Remediation or Distraction? Experts weigh in on military jet fuel contamination cleanup strategies - and what it may take to truly heal Oʻahu’s aquifer.
By Sydney Chung, Red Hill organizer and Wayne Chung Tanaka | Reading time: 9min
Despite the Navy’s absence, the Red Hill CRI has continued to fulfill its mission to educate the community about Red Hill, most recently bringing in two experts in water contamination crises and military-induced environmental injustices at their latest meeting.
At the CRI’s May meeting, speakers Dr. Eva Davis, retired EPA hydrologist, and George Lujan, community organizer and director of the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), shared their expertise and perspectives on proposed remediation efforts at Red Hill, and lessons learned from another, decades-old Air Force fuel spill that has contaminated the groundwater in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dr. Davis explained about the challenges faced in remediating the Red Hill fuel spill. These included the ongoing need to identify the location of the contamination plume in Oʻahu’s sole-source aquifer, and the limitations of previously discussed remediation options put forward by the Navy.
With regards to the contamination plume, extraordinarily complex potential migration pathways of both water and jet fuel make it very difficult to identify exactly where and how far the plume has spread. Per Dr. Davis, “knowing where [the fuel] is is critical to being able to remediate it.” Unfortunately, Red Hill’s unique geology can block or disperse jet fuel in unpredictable ways, and rock fractures can also create small contamination reservoirs for fuel to collect in. As a result, it is very difficult to determine what remediation strategies could be most effective, and where they should be deployed.
Dr. Davis also noted that the particular type of jet fuel that was leaked, JP-5, is much less soluble (able to dissolve) and volatile (able to evaporate) than other types of fuels, which means that it will likely remain on the water table for a nearly indefinite period. This runs counter to the Navy’s claims stating that a reduction in the plume size is the result of active biodegradation of the fuel.
In terms of remediation strategies, Dr. Davis reviewed the different remediation methods that have come up in past presentations by the Navy. This includes pump and treat (implemented in 2022, when the Navy began pumping, filtering, and discharging 5 million gallons of water per day from its contaminated Red Hill water shaft), soil vapor extraction, air sparging, monitored natural attenuation (the current method), and bioremediation.
Unfortunately, these methods are likely to fall short, due to the chemical properties of JP-5, namely its low volatility, and the complex geology underlying Kapūkakī (Red Hill).
Dr. Davis emphasized that the pump and treat method only recovers the dissolved phase of JP-5, and does not reach any fuel in pore spaces. It also does not recover the undissolved liquid phase floating on top of the water table. Since the solubility of JP-5 is low, most of it is found in the liquid phase rather than the dissolved phase, meaning pump and treat is unlikely to meaningfully clean up much of the jet fuel that was most recently released from the Red Hill facility .
Soil vapor extraction, meanwhile, only removes vaporized fuel from the “vadose” zone, or the area of permeable soil that is above the water table. In other words, this method will not reach fuel that is in the groundwater. Even for fuel that is in this “vadose” zone, the low volatility of JP-5 means that it does not vaporize easily, further limiting the effectiveness of this method. As seen with the Kirtland Air Force Base jet fuel spill, soil vapor extraction simply could not remove enough fuel fast enough from the vadose zone to prevent it from further contaminating the Albuquerque drinking water aquifer.
Air sparging, which injects air into the groundwater, is sometimes claimed to accelerate biodegradation of fuel in groundwater, and can theoretically increase the effectiveness of soil vapor extraction by pushing fuel from the water table up into the “vadose” zone. However, the rate of oxygenation is often low, limiting any contribution to biodegradation processes; meanwhile, injected air could also push jet fuel away from the spill area, spreading contamination beyond the reach of soil vapor extraction stations.
The Navy’s current remediation method, monitored natural attenuation, calls for periodic testing for contaminants in the environment, but not much else - essentially, this involves waiting for nature to take its toll on the jet fuel contamination through biodegradation. As reflected in other Pacific Islands where WWII-era fuel contamination continues to persist, remediation, if it does occur, will likely take decades, likely far longer than the Navy’s optimistic estimates. Dr. Davis noted that apparent “attenuation,” or a reduction in detected contaminant levels, also often occurs not because of the elimination of harmful contaminants, but by adsorption onto soil particles, vaporization into the vadose zone, dispersion into the groundwater, or biodegradation into potentially more toxic compounds.
Finally, Dr. Davis reviewed the complications with bioremediation, one of the strategies proposed in the Red Hill Water Alliance Initiative report. This strategy involves injecting electrons, microbes, and/or nutrients into the environment, where they can accelerate biodegradation of jet fuel into harmless or less harmful constituents. However, this would need a clear understanding of where the contamination is located, years of research and field work, and may not be possible given the difficulty in maintaining a subsurface environment where bioremediation microbes can flourish.
Dr. Davis did suggest the exploration of one remediation method that could prove effective: thermal remediation. Stay tuned for a future Red Hill CRI meeting where she may once again share her knowledge and expertise about this additional option for healing our aquifer and environment.
After Dr. Davis’ presentation, George Lujan, director of the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), shared about an eerily similar situation of military contamination occurring in New Mexico. The Kirtland Air Force Base jet fuel spill has threatened the drinking water of Albuquerque for 40 years, with a collective 24 million gallons of jet fuel leaked from the base over time. Lujan noted that this spill occurred in a low-income area historically inhabited by people of color, consistent with the pattern of environmental injustice across the nation. The parallels between the situation at Red Hill and in Albuquerque as presented by Lujan are notable, including the apparent attempt by government institutions to “wait out” crises, the lack of efficacy of military-established restoration advisory boards, and on a higher level, a lack of economic diversification and outsized dependencies on industries like tourism and the military.
Despite being faced with challenges, Lujan shared his reasons for optimism. He pointed to the youth SWOP often works with, including formerly incarcerated youth who have become champions of restorative justice, and who have gone on to work in government, as filmmakers, and/or in non-profits. Their achievements give good reason to hope that the following generations will continue the fight for justice and the healing of both communities and our environment. Lujan commended the Red Hill CRI for being an organized coalition with a strong sense of community, something that he believes New Mexico could use more of.
You can watch Eva Davis’ and George Lujan’s presentations, as well as the follow-up Q&A sessions by Red Hill CRI members, at the Red Hill CRI’s Youtube account here. Be sure to also bookmark the Red Hill CRI’s website or follow their Instagram account for future meeting announcements.
UPCOMING RED HILL EVENTS:
The Second “Walk for Wai” will take place on Saturday, June 20, starting at 9:00 a.m. Participants will walk from Ala Moana to the Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand, where a peaceful rally with music and speakers is planned to be held. Trolleys can transport walkers from Kapiʻolani Park to Ala Moana beginning at 7:45 a.m. More information available here and in our event announcement here.
The Red Hill CRI June meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 18, at 5 p.m. - confirmation and details will be posted on their website or Instagram account.
The Red Hill Registry is seeking community feedback on experiences with enrollment, questionnaires, and access to educational resources. If you have been affected by the Red Hill fuel spill(s), please take a moment to participate in their 15-minute community survey by June 28, consider registering to join a focus group here, and be sure to sign up for the registry if you have not done so already. More information on the survey and focus groups can be found here.