Urge Congress to act after Navy spills 1,000+ gallons of “forever chemicals” at Red Hill
Over 1,000 gallons of fire-fighting foam (AFFF) concentrate containing "forever chemicals" known to cause cancer, birth defects, thyroid disease, and other serious health issues, have been spilled at the U.S. Navy's Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Highly toxic, only a few gallons of PFAS "forever chemicals" may be enough to render hundreds of trillions of gallons of water potentially unsafe to drink.
The Red Hill facility sits just 100 feet above our sole-source drinking water aquifer. Rainwater constantly percolates into and through the facility, eventually ending up in the groundwater along with any contaminants that get picked up along the way. The Navy knew this and still used PFAS-containing fire fighting foam in their facility.
We cannot stand idly by and watch these chemicals spread further into the environment and closer to our aquifer, as the Navy desperately tries to contain this latest spill. We must take a stand to save not just ourselves, but our children, grandchildren, and generations yet unborn.
If you have not already, contact your Congressperson, and demand that they use every power and channel of influence they possess to immediately:
Require full removal/remediation of all contaminated soil, water, and infrastructure at and around the Red Hill facility
Establish an on-island, independent, non-DOD water and soil testing facility;
Increase the number of monitoring wells surrounding the facility and require weekly samples;
Build water filtration systems to service the people who may be without safe water if the current or future spills contaminate the water supply;
Require full disclosure of all AFFF systems at military facilities in Hawai‘i and the full history of all AFFF releases; and
Replace the Navy and its contractors from their role in defueling and decommissioning Red Hill with a multi-department, civilian-led task force with experts and community representatives.
In addition, every Congressional delegate must make a clear statement that the U.S. Department of Defense take full responsibility for the contamination of O‘ahu’s water, and for all drinking water sources that have been impacted by its actions throughout the Pacific.
Please share this action alert to every water drinker that you know!