Navy divers describe conditions within the contaminated Red Hill well and how the mission affected them

TL;DR - For three months members of the Pearl Harbor-based Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One worked inside the Navy’s contaminated Red Hill water well, becoming unlikely front-line responders to the crisis.

The mission was personal.

While they navigated a taxing assignment using bulky equipment in hazardous conditions, some of the members of MDSU1 also had family who had gotten sick at home from the fuel spill and still struggle with symptoms.

Current and former members of the unit spoke to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about the mission that brought them into the heart of the Red Hill water crisis.

MDSU1 is unique. It’s tasked with salvaging damaged and sunken vessels, but has taken on missions as varied as harbor clearance and planting coral in Nanakuli. Red Hill was unlike any other.

August 7, 2022: Navy divers describe conditions within the contaminated Red Hill well and how the mission affected them, Honolulu Star-Advertiser