 years for clean up.
Again, easy to make a mess. Much harder to clean it up. Always plenty of money for weapons and war. NEVER enough money for clean up.
8. Finally, PTA is Hawaiian Kingdom government and crown occupied lands.
Hawaii, as an independent nation, was illegally overthrown by greedy U.S. businessmen with the direct involvement of the U.S. Marines.
Hawaii has been under U.S. military occupation ever since.
Pohakuloa is translated to mean: The Land of the Night of long prayer.
Pohakuloa is known as the sacred heavenly realm of unity between the three great mountains –Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai.
To bomb Pohakuloa and contaminate it with radiation is considered desecration and sacrilegious to Hawaii’s native people, the Kanaka Maoli, and those of us who believe we need to respect and honor native people’s spiritual beliefs and sacred sites.
It’s time for the U.S. to stop being the ugly American. Pohakuloa is a good place to begin. Stop the bombing and all live-fire at PTA. Clean up the mess and end U.S. occupation."
The US Army admitted the radiological contamination of Hawaii in the summer of 2007.
The contamination was later confirmed by the senior US Senator from Hawaii, The Honorable Daniel Inouye.
The first 2007 Army airborne radiological contamination survey identified 45 locations with dangerous levels of Gamma Ray radiation from US Army uranium munitions.
Satellite radiation observations have not been released by the Pentagon
"Depleted uranium munitions are classified by the United Nations as ILLEGAL WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION , and yet the U.S. and the U.K. CONTINUE to use them.
The Royal Society of England published data showing that battlefield soldiers who inhale or swallow high levels of DU can suffer kidney failure within days.
Any soldier now in Iraq who has not inhaled lethal radioactive dust is not breathing.
The uranium used in depleted uranium munitions has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, so the environmental hell caused in Iraq and Afghanistan will be a gift that keeps on giving."
SAME GOES FOR ANY SITE WITH DU...IT'S A FORCED GAME OF 'RUSSIAN ROULETTE'.
WE DON'T GET A REAL CHOICE.
AND IT IS NOT JUST HAWAII IN DANGER.
HERE ARE THE LISTS OF KNOWN DU-CONTAMINATED TEST RANGES/PROVING GROUNDS IN THE UNITED STATES, 14 OF WHICH ALREADY HAVE THOSE LICENSES FROM THE HAPPY-TO-OBLIGE NRC, AND THE THREE NATIONS WHICH AMERICA ADMITS IS ALSO CONTAMINATED BY DU AMMUNITION.
The 17 U.S. Army installations with sites that possess depleted uranium from the Davy Crockett M101 Spotting Rounds, as identified in the application, are located at:
-Forts Benning and Gordon (Georgia);
-Forts Campbell and Knox (Kentucky);
-Fort Carson (Colorado);
-Fort Hood (Texas);
-Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the Yakima Training Center (Washington);
-Fort Bragg (North Carolina);
-Fort Polk (Louisiana);
-Fort Sill (Oklahoma);
-Fort Jackson (South Carolina);
-Fort Hunter Liggett (California);
-Fort Greeley (Alaska) [Donnelly Training Area, Fort Wainwright AK] ;
-Fort Dix (New Jersey);
-Fort Riley (Kansas);
-and the Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area (Oahu, HI and the Island of Hawaii, HI, respectively).
At present, the US Army has 14 separate NRC licenses for depleted uranium. The US Air Force and the US Navy have one NRC "master" license each .
The most notorious proving grounds include:
-Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico
-US Army Ballistic Research Laboratory in Nevada
-Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland
-Jefferson Proving Ground in Indiana
-Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona
-Eglin Air Force Base in Florida
-Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada
-Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona
-Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico
-White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico
-New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in New Mexico
-China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center (formerly China Lake Naval Weapons Center) in California
-Lake City Ammunition Plant in Missouri
-Ethan Allen Firing Range in Vermont
ADD OKINAWA, JAPAN, AND THE VIEQUES ISLANDS. ADD SOUTH KOREA, WHERE THE OLD 'DAVY CROCKETTS' WERE USED AND THEN ROAD BLOCKS SET UP TO CONTAIN PEOPLE INSIDE THEIR RADIATION ZONE.
In December 1995 - January 1996, US Marine Corps AV-8B aircraft fired 1,520 25 mm DU rounds (222 kg or 494 lb.) during training exercises on an uninhabited island near Okinawa without prior notification to the Japanese government. Only 29 kg (64 lb.) of DU was recovered. In February 1997, the Department of Defense expressed regret about the incident, but did not formally apologize to the Japanese government
In May 1999, the US Navy admitted that it had illegally fired 267 25 mm DU rounds (40 kg or 88 lb.) on Vieques Island 50 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
THE NRC STATES:
"Part of the NRC's role is to oversee licensed "source material," which includes DU. The NRC license allows the Army to possess up to 275 pounds of DU at the two Hawaiian sites. It requires the Army to comply with NRC regulations and standards for protecting the public and the environment from radiation and is subject to NRC inspections and periodic reviews. Those requirements will extend to the 15 other sites if the NRC approves a revised license. The license amendment will also update the amount of depleted uranium that the Army may possess."
BUT THE LICENSE FOR HAWAII, AS WE ALREADY SAW, IS FOR MORE.
WHEN WE SEE HUMAN LIVES DEVALUED BY A "REGULATORY AGENCY", BY A "FEDERAL HEALTH AGENCY", BY THE EPA, BY EVERY COMPLICIT ORGANIZATION IN THIS 50-YEAR ATTACK ON HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS, IT MAKES ONE WANT TO GIVE UP ON ANY HOPE THAT, IN A NUCLEAR FACILITY ACCIDENT IN THE U.S., LIKE THE ONE AT FUKUSHIMA, CITIZENS WOULD BE CONSIDERED ANYTHING BUT EXPENDABLE.
WE ARE THE EXPENDABLE!
ANYTHING FOR THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY, NOTHING FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS.
THE NRC PROTECTS US?
WHEN?
WHERE?
NEVER...NOWHERE.
========================
ADDENDUM:
[POSTSCRIPT: I AM AWARE THAT FORMATTING HAS ONCE AGAIN GONE STRAIGHT TO HELL ON THIS ENTRY...AFTER 5 UNSUCCESSFUL EDITS, I AM AWARE. FIGHT THE URGE TO TRY TO COMMENT ON THAT. INSTEAD TELL ME HOW TO FIX IT, PLEASE.]
~ History of the Custody and Deployment of Nuclear Weapons(U): July 1945 through September 1977...SUMMARY FOLLOWED BY DOCUMENT LINKS
https://www.archives.gov/declassification/pidb/meetings/where-they-were.pdf
http://www.dod.gov/pubs/foi/Reading_Room/NCB/306.pdf
~ LIGHT ATOMIC WEAPON SYSTEM W54
The Davy Crockett was developed to give U.S. Army units an effective nuclear capability against potentially larger units of Soviet armored forces. The Davy Crockett was designed in the late 1950's primarily for frontline use by the U.S. infantry in Europe against Soviet troop formations. The Davy Crockett, a recoilless launcher, was the third artillery piece deployed, those earlier being a l55mm piece designed to fire a nuclear round and a 280mm mobile piece, commonly called an "atomic cannon."
Nuclear-capable ground artillery pieces were gradually replaced by increasingly accurate, nuclear carrying missiles and aircraft.
The weapon system used a spin-stabilized, unguided rocket fired from a recoilless rifle. It's 51-pound nuclear warhead had an explosive yield of 0.18 kilotons (equivalent to 18 tons of TNT, with an added radiation effect).
As a secondary design feature, the system could also fire a conventional high-explosive round for other use, such as an anti-tank weapon.
The Davy Crockett's warhead was launched from either a 120-millimeter (M-28) or 155-millimeter (M-29) recoilless rifle. The 155 millimeter version, which became the standard issue, had a maximum range of 2.49 miles and could be fired from either a ground tripod mount or from a specially designed jeep mount.
The system was deployed with U.S. Army from 1961 to 1971, and over 2,100 were produced.
The heavy version was transported by either an armored personnel carrier or a large truck. The light version was generally carried on and fired from an Army jeep, but could be carried for a short distance and fired by a 3-man team.
The W-54 nuclear warhead in a projectile was launched by the Davy Crockett and had a subkiloton yield.
The projectile was 30 inches long, 11 inches in diameter, and weighed 76 pounds.
The l55 mm launcher had a maximum range of 13,000 feet, and the 120 mm could reach a distance of 6,561 feet.
The W54 nuclear warhead was designed at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (now the Los Alamos National Laboratory) and built by the Atomic Energy Commission.
Successful test-firings of the warhead took place on July 7 and 17, 1962, at the Nevada Test Site in what were called the "Little Feller" shots.
The July 17 test (using the 155 millimeter Davy Crockett) was conducted under simulated battlefield maneuvers and detonated 20 feet above ground at a distance of 1.7 miles, as planned.
~ NRC DOCUMENTS ON HAWAIIAN TEST RANGES DEPLETED URANIUM
http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/search.html?q=HAWAII+URANIUM&site=allSites#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=HAWAII%20URANIUM&gsc.page=1
~ FROM THE NRC's WEBSITE:
FORMER HEAD OF THE PENTAGON'S DEPLETED URANIUM PROJECT CONDEMNS DU CONTAMINATION AT VIEQUES.
"Navy officers and enlisted personnel under orders and as part of Navy operations
have fired conventional and depleted uranium munitions into the Vieques range
resulting in serious adverse health and environmental effects.
After a civilian guard was killed in April 1999, Navy officials acknowledged that
they willfully violated "the requirements of the Navy's radioactive materials by
firing depleted uranium munitions which specify that depleted uranium ammunition
is to be used strictly during combat or approved tests and are prohibited from
peacetime or training use", according to Luis Reyes in a letter he sent to the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's Secretary of Health Carmen Melecio dated
1 February 2000.
Mr. Reyes added that Navy officers in Vieques failed to "follow written
procedures for issuance and use of ammunition".
Moreover, a report prepared by scientists from the University of Georgia revealed that they found barrels containing unknown and potentially hazardous chemicals on ships deliberately sunk off of the coast of Vieques in 15'-20' of water.
These ships were shot up."
Doug Rokke, Ph.D, former head of the Pentagon's DU project:
"It is imperative that complete environmental remediation of all affected terrain
and medical care be provided for all affected residents of Vieques.", Dr. Rokke stated.
[SPECIAL NOTE: THE FOLLOWING ALONE SHOULD CONVINCE ANY DOUBTERS OF THE DEADLY EFFECTS OF "LOW-LEVEL" RADIATION.
AFTER ALL, ACCORDING TO THE NRC AND ARMY, IT IS "LOW-LEVEL RADIATION" IN THE DEPLETED URANIUM ROUNDS SCATTERED ACROSS AMERICA.]
A surprising announcement by U.S. Department of Energy officials on January
29, 2000 acknowledged, after many years of denial, that employees of their
facilities had significantly higher incident rates for leukemia; Hodgkin's lymphoma;
and cancers of the prostrate, kidney, liver, salivary glands, and lungs.
Previous announcements acknowledged respiratory problems at the Paducah,
Kentucky facility.
These revelations and acknowledgments reinforce the suspected health and
environmental hazards of depleted uranium which is manufactured from the
main byproduct, uranium hexaflouride, of each of these facilities.
It is even more disturbing that in a memorandum dated October 30, 1943,
senior scientists assigned to the Manhattan Project suggested that uranium
could be used as an air and terrain contaminant.
According to the letter sent by the Subcommittee of the S-1 Executive Committee
on the "Use of Radioactive Materials as a Military Weapon" to General Groves
(October 30, 1943) inhalation of uranium would result in "bronchial irritation coming
on in a few hours to a few days".
This is exactly what happened to individuals who inhaled DU dust during Operation Desert Storm.
The subcommittee went on further to state that "Beta emitting products could get into the gastrointestinal tract from polluted water, or food, or air.
From the air, they would get on the mucus of the nose, throat, bronchi, etc. and be swallowed.
The stomach, caecum and rectum, where contents remain for longer periods than
elsewhere, would be most likely affected.
It is conceivable that ulcers and perforations of the gut followed by death could be produced, even without any general effects from radiation".
According to the U.S. Army's official "RESPOND TO DEPLETED URANIUM/LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS (DULLRAM) HAZARDS " task number "031-503-1017:
"Contamination will make food and water unsafe for consumption."
This direct quote verifies that the military still is aware, as they always have been since 1943 that serious hazards exist from uranium (DU) contamination. "
Dr. Rokke also stated that each day reveals more evidence that the United States' willful distribution of uranium in Puerto Rico and other locations
around the world poses serious risks."
~WHAT HAWAII LOST: SECRETS OF MAKUA
The military took their first parcels of land in Makua for training practice in 1929 (Kelly, "Makua's Storied History").
Over the next two decades "the military increased the intensity of their occupation and use of Makua and Kahanahaiki valleys as training areas (Kelly, "Cultural History" 116). During this time the local residents were forced to leave the valley.
Although the landowners received token payment for their parcels of land, I was to learn from the kupu ka'aina that the Hawaiians were not asked to leave, they were evicted.
They recalled stories of people being loaded on to trucks and relocated.
They were never given the choice of being able to stay.
One of the people evicted was the minister of the Makua Protestant Church.
After the people had been removed, the army painted a white cross on the roof of the church, and other buildings, and bombed them.
Kelly writes "The destruction of Makua Protestant Church and its community hall, as well as the defacement or destruction of many of the tombstones in its cemetery, has all but sealed off one of the last viable connections residents and their descendants have with the past" ("Cultural History" 116).
Military operations in Makua valley have had a serious adverse effect on the land.
The bombing and ammunition training has "littered it (the land) with dangerous unexploded debris, and has left the land, for all practical purposes, a desert, robbed of its productivity" (Kelly "Cultural History" 117).
Although the Waianae region of the island has probably always experienced one of the hotter climates on the island (due to the ecological formation and age of the volcanic cones), it was not always desert-like.
The absence of agricultural cultivation by the Hawaiians, as well as the introduction of foreign species, have taken their toll on the region.
According to Sparky Rodrigues, Waianae Community Resource Assistant for the Olelo Channel, native species of plants, animals and insects make up only 1% of the ecology of the area--and there are no native birds left. The rooting activity of feral pigs, the behavior of digging the ground to either search for food or create cool resting spots (Tippy) causes erosion.
In Makua the activities of the pigs has resulted in the depletion of ground cover and native flora (Kelly, "Cultural History" 54). Goats, too, have had their effect on the ecology of Makua. According to botanist, Obata, "Goats, being selective browsers, prefer native Hawaiian plants" (ibid.).
The ecological evolution of the Makua valley mirrors that of the Hawaiian people. "It's ironic really," said Sparky Rodrigues when discussing how the native species of plants, animals and insects have been pushed to the point of extinction by the introduction foreign species.
In October of 1998 The Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization, filed suit against the military, asking them to "publicly disclose the direct and indirect environmental, economic and social impacts of their actions" (Kubota).
Earthjustice contended in the lawsuit that the military operations "have had significant adverse effects on the people, the land and the resources at Makua" (ibid.).
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a community organization, Malama Makua.
At that time, Roger Furrer, a member of Malama Makua said, "We are not out to chase the military to some other community, either here in Hawaii or on the mainland...This action is about taking care of the 'aina. It is about respect for the environment and our place in it" (ibid.).
More recently, protecting Makua has moved to another level.
There are voices, which often remain obscure, that are claiming that the land is sacred; that the military should cease all actions and the land should be returned to the Hawaiians because it is wahi pana. Wahi pana is defined by Pukui as "a legendary place" (377).
Wahi pana surpasses the meaning of sacred, which is translated by Pukui as meaning "kapu, taboo, special privilege or exemption from ordinary taboo; sacredness" (132).
Wahi pana, according to Glenn Kila, kupu ka 'aina, is a place that has certain phenomenon which supports Hawaiian traditions and lore. "
~ LICENSE APPLICATION DOCUMENThttps://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/09/04/2015-21933/us-army-installation-command-davy-crockett-depleted-uranium
~ THE NRC DOES NOT LIST ANY INSPECTION REPORTS FOR NUCLEAR FACILITIES SINCE APRIL-JUNE OF 2015.
ROP List of Inspection Reports
A separate list of security-related inspection reports is now available, although they are listed below also. Only the cover letters of security-related inspection reports are publicly available.
NO INSPECTIONS, NO REPORTS FOR OVER A YEAR?
WHY?
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