EPA, DOH letter reveals ‘forever chemicals’ were detected in groundwater near Red Hill last year

TL;DR - PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” was detected in groundwater samples last December, according to a letter from the EPA and state to Navy officials.

The Nov. 2, 2022 letter obtained by Hawaii News Now, was addressed to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC Hawaii) and said the chemicals were found as part of monitoring testing.

That testing was part of studies of groundwater impacts after May and November 2021 fuel spills from the Navy’s underground Red Hill fuel facility sickened thousands of people in and around Pearl Harbor.

The letter was written by Kelly Ann Lee, state Health Department Red Hill project coordinator, and Gabriela Carvalho of U.S. EPA Region 9.

December 10, 2022: EPA, DOH letter reveals ‘forever chemicals’ were detected in groundwater near Red Hill last year, Hawaiʻi News Now