Posted on 12/02/2021 5:24:53 PM PST by Jyotishi
Honolulu (HawaiiNewsNow) -- A Hawaii lab has detected a petroleum product in a water sample collected from the Pearl Harbor-Hickam system -- a worrisome finding that comes as the investigation into the source of the fuel-like odor and oily sheen from the water continues.
It’s the first confirmation of what military households and other impacted residents have been reporting for days: That their water smells like fuel and has made them sick. But the results also raise more questions, including how much petroleum is present and what kind it is.
Environmental Health Deputy Director Kathleen Ho stressed the results are preliminary and that further testing is needed. More refined tests are being conducted at a lab in California.
Ho said the sample with petroleum was collected from Red Hill Elementary School.
Meanwhile, the roughly 93,000 customers of the Navy water system are continuing to be advised not to drink the water. Those who smell fuel should not use it for bathing or other household uses.
In addition to military households, several public schools and businesses are served by the system.
Dr. Diana Felton, state toxicologist, said health impacts from petroleum products can be wide-ranging. That’s why it’s important to know what type of petroleum is in the water.
But she said that many of the health complaints from residents are consistent with petroleum exposure across the board. Those include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and confusion.
While the cause of the problems remains under investigation, there’s intense scrutiny of the Navy’s underground Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility, which has had a number of leaks in the past.
The Navy’s Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system draws from aquifers in Waiawa, Halawa and Red Hill.
So far, the contamination has only been detected in the Navy’s water system.
But Honolulu Board of Water Supply officials worry the problem could spread.
That’s because the underground water source that feeds the Navy’s well in Red Hill can also flow toward the Board of Water Supply’s wells in Halawa.
And when the Navy shut down its well on Sunday, the water board said it made it easier for potential contaminants underground to seep toward the city wells.
“That is not a good scenario,” said Ernest Lau, the Board of Water Supply’s chief engineer.
“If we keep pumping at a higher rate at the Halawa shaft and Red Hill is not pumping, if there’s any fuel in the ground water and it’s moving as a plume then we are going to potentially suck that fuel towards us at a faster rate,”
To prevent that, the water board cut by half what it pumps from those wells and is increasing testing.
A Navy spokeswoman had no immediate response to that concern.
Wayne Tanaka, state director for the Sierra Club of Hawaii, said the Navy isn’t being transparent enough with the public.
“Navy leadership throughout this whole thing has been disappointing to continually tell people that there’s no evidence of anything unsafe when you can literally see film on the water,” Tanaka said.
This story will be updated.
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State inspector detected fuel odor during probe into possible tainted water but tests inconclusive
Military families show oily sheen, distinct smell in water that’s coming out of their taps
Board of Water Supply: Our water system not impacted by possible fuel contamination
What it does is pretty simple. It's a check valve system that if pressure is lost it stops a back flow of water from leaving the building or contaminating the water system
. It got to be a huge issue in multi-story buildings when utility pressure was lost that it would actually cause a vacuum on the water lines to happen. Now if let's say someone is filling up a mop bucket with detergent and leaves the hose in the bucket and water pressure loss occurs the detergent isn't sucked into the building and utilities piping system.
In a commercial/industrial environment were for example a large volume tank is being cleaned and this happens it stops that from doing contamination. That should be included as a starting place. They are supposed to be tested periodically but nothing is fool proof. These devices can be small or large depending on need and application.
I was born in 1954. I doubt they will ever raise the Arizona, since it’s a WW2 Memorial and a grave site- over 1000 men died and are still entombed in the wreckage. In a few days, it will be 80 years. I wouldn’t think that the oil still leaking from the Arizona would have much impact on the local environment.
It will be interesting to see what they will eventually find as the cause.
Navy confirms petroleum products found in Red Hill Well, which has been isolated since Nov. 28
December 2, 2021
The Arizona is leaking into the ocean.
The water system draws from aquifers on land, so the likely contamination is from leaks at the Navy bases fuel storage tanks.
Yes been there twice and seen the sheen of oil on the water...No if the Japanese had launched a 3rd wave and targeted the fuel storage for the Pacific fleet the story would have been somewhat different but same results.
Sorry. Should be Mekong Delta.
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