Exams performed in December by the Hawaii Division of Well being discovered no traces of PFAS, probably cancer-causing compounds broadly generally known as ‘eternally chemical compounds’ as a result of they do not break down over time, within the effectively contaminated by petroleum in an enormous spill the month earlier than.
A Navy official stated Monday that the well being division examined the water for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, after investigators discovered that the gas that tainted the consuming water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam final yr had been pooled for months in a hearth suppression system line meant to carry firefighting foam containing the chemical compounds.
However the hearth suppression system had by no means been activated, nor had foam ever been discharged into the system and no PFAS chemical compounds had been detected, a Navy spokesperson instructed Navy.com in an e-mail.
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“A full system activation, e.g., within the occasion of a fireplace, would spray [aqueous form filming foam, or AFFF] into the tunnel. This could be a major occasion and it has by no means occurred because the system has been in place,” the spokesperson stated.
The query of PFAS contamination of the water has been a priority because the Navy launched the outcomes of its investigation into spills that occurred final yr on the service’s Purple Hill Bulk Gas Storage Facility, the U.S. navy’s largest gas depot within the Pacific, able to holding as much as 250 million gallons of jet gas, diesel and gasoline.
PFAS are a group of practically 9,000 compounds which have quite a few industrial makes use of however can accumulate within the physique and don’t break down into soluble elements. The Environmental Safety Company has decided that they’re unsafe at any degree, and they’re related to infertility, some varieties of most cancers and delivery defects.
The investigation revealed {that a} spill throughout switch operations in Could despatched roughly 19,000 gallons of gas into the power’s assortment sumps, which had been to carry runoff following the activation of its hearth system.
When these sumps had been by accident full of gas, pumps transferred the liquid into PVC pipes that had been designed to retain foam and water runoff. However, the official famous “no AFFF was launched on Could 6, and due to this fact no AFFF was pumped from the sump to the reclamation line.”
“The gas was spilled from an AFFF restoration line, however the AFFF system has by no means been activated, and due to this fact the restoration system has by no means been uncovered to PFAS/perfluorooctanoic acid/perfluorooctane sulfonic acid from AFFF,” the spokesman stated.
When requested throughout a congressional listening to July 19 about the opportunity of PFAS contamination within the runoff, Vice Adm. Randy Crites, deputy chief of naval operations for capabilities and assets, instructed Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele, D-Hawaii, that he did not know the reply.
In November, the 1000’s of gallons of gas from the Could spill that had been contained within the line had been launched into the tunnels on the facility after an worker struck one of many pipes along with his car.
The contamination sickened navy and civilian households residing in base housing on or close to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, sending dozens to hospitals and forcing 1000’s from their houses for as much as three months.
The dearth of transparency relating to the Could spill and the sluggish response by the Navy to residents’ complaints in November that their water smelled like petroleum and so they had been experiencing unexplained signs, corresponding to nausea, vomiting, burns and rashes, have left households deeply disaffected. Initially after the November spill, the Navy stated checks discovered the water did not include gas, regardless of resident issues.
Some have moved out of their houses or left the islands altogether, whereas greater than 100 have filed claims towards the Navy below the Federal Tort Claims Act in search of compensation for his or her well being issues.
Their attorneys say the households are in danger for long-term situations corresponding to leukemia, immune issues, kidney illness, coronary heart situations, gastrointestinal issues and neurological results.
“There may be huge concern … They’re watching what occurred at Camp Lejeune and saying, ‘Is my child going to die of leukemia; am I going to die of leukemia? How lengthy am I going to be wholesome for? Ought to I begin planning for my long-term well being now? These are very actual fears,” stated Kristina Baehr, an lawyer with Simply Effectively Regulation in Austin, Texas, throughout an interview July 29 on Navy.com’s Fireplace Watch podcast.
A brand new analysis device unveiled final week by the College of Hawaii has brought about additional concern amongst relations who consider that contaminants stay of their consuming water provide.
Through the use of a course of known as fluorescence spectroscopy, researchers can detect ranges of hydrocarbons as little as 10 elements per billion — a lot decrease than the Hawaii Division of Well being’s most allowable threshold of 211 elements per billion.
As just lately as Could, this screening detected contamination on the Hickam, Ford Island, and Purple Hill Mauka neighborhoods, seemingly residual contaminants from the November gas launch, in keeping with the researchers.
The researchers cautioned that the screening technique, used often to observe oil spills, is a preliminary take a look at, and additional testing is really helpful after any optimistic findings. Additionally they famous that the tactic shouldn’t be licensed by the EPA for detecting particular contaminants nor for assessing threat to human well being.
However households had been swift to react. After Navy Capt. Mark Sohaney posted a letter on the bottom’s Fb web page Friday reiterating that the water was protected to drink, residents took to the location to specific outrage.
Amanda Feindt, whose whole household was sickened by the water in November and her youngsters hospitalized, posted a video of her daughter having a meltdown about consuming any water. The Feindts have left Hawaii however nonetheless have well being issues, she stated.
“Our candy woman remains to be traumatized by WATER … she nonetheless believes that WATER will make her ‘throw up’ and put her again within the hospital … Sadly, that is her actuality as she nonetheless suffers with many unexplained well being points,” Feindt wrote.
Attorneys representing Purple Hill households additionally implored the Navy to maneuver affected personnel out of navy housing.
“Information launched by the College of Hawaii Purple Hill Process Drive this week confirms what our purchasers already knew to be true: their water remains to be contaminated,” wrote Baehr and her colleagues at Simply Effectively Regulation to Navy officers on Thursday. “It is time to evacuate households affected by the horrific jet gas spills on the Navy’s Purple Hill Bulk Storage Facility in Hawaii.”
Sohaney stated the bottom continues to make use of solely water equipped by a effectively that was unaffected by the spill.
“JBPHH repeatedly checks the water you employ and supplies these water take a look at outcomes to the Hawaii Division of Well being and the Environmental Safety Company who proceed to verify that the JBPHH water stays protected,” Solaney wrote within the letter posted on-line.
— Patricia Kime might be reached at Patricia.Kime@navy.com. Comply with her on Twitter @patriciakime.
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