DANGER AREAS

Fifty years of Munitions Training Ends in 1990:
In 1941, the military arrived, often en masses, and began bombing exercises. In June 1965, the largest non-nuclear explosion of its time, 500 tons of TNT, dubbed Project Sailor's Hat, was detonated on the island. And so it went until 1990, when President George Bush, through his Memorandum to the US Secretary of Defense, quieted munitions training and operations on the island. (KICCR, 66)

Unexploded Ordnance and Related Solid Waste in Surrounding Coastal Waters:
All of Kaho`olawe's coastal waters were regularly used to for aircraft approaches to targets. On occasion, pilots experiencing problems jettisoned their bomb and rocket loads before returning to base. Prior to 1970, there was no requirement that the military keep records on where munitions were jettisoned. Much of this ordnance remains in coastal waters that surround the island. Although it is not yet possible to detail the specific nature of unexploded ordnance in Kaho`olawe's surrounding waters, indications of areas that may harbor dangerous quantities of unexploded ordnance are available.

(KICCR, 47) KICCR: Kaho`olawe: Restoring a Cultural Treasure. Final Report of the Kaho`olawe Island Conveyance Commission to the Congress of the United States. March 31,1993.