Bill Text: HI HCR39 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Fukushima Radiation
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-21 - The committee(s) on HLT recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HCR39 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2014-HCR39-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
39 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH to begin monthly testing of pacific ocean and seafood products AND THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAl assembly to establish an international independent commission of experts to assess the safety of and risk of radiation in seafood products from the pacific ocean.
WHEREAS, a coalition of seventy-two organizations and others requested that the United Nations organize an independent assessment team to consider the crucial problem of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool and coordinate international assistance to stabilize any harmful radiological consequences, stating that it is "imperative for the Japanese government and the international community to work together on this crisis before it becomes too late. We are appealing to the United Nations to help Japan and the planet in order to prevent the irreversible consequences of a catastrophe that could affect generations to come"; and
WHEREAS, after visiting the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on April 6, 2012, United States Senator Ron Wyden, a senior member of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources who is highly experienced with nuclear waste storage issues, commented, "What we learned the first time is that radioactivity leaks out quickly. If (No.4) ruptures now, it gets into the air. This must not happen," and "The precarious status of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear units and the risk presented by the enormous inventory of radioactive materials and spent fuel in the event of further earthquake threats should be of concern to all"; and
WHEREAS, the nuclear reactors are located in a highly active seismic zone making the reactors vulnerable to an earthquake, which would likely further compromise the structural integrity of damaged buildings and equipment nearby, the melted reactor cores and fuel rods require constant cooling and a meltdown in a spent fuel pool would release unprecedented amounts of radioactivity into the global atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, over three hundred tons of radioactive water have been discharged every day into the Pacific Ocean since the 2011 catastrophe and readings of marine life in the Western Pacific and elsewhere have indicated increased radioactivity; and
WHEREAS, a much more highly radioactive three hundred ton leak occurred in 2013 from a poorly constructed storage tank, and according to nuclear expert Mycle Schneider in August 2013, "It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place. It is much worse than we have been led to believe."; and
WHEREAS, this radioactive contamination will be carried by the jet stream and spread by ocean currents to all parts of the world, adversely affecting marine life as well as human populations, and much greater contamination is likely given that the reactor cores are highly unstable and the structures and storage tanks are rapidly deteriorating; and
WHEREAS, this disaster presents one of the gravest threats and greatest technological challenges ever to face our species, and as such, demands an international response utilizing the world's most accomplished experts as well as international funding on a level that coincides with humankind's most ambitious efforts, in the interest of every nation; and
WHEREAS, an industry that minimizes the severity of the disaster will not resolve it responsibly and, therefore, independent expertise and innovative thinking are fundamental requirements for remediation; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Treaty, which protects an individual's civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and security of an individual; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations has a duty to act decisively when people's collective human rights, basic livelihood, environmental security, and right to know are being jeopardized; and
WHEREAS, news reports as of August 2013 identify plummeting populations of salmon, sardines, seals, sea lions, and pelicans, the almost complete destruction of the sea star population, and the stress and significant decline of many other forms of marine life in the oceans of the North Pacific, Alaska, and the West Coast; and
WHEREAS, major sightings of massive quantities of Fukushima marine debris have been reported off the west Kalalau Coast of Kauai as of November 30, 2013; and
WHEREAS, the state Department of Health currently conducts a regular shoreline sampling for potential radioactive marine debris that one can walk away from, but does not sample marine life, which could become internal radiation transmitters if ingested; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to begin monthly testing of Pacific Ocean seafood products caught locally and elsewhere to be reported to the public on a regular ongoing and current basis; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2015 on its progress in conducting monthly testing and the results of the testing; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United Nations General Assembly is requested to establish a commission of scientific, health, and radiation experts, as well as consumer advocates, to:
(1) Begin a balanced, open, and honest public radiation safety debate and dialogue based on minimum monthly local Pacific Ocean seafood testing and provide information to the public regarding the elevated risk from seafood and other pacific basin products;
(2) Educate the world's population regarding specific treatments for radiation exposure; and
(3) Develop and implement emergency procedures to administer treatments to radiation exposure, and if necessary, to mitigate radiation exposure; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that United States elected officials are requested to do whatever they can to keep the Environmental Protection Agency radiation limits at or below the levels that were established before March 11, 2011, and that there be regular testing and accurate reporting of radiation levels in the air, water, soil, and food; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, President Barack Obama, Hawaii's congressional delegation; Congresswoman and Representative of the United States to the Sixty-eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly Barbara Lee, and Governor Neil Abercrombie.
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OFFERED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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Fukushima Radiation
