Military is obliged to clear old munitions

THE ISSUE Ordnance has twice turned up at a landfill on Molokai.

HAWAII has long served as a strategic post and training grounds for the U.S. military and as such, bullets, bombs and other ordnance often turn up on land and in the surrounding ocean.

Most of the munitions don't present grave danger, but some do, and to assure the safety of residents, military authorities should err on the side of caution when potentially hazardous material is found.

In the last two weeks, Molokai's only landfill has been closed off and on because dozens of artillery shells, bombs and bomblets were spotted among heaps of scrap metal at the site. In the first incident, the Army sent a team from Oahu to inspect the 40 to 60 shells that apparently had been trucked from a training site two years ago.

The Army said they appeared to be harmless munitions from the World War II era, but could not determine if all were nonexplosive and, taking proper precautions, destroyed them. However, when a second set of ammunition was discovered, the Army, through reviewing photographs, decided they were harmless and did not necessitate the team's return to Molokai.

County officials had to press the Army come take a look, which it finally did, confirming the material posed no immediate threat.

The military should not have had to been coaxed. In exchange for using the islands for its various purposes, it is obliged to make sure its activities don't put people and Hawaii's land and ocean areas in harm's way.