Protecting ʻEwa Beach: Addressing the Dangers of the Puʻuloa Range Training Facility
By Kirsten Kagimoto, Chapter Deputy Director | Reading time: 3.5 minutes
Earlier this month, in partnership with the Relocate Puʻuloa Firing Range Coalition, we hosted a virtual community discussion on the environmental and public health concerns surrounding the US Marine Corps' Puʻuloa Range Training Facility in ʻEwa Beach. Built in 1927 by the US Navy and later transferred to the Marines, this live-fire range has operated for nearly 100 years, accumulating a century’s worth of lead in its downrange berms while also potentially showering the surrounding area with lead dust and bullet fragments.
Today, the facility alarmingly sits just 160 feet from homes, schools, parks, and a popular beach, in a region known for iwi kūpuna and cultural sites, abundant gathering grounds for limu and fish, and a long history of traditional agriculture and aquaculture.
The Relocate Puʻuloa Firing Range Coalition has worked tirelessly to protect the ʻEwa Beach community from the dangers posed by the range, including lead and heavy metal exposure, noise pollution, erosion, and more. Their advocacy has led to independent studies and, notably, resolutions from the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives, Senate, and ʻEwa Beach Neighborhood Board in 2023—all calling for the immediate relocation of the firing range due to the significant health and safety concerns. Echoing these demands, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health has also urged the Marines to conduct additional testing and to install groundwater monitoring wells to assess the migration of lead and other heavy metals off of the range and into the surrounding environment.
Lead Contamination and Public Health
Independent studies and military reports reveal alarming levels of lead and other heavy metal contamination in the facility and surrounding areas. Lead and antimony exceeding industrial action levels have been found in homes, the soil, the beach, and even in fish caught nearby—some showing lead levels 24 times higher than UN Food and Agriculture Organization safety standards.
Residents have also discovered bullet fragments on the beach, contradicting military claims that bullets cannot leave the facility.
Window dust samples with high levels of lead from nearby homes have also raised significant concerns about the off-range drift of lead dust released into the air during bullet impacts.
Notably, even the lead that is currently in the facility may pose a future risk to area residents as beach erosion and a future hurricane or tsunami could release the century’s worth of lead and heavy metal that have built up during the range’s continual use since 1927.
Lead is highly toxic, especially to pregnant or nursing individuals, infants, and young children. Even small amounts can cause serious health problems, including developmental delays, learning difficulties, and neurological damage. No level of lead exposure is considered safe.
Community Discussion: Keiki at Risk
Our recent virtual discussion, Keiki at Risk? Puʻuloa Firing Range Contamination Updates and Talk Story, featured ʻEwa Beach residents and subject matter experts sharing findings from recent studies. These studies revealed lead contamination levels far exceeding actionable limits around the facility. Panelists discussed the health effects of lead exposure, how contaminants can spread beyond the range, and the urgent need for mitigation, remediation, and eventual relocation of the range.
During the discussion, we also heard personal accounts from panelists and ʻEwa Beach residents about the noise pollution from the firing range at Iroquois Point Elementary and nearby homes. The constant sound of gunfire and loudspeakers, coupled with potential lead exposure, creates a deeply harmful environment for keiki and families, as well as military veteran residents struggling with service-related PTSD and prior toxic exposure.
If you missed the virtual talk story, you can watch the recording online here, where you can also learn more about the dangers of the Puʻuloa Firing Range and meet the panelists.
A Pattern of Military Negligence
The Puʻuloa Range Training Facility is yet another example of the military prioritizing its operations over the health and safety of Hawaiʻi’s people and environment. The US Marines claim that the range is important to national security and “deserves protection.” This echoes similar arguments about the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, Mākua Valley, Kahoʻolawe, and more—arguments that have been challenged and overturned through persistent grassroots organizing by Kānaka Maoli and allies.
While the Marines assert the necessity of the Puʻuloa firing range, alternative sites for live-fire training exist, and safeguarding community and environmental health must be prioritized. The Department of Defense has relocated other hazardous facilities in the past—this is no different.
What You Can Do
Together with the Relocate Puʻuloa Firing Range Coalition, we are calling for an immediate moratorium on live-fire exercises at the facility until thorough studies are completed and plans are in place to relocate the range to a safer, non-residential area. Here’s how you can help:
Sign the petition to demand accountability and immediate action
Follow the Relocate Puʻuloa Firing Range Coalition and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi on Instagram for updates and ways to stay involved.
Volunteer with us and the coalition to raise awareness about the issue, email us at hawaii.chapter@sierraclub.org if you are interested.
The Puʻuloa Range Training Facility poses unacceptable risks to the health, safety, and well-being of ʻEwa Beach’s residents and environment. By working together, we can demand accountability from the US Marines, protect our keiki and ʻāina, and ensure a safer future for Hawaiʻi. Join us in standing against this environmental and social injustice.