COM 0212.145 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WE, TIIE PEOPLE OF T'AE COUNTY OF IIAWAIl SUPPORT TIIE FOLLOWING 1ZESOLUTION WHEREAS, a national boycott against irradiated food has already resulted in the loss of important markets on the mainland including Marsh's, Keim's, S&K and others; and WI~REAS, the nearly 8,000 postcards and letters from people on the mainland lie warned the County of Hawaii that they will not buy irradiated fruit from I-waii; a~ WHEREAS, Japan does not allow irradiated fruit into their country, and ~on~t~, mer~j groups from Japan have warned that Japanese people will "back away" fro~i~~il ~ C ) llawaiian fruit; and O -i WI-IEREAS, the FDA has stated that potentially carcinogenic and mutager~~he~als ~ 1,~J are created by the irradiation process at 30 parts per million; and j>'' ca c~ WHEREAS, irradiation facilities which use cobalt-60 or cesium-l37 support, legitimize, and rely on nuclear power and nuclear weapons production; and WHEREAS, these nuclear industries result in the authorized, non-accidental, random killing of innocent people including children; and WHEREAS, these nuclear industries are leaving a horriCc legacy of nuclear wastes products for future generations to deal with.; and WHEREAS, accidents at irradiation facilities, including the Hawaii Development Irradiator, have resulted in radioactive contamination of land and water; and WHEREAS, food irradiation facilities are allowed to emit 100 millirems of radiation per year and, under special circumstances, 500 millirems per year; 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 Services Inc., located in Mulberry, Florida, had lost 5.5 million dollars; and WHEREAS, Mayor Yamashiro's proposal for $2 million fora "post harvest treatment facility" does not specify how the money would be spent; THEREFORE, we 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 necessary, 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, until such time as non-toxic disinfestation m hods can be developed. Signed: ~~~-~'l~"~ ' Address: ~ I believe the $2 mil i n dollars c,~>uld be better spent for: ~ ~ ~c~~ G-- ,~~~1 /c ~ (Nate: 24L similar resolutions are on file in the ~ . County Clerk's Office behind this cornrzunication) ~o S~~~n I~ei. ~'o: ~~.~x. .