Updated at 7:28 p.m., Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Army to assess new ordnance find at Molokai landfill
Advertiser Staff
The Moloka'i landfill was closed today at 10 a.m. due to the discovery of possible ordnances.An employee of contractor Schnitzer Steel Hawaii discovered the items prompting the Department of Environmental Management to close the facility, said Maui County spokeswoman Mahina Martin.
Army explosive ordnance disposal unit experts at Fort Shafter in Honolulu today reviewed photographs sent by the county of the new find and determined the materials posed no danger of exploding.
However, Army EOD plans to do an on-site assessment tomorrow at the request of Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares.
Maui officials suspect ordnance material was transported in 2004 to the Moloka'i landfill from an area referred to as the "Papohaku Ranchland bombing target," said Martin.
Today's material was found near a site where a large number of ordnances were discovered last week, Martin said.
Last week's discovery resulted in a three-day closure of the landfill as an Army EOD unit assessed the situation.
The EOD unit determined the items appeared to be scrap metal from 2.25-inch practice rockets, 50-pound practice bombs, and 4.5-pound practice bomblets and posed no danger.
Other munitions discovered were detonated in a privately owned quarry adjacent to the landfill.
