Pearl Harbor Drinking Water Poisoned With Jet Fuel in Bizarre Series of Errors

2022-07-02 13:43:26 By : Mr. Steven Wei

A disastrous mix of mismanagement and human error caused jet fuel to leak into Pearl Harbor’s water last year, a Navy investigation has concluded. Thousands of people were poisoned when fuel from the WWII-era Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility seeped into a well which provided water to commercial and residential buildings in and around Pearl Harbor. The report found that operator error caused a pipe at the enormous storage facility to rupture, with 21,000 gallons of fuel being spilled during a tank transfer. The explosive fluid made its way into a fire suppression line where it sat for six months until November, when a cart rammed into it and caused another spill. Some 6,000 people were treated for symptoms after drinking contaminated water, and roughly 4,000 mostly military families had to live in hotels for months until the water from the faucets in their home was safe again.