Keiki at Risk?: Puʻuloa Firing Range Contamination Updates and Talk Story

Written By Sierra Club Hawaiʻi Chapter

The US Marine Corps’ Puʻuloa Range Training Facility is located within a densely populated neighborhood in ʻEwa Beach, Oʻahu. Originally built in the early 1900s, the range underwent significant expansion in 2011 and is actively used by military personnel for shooting exercises. Its close proximity—as near as 160 feet—to homes, schools, parks, and a popular community beach has raised serious public health and safety concerns, including from lead contamination and exposure, noise pollution, and the risk of stray bullets and bullet fragments. 

Multiple studies over the years have found extremely high levels of lead contamination—far above actionable limits—in the soil, sand, and homes surrounding the range, and even in fish from nearby ocean waters. Lead is highly toxic, especially to pregnant or nursing individuals, infants, and young children, and no level of lead exposure is considered safe. 

Most recently, the Marine Corps’ own testing found lead and antimony (another heavy metal contaminant) in the beach fronting their firing range at levels far exceeding state action levels, but concluded that “no further immediate action is warranted.”  

ʻEwa Beach families, beachgoers, fishers, and others need both data and more importantly, immediate action, to understand and protect themselves - and future generations - from potential toxic exposure. Join ʻEwa Beach community members, subject matter experts, and the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi for a virtual discussion on currently available environmental hazard data within and adjacent to the Puʻuloa firing range, potential risks to human and environmental health, and actions you can take to help protect our island community.

Keiki at Risk?: Puʻuloa Firing Range Contamination Updates and Talk Story
Monday, December 2, 5:30pm

Panelists:
Alexander Gaos, Marine Biologist and ʻEwa Beach Neighborhood Board Vice Chair
Diego Rivera, Environmental Attorney, M.S. Environmental Science and Management
Eileen Nalley, Fisheries Extension Faculty, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant
Lauryn Hansen, MPH, Grau Fellow, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program at UH Mānoa
Moderated by Wayne Tanaka, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi

Mahalo to our sponsors Relocate Puʻuloa Range Coalition and Surfrider Foundation - Oʻahu Chapter.

Meet the panelists

Alex Gaos

Dr. Alexander Gaos is a Marine Biologist based on Oʻahu and the Vice-Chair of the ʻEwa Neighborhood Board #23. As a resident of ʻEwa Beach living near the Puʻuloa Range Training Facility and representative for his neighborhood, Alex has been actively involved in efforts to engage the US Marines, as well as local and state representatives, to understand potential impacts of the range on the community. 

Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera is a Quechua descendant, and a Native Hawaiian Rights and Environmental Law Attorney based on Oʻahu. He holds a BS in Environmental Earth and Soil Science and a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and recently graduated from William S. Richardson School of Law with a certificate in Environmental Law. Being of indigenous ancestry, Diego strives to advocate for Kānaka Maoli in ways that uplift indigenous values and pono natural resource stewardship. 

Eileen Nalley

Dr. Eileen Nalley is Fisheries Extension Faculty at Hawaiʻi Sea Grant at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In this role she leads a program focused on understanding the impacts of pollution and land use change on the health of coastal ecosystems in the Pacific Islands, with a particular emphasis on community collaboration and engagement. Through this work she hopes to support communities and managers in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific as they work to restore abundant fisheries and food security. 

Lauryn Hansen

Lauryn Hansen is a Grau Fellow with the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, focusing on the coastal and marine resource management of emerging contaminants. In this role, she is conducting a needs assessment to identify gaps and opportunities for managing these pollutants. She aims to support communities and managers in Hawai‘i and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands in building resilience and protecting coastal ecosystems. Lauryn holds a Master’s in Public Health and a BS in Global Environmental Science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Source: Lead Contamination at the Puʻuloa Firing Range by Lauryn Hansen, MPH

More information on Puʻuloa Firing Range threats 

Lead Pollution:

  • Various tests have confirmed that lead is migrating off the Puʻuloa Range Training Facility and into surrounding community areas.

  • Toxic lead levels have been identified in multiple studies, both inside and outside the range:

    •  2014 Range Environmental Vulnerability Assessment (REVA) reported lead levels in berm samples from 1999 that were as high as 185 times the state’s acceptable limit. During live-fire training, bullets impact these berms, creating large dust clouds that can blow downwind into nearby homes, Puʻuloa Beach Park, and other public spaces.

    • A Surfrider Foundation study in 2022 revealed lead contamination over 70 times the legal limit in soil and sand directly in front of the range, where natural leaching and beach erosion are spreading contamination into the environment.

    • Testing commissioned by a local state representative in 2023 found lead levels exceeding food and soil safety standards in both fish caught near the range and dust samples from homes downwind, further indicating that lead from PRTF is entering the local environment.

    • Extensive samples collected by Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi in 2024 along the range’s shoreline all tested positive for lead and antimony, both highly toxic heavy metals.

  • Lead can migrate off-range through airborne dust (as wind carries toxic dust from the range floor and berms during live-fire), through leaching into soil and ocean water, and by active wave erosion.

Erosion:

  • PRTF includes multiple shooting ranges, one of which, Foxtrot, was recently moved inland due to severe erosion risks. However, the toxic soil beneath the original Foxtrot berm remains exposed to wave action, actively eroding and releasing contaminants directly into the environment.

  • The Marines have considered installing a steel anti-erosion wall in front of the range. However, a 2015 study advised against this option, concluding that a steel sheet pile bulkhead would “likely result in loss of the sand beach” and increase erosion along beaches in front of neighboring homes and Puʻuloa Beach Park.

Noise Pollution:

  • Residents are exposed to extremely loud gunfire starting as early as 7am and continuing until evening, causing significant disruption. Numerous studies show that this level of noise pollution has negative impacts on both physical and mental health.

  • The noise is especially harmful for military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, as it can trigger distressing symptoms and interfere with recovery.

  • This persistent noise pollution makes it nearly impossible for residents to work or study effectively from home.

Hawaiian Homelands Housing Development:

  • The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) ʻEwa Beach Homestead Project is set to build 300-400 homes for Native Hawaiians adjacent to the shooting range.

  • Many on the DHHL waitlist are not fully aware of the health and safety risks posed by the nearby Puʻuloa Range Training Facility, including toxic contamination, noise pollution, and safety hazards.

  • The ongoing operation of the range will have serious, disproportionate negative impacts on the Native Hawaiian population living in the area.

Danger to Aircraft and People:

  • Every day, dozens of passenger airplanes fly through an active, 3-dimensional “live fire Surface Danger Zone” during exercises at PRTF. Despite Marine Corps claims that live fire is halted when aircraft enter this danger zone, PRTF operators lack clear objective criteria, detection methods, or standard procedures to ensure this happens reliably.

  • The Marine Corps is not adhering to Department of Defense safety regulations designed to protect the surrounding community and aircraft from the risks of ricochets and stray bullets, which can cause serious injury or death.

  • Significant quantities of bullet fragments have been found outside the PRTF impact berms, including at Puʻuloa Beach Park, validating the community’s concerns about safety.

Sierra Club Hawaiʻi Chapter
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