When jet fuel tainted drinking water for 93,000 military personnel and civilians in Hawaii, the U.S. Navy “harboured hazardous secrets,” according to a complaint filed on Wednesday by four families who claim they are still experiencing seizures, gastrointestinal problems, and neurological problems.
According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, hundreds of more claims from those who drank the hazardous water are anticipated.
The action will be expanded to include other parties that are proceeding through the Federal Tort Claims Act’s administrative procedure.
Thousands of gallons of jet fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, a massive World War II-era military tank farm in the hills above Pearl Harbor, poured into a well that provided water to residences and workplaces in and around the expansive base at least twice last year.
According to a Navy study, poor management and human error were at risk for the water problem.
The plaintiffs continued to consume jet fuel and developed illnesses as a result of that exposure, the complaint said, “because government workers then refused to notify those leaks as required.”
Government officials carried out a shamefully insufficient clean-up and clearing operation, and government physicians gave medical treatment that was much below the standard of care, instead of swiftly and adequately treating the injury.
An inquiry for comment about the case was not immediately answered by the Navy.
Each family had a house in Pearl Harbor or close by, and the Navy supplied water.
According to the complaint, the families include a mother who is a major in the Army, a father who is a senior chief petty officer in the Navy, a father who is an active-duty ensign in the Navy, and a father who is an active-duty technical sergeant in the Air Force.
Since then, the family have departed Hawaii.
They are requesting that monetary damages, such as pain and suffering, mental agony, and medical costs, be decided upon at trial.