Army Says State of Hawaii firefighters have contaminated Kalaeloa Airport with PFAS
Report from Hawaii Army National Guard points to the state for the contamination. Releases are thought to be in the thousands of gallons, exceeding recent Navy release of PFAS at Red Hill
By Pat Elder
December 7, 2022
Firetrucks like this sprayed foams during monthly training exercises
that contaminated Kalaeloa Airport with PFAS.
A 2020 Army report on the use of PFAS at the Kalaeloa Airport claims that the Hawaii Department of Transportation Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) Unit regularly released aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) containing PFAS at the former fuel farm area at the airport.
Firetrucks were fitted with foam tanks and hose sprayers containing the carcinogenic materials, according to the “Preliminary Assessment” report on Perfluoro Octane Sulfonic acid (PFOS) and Perfluoro Octanoic Acid (PFOA).
The tanks reportedly contained 25 gallons of AFFF mixed with water. Monthly pump tests occurred at random locations across Kalaeloa Airport. Hawaii DOT firefighters were following the “historical practice” of performing pump testing over the fence line that separates the former fuel farm from the active runway. There is no indication regarding the number of years these tests were conducted by the state, although firefighting practice using the carcinogenic foam was common at military installations and municipal airports since the 1970’s.
It would take about four years of these particular exercises to match the 1,300 gallons of foam recently spilled by the Navy at Red Hill. However, compelling evidence throughout the state’s facility documented in the report suggests other, potentially larger releases of PFAS.
On October 12, 2017, Hawaii Army National Guard personnel observed an unknown foam-like substance present on a walkway located within the former fuel farm area.
In addition to the foam observed on the walkway, Hawaii Army National Guard personnel reported seeing flattened vegetation among the surrounding areas, indicating that the foam mixture likely affected a larger area. The spill report notes that based on the direction of flattened vegetation adjacent to underground injection control Well #73, it is suspected some of the AFFF mixture may have also entered the underground injection control (UIC) well.
In this case, a UIC well is designed to place non-hazardous fluid underground into porous geologic formations. These underground formations may range from deep sandstone, or limestone, to a shallow soil layer. Injected fluids may include water, wastewater, brine (salt water), or water mixed with chemicals. The UIC well is not intended for highly toxic substances like PFAS.
The Army report says HDOT ARFF Unit personnel were unaware that the former fuel farm area was no longer under the control of the Hawaii Department of Transportation. At no time did Hawaii Army National Guard personnel participate in pump testing activities. The report calls for further study and analysis of potential leaks by the Army National Guard but does not implicate the Army for any releases of PFAS. The Army has reported that 98 bases are contaminated with PFAS across the country.
The Hawaii Army National Guard began leasing a portion of Hawaii Department of Transportation property that contains the former fuel farm area in July 2016.
Photos show likely location of fire pit.
According to the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, “The firefighting training pit is located in the southwestern part of Kalaeloa Airport, south of Runway 4R-22L and north of Coral Sea Road. A 100-foot diameter concrete lined firefighting pit was built in 1984. The facility was closed in 1991.” The information was contained within a HIDOT report, Final Environmental Assessment – Finding of No Significant Impact Kalaeola Airport Development Plan Improvements
Typically, DOD and municipal fire training pits used several hundred gallons of JP-5 and other flammable liquids to ignite fires that were then extinguished with an undetermined amount of AFFF. These training sessions often occurred bi-weekly or monthly, depending upon the branch and the installation.
We don’t know how often these were blazes were set and extinguished using AFFF and how much of the carcinogenic substances that were likely used, although thousands of gallons of AFFF could have been used at the fire pit which is about 700 feet from the beach. Concrete-lined fire pits tend to allow PFAS to seep into the soil.
Overhead Suppression Systems Use AFFF
The hangar at Kalaeloa Army Aviation Support Facility #1-John Rodgers Field was constructed in 2017 and is equipped with an AFFF fire suppression system. The system consists of an 800-gallon tank that contains approximately 440 gallons of Ansulite AFC-3MS 3% AFFF concentrate.
The Army says there have been no known instances of leaks or spills from either the system or the drums of AFFF. However, because AFFF is stored at the facility, there is potential for it to have been incidentally released to the environment during PFAS handling or via leaks.
Based on the documented release and storage of AFFF at the facility, there is also potential for exposure to PFAS contamination in media at or near the facility. PFAS may have been broadly used, stored, or disposed in buildings with fire suppression systems, paint booths, and AFFF storage areas.
If a spill or system release occurred within the hangar or mechanical room, it would likely discharge to the sanitary sewer. Incidental spills that may have occurred or been tracked outside the hangar would travel via stormwater as sheet flow across impervious pavement to areas of crushed concrete that surround the hangar and subsequently to drainage pits and/or UIC wells.
The Army report says, “Although there is a hydraulic connection to the Pacific Ocean, approximately 1 mile downgradient of the facility, any PFAS in groundwater that discharges to the ocean is largely diluted and is unlikely to present a complete pathway to recreational users.”
This is a dangerous statement on several accounts. The idea that PFAS will be “largely diluted” is ridiculous. In fact, there’s evidence suggesting PFOS, one kind of PFAS that bioaccumulates in fish, can travel up to 20 miles in a couple of days. Perhaps there will be some dilution along the way, but we’re only talking about one mile. Hawaiian torrential rainstorms sweep PFOS into Mamala Bay.
Arrows show the direction of surface water
from Kalaeloa Airport
The term “recreational users” is usually meant to include surfing, water skiing, diving and swimming, but it doesn’t include fishing and consuming poisoned seafood. It’s a terribly inconvenient truth for the state of Hawaii that PFOS bioaccumulates in fish at levels up to 5,000 times the levels of the chemicals in the water. Hold the thought.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that up to 86% of the PFAS in our bodies is from the food, especially the seafood taken from contaminated waters.
Earlier this year, Military Poisons staff collected water samples from the locations near Kalaeloa Airport described below. We used test kits supplied by Cyclopure, Inc. , a company with several DOD contracts.
PFAS totaled 119.9 ppt at the Red X and 44.7 ppt at the Black X. Prevailing currents flow westerly in Mamala Bay. (From right to left)
Red X – The water sample was taken 2,000 feet west of the end of the Kalaeloa Municipal Airport runway from the canal that empties into Mamala Bay. 3/26/22 11”15 am - 21°18'00.3"N 158°05'12.7"W. We detected 12 PFAS in this unfiltered water sample, with a total concentration of 119.9 ppt:
PFOA - 7.2
PFOS - 29.5
PFBA - 2.7
PFBS - 3.9
PFHpA - 9.2
PFHxA - 11.4
PFHxS - 42.7
PFNA - 1.3
PFPeA - 7.5
FHxSA – 1.0
PFPeS - 2.5
PFHpS – 1.0
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Black X – The water sample was taken from the Wai Kai Lagoon 3,000 feet east of the end of the Kalaeloa Municipal Airport runway. 1/17/2022 11:30 am. 21°17'46.3"N 158°06'13.0"W. We detected 10 PFAS in this unfiltered water sample, with a total concentration of 44.7 ppt
PFOA - 2.4 ppt
PFOS - 3.4 ppt
PFBA - 1.2 ppt
PFBS - 22.0 ppt
PFHxA - 3.4 ppt
PFHxS- 4.0 ppt
PFHpA - 1.6 ppt
PFPeA - 2.0 ppt
FHEA - 1.6 ppt
6:2diPAP - 3.1 ppt.
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Sorry about all of the data, but we ought to know about these chemicals because they are killing us. We found 29.5 parts per trillion of PFOS draining into Mamala Bay near the airport. If bioaccumulation factors range up to 5,000 times ambient water levels, then many species of fish may have concentrations of the carcinogens that are a million times over the .02 ppt the EPA says are dangerous to health in our drinking water. Fish near military installations have been found to contain up to 10 million parts per trillion of PFOS in their filet.
Several final points
Unlike the mainland, we don’t have analytical results for military installations in Hawaii. We don’t know how bad things are.
Other states have done a better job pressuring the DOD to publicize AFFF concentrations in a host of environmental media.
The state of Hawaii lags behind many states in testing and regulating PFAS in various media, although HB 1644 was a small step in the right direction.
The State of Hawaii’s Department of Health website on PFAS needs updating.
What’s in your fish, Hawaii?
What’s in your food? your dust? your air? your blood?
Special thanks to the Downs Law Group for their continued financial support. The firm is providing free blood testing to individuals like firefighters and others with a high likelihood of exposure to PFAS.
Military Poisons and the Women’s League for Peace and Freedom are continuing to raise funds to cover the costs of PFAS water and seafood testing. You can make a tax-deductible contribution here.