HONOLULU — Officials with the state Health Department testified Monday about past problems with a Navy fuel storage facility blamed for contaminating Pearl Harbor drinking water, including corroding steel tanks, behind-schedule maintenance and tanks that haven’t been inspected in more than 20 years.
The state issued an emergency order to stop running the underground tanks and remove the fuel after tests in recent weeks detected petroleum in the Navy’s tap water system. The Navy is contesting the order, which prompted an evidentiary hearing that started Monday and could continue Tuesday.
“Water is life,” Wade Hargrove, a deputy state attorney general, said in his opening statement. “This case should speak for itself.”
Thousands of families have been affected, including some whoa have been displaced from their military homes, said Dr. Diana Felton, state toxicologist. She said people have complained of abdominal pain, skin rashes, headaches and other ailments.