Weapons-at-sea solution proposed for national defense bill
Gina Mangieri

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress calls for surveying and possibly cleaning up chemical weapons disposed off Hawaii's coast. Weapons dumped at sea have caused human injuries, and the disposal and its consequences were kept silent for decades... revealed in Hawaii for the first time in KHON2's investigative series "Buried at Sea."

Following our reports, the Pentagon launched months of nationwide fact-finding, and now legislation in Congress demands a full response.

Dumping chemical weapons at sea was considered an acceptable disposal method for 30 years after World War II.

But the practice wasn't made public in Hawaii until we revealed Army logs, military officials' diaries and witness accounts of the practice -- which was especially heavy off the Waianae coast.

"It sent shockwaves throughout our community," said state Rep. Maile Shimabukuro. "Almost everyone in Waianae has a relation to the ocean. We're ocean people. Whether you surf, or you fish, you dive, you go to the beach."

In the 1940s barges were loaded with thousands of tons of chemical weapons including mustard gas and cyanogen chloride. They were supposed to dump them miles out in thousands of feet of water.

"It's less than 5 miles offshore," Shimabukuro said. "People see it right offshore."

But burn and blister injuries have been caused by the chemicals in weapons dredged up much closer to shore. And many wonder if there's a more long-term health connection.

"It makes us wonder about all the high leukemia and cancer and other illnesses we have on the Waianae coast," Shimabukuro said.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Sen. Dan Akaka both serve on armed services committees in Congress. They've submitted joint legislation to address the problem as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007.

"I'm looking upon this as being good neighbors and that they also can assure Hawaii this place can be safe and sound," Akaka said.

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials are visiting all affected coastal states to prepare a full report on the problem, as demanded by Congress.

"We have every confidence they do not want to have anything come back and bite them after the fact," Abercrombie said.

The Abercrombie-Akaka legislation would help get money for studies, and clean-ups where feasible.

"Where the expenses are liable to come in is if it looks like we have to retrieve," Abercrombie said.

The Pentagon team preparing a report for Congress makes another stop in Hawaii next month. A timetable for any cleanup won't be clear until a full survey is complete.

If you encounter weapons at sea, do not touch them. Report them to police or fire. They're supposed to contact military ordnance experts.