igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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 Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:26 am Post subject: Simulated Nuclear Explosion Planned |
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Simulated Nuclear Explosion Planned
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
The state plans to hold an exercise in mid-August simulating the explosion of a half-kiloton nuclear device at the entrance of Honolulu Harbor, a mock blast that theoretically would result in 10,000 casualties.
State Adjutant Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, head of the Hawai'i National Guard, said Hawai'i is one of the first to take on the nuclear device planning.
Several hundred state and military planners and first responders will take part Aug. 14 to 16 in "Exercise 'A Kele."
Edward Teixeira, vice director of state Civil Defense, said the name of the exercise uses the Hawaiian words " 'a," for hot and fiery, and "kele," for impurity, signifying radiation.
The Department of Homeland Security about two years ago developed 15 national planning scenarios, including simulating an "improvised nuclear device" explosion.
Planned for a year and a half, 'A Kele comes as Hawai'i reportedly was targeted on the Fourth of July in a North Korean test of a long-range Taepodong-2 missile that U.S. officials said blew up 42 seconds or sooner after launch.
Teixeira said the blast radius for the simulated exercise will encompass the diamondhead end of Honolulu Harbor, overlap Sand Island, and with prevailing winds, a plume will extend out to sea paralleling 'Ewa Beach.
State and federal military command and emergency responders will take part, including U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith.
"Essentially, you will see many emergency operations centers going round the clock," Teixeira said.
Although Honolulu Harbor is the site for the simulated explosion, Bellows Air Force Station will represent "ground zero" for the blast, and several hundred emergency responders will have roles there, including the state Urban Search and Rescue Team to search for casualties, and the Honolulu Fire Department, which will work with the health department's radiological monitoring team, Teixeira said.
Lee said he didn't want to turn the exercise into a mass casualty drill, and "we're not going to shut down commerce."
But he said it would be big enough, using computers and other communications, to simulate the loss of 30 percent of island communications.
TEST-CASE SCENARIO
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