New survey to assess long-term health impacts from Red Hill fuel contamination

State and federal health officials are conducting a follow-up study to evaluate the extent of ongoing health impacts following last year’s fuel contamination of the Navy’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam drinking water system and evaluate attitudes toward the safety of the water.

The survey being conducted by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry follows an assessment the agencies conducted in January and February to assess the immediate health impacts of being exposed to water laced with jet fuel. More than 2,200 affected residents participated in the initial study, reporting a wide range of symptoms including nausea, diarrhea, burning skin and eyes and dizziness.

The new, online survey is being conducted through Sept. 23 and is open to anyone who was served by the Navy’s water system between Nov. 20 2021 to March 18, 2022. The identities of participants will be kept confidential.

“Jet fuel contamination of a drinking water system on this scale is unprecedented,” said DOH State Toxicologist Dr. Diana Felton, in a press release. “This follow-up assessment will further the understanding of how the contamination impacted the health of impacted individuals and inform our public health response.”

The drinking water system was contaminated last year following a November spill at the Navy’s Red Hill underground fuel storage facility, located just 2,400 feet upslope of a drinking water well.