Lawsuit grows against Navy over fuel-tainted Hawaii water
Nov 9, 2022, 11:08 PM | Updated: Nov 10, 2022, 2:47 pm
FILE - People hold signs in front of the Hawaii state Capitol during a rally calling for the closure of the Navy's Red Hill underground fuel storage facility near Pearl Harbor on Feb. 11, 2022, in Honolulu. More than two dozen families have joined a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Navy of making them sick from jet fuel that leaked into the tap water in their Hawaii homes. There are now more than 100 people in an amended lawsuit filed Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, that also accuses the Navy of destroying more than 1,000 water samples collected from affected homes. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)
(AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)
HONOLULU (AP) — More than two dozen families have joined a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Navy of making them sick from jet fuel that leaked into the tap water in their Hawaii homes.
There are now more than 100 people in an amended lawsuit filed Thursday that also accuses the Navy of destroying more than 1,000 water samples collected from affected homes.
The families say in the lawsuit the samples could have revealed chemicals in the water.
Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. James Adams said the Navy doesn’t comment on current litigation.
A fuel storage facility in the hills above Pearl Harbor leaked petroleum into the Navy’s tap water system last year and sickened nearly 6,000 people, mostly those living in military housing.
The lawsuit was initially filed in August with four families alleging the Navy hasn’t fully disclosed the scope of the contamination and hasn’t provided appropriate medical care to those who are sick.
The lawsuit said the Navy continues to claim families are not sick from the jet fuel exposure.
The Hawaii Department of Health ordered the Navy to shutter the facility after the spill.
The military recently said it finished draining three pipelines and expects to finish draining the tanks in 2024.
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