HONOLULU (KHON2) — A new report from the Navy said thousands of families sought medical care, after a jet fuel spill at the Navy’s Red Hill Facility, contaminated the tap water.
The report comes just days before a trial gets underway seeking compensation from the government.
Kristina Beahr is representing six families that will be sharing their story Monday — making their case of how the Navy’s contaminated water was harmful to their health.
“The government has already admitted that it contaminated the water, they used the word contamination, my clients use the word poisoning, either way it’s agreed that that happened and the government is liable for it and the question before the court will be damages,”
Kristina Beahr
The trial is taking place almost two-and-a-half years after a pipe rupture sent more than 5,000 gallons of jet fuel into the nearby drinking water well operated by the Navy– supplying water to the base and neighboring communities.
A report released Friday by the Navy said there were 7,473 people who had at least one diagnosis potentially associated with fuel exposure after the release event.
However, the report also found that the most common diagnostic category was anxiety and stress related which affected 62% of residents between ages 25 through 44.
“Of course people had acute symptoms, the government’s own data from the time tracked those symptoms very carefully,” added Beahr.
Meanwhile a second report into the sample collection of contaminated water found only 1% or 2% of households, schools, and work spaces were tested, citing limited lab capabilities.