This week, the Navy will start venting Tank 7 at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility — the second of 14 tanks that will be ventilated and cleaned as part of the closure process, according to a news release.
On Friday, the Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill started venting the first tank, Tank 8, with the conditional approval of the Hawaii Department of Health.
The tank venting process typically takes three to six weeks, according to Navy officials.
DOH’s conditional approval requires the Navy to limit the number of tanks vented at any time to two.
Under DOH’s plan, the Navy is also required to install nine air quality monitoring stations at the perimeter of the Red Hill facility to monitor volatile organic compound levels.
In March, the Navy took over responsibility for the closure process for Red Hill, after the Joint Task Force-Red Hill drained 104 millions of gallons of fuel from the tanks.
The final closure process includes four phases: cleaning 16 storage tanks and four surge tanks, removing 28,000 gallons of sludge from the tanks, removing more than 10 miles of pipeline that runs between the Red Hill facility and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and completing environmental remediation around the facility.
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.