(NewsSpace.com) – In November 2021, more than 20,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked out of a bulk fuel storage facility and into a water system serving 93,000 people in and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Earlier this year, thousands of people, including locals and military family members, filed a lawsuit seeking financial compensation. Many of them are still experiencing health problems from the leak.
More than 2,500 people are suing for damages of at least $1.25 million each after being poisoned by the jet fuel in the water. Many are continuing to experience long-term symptoms, including seizures and Parkinson’s disease. One family detailed their experience on Fox News.
Jaclyn Hughes said she drank the water and it caused her throat to burn. Her infant son, just a few days old, broke out in rashes. Her daughter, 4-year-old Kyla, went into psychosis. All along, Hughes said, the government “refused care, denied, gaslit, and to this day,” she and her family do not “have all the appropriate care that [they] need for [their] daughter.”
It’s been nearly three years since the leak and those affected are still experiencing symptoms. Worse yet, they say cleanup efforts haven’t been thorough. Though Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the closure of Red Hill, the storage facility where the leak occurred, in March 2022, some on the military base said that “there’s a sheen in the water” and the pipes still need to be taken care of. In the midst of this, they say, “The EPA is concerned and the Navy is continuing to turn a blind eye.”
The Navy released a statement to Fox, pushing back on the claims. It said the military branch had flushed the system and disconnected the wells involved. It further says it has continued to sample the water and provided more than 9,000 to EPA-approved labs, which found it meets safety standards at state and federal levels.
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