Cancer-Causing Fuel Components Detected In A BWS Monitoring Well In Honolulu

TL;DR - For the first time, a Honolulu Board of Water Supply monitoring well, located southeast of the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility, tested positive for a set of chemicals that are associated with fuel, including carcinogens, the utility said Thursday.

The civilian drinking water system remains safe, BWS said. But a well in the Moanalua Valley – which is used solely for monitoring water, not for drinking – was found to contain trace amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, according to Erwin Kawata, a BWS program administrator.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil and gasoline, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of the PAHs detected in the well are suspected or known to cause cancer.

August 4, 2022: Cancer-Causing Fuel Components Detected In A BWS Monitoring Well In Honolulu, Honolulu Civil Beat