Public is cautioned on explosives

HAWAII ISLAND

KAILUA-KONA >> The state is working to bring awareness to the dangers of unexploded ordnance left over from World War II on the northwestern part of the Big Island.

The explosive devices were used in training exercises by the Navy and Marines to prepare soldiers for combat. The Department of Defense has worked to locate and remove the ordnance from the Waikoloa Maneuver Area since the exercises stopped in 1946, but an estimated 10 percent of the munitions failed to detonate and remain there, West Hawaii Today reported.

The state Department of Health held a forum Wednesday to educate the public on safety precautions. The discussion centered on improving signage around the hazardous area and making sure people are aware of the dangers.

“Our whole purpose in bringing the forum together is to do public outreach,” said Fenix Grange, manager of the Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office at the DOH. Unexploded ordnance has “been there for 40, 60 years, and they’re not like improvised explosive devices where you walk down the street and it’s going to blow you up. But if you play with it, or you carry it in the back of your pickup truck, or if you’re a child and you see something interesting and you want to bring it home, there’s a big risk.”

The munitions include artillery, mortars, grenades, rockets and tank rounds, which are scattered across areas zoned for residential, commercial and agricultural use.

Removal costs for the entire 100,000-acre Waikoloa Maneuver Area are estimated at about $720 million, but only about $10 million is budgeted for the work each year.