The University of Hawaii today said it has found "hundreds" of dumped munitions four to six miles south of Pearl Harbor as it continues to search for and test the waters and sediment around tons of chemical weapons that were dumped during and after World War II.

Researchers on the UH deep-diving submersibles Pisces IV and V haven't located the main cache of chemical weapons, but still have 10 more dives as part of 2 1/2 weeks of underwater study.

UH and the Army — which was directed by Congress to investigate the dumping — held a press conference today onboard the support vessel Kaimikai O Kanaloa at Snug Harbor detailing the progress so far.

The dives are part of the Army's ongoing assessment of the health and environmental effects from the old munitions, which were ditched by the military at three deep-water sites five to 10 miles south of Pearl Harbor and Waianae.

UH researchers are taking water and sediment samples to see if there are metals from the munitions or any residue of chemical agents, as well as visually observe the effects of more than 60 years on the containers.

It's unclear so far if the hundreds of munitions seen on the bottom are conventional or chemical, officials said.

A 2007 report to Congress said 2,558 tons of chemical agents were dumped at three deepwater sites off Oahu, including lewisite, mustard, cyanogen chloride and cyanide.

Included in the ordnance dump were 15,000 M70 115-pound mustard bombs, 1,100 M79 1,000-pound cyanogen chloride bombs and 20 M79 1,000-pound cyanide rounds. The weapons are in waters up to 10,000 feet deep.

Some of the dives conducted so far have been to a depth of about 1,500 feet.

The Army said it is spending $4.75 million to investigate the removal of the near-shore munitions near Wai'anae and about $3 million for the UH research.