Posted on: Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Kaho'olawe blast injures three workers

Advertiser Staff

An explosion on Kaho'olawe left three civilian workers with minor injuries during work to cut up and crush inert ordnance collected on the island, the Navy said.

The workers, ages 24, 33 and 59, were taken by helicopter to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where all were treated and released.

All three workers complained of ringing in their ears, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis. One suffered a bruised shoulder, possibly from shrapnel or from a fall, Davis said. A suspected concussion in one of the workers was ruled out, he said.

Two of the men are employees of Parsons-UXB Joint Venture, a company contracted by the Navy to conduct ordnance-clearance operations on Kaho'olawe, a former military target range. The third man works for Alliance Trucking, a subcontractor to Parsons.

The explosion occurred during "mechanical demilitarization," which is the process of cutting and crushing inert ordnance to convert it to scrap metal. That work will be suspended until the Navy completes its investigation, said Parsons-UXB manager Tom McCabe.

Davis said it appears that a BDU-45 — a concrete-filled, 500-pound Navy practice bomb — was involved in the explosion.