The Marines say the results are nothing to worry about. Their neighbors and the health department have a different view. Marine Corps soil testing near its Ewa Beach shooting range that detected potentially dangerous levels of lead has reignited a debate about possible impacts to the adjacent beach and surrounding neighborhoods.
All two dozen samples taken from the oceanside of the Pu‘uloa Range Training Facility in February tested positive for lead, copper and another heavy metal called antimony, according to a draft Marine Corps report submitted to the state health department . However, the extent to which those levels are hazardous is open to interpretation. In six locations, lead levels exceeded state safety thresholds.
One sample detected lead at concentrations 26 times what the state considers acceptable. Lead exposure poses a health risk to young children and pregnant women. In one sample, levels of antimony — a metal in the earth’s crust that is also an ingredient in bullets — were seven times the state’s limit.
It can have negative health impacts for people who are regularly exposed at higher levels, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Animal studies have found the metal can cause lung and heart damage. Copper levels were all well below state standards, known as environmental action levels.
Military officials say the levels shouldn’t pose a threat to anyone because the nearby beach is closed to the public. But the health d.