NRC ANNOUNCES HEARING OPPORTUNITY, PUBLIC MEETINGS IN HAWAII ON 

U.S. ARMY DEPLETED URANIUM MUNITIONS 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a notice of opportunity to request a 

hearing on a license application from the U.S. Army for possession of depleted uranium at two 

installations in Hawaii where depleted uranium remains from munitions training during the 

1960s. 

 Enough depleted uranium remains on the sites to require an NRC possession license and 

environmental monitoring and physical security programs to ensure protection of the public and 

the environment. 

 NRC staff will hold public meetings in Oahu on Aug. 24 and 25, in Kona on Aug. 26 and 

Hilo on Aug. 27, to explain how the agency will review the Army’s license application and – if 

the license is subsequently granted – monitor and enforce the license to ensure there is no danger 

to public health and safety or the environment. Finally, the agency is requesting public comment 

on the Army’s plan. 

 In the 1960s, the Army used M101 spotting rounds made with depleted uranium in 

training soldiers with the Davy Crockett recoilless gun. The M101 rounds were used at proving 

grounds at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii 

until 1968. Fragments of expended rounds remain on the ground in impact areas of those training 

ranges. 

 Following a site visit to Schofield Barracks on Aug. 24, NRC staff will conduct a 

meeting with Army representatives at the Hawaii Army National Guard’s Wahiawa Armory 487 

FA, at 77-230 Kamehameha Highway in Mililani, beginning at 1 p.m. This meeting will be 

primarily for Army officials to discuss their monitoring plans for managing the depleted 

uranium. Members of the public are welcome to attend and will have a chance to talk with NRC 

staff after the business portion of the meeting but before the meeting adjourns. 

 NRC staff will brief the public on the agency’s license review process on Aug. 25 from 

6 – 8:30 p.m. at the Wahiawa District Park – Hale Koa Nutrition Site, 1139 Kilani Ave., in 

Wahiawa. Similar meetings will be held Aug. 26 from 6 – 8:30 p.m. at the King Kamehameha 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-135 August 17, 2009
Kona Beach Hotel, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, and Aug. 27 from 6 – 8:30 p.m. at the 

Hilo High School, 556 Waianuenue Ave., in Hilo. 

 To request an adjudicatory hearing on this application, potential parties must demonstrate 

standing by showing how the proposed license might affect them. They must also raise at least 

one admissible contention challenging the license application. Guidance on how to file a petition 

for a hearing is contained in a Notice of License Application and Opportunity for Hearing, 

published Aug. 13 in the Federal Register and available online at 

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-19449.pdf. 

 The deadline for requesting a hearing is Oct. 13. Members of the public may submit 

comments on the Army’s application until that date as well, to the NRC project manager, John J. 

Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T8-F5, Washington, D.C., 20055-0001, 

or by e-mail at John.Hayes@nrc.gov. 

 The Army license application and associated documents, including the environmental 

monitoring and physical security plans and site characterization studies, are available through the 

NRC’s ADAMS online documents database at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/webbased.html by entering these accession numbers: ML090070095, ML091950280, ML090900423 

and ML091170322. 

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