SORREN LUGO
STAFF WRITER
Recent corrosion tests have indicated that the metal used in the Red Hill fuel tanks are breaking down faster than expected. If the tanks leak, fuel can seep into Oahu’s drinking water supply.
The Red Hill fuel tanks are located in the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility near Kaiser Hospital. The initial $42.2 million dollar construction of the facility began in 1940 and the site opened in 1943. The facility contains 20 steel line underground fuel tanks that each contain approximately 12.5 million gallons and measure 100 feet in diameter and 250 feet in height.
In June of 2018, the U.S Navy conducted a test on several of their fuel tanks and found that in one tank , they expected corrosion to leave 0.15 millimeters of metal on the test section. But the actual amount of metal left was 0.11 millimeters, which meant the tank had corroded more than expected. The Board of Water Supply is concerned for the safety of these corroding tanks and fears potential leaks, or wall pittings, from them.
Working under the Administrative Order of Consent rules (AOC), the Navy is trying to reach an agreement on the Tank Upgrade Alternatives (TUA) to fix the problem. But the cost is great. According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the Navy has developed ideas to fix the tanks ranging with prices ranging from $450 million to $10 billion dollars. The cheapest solution, which would restore the existing tanks, would take up to thirteen years to accomplish and the most expensive option, to rebuild and relocate the tanks, would last at least to 2051.
Since the 1940’s, the military has done nothing to reinforce or strengthen the metal of the tanks until the public heard of its recent leakage. The Navy’s response to the public’s concern is that even if 120,000 gallons of fuel leaked from their tanks, it would have “minimal impact to groundwater.” The Navy claimed in a report that a leak has not happened since the 1980’s, yet leak reports occured in 2002 and 2014. Both the state and the Sierra Club of Hawaii are concerned because the fuel contains hydrocarbon, which can be toxic in high concentrations.
Marti Townsend, Executive director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, a local environmental organization, called the Navy’s conclusion dubious, saying that “it’s hard to trust the Navy’s claims on the Red Hill Fuel Tanks. The Navy has assumed a lot of things about the fuel tanks that has not been true.”
In a statement after the September meeting, Townsend said, “It appears that the Navy is willing to risk Oahu’s clean drinking water on a hunch that these massive, dilapidated tanks will not leak anymore. We should be making decisions that are the most cautious and protective of our water resources.”
“I think this is a big problem that can and will affect the whole island, therefore I feel that the people should be more informed and become concerned of this problem,” Senior Scott Yuk said. Yuk lives in the Moanalua Hillside Apartments near Kaiser Hospital.
Sophomore Britney Maddox, who lives in Red hill Military Housing, also expressed concern.
“The Red Hill fuel tanks should have been fixed a long time ago and now it’s too risky to take care of because it might cause a bigger leak into our water,” she said. “People living in the area of the tanks are greatly concerned of the lack of consideration from the Navy towards the tanks.”
In an effort to fix this problem, the Sierra Club of Hawaii has created a petition called “Fix It Up or Shut It Down.” This petition demands the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, US Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Navy to: “install sufficient "sentinel" monitoring wells to guard public drinking water sources from possible contamination currently in the aquifer, locate the fuel that has already leaked from the storage facility and clean it up, and install genuine leak prevention systems, not only leak detection systems, that will guarantee there will be no future leaks from this facility.” The Sierra Club of Hawaii hopes to gather public support for their proposal that if these requirements cannot be met, the Red Hill Fuel Storage Tanks should be retired, with the fuel relocated to a more secure facility that is safe for the surrounding environment and people.