In November 2021, 93,000 people living near the US military's strategic fuel storage facility near Honolulu, Hawaii, woke up to find their drinking water contaminated with toxic jet fuel. 27,000 gallons had leaked into the aquifer near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Now, more than 2,500 plaintiffs who have had to deal with the side effects of ingesting jet fuel have joined a lawsuit asking the government for up to $1.25 million each in damages.
The fuel storage facility known as Red Hill was the largest in the Pacific and was built during World War II. Fuel was stored in miles of tunnels up to 20 stories underground to provide up to 250 million gallons of strategic fuel reserves for the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
Trial attorney Kristina Baehr of Just Well Law represents military and civilian families suing the U.S. government over water contamination at Red Hill.
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“The government calls it contamination and our customers call it poisoning because that's what happened. The government knew it was contaminated and allowed them to use it,” Baehr said in an interview with Fox News.
Baehr says his clients have a wide range of long-term symptoms, including Parkinson's and seizures.
This case is personal for Baehr. After her own family experienced toxic exposure, she decided to leave her job at the Justice Department to represent families like hers.
Baby Maverick with rash days after birth. (Courtesy of Jaclyn Hughes)
“They are not showing up to defend themselves, but for everyone else to make sure this doesn't happen again. We can't be mission ready as a country if we are sick or if our people are sick,” Baehr said of the thousands of people he represents in the lawsuit.
The case is named after Jaclyn Hughes and her family. Hughes had just given birth to her son, Maverick, at the time of the leak. Just days after her birth, he was covered in red rashes and Hughes' own throat immediately began to burn after drinking the water at her house.
Hughes' husband was stationed in the U.S. Navy at the time of the leak. He missed the birth of his son and when he came home to meet Maverick, the water had an oily coating and smelled like gasoline, Hughes said.
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“My husband was deployed at the time. He missed the birth of his son. He came home when he was five days old to meet him. He came home and found jet fuel in the drinking water and had to be deployed again, leaving us in the hands of the Navy that he swore to protect, who denied us care, denied us care, cheated us, and to this day we do not have all the proper care that we need for our daughter,” Hughes told Fox.
His daughter Kyla, who was just four years old at the time of the leak, went into full-blown psychosis, Hughes said.
“When Kyla started experiencing her symptoms, she went from a carefree four-year-old into full-blown psychosis. We went through functioning normally at school and not being able to leave the house for months at a time due to her level. disability,” Hughes said.
The Hughes Family. (Courtesy of Jaclyn Hughes)
Aurora Briggs, another plaintiff, was 22 years old at the time of the leak. She lived in civilian housing on land owned by the US Navy with her younger siblings and her mother. Briggs has dealt with dozens of symptoms ranging from sore throat to memory loss and brain fog. Now living in Arizona, she has had trouble getting care.
It's not every day that a doctor is told that a patient's symptoms are due to long-term exposure to jet fuel, Briggs explained.
“The list is so long that we have a folder to keep track of all the different conditions, symptoms, doctor appointments and everything. It's extensive,” Briggs said.
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Briggs said of her symptoms: “I feel like I have dementia because I get to the point where I can't remember things and I have a hard time, you know, even thinking about words. Sometimes even talking is a struggle.”
Both Hughes and Briggs believe the US Navy is to blame for how the leak was handled.
“This was handled very inadequately by the Navy institution. Specifically, by those who were in charge of communicating with us during testing, maintenance and handling all of the contamination from Red Hill. We are a proud Navy family. My husband is deployed, he's on his way as we speak. Our family has served. We feel betrayed by the institution that was supposed to protect us,” Hughes said.
Aurora in hospital after experiencing symptoms from ingesting jet fuel. (Courtesy of Aurora Briggs)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Red Hill facility to close by March 2022. 12.4 million gallons of diesel and 93 million gallons of jet fuel had to be moved to multiple locations across the Indo-Pacific command area.
But Baehr said the Navy has yet to clean up the jet fuel that remains stuck to the pipes. Families continue to report a film of grease in the water and an oily odor.
“What we know anyway is that there is a layer in the water. People are reporting symptoms. The EPA is concerned and the Navy continues to turn a blind eye. So no, that water is not safe. We have a situation where that there are still sick people who were there in November 2021. And the water is still not safe.”
The US Navy refuted this claim in a statement to Fox News.
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“After the initial spill in November 2021, the Navy took immediate action to recover (flush) the system and implemented a robust sampling program. The Navy also took the affected well offline and ensured that all drinking water came from a well. different,” the statement reads. .
The Navy told Fox it took 9,000 samples to EPA-approved labs and found the water now meets state and federal safety standards. The Navy noted that the Hawaii Department of Health confirmed through its own independent investigation that no petroleum or jet fuel compounds were detected in drinking water samples collected at or near the Navy base.
But there is a long way to go to deal with the consequences of the leak.
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“We, like thousands of affected families, need to hear you say, yes, you were hurt by this. There are children who are sick. There are children who need long-term care. There needs to be accountability,” Hughes said.
