A U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft assigned to the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron parks on the flightline at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 17, 2024. (Luis E. Rios Calderon/U.S. Air Force)
A jet fuel spill at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa in May 2024 released about 14 times more fuel than the U.S. military originally reported, according to a report obtained by a local environmental organization.
On May 25, 2024, an E-3 Sentry released 720 gallons of JP-8 aviation fuel during a failed pressure test for a new fuel bladder, according to a U.S. Forces Japan spill report dated the next day.
The report was obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Masami Kawamura, director of the Informed-Public Project, which researches environmental issues in Okinawa.
At the time of the incident, the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base told the Okinawa Defense Bureau and Stars and Stripes only that rainwater washed approximately 50 gallons of fuel into an outflow leading to the Kadena Marina.
“This number represented the amount that left containment and had potential off-base impact,” the wing said an unsigned email Friday to Stars and Stripes. “The full spill volume was documented internally as part of the response and remediation process.”
Japan’s Defense Ministry had not received a copy of USFJ’s May 2024 spill report and was unaware of its details, according to Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi at his regular press conference Friday.
“We will continue to urge the U.S. side to ensure thorough safety management and the prevention of recurrence, as well as to provide appropriate information,” he said.
The Air Force recovered 220 gallons, according to the spill report. The remaining 500 gallons were “released to the ground and flowed into an Oil Water Separator before a bowser was placed beneath to contain the spill.”
A fuel bowser is a mobile unit designed to store, transport and handle aviation fuel during routine ground operations.
Five gallons contaminated surrounding soil, which was collected and placed in 50-gallon drums “to be disposed of properly,” the report states. An additional 20 gallons of fuel spilled “onto the hard surface only” the next morning. The leak completely stopped at 2:55 a.m.
The report calls for “better preparation for pressure testing, (and) ensuring proper and adequate spill supplies are on hand” to prevent reoccurrence.
The Air Force completed cleanup and removed all contaminated soil and absorbents, according to the wing’s email Friday. The spill had no impact on the Hija River, which flows through the base and empties into the sea, according to the wing.
“The incident was reported in accordance with U.S. Forces Japan procedures,” it stated.
At the time of the incident, the Air Force told the defense bureau that since the fuel spilled onto a concrete surface, there was no risk of it seeping underground, according to an unsigned email from the bureau on Thursday. It also confirmed that no fuel contaminated the marina, the bureau said.
The bureau is an arm of the Defense Ministry.
E-3s — sometimes called AWACS, or airborne warning and control systems — can hold about 21,000 gallons of fuel, according to the Air Force.
Kadena’s E-3s are assigned to the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron. The unit gathers information that visiting forces can use to maneuver throughout the Indo-Pacific region, according to a wing news release on June 29, 2022.
On March 24, the Air Force recovered 575 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled at Kadena and “affected” its stormwater system, the wing said at the time. That spill was caused by an equipment failure and was also reported in accordance with established procedures, the wing said.
STARS AND STRIPES VIDEOS
AROUND THE WEB
STRIPES TOP NEWS
