In September 2014, EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released an initial assessment of contamination at Tern Island, a remote island in the chain of Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). The results show that there have been releases of hazardous substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead from military wastes buried on the island between World War II and 1979, and further action is warranted.
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Preliminary Assessment Report – Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge: Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiʻi (PDF)(38 pp, 818 K,
09/03/2014,
HI0000906379)
Results of the preliminary assessment of the environment and marine species in and around Term Island, where evidence of PCBs was found.
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Technical Support Document to the Preliminary Assessment of the FWS - Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge: Tern Island Site in the French Frigate Shoals, Hawai'i (PDF)(175 pp, 5 MB,
09/08/2014,
HI0000906379)
Information supporting the preliminary assessment of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service – Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge: Tern Island, 2014