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09-23-97 15-IS FROM ID-8089668131 PAGE 2/2 \'VE, THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII SUPPORT ~ ~ _ - 7HE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION ppp I' ~ ' WHEREAS, a nauonal boycott against irradiated food has already resulted 9 tl~ie' (6sSto[ ,3 important markets on the mainland including Marsh's, Keinr's, S+&K and others; and F~ r 3 ~ S CpUr..r. wrt-IEREAS, the nearly 8,000 postcards and letters from people on the mainl ~ : +vamed the County of Hawaii that they will not buy irtadiated fruit from Hawaii; and T ~i' H/-i~~/A~~ Wf-IEREAS, Japan does not allow rrcadiated fruit into their country, and fivc consumer goups from japan have warned that Japanese people will "back awa7" from all Hawaiian fruit; and l~`I-IEREAS, the FDA has stated that potentially carcinogenic and mutageruc chemicals are created by the trradiation process ai 30 parts per million; and WHEREAS, trcadiation facilities+vhrch use cobalt-60 or cesium-137 support, legitimize, and rely on nucleaz power and nuclear weapons production; and WHEREAS, these nuclear industries result in the authorized, nomaccidental, random killing of imrocent people including children; and +h'FiEKEAS, these nuclear industries are leaving a horrific legacy of nuclear wastes products for future generatrons to deal with; and WHEREAS, accidents at irradiation facilities, including the Hawaii Development Irradiator, have resulted in radioactive contamination of land and water; and \i?l~.REAS, food irradiation facilities are allowed to emit 100 millirems of radiation per year and, under speaal circumstances, 500 millirems per yeaz~, and workers are allowed to receive 30 to 50 times more radiation per year than one would receive from natural background radiation; and WHEREAS, these radiation levels will lead to increased cancers and birth defects; and WHEREAS, as of 1995, the first "food-only" irradiator in the United States, Food Technology Sernces Inc., located in Mulbem', Florida, had lost 5.5 million dollars, and \4-HERE.AS. Maeor Yamashiro's proposal for S2 million fora "post harvest [reatmcnt Cacrliry" does not speafy how the money would be spent; TI-IEREFORE, ~+e oppose any ordinance or resolution favoring irradiation, and THEREFORE, we believe the most logical and economical solution for agricultural development in Hawaii would be to develop the local markets as a priority, and then, if necessan•, to encourage use of existing treatment facilities, and to export specifically to cold-climate regions, i.e. Canada and the northern United States to prevent spreading the fruit fly, wail such time as non-tonic disinfestation methods can be developed. Signcd, Address l believe the $2 million dollars could be better spent for: V "n~w(~~ V