I'm a MIT post graduate. I love to learn, gain new skills, and share my findings in computer engineering, astronomy, astrophysics, theology and design.
Hundreds of Honolulu Hawaiian service members, their families, and residents living on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), the Army’s Aliamanu Military Reservation, and Red Hill Housing have reported illnesses and petroleum odors emanating from their faucet water, forcing them to file 186 lawsuits, and counting, against the United States of America under the Federal Tort Claims Act concerning Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (Red Hill)’s contamination of Southern O’ahu Basal Aquifer fresh groundwater. The lawsuits describes the U.S. government’s negligence and failure to honor public safety commitments and to alert the public of two separate jet fuel leaks that contaminated drinking, cooking, and showering water for 100,000 O’ahu island Red Hill military and local families, as well as 400,000 Honolulu residents. Children and adults continue to be exposed to cancer-causing toxic chemical substances, including but not limited, to benzene and Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) leaving residents vulnerable to risk of serious injury from May 6, 2021, November 20, 2021 to date.
The plaintiffs recount suffering devastating life-altering injuries, both physically and mentally from the occupying Navy personnel of Red Hill withholding vital information from the public. Reported side effects experienced by the plaintiffs include seizures, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological issues, burns, rashes, lesions, thyroid abnormalities, migraines, neuro-behavioral challenges, abnormal medical issues in children, and financial costs brought on by the evacuation of contaminated areas. The plaintiffs endeavor to recover past and future medical expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, past and future pain and suffering, loss of earnings and potential loss of property, among other damages, as a result of Red Hill’s water contamination.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that on “May 6, 2021 and November 20, 2021, U.S. Naval personnel stationed at Red Hill military fuel storage facility documented malfunctions at the facility that released petroleum jet fuel and several other toxic chemicals into Red Hill’s community water supply that provides drinking, showering and residential water to approximately 93,000 military service members and local residents. May 6, 2021’s Red Hill fuel leak was caused by a pressure surge event that occurred during routine fuel movement. According to the EPA’s reports, a pipeline joint failure caused over 19,000 gallons of JP-5 jet fuel to enter containment trenches and a fire suppression system fluid sump. The fuel was then pushed down the tunnel through a fire suppression system fluid drain pipeline, where the fuel remained until the drain pipeline ruptured on November 20, 2021. The EPA confirmed that the ruptured pipeline allowed thousands of gallons of petroleum to spill into Red Hill’s fresh groundwater system shaft”, exposing residents to cancer-causing chemicals benzene, PFAS and other toxic substances. The U.S. Navy personnel stationed at Red Hill fuel storage facility publicly announced the detection of petroleum in Red Hill’s water supply on December 2, 2021.
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) released on September 7, 2022, its Red Hill facility defueling plan to decontaminate Red Hill’s water supply. 1.08 million gallons of fuel remains in pipes at Red Hill. The F-76 pipeline contains 690,000 gallons of fuel, the JP-5 pipeline contains about 220,000 gallons of fuel, and the F-24 pipeline contains 170,000 gallons of fuel. DoD plans to unpack or defuel all three pipelines in four phases. The first phase being a pre-operation planning phase, the second phase being a valve maintenance/operational check/pressure equalization phase, the third phase being a gravity-drain down phase, and the fourth phase being a vacuum truck suction for residual fuel. DoD estimates it will take 2 hours to remove 620,000 gallons from pipeline F-76 by gravity-drain down flow, and 5 days to remove the remaining 70,000 gallons from pipeline F-76 by vacuum truck suction. Pipeline J-P5 is estimated to require 3 hours to remove 195,000 gallons of fuel by gravity-drain down flow, and 2 days to remove additional 25,000 gallons of fuel by vacuum truck suction. Pipeline F-24 will require approximately 2 hours to remove 150,000 gallons of fuel in phase three’s gravity-drain down flow and 3 days to complete phase four’s vacuum truck suction for pipeline F-24. DoD anticipates defueling of Red Hill will be completed in July of 2024.
The State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) would not approve of DoD's defueling plans until the state’s DOH’s conditions were met. Hawaii’s DOH’s conditions included appropriate changes and documentation of Red Hill facility's Response Plan (FRP) and Spill Prevention Control Countermeasures, such as deployment of booms around Yard Oiler Non-Propelled vessels, sealing and providing documentation of sealing all drains to prevent oil from from entering the subsurface in the event of a large spill, and confirm adequate safety measures for hydraulic pressure relief from groundwater beneath Red Hill tunnel, Navy defueling personnel training, and hosting Hawaii’s DOH's inspections and tours of the facility.
Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, dedicated a National Historic Engineering Landmark in 1995 by the American Society of Civil Engineers, is situated near the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Honolulu, stores 250 million gallons of fuel, contained at the Southern O’ahu Basal Aquifer. The DoD’s initial defueling plan, outdated by September 7, 2022’s defueling plan supplement, proposed distributing 12.5 million gallons of Red Hill fuel to marine ships for diesel, 63 million gallons to be used in Hawaii for aviation fuel, and 30 million gallons to be delivered to the West Coast for aviation jet fuel. The EPA, the Navy, Army, and Hawaii’s Department of Health formed an Interagency Drinking Water System Team (IDWST) in December 2021 that restored safe drinking water to Red Hill in March 2022. The Navy will continue testing and monitoring Red Hill’s water supply system for two years.
Upon completion of Red Hill facility’s defueling, DoD will permanently shut down Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. DoD’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a press release after touring the facility in September 2022 that the “defueling and permanent closure of Red Hill [in a safe and expeditious manner] is the right thing to do – for our service members, our families, the people of Hawaii, the environment and our national security. We are moving out and will defuel this facility as quickly and safely as possible.” Rear Admiral John Wade, Commander of the Joint Force at Red Hill is leading the defueling and permanent closure of Red Hill, with support from the Hawaii Department of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the community.
I'm a MIT post graduate. I love to learn, gain new skills, and share my findings in computer engineering, astronomy, astrophysics, theology and design.
The number of landlords, property managers, and owners of real estate in the digital subspace, known as the metaverse, is growing at an exponentially astronomical rate. Technavio Research asserts that the value of digital real estate, cyberspace property developments and management, is expected to be valued at $5.37 billion through 2026.
Atala butterflies, coontie hairstreaks, scientifically named Eumaeus Atalas, are rare large iridescent butterflies, previously believed to be extinct, are repopulating in Florida. The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) reported on Facebook that the reemergence of atala butterflies's host plant, the coontie plant, trending in mainstream gardening and landscaping helps keep the North American atala butterflies off the endangered species list. “The coontie is a hardy plant and grows easily without much attention,” said Sue Ramos, an SCCF Native Landscape and Garden Center Staff, in a statement encouraging more people to plant coontie plants. “It can grow well in full sun or full shade and in poor soils, which makes it ideal for use in our sandy soils,” Ramos continued.
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