Members of the University of Hawaii Red Hill Registry visit the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu, Sept. 26, 2025. (Krystal Diaz/U.S. Navy)
The University of Hawaii is seeking the community’s help in increasing the number of people who complete the enrollment process for the Red Hill Registry.
The registry was created to track the long-term effects of the 2021 fuel spill that contaminated the Navy’s drinking water system serving military housing around and on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
The registry has pre-enrolled more than 2,600 participants since late 2024, but only 423 have completed the expanded questionnaires that are part of the complete process, the registry said in a news release Tuesday.
Roughly 93,000 water consumers were affected when JP-5 jet fuel spilled from the underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The Navy is in the process of permanently closing the World War II-era facility.
A March report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine emphasized the importance of the long-term collection of data related to those exposed to the Red Hill jet fuel contamination. Little is known of the risks of specific long-term health outcomes associated with exposure to JP-5 jet fuel, the report stated.
The low completion rate by registry participants comes despite robust follow-up by staff, Mackenzie Walsh, the registry’s communications manager, said by phone Tuesday.
The registry sends three reminder emails to participants who have not fully completed questionnaires, she said.
They also have a team of community engagement specialists who have been calling those with incomplete information, she said.
Registry officials are now trying to understand the reasons for low completion and find ways to mitigate them by conducting a community survey and holding virtual focus groups.
“Some of the questions that we’re asking in the focus groups in the community are geared towards what part of the questionnaire either makes them uncomfortable or is there a certain part that maybe feels too long or feels too intrusive,” Walsh said.
The responses will also help the registry to better tailor a follow-up questionnaire slated for this fall, she said.
“Basically, we’re really just trying to see if we can collect feedback to understand why we’re having that drop off,” Lauren Ray, the enrollment and survey administration manager, said by phone Tuesday.
“It’s going to inform us in creating that follow-up questionnaire so that we can make the adjustments to hopefully get a better response rate.”
They are seeking feedback on the process via a 15-minute survey about participants’ experience with the Red Hill Registry and through two hour-long focus groups being conducted June 8-19.
Those wishing to participate should contact the registry at info@redhillregistry.org or 808-427-8260.
