[CPEO-MEF] FUEL: "Navy Mismanagement Led To Red Hill [HI] Water Contamination Disaster"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Red Hill Report: Navy Mismanagement Led To Red Hill Water Contamination Disaster
UPDATES: The federal inspector general found numerous failures in the Navy’s handling of fuel, water and toxic “forever chemicals” at Pearl Harbor. Congressional representatives called the Navy's conduct "outrageous and unacceptable.”

By Christina Jedra 
Honolulu Civil Beat (HI)
November 14, 2024

A new military report released Thursday blames the fuel contamination of Pearl Harbor’s drinking water on Navy mismanagement at the Red Hill fuel depot and leaders’ failure to prepare for leaks.

In a trio of reports, the Department of Defense inspector general outlined numerous shortcomings behind the 20,000-gallon fuel leak that sickened Pearl Harbor water users three years ago. It found military leaders lacked operations and maintenance programs, were not prepared to prevent or respond to fuel releases, and were not trained on their own emergency response plan intended to protect the nearby water well. 

As a result, the Navy contaminated a water system used by more than 90,000 people living and working around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. More than 6,000 men, women and children sought medical care for diarrhea, vomiting, vertigo and other ailments. Some who used the water say they remain sick to this day, struggling with symptoms such as rashes, neurological issues and seizures.

Disaster response and the subsequent effort to close Red Hill has cost taxpayers more than $2 billion. 

…

For the entire article and links to the Inspector General reports, see
https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/11/report-navy-mismanagement-led-to-red-hill-water-contamination-disaster/

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)




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