PROJECT PROFILE
Client:
United States Navy
Project Value:
$280 million
Project Duration:
1997-2004
Parsons Services:
project management for clearance of UXO, UXO fragments and hazardous
materials; assessment and protection of historical properties and natural
resources;
design and construction of infrastructure to support clearance efforts;
documentation
of clearance for risk assessment and land-use planning development
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At the start of World War II, Kaho'olawe was taken by the U.S. military for use as a target and training area. In 1993, after years of strong public sentiment against the bombing, Congress passed a law recognizing the cultural significance of the island. Congress required the Navy to return the island to the state of Hawaii and directed the Navy to conduct a cleanup of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left from the naval activities, and environmental restoration of the island in consultation with the State.
In 1997, Parsons, in a joint venture with UXB International, Inc. (PUXB), was awarded a multi-year contract to manage the clearance of ordnance from the island of Kaho'olawe. This effort includes surveying the site to locate unexploded ordnance and removing or disposing of the UXO material from selected portions of the island. This contract is one of the largest and most logistically complex UXO clearance projects awarded up to now by the federal government. Kaho'olawe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the clean-up project requires the preservation of over 500 known archaeological sites on the island, and the replanting of native vegetation to slow the erosion of the island's top soil.
 A petroglyph found on Kaho'olawe |
This project presents several challenges to Parsons and its contractors. One challenge is the uncertainty of UXO and UXO fragment concentration and locations. Additionally, the highly diverse UXO items span 50 years of bombardment. While the cleanup takes place, Parsons is required to protect historical properties such as petroglyphs and burial sites. Parsons also protects natural resources such as endangered plant and animal species, which are numerous on the island. Furthermore, because the island has no residents and limited infrastructure, 300 workers have to be flown by helicopter to the island daily along with a supply of fresh water.
The area of Kaho'olawe currently within the scope of the cleanup effort is 17,270 acres, out of the entire island's area of 28,271 acres. Eventually, it is expected that the remainder of the island will be added to the cleanup scope of work. The scope of the project includes both surface and subsurface clearance. Teams with sophisticated metal detectors locate subsurface ordnance and then highly skilled UXO excavation teams uncover it. To date, over 40,000 items have been excavated. Items that are safe to move are removed to a storage area. They will be eventually thermally treated and rendered inert, then shipped off-island as scrap. Items that are not safe to move are blown up in place.
Ordnance blown-in-place |
PUXB is implementing new ordnance detection technologies on Kaho'olawe. PUXB received funding from the Navy and awarded three subcontracts to perform aerial surveys of grids requiring surface cleaning only. The detection technologies include electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar, hyperspectral, and electromagnetic sensors mounted on both drone and piloted airplanes and helicopters. The new technologies were tested in the fall of 2000 and have been successful in detecting objects as small as 1" x 2".
As of June 2001, over 1.5 million pounds of ordnance, fragments, and other range scrap had been recovered in what Navy officials call the largest project of its kind undertaken by the U.S. military. Over 4,600 UXO items, each one individually bar-coded and tracked, have been found thus far. They range in size from 40-mm grenades and small cluster bomb submunitions to bombs as large as 2000 lbs. It is estimated that over 50,000 smaller ordnance items such as 20-mm projectiles and small arms ammunition have been picked up to-date.
Recognition
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