Navy halts use of fuel storage complex above Hawaii aquifer

HONOLULU – The U.S. Navy announced Monday that it has suspended usage of a monolithic World War II-era substance retention analyzable supra a Hawaii aquifer that supplies astir 20% of Honolulu’s drinking h2o — pursuing days of complaints that pat h2o smells similar substance and has sickened immoderate people.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro traveled to Pearl Harbor and told reporters helium was apologizing to everyone affected by what helium called a “horrible, horrible tragedy.”

Nearly 1,000 subject households person complained astir their pat h2o and immoderate person said they person suffered carnal ailments specified arsenic cramps and vomiting precocious aft drinking it.

A h2o illustration returned past week showed the beingness of petroleum successful h2o that comes from a good adjacent the underground substance vessel analyzable that has been the root of aggregate substance leaks implicit the years.

Del Toro said officials were getting adjacent to determining the origin of the occupation and that erstwhile the probe is completed and reviewed, the Navy volition follow h2o information precautions.

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“This volition let america to instrumentality caller information actions earlier resuming operations,” Del Toro said.

When asked if the Navy is considering permanently shutting down the substance vessel farm, Del Toro said each possibilities are being explored.

“We’re looking astatine immoderate precise superior enactment present successful the precise adjacent future,” helium said.

Fuel from the tanks is utilized to powerfulness galore U.S. subject ships and planes that patrol the Pacific Ocean, but Del Toro said the cutoff's interaction connected subject operations would “have a precise minimal effect, if any, astatine each close now."

“I don’t privation to get into topics with conversations with regards to however agelong we tin proceed to bash this for nationalist information reasons, but there’s truly nary minimum cognition to our fleet’s activities oregon activities impacting the Air Force oregon the Army oregon the Marine Corps for immoderate adjacent word astatine all,” Del Toro said.

The announcement came aft Hawaii’s politician and legislature delegation called connected the Navy to suspend operations astatine the substance retention analyzable that sits supra an aquifer that supplies h2o to municipality Honolulu.

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Rear Admiral Blake Converse, lawman commandant of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said that the usage of the vessel workplace was suspended connected Nov. 27 but officials did not accidental wherefore the Navy waited until Monday to marque that announcement.

“I cognize determination are concerns that we person not been transparent with the results of our investigating and our procedures," Del Toro said. "You person my committedness and committedness that the accusation that we supply is the astir close accusation that we person available.”

The Navy past week said a h2o illustration from 1 of its wells showed the beingness of petroleum. The good is adjacent the underground substance vessel analyzable that has been the root of aggregate substance leaks implicit the years.

The Navy’s h2o strategy serves astir 93,000 people. Nearly 1,000 subject households complained astir their pat h2o smelling similar substance oregon of ailments similar tummy cramps and vomiting.

The Navy said it would flush cleanable h2o done the organisation strategy to wide residual petroleum products from the water. The process, on with testing, could instrumentality up to 10 days to marque definite the h2o meets Environmental Protection Agency drinking standards.

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The pat h2o problems person afflicted 1 of the military’s astir important bases, location to submarines, ships and the commandant of U.S. forces successful the Indo-Pacific region. They besides endanger to jeopardize 1 of Honolulu’s astir important aquifers and h2o sources.

During World War II, the Roosevelt medication was acrophobic astir the vulnerability of above-the-ground substance tanks to attacks — truthful the Navy built the vessel workplace named the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

The installation has 20 steel-lined underground tanks, which tin collectively store up to 250 cardinal gallons (946 cardinal liters) of fuel. The tanks are encased successful factual and stored wrong cavities of a volcanic upland ridge adjacent Honolulu. Pipelines from the tanks tally 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wrong a passageway to fueling piers astatine Pearl Harbor.

The substance successful the tanks is utilized by the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and Hawaii National Guard for ships and aircraft. The Navy has said Red Hill is captious to maritime security, determination stability, humanitarian assistance and continued prosperity successful the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

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The Department of Defense has spent much than $200 cardinal connected updating the installation and conducting biology investigating since 2006, according to the Navy.

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Associated Press writers Julie Watson successful San Diego and Mark Thiessen successful Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.

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