The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry released a study on Friday detailing the toll the Red Hill water crisis has taken on Honolulu residents, many of whom experienced health problems after being exposed to the tainted water. The CDC has a damning summary of the contamination, noting that it took until March 18 of this year for the Hawaii Department of Health to completely lift its drinking water advisory enacted Nov. 30, 2021—10 days after a fuel leak from a fire suppression drain line. At the time, the Navy claimed the water was still safe to drink.
The CDC’s survey indicates that was most definitely not the case, with nearly 2,000 respondents experiencing illness from the contamination, 1,493 of whom experienced symptoms lasting a month or more. A majority of symptoms involved the nervous system and gastrointestinal system, with many reporting headaches, diarrhea, and nausea. These numbers come from the responses of 2,289 people who participated in the survey. The CDC found that 9,694 households were impacted. Those impacts weren’t just health-related: Civilians were left without jobs, families were displaced from their homes, schools were unable to use tap water, and lowered water production has continued, with officials worrying that some of the wells tainted by the Navy’s fuel spill may never return to service.
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The impact of the Red Hill crisis has yet to be fully assessed, Deputy Director of Environmental Health Kathleen Ho acknowledged in a statement. ”This incident was unprecedented and impacted the lives and health of thousands of people,” Ho said. “[The CDC] survey helps to quantify their experiences. We are committed to continuing to work with [them] to search for answers on how the Navy’s contamination of its drinking water system impacts health and wellbeing.”
Facing incredible public pressure and pushback from lawmakers who proposed bills to force the Navy’s hand, the military finally agreed to shutter the Red Hill fuel tanks, announcing the news in March. The Navy has until June 30 to drain the 20 massive fuel tanks it must fully shutter by Nov. 1. Though shuttering the tanks prevents any future spills, the Navy apparently still found a way to get one more in before it made its decision. A small spill of 30 gallons occurred near two fuel tanks in March. For the mismanagement of Red Hill and atrocious response to the crisis, some residents have begun supporting not just the shuttering of the fuel tanks but a full demilitarization of Oahu.
“Red Hill changed everything,” Sen. Brian Schatz told the Honolulu Civil-Beat. “It wasn’t just people who were ideologically against the presence of the Department of Defense, but regular folks—even people in the military or who consider themselves pro-military—who said to themselves: ‘Are we being mistreated? Are we being taken for granted? Or, are we being treated like a colony?’”