The Navy said Friday that a spill of up to 1,500 gallons of toxic fire suppressant containing so-called “forever chemicals ” at Red Hill on Dec. 7, 2019, did flow outside of the facility and contaminated the soil, requiring the soil to be excavated.
The Navy, which disclosed the spill this week to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said that at the time of the release, it was not required to report the incident to regulatory agencies or internally within the U.S. Department of Defense.
The fire suppressant, called aqueous film-forming foam, had not yet been defined as a hazardous substance by the EPA, and DOD had not yet implemented reporting requirements, according to a Navy spokesperson.
The state Department of Health, which regulates the facility along with the EPA, did not respond to Honolulu Star-Advertiser questions Friday about the spill, including whether there were any reporting requirements at the time and when it was first notified of the release.
The Navy said the spill occurred near Red Hill's underground pump house, an area near Makalapa Crater that is makai of Kamehameha Highway near Pearl Harbor. The pumping station, which is at the end of the Red Hill pipelines, is used to move fuel up to the underground tanks and helps dispense fuel to ships and to nearby Hickam Air Field, according to information from the EPA.
The Navy said that an AFFF tank within the facility had a…
