...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 8 to 10 feet.
* WHERE...All surrounding coastal waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Friday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
A civilian encountered an unexploded ordinance along the Old Saddle Road volcano observation route. The military says it was a training ordinance.
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
HAWAII COUNTY, Hawaii (KITV4) -- Most of the focus on Mauna Loa's lava flow has been on when it might reach Daniel K Inouye Highway. But the lava front is now on the edge of the Pohakuloa Training Area.
What's more, the volcano observation route on Old Saddle Road runs through the military site.
A day after an unexploded training ordinance was found on Old Saddle Road by a civilian visitor, the press peppered county and military officials with questions about what other possible munitions remain on the terrain of the training Area?
"I'm not super concerned at this time, from everything I heard," Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth told members of the Press.
By David Culver, Anna-Maja Rappard and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
"To your question about depleted uranium, there is no measurable safety, health, or other environmental risk, currently from depleted uranium, or if the lava were to change direction," Lt. Colonel Commander Kevin Cronin told KITV4.
But activists and community are concerned, given what they characterize as the military's history and lack of transparency at Pohakuloa.
"Depleted uranium was used in the 60s, so it has turned the metal into oxide particles. And those particles when inhaled are very dangerous. They can go into the lymph system and the various organs of the body," said Jim Albertini of Malu 'Aina Center for Non-violent education & action.
Activists and health watchdogs say a survey is long overdue and that it has been requested over the last two decades.
Dr. Lorin Pang broke down the situation in the film Pohakuloa: Now that you know, do you care?
"What happens to the uranium? Half of it settled back down to the ground. And half of it goes into the air," Pang explained.
Pang spoke with KITV4 and proposed that should the lava move further into the Pohakuloa, it may have a surprising result: it could effectively put a cap on any outstanding munitions, burying part of the base's controversial past. Regardless, divergent opinions persist.
"If it goes into Pohakuloa, that could create the world's largest military burn pit," Albertini argues.
[M8cam] Mauna Loa - Northeast Rift Zone Fissure 3 Eruption Live View
Live video of fissure 3 erupting on the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa volcano. The camera is located roughly 1 mi (1.6 km) East of fissure 3 and looks west.
Disclaimer: The webcams are operational 24/7 and faithfully record the dark of night if there are no sources of incandescence or other lights. Thermal webcams record heat rather than light and get better views through volcanic gas. At times, clouds and rain obscure visibility. The cameras are subject to sporadic breakdown, and may not be repaired immediately. Some cameras are observing an area that is off-limits to the general public because of significant volcanic hazards.
Cronin sees it differently.
"So we operate under the site license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, routinely from the experts of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidance. And we have restricted areas and monitors where the spotting rounds were used in the distant past, many decades ago," he said.
"So this is studied routinely from the experts at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And we operate under their licensing and those areas we take their license from."
A representative from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission responded to KITV4, saying that answers to outstanding questions from this story would be forthcoming.
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
