PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — The Navy will begin sludge removal as the next step in closing the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
The Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill will begin removing sludge from tanks 7 and 8, which were recently vented, according to a news release.
The Navy will need to complete a similar process on another 12 tanks.
On June 13, NCTF-RH opened tank 8 for crews to install safety and lighting equipment.
A week later, crews began taking the same steps at tank 7.
According to the Navy, sludge is a waste product of fuel, water, dirt, metal particles and microorganisms that form at the bottom of all fuel tanks.
The Navy will use a metal basket to lower crews wearing personal protective equipment into the tanks.
Once inside the tanks, the workers shovel the sludge into 5-gallon buckets, eventually filling 55-gallon drums. The drums will be placed in containment devices inside Red Hill's tunnels to prevent spills and sealed. Later, the Navy will transport the drums to the continental U.S. for permanent disposal.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health will oversee the sludge removal.
In March, the Navy took over responsibility for the closure process for Red Hill after the Joint Task Force-Red Hill drained 104 million gallons of fuel from the tanks.
JTF-RH estimated about 2,000 gallons of sludge remained in each of the 14 tanks that required cleaning.
However, NCTF-RH said they believe there is less sludge after entering the tanks.
After the sludge is removed, workers will prepare to wash the tanks.
The final closure process includes four phases:
- Removing about 28,000 gallons of sludge from the tanks.
- Cleaning 14 storage tanks and four surge tanks.
- Removing more than 10 miles of pipeline between the Red Hill facility and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
- Completing environmental remediation around the facility.