West Oahu, home to a landfill, new housing developments and a potential biosafety lab  is getting a new plant irradiator.

Our Landblog reports:

Earthjustice is cheering the successful relocation of a facility that will use radiation to kill plant pests. 

A facility that will use radiation to kill plant pests has broken ground at a location selected to minimize danger to local citizens.  The facility is being built at an agricultural research center in Kunia, a location on O‘ahu that is considered safe from earthquakes and is far from Honolulu, its airport and the ocean.  Earthjustice, representing Concerned Citizens of Honolulu, challenged the original proposed site at Honolulu International Airport because the threat of airplane strikes, tsunamis, earthquakes (the airport site was on fill), and the proximity to highly populated areas and tempting terrorist targets (such as Pearl Harbor).  When combined with the dangerous radioactive materials used, this posed unnecessary risks to public health and safety.

Pa‘ina Hawaii, LLC is building its irradiator far from town because Earthjustice attorney David Henkin succeeded in convincing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the original siting violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires examination of reasonable alternatives.