COM 0212.318 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTED on Bill #62 and Resolution #71 ' My name is Alice Suncloud. My husband and I are small organic farmers with 21 acres in Hawaiian Acres subdivision. It is easy to surmise from Isomedix's testimony that Isomedix won't build the facility without our money because Isomedix is not convinced the throughput is available and because the market isn't sufficient at this time. Why then should we be suckered into risking our money for it? Where have you seen any written evidence of economic feasibility for this project? In addition, if we use the $2 million the mayor requests to build the facility, and then if an additional $2 million is also needed for marketing and research, where will the additional $2 million come from? And who will pay for the emergency response plan, evacuation plan, and special hospital facilities that are required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (EIS 1988) before the facility is allowed to operate? I don't see any private businesses willing to risk their money. why for instance doesn't Dole pay for research into irradiation? It's because Dole is smart enough to have a policy against selling irradiated fruit. One reason for this is Dole sells many of their products to Japan; and Japan, although it has imported some irradiated food, does not allow irradiated fruit. Please consider the many millions of taxpayers' dollars spent by the State of Hawaii and the U.S.A. federal government to date to develop food irradiation in Hawaii. Yet there is still insuf- ficient evidence presented by the County to indicate a profitable market; and there is not sufficient research to date for ameliorating some of the problems associated with irradiating fruit and flower products (See letter from Dr. Robert Paul, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, enclosed). Concerning the market, it appears the best and perhaps only evidence possessed by the County of the level of marketability is the 7,968 post cards and letters received so far threatening to boycott Hawaii produce. A gentleman with the USDA told me yesterday that the group "Food and Water" who initiated the boycott would be a force to contend with. In fact, this gentleman did not want to tell me the names of any of the retailers willing to market the fruit because he was concerned with. In fact, this gentleman did not want to tell me the names of any of the retailers willing to market the fruit because he was concerned that "Food and Water" might find out. Well, sooner or later, if these retailers do sell ir- radiated food, "Food and Water" will find out. And look at the history. There is currently only one food-only commercial irradiator on the mainland, the one in Florida, and that operation has lost several millions of dollars. If we succeeded here to have a finan- cially successful fresh produce irradiator, it would be a first. Is that what we taxpayers should gamble our money on?