RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, a 2001 U.S. Army study of its own declassified records (2001 Army Report) revealed that, between 1918 and 1970, it disposed of chemical weapons in seventy-three different dumping events in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, the Mediterranean sea, and in U.S. rivers and lakes; and

WHEREAS, at least twenty-six chemical dumpsites were created by the Army, the coordinates of which only half are known. This global dumping practice resulted in over sixty-four million pounds of nerve and mustard agents, hundreds of thousands of mustard, white phosphorus, lewisite, and phosgene bombs, chemical projectiles, and bulk containers of radioactive waste, either tossed in bulk containers from military ships or packed into vessel holds and scuttled; and

WHEREAS, additional dumpsites probably exist because the Army has never fully examined records from the World War I period, when ocean dumping of chemical weapons was common, or released a full accounting of classified dumpsites; and

WHEREAS, the 2001 Army Report indicated that vast quantities of chemical weapons were dumped in at least three major events off Hawaiian shores: two off Honolulu in 1944, and one off Waianae in 1945. These dumps included over 1,650 tons of mustard bombs; 4,220 tons of "unspecified toxics" including hydrogen cyanide; 7 tons of hydrogen cyanide bombs; 489 tons of cyanogen chloride bombs; 510 tons of mustard shells; 1,817 tons of mustard agent; and 399 tons of lewisite; and

WHEREAS, blister agents mustard and lewisite cause severe blistering of the skin and are caustic to the eyes and lungs; extensive exposure to mustard can be fatal; highly poisonous hydrogen cyanide is the same gas used in Nazi gas chambers, exposure to which is fatal within minutes; and cyanogen chloride kills on contact; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress banned the practice of chemical weapons dumping in 1972, and the United States signed an international treaty banning the practice three years later; and

WHEREAS, military munitions pose environmental and human health dangers at each step in their life cycle and the more than 9,000 tons of chemical munitions lying on the ocean floor off Oahu represent a threat to the public and a challenge to its faith in the military; and

WHEREAS, a 1987 Army study of declassified records of chemical weapons movement between 1946 and 1986 reported that the transportation of munitions over land and sea resulted in over thirty incidents of munitions leakage and hundreds of injuries, and records indicate that if a leak at sea could not be plugged, the leaking container was simply dumped overboard; and

WHEREAS, the effect of the dumping operations has never been studied, and few scientists have been aware that it was done, as the Army has surveyed only four of its twenty-six declassified dump zones, most recently in 1975; and

WHEREAS, because records are sketchy, it is impossible to say precisely where the dumped weapons are currently located; and

WHEREAS, the danger posed by dumped munitions increases with time as munitions casings progressively corrode; and

WHEREAS, in 1976, a crew three miles off Honolulu Harbor suffered chemical burns from canisters dredged up in 1,200 feet of water; and the Army conceded that a 1944 dump of "unspecified toxins" were "probably the source" of the injuries; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has had a difficult history with munitions contamination on the island of Kahoolawe and in Makua Valley on Oahu: the Navy spent $400 million on a five-year cleanup of Kahoolawe, and still did not clear the entire island, and the cleanup of former west Hawaii military sites around Waikoloa, Waimea, and Kawaihae is estimated at $600 million, which represents the entire annual U.S. budget for cleaning up former military sites; and

WHEREAS, some munitions may have been dumped in water so deep that removal may not be possible, and continuous monitoring must be conducted to protect public safety; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that Congressional action is necessary to protect communities and ensure that the appropriate resources are provided for cleanups that protect human health and the environment, and prevent additional contamination; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the military is urged to ensure that all overland and sea transportation of munitions within the State comply with existing ordnance transportation rules and regulations to maximize public safety and be free from spillage and contamination; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the military is requested to prevent accidental exposure to any contaminants by conducting a mapping project of all dumpsites off Hawaii shores, to include a thorough search of records and interviews of those still alive who performed the dumping and identification of specific dumpsites, which shall be marked clearly on all marine navigation maps, and have their locations released to the public and media; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the military is requested to conduct a risk assessment to determine the extent of any potential public health risks associated with these dumpsites, and whether any munitions may be safely removed from Hawaii waters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the military is requested to monitor continuously to the extent possible the existing munitions dumpsites off Hawaiian shores, and to report these monitoring results to the Departments of Land and Natural Resources, Health, and Public Safety; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the military is requested to develop an emergency public notification procedure that will go into effect within twenty-four hours of any threat from contamination or other danger arising from the dumpsites; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Departments of Health and Public Safety, together with the appropriate federal departments, shall develop adequate safety procedures including evacuation and disaster control procedures; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health; Hawaii's congressional delegation; the Commander in Chief of the Pacific; the Commander in Chief of the United States Army Pacific; the Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet; Commander in Chief of the Pacific Air Force; and the Director of the American Friends Service Committee Hawaii Area Program.

Report Title:

Chemical Munitions; Army; Ocean Clean-up