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Forgotten Navy waste dump holds up repairs at Radford High School

Underneath the athletic fields and parking lots around Radford High School and Makalapa Elementary School, long forgotten toxic debris buried and left behind by the U.S. military has been holding up a series of long-needed renovations and repairs. The schools were built over a parcel of land the Navy used during World War II as a salvage yard and waste dump, leaving behind heavy metals and toxins in the soil that today make excavation hazardous for workers. Some state officials are also concerned about the possibility of unexploded ordnance, or UXO, buried in the ground below as well.

By Jamm Aquino

Today

Hawaii Photos

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Students walk through Radford High School on Wednesday.
2/21
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A depression that could potentially form into a sinkhole is seen on the tennis court at Radford High School on Wednesday.
3/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce walks near a depression that could possibly form into a sinkhole at the tennis court at Radford High School on Wednesday.
4/21
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A depression that could potentially form into a sinkhole is seen on the tennis court at Radford High School on Wednesday.
5/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce walks near a depression that could possibly form into a sinkhole at the tennis court at Radford High School on Wednesday.
6/21
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Black tarp used to cover supposedly contaminated ground is seen at Radford High School on Wednesday.
7/21
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Black tarp used to cover supposedly contaminated ground is seen at Radford High School on Wednesday.
8/21
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Black tarp used to cover supposedly contaminated ground is seen at Radford High School on Wednesday.
9/21
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Black tarp used to cover supposedly contaminated ground is seen at Radford High School on Wednesday.
10/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce, left, and head of security Jeff Uperesa assess and insert a measuring tape into a large sinkhole at the football practice field at Radford High School on Wednesday.
11/21
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Jeff Uperesa, head of security, inserts a measuring tape into a large sinkhole at the football practice field at Radford High School on Wednesday.
12/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce inserts a measuring tape into a large sinkhole at the football practice field at Radford High School on Wednesday.
13/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce inserts a measuring tape into a large sinkhole at the football practice field at Radford High School on Wednesday.
14/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce inserts a measuring tape into a large sinkhole at the football practice field at Radford High School on Wednesday.
15/21
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A large sinkhole at the football practice field at Radford High School on Wednesday.
16/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce points to a large sinkhole at the football practice field.
17/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce pulls a cone from a large sinkhole at the football practice field.
18/21
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A closeup of a recently filled large sinkhole near the fence of the bus turnaround area at Radford High School on Wednesday.
19/21
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Head custodian Alvin Ponce points to a recently filled large sinkhole near the fence of the bus turnaround area.
20/21
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Vice principal Richard Shimabukuro, right, talks to head custodian Alvin Ponce, left, about potholes and uneven pavement near the gymnasium.
21/21
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Vice principal Richard Shimabukuro walks the bus turnaround area at Radford High School on Wednesday.
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