More than 100 families have filed claims against the government for illnesses and expenses they say are linked to drinking fuel-tainted water in their homes in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
A fuel spill in November forced thousands from their homes at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and other military housing neighborhoods near Honolulu.
Lawyers announced on Friday that 102 families were seeking compensation for health issues and financial damage caused by spills at the US Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage facility.
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In a letter to Vice Admiral Darse Crandall, Navy Judge Advocate General, attorneys for Just Well Law of Austin, Texas, and the Hosoda Law Group of Honolulu, said the Navy failed to act after a fuel spill last May and had not “fully disclosed the extent of the contamination”, including a second spill in November.
“When the Navy learned of the operator error on May 6, 2021 that released thousands of gallons of jet fuel into the Red Hill well, the Navy should have told our customers to stop drinking the water “wrote attorneys Kristina Baehr, James Baehr and Lyle Hosoda. “Instead, the Navy allowed the families to continue bathing and drinking the water until the contamination got so bad – after another spill in November – that it burned their throats and the body.”
Residents began reporting a gasoline smell and an oily sheen in their tap water on Nov. 28, saying the contamination was causing symptoms including headaches, rashes, nausea and vomiting.
But lawyers allege their clients’ symptoms began to develop before the November spill and attributed their illnesses to the May spill, as well as other events at the fuel facility, which is located in proximity to wells that supply water to a number of military residences. regions of Hawaii and surrounding areas.
The families are seeking compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a law that allows individuals to seek compensation for injuries or damages resulting from the negligence or wrongdoing of the federal government or a federal government employee. government.
In their letter, the lawyers highlighted several cases, including an army officer who developed blurred vision, headaches and abdominal problems, as well as skin cancer, and was forced to relocate.
“Lt. Col. Jeff Fritz proudly served our country for 26 years. … He was forced to abandon a job he loved and walk away from contamination, spending tens of thousands of dollars of his pocket to do this,” the letter said.
Meredith Wilson, a professional singer married to a military man, began battling migraine headaches, abdominal pain and vision problems – symptoms her doctors suspected were the result of environmental exposure and for which they “l encouraged her to drink more water to help her with her symptoms.”
“She was devastated to learn that the water was contaminated as her home ‘smelled like a gas station,'” the lawyers wrote. “After a number of abnormal medical tests following exposure, Meredith has made the heartbreaking decision to leave the island and her career that she loved.”
Lawyers say the Navy’s ‘lack of transparency’ over contamination continues, with the service refusing to release drinking water test results from their homes in November and December, before pipes were flushed as part cleaning operations.
“Although we know the hydrocarbon levels were high, the Navy chose to leave these families in the dark as to the extent of their toxic exposure,” they wrote.
Air quality tests, conducted by an environmental testing contractor hired by the lawyers, reported that between February 21 and April 15, 20 homes had high levels of various volatile organic compounds such as l acetone, toluene, ethanol and ethyl acetate.
High levels of toluene, which were found in 14 homes – including one with nearly 10 times the limit that would trigger a health service response – can cause short-term health issues including fatigue, drowsiness and nausea, as well as long-term health problems. damage to the central nervous system, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Many of our clients are now suffering from long term effects including seizure disorders, thyroid abnormalities, liver damage, kidney damage, loss of a baby, cognitive problems, loss of movement and cancer” , wrote the lawyers.
When asked to explain the inclusion of cancer – diseases that can take months or years to develop after environmental exposure – in the list, Kristina Baehr said in an email that experts hired by the company “will show that this period of exposure (May-November 2021) caused or exacerbated” the cancers of their customers.
“We recognize, of course, that the water has been contaminated from previous spills and that previous contamination may also have contributed to their illness,” Baehr wrote to Military.com.
The Department of Defense announced on March 7 that the bulk fuel storage facility at Red Hill will be emptied and closed. At the time, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the facility had served its purpose for decades, but closing it was “the right thing to do”.
In a statement Monday, the service’s chief information officer, Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, told Military.com the Navy “will not be discussing any potential future legal action.”
With filings, Navy has six months to negotiate with plaintiffs over claims. If the service fails to respond or reach an agreement, then complainants can take legal action.
— Patricia Kime can be contacted at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime
Related: ‘We’ve put you in a dangerous situation’: Top Navy officials apologize for contaminated water at Pearl Harbor
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