Editorials
Friday, June 7, 1996
Destroying chemical weapons
on Johnston
HAWAII welcomes the Pentagon's statement that destruction of the chemical weapons stocks on Johnston Island will be completed and the $240 million special incineration facility dismantled by 2000.
The disposal program on Johnston, 700 miles southwest of Hawaii, has been a concern here since its inception in 1990. This concern prompted assurances from then-President Bush during a Hawaii visit that all possible safety precautions would be taken. Harold Smith, assistant secretary of defense for atomic energy, reaffirmed the completion schedule in testimony before the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
The incineration program included 300,000 rounds of nerve and mustard gas that was shipped to Johnston from Okinawa in 1971, plus 100,000 rounds of nerve gas shipped from Germany in 1990, the latter amid much controversy.
The original schedule called for completion in 1995, but technical problems forced delays. In May the Environmental Protection Agency approved a modification of the Army's permit, extending the incinerator's operations for at least another year beyond its Aug. 30, 1995, expiration date. It would make no sense to force the program to end before completion of its mission.
The Army has reported destroying more than 2 million pounds of chemical weapons. According to the Pacific Army command, all of the rockets and bombs stored on Johnston and one-third of the chemical agents have now been destroyed.
Opponents of the program argued unsuccessfully that the Army should use other methods of disposal that would be less dangerous than incineration. They still insist that the facility hasn't been operated safely and the emissions into the atmosphere are harmful. If there has in fact been damage to the environment, however, it doesn't appear to be substantial.
Opponents failed to stop the shipment from Germany but won a ban on additional shipments in the 1991 defense appropriations bill. That brought a comment from Senator Akaka that "No longer will the Pacific be the chemical dumping ground of the world." There had been concern that the Johnston facility would be used to dispose of chemical weapons from other sources. That threat now seems negligible. And completion of the program on Johnston will make the Pacific region safer.
Other editorials in brief:
Federal travel waste
TRAVEL is a necessary part of government's role in world commerce and may more than pay for itself through business agreements, but that doesn't excuse overspending. At a time of budget constraints, excessive travel expenditures on trips by the secretary of energy are an embarrassment to the Clinton administration.
Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary has become a symbol of extravagance in government, a symbol the avowedly budget-conscious Clinton administration could do without. Why is she still holding her job?
Dealing with Medicare
TO those who have been paying attention, the fact that Medicare is in big trouble isn't news. But the announcement that Medicare's hospital trust fund is operating in the red for the first time since the program was established in 1965 may make an impression on a wider audience. The system's trustees now say the fund could run out of money in five years - rather than six, as previously forecast.
President Clinton may get away with painting the Republicans as hard-hearted while failing to deal seriously with the problem himself. After all, the election is in November. Medicare won't go bust for maybe five years, and he'll be gone by then.
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John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
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