Kevin Knodell’s recent article highlights the significance of Dry Dock 5 at Pearl Harbor, but omits a critical detail: this facility is set to host the U.S. Navy’s most lethal nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines (“‘An emphasis on lethality,’” Star-Advertiser, March 23).

This will likely transform Hawaii’s role in the U.S. nuclear arsenal by accommodating Ohio-class and, eventually, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, each capable of carrying Trident missiles with multiple nuclear warheads.

The detonation of even a single modern warhead could result in millions of deaths and potentially trigger a nuclear winter, devastating the global biosphere.

An accident on such a submarine near Pearl Harbor would be catastrophic and could cause widespread contamination across Hawaii. Hawaii’s residents were not consulted about housing nuclear-armed submarines in Honolulu. Please do not whitewash or sugarcoat the dangers associated with housing these submarines in our community.

Lynda Williams

Hilo

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