Thousands of people in Hawaii are left with dry skin, eye pain, and a burning sensation in their throats after drinking and drinking gasoline-contaminated water from a nearby WWII facility.
On Oahu, Hawaii’s third largest island, nearly 10,000 homes were evacuated in late November after residents drank an overwhelming “fuel smell” from tap water.
The Navy explained that this was due to 16,000 gallons of jet fuel leaking from a nearby storage facility contaminating the local water supply.
Now, under pressure from local authorities, it has decided to shut down the plant, which has been grappling with burst pipes since 2014.
Nine out of ten people exposed to contaminated water reported experiencing more than one side effect, the most common of which was a headache lasting more than 30 days. The symptoms did not stop until the water supplies changed.
Surveillance found that some of those affected had blisters on their skin and felt vomiting, dizziness and ringing in their ears.
About 10,000 homes had to be evacuated after 16,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from a fuel tank and poisoned the local water supply. People who drank the juice said they had dry skin, sore eyes, and a burning sensation in the throat.
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pictures above are the symptoms people are most likely to report.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interviewed more than 2,000 people affected by the crisis about the symptoms they experienced after using contaminated water, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports.
Participants said they were more likely to have headaches (58% of respondents), dry or itchy skin (50%), and diarrhea (49%).
Other common symptoms were nausea (41%), eye irritation and burning (38%), and a burning sensation in the throat (32%).
The CDC said the study findings were “consistent” with previous symptoms reported from gasoline exposure.
“These findings highlight the need to avoid exposure to petroleum products and may help healthcare professionals and doctors detect and respond to similar events in the future.
“Further monitoring of the affected population may improve understanding of the overall health impacts of this and other oil exposure events.”
At the time, Kate Needham, a member of the Armed Forces Settlement Lawyers who helped military families living in private homes, said she had even received reports that someone had been attacked.
He told Hawaii-based Khon 2, “I currently have over 650 residents who are in individual contact with me.” [about symptoms they are experiencing]†
“These were taken to the ambulance for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stools, sick rashes on their animals, and a little girl having a seizure.”
He added that many people suffer from headaches because of the “poisonous smell” from tap water.
Health officials in Hawaii were first warned of drinking water issues, including the shooting, on November 21, 2022.
Nine days later, they issued a drinking water warning and plans were being made to relocate all people to the affected area.
The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, near Pearl Harbor, contained 20 steel-lined barrels and was used during World War II. An oil spill dating back to World War II turned out to have occurred.
The spilled fuel then poisoned the local aquifer, water containing 350 times the maximum amount currently pumped into people’s homes.
Thousands were given temporary accommodation with access to clean drinking water, and hundreds more were placed in hotels.
When the leak was first noticed, nearby Peggy Peterson said… United States Today “I noticed people were talking about it on Facebook, so I let my son smell the water.
“I went to fill a glass around 5pm and the smell hit my face as soon as I put it in my nose.”
The military then began “washing” the local aquifer – extracting the oil – and flushing the pipes around people’s homes.
The Navy has now decided to close the underground depot near Pearl Harbor.
They hoped to be ready by Christmas, but the process wasn’t completed until mid-March, about four months after the leak.
In early March, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III announced that the facility would be closed for good. A plan to extract the fuel will also be submitted later this year, he said.
Hawaii Governor David Ige said, “This is great news for the people of Hawaii.
“Our national defense begins with the health and safety of our people, and there are better strategic fuel solutions today than when the Red Hill storage facility was built.”
The resort sits below a ridge and just above an aquifer that supplies about a quarter of the drinking water to Oahu, the state’s third largest island.
It was built to store millions of gallons of aviation and marine fuel, and construction began in 1940, a year before Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
But it has been plagued with leaks in recent years, with the first major leak in 2014 when one of the tanks threw 27,000 gallons of fuel to the ground.
It also took out nearly 1,600 gallons of fuel for the military in May last year, with a $300,000 fine.
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
