Navy pursues accountability for fuel spill that poisoned drinking water

TL;DR - The U.S. Navy says it is examining who will be held accountable for a catastrophic jet fuel spill last year that poisoned the drinking water at a Hawaii military base, acknowledging this week that the public health disaster resulted from widespread failures and ultimately was preventable.

The incident sickened thousands of military family members and forced many more from their homes at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Officials said problems first emerged in May 2021 after workers at the Red Hill fuel-storage facility spilled about 20,000 gallons of a petroleum product, which then was pumped into a fire-suppression line and became suspended in a pipe. In late-November a small train car struck the pipe, sending the contaminant into a nearby well that supplies water to 40,000 service members and their families, the Navy said in a report detailing its investigation.

July 1, 2022: Navy pursues accountability for fuel spill that poisoned drinking water, The Washington Post