Fuel from the Red Hill fuel facility leaked into the Red Hill water well, contaminating the Navy’s Oahu water system. Get the latest updates about cleanup.
Vice Adm. John Wade, former commander of the joint task force that oversaw removal of most of the fuel in the Navy’s Red Hill facility, has been officially nominated to take over the Navy’s 3rd Fleet in San Diego. Read more
Two-and-a-half years after the disastrous Red Hill fuel spill that contaminated the area’s water, people who were sickened then — and claim ongoing health problems even now — are in the midst of a landmark lawsuit trying to make the Navy pay. Read more
Government witnesses are taking the stand this week to defend the Navy’s response to the Red Hill water crisis and sow doubts about the severity of the contamination as a federal mass tort lawsuit on behalf of affected families continues. Read more
Water system experts testified Tuesday on the second day of a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government that tests may have missed contamination in the critical early days of the Red Hill fuel crisis. Read more
The trial involves the first 17 plaintiffs claiming medical, emotional and financial injuries from the contamination. Another roughly 7,500 plaintiffs have joined other lawsuits also seeking compensation. Read more
The Navy also found that while there was a spike in doctors’ visits around the spill, involving a variety of symptoms ranging from rashes to intestinal problems, neurological issues and psychological symptoms, by the end of December the visits “returned to pre-release levels.” Read more
Laboratory contamination was the cause of increased low levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons detected in the Navy’s drinking water system since last summer, the Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill announced Wednesday. Read more
Since the March community meeting, several new documents have emerged that CRI members say raise serious questions. The absence of officials calls pledges of transparency into question, they say. Read more
The report was prompted by a spill of 19,000 gallons of jet fuel from the Navy’s underground Red Hill facility that in November 2021 made its way into and tainted the Navy’s Oahu water system. Read more
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The Navy as of Monday had removed just over 1,000 gallons of aqueous film forming foam concentrate — a toxic fire suppressant containing “forever chemicals” — from its AFFF system at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Read more
Now would be a good time to stake out, for the public, the motto and mission of the new Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill. Read more
State and federal officials say that water tested at Hickam Elementary School for potential petroleum contamination is safe after an “unvalidated” test found high levels early this month. Read more
Two years after the Pentagon agreed it would remove fuel from its underground Red Hill fuel storage facility and shut it down, the military task force charged with removing fuel stored in the Navy’s underground Red Hill facility has officially concluded its mission. Read more
In early March the Navy notified the Environmental Protection Agency that it had detected “unvalidated test results” finding high levels of total petroleum |hydrocarbons, or TPH, in water samples taken from an on-base school and a home in the Aliamanu Military Reservation — both of which had their water systems flushed. Read more
Meetings have often been contentious, with members of the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative and from the community frequently accusing officials of withholding information and dodging questions. Read more
Access to abundant, clean water is a fundamental human right that should not be a political bargaining chip. This basic principle requires that decisions about how water is managed and distributed be outside the reach of politics and politicians. Read more
Red Hill is shutting down, but the tragic reality of its long-term effects continues impacting many families sickened during the 2021 fuel leaks. Read more
As the military tries to highlight progress on efforts to close the Navy’s underground Red Hill fuel facility, members of the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative are accusing the federal government of walking back on its commitments to transparency ahead of a public meeting scheduled for Thursday. Read more
The Navy last week released a new report on its preliminary plumbing assessment following multiple complaints of air and water quality issues from residents on its water system. Read more
After months of work, on Wednesday the military task force charged with removing the fuel from the Navy’s underground Red Hill storage facility announced it had extracted the last of the “accessible residual fuel” from the facility. Read more
The Navy announced this week that it will continue monitoring its Oahu water system, which serves 93,000 people, for the next year after a surge in complaints about water and air quality in homes on the military waterline. Read more
