Not Just Fuel: Red Hill Families Drank Antifreeze Too, Lawsuit Says
The Navy confirmed the presence of “icing inhibitor” in its fuel.
The Pearl Harbor area residents who drank and showered in fuel-tainted water in 2021 were also exposed to antifreeze, which the Navy used as a fuel additive, according to an amended lawsuit complaint filed on Monday.
More than 90,000 people are estimated to have been impacted when fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage facility leaked into the drinking water supply. The Navy has admitted that jet fuel known as JP-5 contaminated the water but has not informed victims about additional ingredients.
“While the United States eventually identified JP-5, the government failed to notify the Plaintiffs or warn about antifreeze and other additives to the JP-5 that are harmful in their own right,” the amended complaint states.
The Navy kept pumping water into residences for days after thousands of gallons of fuel spewed into a tunnel near the drinking water well. In court filings, the Navy claims it had no duty to warn people that the water was contaminated.
A filed last month states that the Navy has confirmed its fuel contains “antioxidants, corrosion inhibitor/lubricity improver, and Fuel System Icing Inhibitor,” but the memo states the Navy hasn’t shared which chemicals were present in its fuel and their quantities.
some of the substances are considered “trade secrets,” but Navy Region Hawaii spokesman Chris Blachly said on Monday that the Navy did share specific fuel additive information with DOH in January 2022.
Impacted individuals who wish to file personal injury claims through the Federal Tort Claims Act have to do so within two years of the injury, according to the .
