WHEREAS, in a recently released Department of the Army report it was disclosed that, following World War II, the Army blatantly and without any regard or concern for the people and natural resources of Hawaii, disposed of tons of chemical weapons that it had stockpiled in Hawaii by dumping the munitions in the ocean; and

WHEREAS, in 1944, somewhere off Pearl Harbor 4,220 tons of hydrogen cyanide were dumped in various loose containers in waters approximately one thousand feet deep; and

WHEREAS, also in 1944, the military dumped 16,000 one hundred pound mustard bombs at an unspecified location "about five miles off of Oahu"; and

WHEREAS, the next year, in 1945, the Army dumped seven tons of one thousand pound hydrogen cyanide bombs, four hundred sixty-one tons of one thousand pound cyanogen chloride bombs, twenty-eight tons of five hundred pound cyanogen chloride bombs, eight hundred tons of one hundred fourteen pound mustard bombs, five hundred ten tons of 4.2 inch mustard mortar shells, 1,817 tons of one-ton mustard containers, and three hundred tons of one-ton lewisite containers; and

WHEREAS, there are reports of other munitions dumping grounds off of Waianae, Fort Weaver, and Barbers Point; and

WHEREAS, despite Army regulations requiring minimum ocean depths of six thousand feet for chemical weapons and three thousand feet for conventional weapons, military munitions are reported to be found in waters as shallow as fifteen feet; and

WHEREAS, the Army claims that if the containers fail, most of the chemical would break down into nontoxic compounds; however, the blister agent lewisite would leave elevated levels of arsenic in the sea floor sediment and in ocean waters; and

WHEREAS, the total extent, location, and tonnage of all munitions dumped in Hawaii waters by the military is unknown; and

WHEREAS, the danger to the health, welfare, and safety to the people, ocean flora and fauna, and marine waters of the State is enormous and could have potentially devastating impacts to the people, natural resources, and economy of this State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation are urged to press for legislation requiring the United States Department of Defense to locate and remove chemical and conventional munitions dumped at sea following World War II; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that the federal legislation require, at minimum, that the United States Department of Defense immediately engage in the following:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Secretary of Defense, each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation, and the Governor.

Report Title:

United States Department of Defense; Munitions