Navy Fuels Hawaiian Anger
Massive fuel leak likely involves PFAS
Help us test the waters!
December 15, 2021
By Marguerite Adelman, Nancy Price, and Pat Elder
Protesters gather at the state capitol in Honolulu.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
We need your help paying for petroleum and PFAS water testing kits for activists who are ready to collect water samples in Honolulu, Hawaii. The navy has contaminated Pearl Harbor’s drinking water with jet fuel and may have released massive amounts of PFAS into the environment.
On November 20, 2021, 14,000 gallons of fuel and water were released from a fire suppression drain line in a tunnel about a quarter mile downhill of the Red Hill bulk fuel storage tanks that contain 180 million gallons of fuel. The fire suppression system is loaded with aqueous film-forming foam, (AFFF) that contains high concentrations of PFAS. The system contains foam sprinklers throughout the facility, with two 1,450-gallon foam concentrate tanks. This suppression system is believed to have malfunctioned. If these tanks unloaded, it’s Game Over.
We need to test the water. We represent independent, third-party testing. The Navy is the first party, but we don’t trust them. The state is the second party, and they can be moved to do more to protect public health with our third-party, independent testing. Send a donation for our independent testing of contaminants.
The poisonous AFFF suppression systems often malfunction due to overheating, corrosion, mechanical damage, and human sabotage or error. Massive leaks have occurred at: Pax River Naval Station, Naval Station Mayport, Wright Patterson AFB, Travis AFB, Eglin AFB, Pittsburgh ANG, Luke AFB, Tulsa ANG, Dover AFB, and Horsham Air Guard.
Accidental suppression system discharges on military installations rarely make the news. However, each one is a calamity.
For example, a drunk Marine triggered a suppression system in Okinawa and carcinogenic bubbles floated into neighboring playgrounds. David Steele, commander of Futenma Air Base, said, “If it rains, it will subside.” The Army and the Air Force have also had large scale suppression system leaks in Okinawa. The rivers and fish are poisoned. The military doesn’t give a damn.
In Hawaii, the Navy’s water system that serves about 93,000 people in and near Pearl Harbor is contaminated by jet fuel from the base. The Navy has relocated more than 3,000 families to hotels across the island and distributed bottled water to others. Residents say running the water fills homes with an overpowering odor of fuel. They’ve suffered ailments such as cramps, rashes, vomiting, headaches and more after drinking it.
Everyone knew it was coming. Everyone saw through the Navy’s lies, while the leaks continued and conditions deteriorated.
Exactly how much BTEX, (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene), and PFAS are in the tap water? Are BTEX and PFAS present in the streams emptying toward the ocean? Are the chemicals being discharged from wastewater treatment plants in the vicinity? Are the local landfills poisoned by military activities? We want to know and we can learn a lot by testing the waters. We need your money to do it.
A BTEX water kit is $129 and returns reliable results. The PFAS water test kits are amazingly accurate and cost $79. Together, that’s $208 per location. Both kits may be used for tap water and surface water. The PFAS test involves filling up a 250 ml cup and allowing the water to drain through a filter at the bottom. The cups are returned to the lab in the boxes they came in. The BTEX kit involves freezing the ice bags that are provided and shipping the sample on ice in the container it arrived in.
The first five BTEX/PFAS kits are enroute to Honolulu thanks to contributions through the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF-US). The august group has consistently funded testing campaigns.
We’ve identified 20 specific locations to test surface water. That will cost over $4,000. We plan to test in residential neighborhoods.
WILP-US / Military Poisons tested fish, oysters, and crabs in the Chesapeake region and they’re loaded with PFOS. We’ve found extraordinarily high levels of PFOS many thousands of times over European regulatory levels in creeks leading out of Fort Meade, Joint Base Andrews, and the Chesapeake Naval Research Laboratory, all in Maryland. We’ve documented frightening levels of the carcinogens in water bodies near New York’s former Plattsburgh AFB, Vermont ANG, Brunswick NAS, JB Cape Cod Massachusetts, and the Potomac River in Washington DC. State officials are taking notice and are acting to set standards in water and fish. We’re part of a growing movement to test waters and use the results to call out the military and pressure state governments to develop a backbone in dealing with the military command.
Please send a donation. It’s tax deductible.
We need to raise several thousand dollars in a hurry. We must exploit the righteous anger in Hawaii and throughout the country.
Sincerely,
Marguerite Adelman, Burlington, VT
Nancy Price, Davis, CA
Pat Elder, St. Mary’s City, MD