US military faces crisis in Hawaii after massive fuel tank leak poisons water for thousands - Update: Tanks will be permanently closed by Defense Dept

[Emily]

https://www.yaktrinews.com/i/us-mili...isons-water-2/
US military faces crisis in Hawaii after leak poisons water

By AUDREY McAVOY - Associated PressPosted: February 5, 2022 10:59 AM

HONOLULU (AP) — A giant U.S. government fuel storage installation hidden inside a mountain ridge overlooking Pearl Harbor has provided fuel to military ships and planes crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean since World War II.

Its very existence was a secret for years. Even after it was declassified, few people paid attention — until late last year, when jet fuel leaked into a drinking water well, showed up in tap water and sickened thousands in military housing.

Now the Navy is scrambling to contain what one U.S. lawmaker calls a “crisis of astronomical proportions.” Native Hawaiians, veterans, liberals and conservatives across Hawaii are all pushing to shut down the tanks even though the Navy says they’re vital to national security...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Mary Wilson]

US - Defense Secretary Austin calls for permanent closure of fuel tanks in Hawaii at center of tap-water contamination - March 7, 2022

MARCH 7, 2022

BY WYATT OLSON

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The Navy’s massive underground fuel storage facility in Honolulu at the center of widespread well-water contamination will be permanently shut down, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Monday.

“After close consultation with senior civilian and military leaders, I have decided to defuel and permanently close the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility in Hawaii,” Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “This is the right thing to do.”

Jet fuel from the World War II-era tanks seeped into one of three wells that the Navy uses to provide water to military housing communities on and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The contamination became acute following a spill in November, displacing thousands of residents from their homes due to oily and stinky tap water that sickened many people. Most of those displaced have been living in Waikiki Beach hotels for more than three months.

There has long been local opposition to the continued use of the tanks, which have had numerous leaks for past decades. But the current crisis has led to a widespread backlash toward the Navy and the facility, which sits just 100 feet above Oahu’s main aquifer.

https://www.stripes.com/branches/na...eaking-fuel-tank-facility-hawaii-5261509.html

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this