Red Hill Fuel Leak and VA Claims: What Veterans Need to Know

If you lived, worked, or went to school on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) in Hawaii in late 2021, you may have been exposed to jet fuel in your drinking water. This guide explains what the Department of Defense and the Navy say happened, what health programs exist, and what the VA does and does not currently recognize for Red Hill. It also covers how a veteran can file a claim and what is available to family members.

What happened at Red Hill in 2021?

The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility is a Navy-operated underground fuel facility on Oʻahu. According to the Environmental Protection Agency's summary of the releases, two events in 2021 led to the drinking water emergency:

• May 6, 2021: A pressure surge during routine fuel movement caused a pipeline joint failure that released over 19,000 gallons of JP-5 jet fuel onto the tunnel floor. The fuel ran into a fire suppression system sump and then into a drain pipeline, where it stayed.
• November 20, 2021: That drain pipeline ruptured, and fuel spilled into the tunnel system near the Red Hill drinking water system shaft.

The Navy and the Pacific Fleet Commander ordered a command investigation into both incidents, and the report is posted on the EPA site (linked in Sources). After the November contamination, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health issued an emergency order on December 6, 2021, requiring the Navy to stop operations and defuel the facility. On March 7, 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed DoD to defuel and permanently shut down Red Hill. The Defense Department announced in March 2024 that Joint Task Force-Red Hill had completed its defueling mission and handed control of the facility to the Navy for closure.

Who was exposed, and what do we know about health effects?

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) Public Health office says that approximately 90,000 people who lived, worked, or went to school on JBPHH were exposed. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), in a project for DoD and VA, puts the figure at up to 93,000 people, most affiliated with DoD.

DHA says many people had early symptoms such as rash, nausea, vomiting, headache, stomach pain, and eye irritation, and that some people continue to have problems that started or worsened after the release.

The science on long-term effects is limited. Here is what the official sources say:

• DHA: research on long-term health effects specifically tied to JP-5 exposure is limited, and it is not known whether there is a higher risk of specific long-term diseases. DHA also says it is not known how much JP-5 any one person was exposed to.
• NASEM (report published March 2026): evidence is "limited or suggestive" for acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, skin, and mental health symptoms, and "inadequate or insufficient" for most long-term outcomes. NASEM states that insufficient evidence means data cannot determine whether an association exists; it does not mean there was no effect.
• NASEM also says individual exposure levels cannot be precisely quantified because of sampling limits and the lack of validated biomarkers.

That uncertainty matters for a VA claim, because VA decides service connection on the evidence in each file. It is covered below.

What is the DoD Red Hill registry and health follow-up?

There are three separate things people often mix up:

Why the DOEHRS registry matters to a veteran: DHA says everyone in it has the Red Hill exposure recorded in their VA/DoD Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER), and that VA clinicians, benefits staff, and researchers can see it for veterans. DHA also says you can email dha.redhill@health.mil to confirm you are listed and to ask for an email confirmation you can keep as proof. Do not put health details or Social Security numbers in that email; DHA says the mailbox is not secure.

DHA's page also says there are no recommended screening tests for people exposed, and that exposed people should keep regular check-ups with a trusted provider. On the island, the Red Hill Clinic is open to eligible people, including those with SECDES.

Does VA have a presumption for Red Hill exposure?

A presumption means VA assumes your condition was caused by service if you have a listed condition and meet the service requirements, so you do not have to prove the link yourself. The PACT Act created presumptions for specific locations and hazards, such as burn pits in listed countries and a handful of named sites.

VA's page on specific environmental hazards lists examples such as the Mishraq sulfur fire in Iraq, hexavalent chromium at Qarmat Ali in Iraq, and a waste incinerator near Atsugi, Japan. We checked that page, and it does not mention Red Hill or jet fuel. We also searched VA's public health exposures pages and found no Red Hill entry.

NASEM's March 2026 report was prepared to advise both DoD and VA on clinical follow-up. It is health-care guidance, not a benefits decision. It does not create a disability presumption.

Without a presumption, a Red Hill claim is decided on its own facts. That is the same path used for any other in-service injury or illness. It is also the path used for many toxic exposure claims that fall outside a presumption.

How do I file a direct service connection claim?

VA's evidence page says that for a claim tied to active duty service you generally need evidence of three things: a current physical or mental disability, an event, injury, or disease during active-duty service, and a link between the two. VA says it usually needs medical records or medical opinions for the link, and may also accept lay evidence such as a buddy statement.

The regulation, 38 CFR 3.303(a), says service connection means the facts, shown by evidence, establish that an injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred in service. It also says each condition must be considered on the basis of the places, types, and circumstances of service, shown by service records, medical records, and all pertinent medical and lay evidence. It adds that VA administers the law under a broad and liberal interpretation consistent with the facts in each case.

In plain steps:

1. Pick the condition you are claiming. Claim a diagnosed condition (or a symptom with a diagnosis in progress), not "Red Hill exposure" by itself. Exposure is the in-service event, not a disability.
2. Document the exposure. Show you were on the JBPHH water system during the period. See the evidence list below.
3. Get a medical opinion if you can. A clinician who has reviewed your records can address whether it is at least as likely as not that your condition is related to the exposure. Read our guides on IMO vs. nexus letters and using your VA doctor.
4. Protect your effective date. Consider filing an intent to file first, then submit the full claim.
5. File on VA.gov, by mail, or with an accredited representative.

If your condition developed or worsened because of a condition that is already service connected, that is a different route; see our guide to secondary service connection.

What evidence helps a Red Hill claim?

Because VA decides each claim on its file, the more clearly your file shows each element, the easier it is to evaluate. Items to consider gathering:

• Orders, PCS records, or a housing assignment showing where you were stationed or lived between November 20, 2021, and March 18, 2022
• Your email confirmation from DHA (dha.redhill@health.mil) that you are in the Red Hill DOEHRS Registry, and your ILER entry if you can obtain it
• Medical records from the Red Hill Clinic, a military treatment facility, or a civilian provider that document symptoms and when they began
• Any SECDES visit records
• A personal statement describing what you noticed in the water (smell, sheen, symptoms), when symptoms started, and how they have changed
• Statements from people who saw your symptoms or shared your housing or workplace (see our buddy statement guide and the buddy statement tool)
• A medical opinion from a clinician who has reviewed your records

Be realistic about the science. NASEM and DHA both say evidence linking JP-5 to specific long-term diseases is limited or insufficient, so a medical opinion that explains the reasoning for your individual case, based on your records and the medical literature, is likely to carry more weight than a general statement. If VA denies the claim, you have appeal options; our denial analyzer can help you read a decision letter.

What about family members?

VA disability compensation is paid for the veteran's own service-connected disabilities. A family member cannot file a VA disability claim based on their own exposure at Red Hill. DHA notes that VA has access to ILER for veterans but not for non-veteran military family members, though military family members in the DoD registry still have a Red Hill ILER entry.

What DoD and others say is available to family members:

• Red Hill DOEHRS Registry: DHA says it includes family members living in military family housing served by the JBPHH water system.
• SECDES and the Red Hill Clinic: DHA lists people who lived in housing served by the system, worked there, or attended school or daycare there during the dates above as potentially qualifying, if they also meet the symptom criteria.
• Independent Red Hill Registry (University of Hawaiʻi): open to individuals and families who experienced the water crisis, including people living outside Hawaiʻi. Adults can also provide information for children and for family members they are legally authorized to represent.
• TRICARE: Family members with TRICARE coverage can see a provider about symptoms. DHA advises telling your doctor about the potential fuel exposure.

We did not find an official VA program that provides compensation to family members for Red Hill. For comparison, a different contamination event has its own family-member rules; see our Camp Lejeune family member guide. Those rules do not apply to Red Hill. For questions about legal options outside VA, talk to a licensed attorney.

What should I do next?

1. Email DHA to confirm your Red Hill DOEHRS Registry listing and save the reply.
2. Tell your VA or military provider about the exposure and your symptoms, so it is in your medical record.
3. Keep copies of orders, housing records, and any records from Hawaiʻi.
4. Talk to an accredited representative. You can search VA's accreditation database.
5. Look at our Hawaii veteran resources page for state-level help, and the benefits finder for other benefits you may qualify for.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• DHA Public Health, Red Hill Public Health Information: ph.health.mil
• EPA, About the Red Hill Fuel Releases: epa.gov/red-hill/about-fuel-releases
• EPA, Red Hill Closure (Secretary Austin's March 7, 2022 direction; Hawaiʻi DOH emergency order): epa.gov/red-hill/closure
• Department of Defense, Pentagon transfers authority of Red Hill to Navy (March 2024): war.gov
• National Academies, Clinical Follow-Up and Care for Those Impacted by the JP-5 Releases at Red Hill: nationalacademies.org
• VA, Exposure to burn pits and other specific environmental hazards: va.gov
• VA, Evidence needed for your disability claim: va.gov
• eCFR, 38 CFR 3.303: ecfr.gov
• Independent Red Hill Registry, University of Hawaiʻi: redhillregistry.org