Uranium shells used in isles

As many as 714 "spotting" rounds, measuring about 8 inches long and containing depleted uranium, were fired by soldiers in the islands in the 1960s using the classified Davy Crockett recoilless rifle system, the Army disclosed yesterday.

However, because of all the secrecy surrounding a once-classified weapons system, the Army is not exactly sure what firing ranges were used.

So far, preliminary surveys done by Cabrera Services have found traces of the projectiles at Schofield Barracks and the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area, but it is having hard time determining if the Makua Military Reservation was used.

At Pohakuloa and Schofield Barracks, Army officials said the discoveries pose no health issues.

Greg Miller of Cabrera Services said there have been "too many obstacles" at the Makua Military Reservation to determine if the weapon was ever fired there. The vegetation in some areas has gotten so thick that it has hampered surveying efforts.

Tail assemblies from 15 of these M101 spotting rounds containing depleted uranium were found in August 2005 while a contractor was clearing a Schofield firing range to prepare for the construction of a rifle and pistol range for the new Stryker Brigade Combat Team. A subsequent historical assessment indicated that spotting rounds might also have been fired at Makua and Pohakuloa.

A spotting round is used to mark a target.

On Aug. 18 a preliminary survey by Cabrera uncovered a spotting round at an impact area at the northeastern end of Pohakuloa -- nearly 1.5 miles into the training range.

At a Schofield Barracks news conference yesterday, Col. Matthew Margotta, U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii commander, said the impact areas at Schofield and Pohakuloa are in remote areas.

He reiterated that the depleted uranium does not pose a "public health concern." He said the areas at Schofield and Pohakuloa are "not accessible to the public," noting, "Even soldiers don't go there."

Margotta added, "Depleted uranium is not utilized by the Army now, nor does the Army plan to use it in training here or anywhere else."

The Army said depleted uranium is a man-made heavy metal used in munitions to disable enemy armored vehicles.

The M-28 and M-29 recoilless rifle systems were developed and deployed in secret in the 1950s and 1960s to fire the Davy Crockett M-388 battlefield nuclear shell, designed to stop troop formations.

Asked about reports from Big Island residents of reportedly high levels of uranium in the air in the South Kona area, Russell Takata, program manager of the state Health Department's radiation program, said those readings were attributed to people using meters that were not properly calibrated.

Takata said that "background readings" taken at Pohakuloa and other areas on the Big Island were "normal."

Big Island peace activist Jim Albertini has disagreed with the Army assessment that depleted uranium is not a health threat. He has called on the Army to stop all live-firing at Pohakuloa until tests show how much depleted uranium is in the soil.