Long-Term Mental Health Findings and Concerns After Potential Exposure to Petroleum in Drinking Water on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, November 20, 2021-February 24, 2023.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2025, v. 19: Long-Term Mental Health Findings and Concerns After Potential Exposure to Petroleum in Drinking Water on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, November 20, 2021-February 24, 2023.
• Journal Article:
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
• Personal Author:
  Saunders, Katharine E. ; Balasuriya, Lilanthi ; Carranza, David ; Titelbaum, Nicholas V. ; Nguyen, Daniel D. ; McArdle, Cristin E. ; Fothergill, Amy ; McKinnon, Izraelle I. ; Pfeiffer, Jack ; Hallett, T. Christy ; Choudhury, Asha S. ; Orr, Maureen F. ; Konkle, Stacey L.
• Description:
  An estimated 93,000 persons were potentially exposed to drinking water contaminated with petroleum jet propellant (JP)-5 fuel after a November 20, 2021, leak at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, Hawaii. Previous investigations identified the need to evaluate long-term mental health effects associated with JP-5 exposure.
  
  We identified adults potentially exposed to jet fuel-contaminated water during November 20, 2021-March 18, 2022, who sought care within the military health system through February 24, 2023. We abstracted a sample of electronic medical records and categorized documented mental health conditions and symptoms as "worsening preexisting" or "persistent new." We also assessed mental health-related medication use before and after November 20, 2021.
  
  We abstracted medical charts for 411 adults potentially exposed to jet fuel-contaminated water. Of this cohort, 123 (29.9%) had documented worsening preexisting mental health conditions or symptoms, 86 (20.9%) had persistent new mental health conditions or symptoms, and 109 (26.5%) had at least one mental health-related medication prescribed after the exposure event.
  
  These results highlight mental health needs during and after water contamination events. Continued access to mental health care services and monitoring for long-term mental health effects is recommended.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Female
  • Adult
  • Middle Aged
  • Drinking Water
  • Petroleum
  • Mental Health
  • Cohort Studies
  • Mental Disorders
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Mental health
  • environmental exposure
  • drinking water
  • military medicine
  • disaster planning
• Source:
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2025, v. 19
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2025.10207
• ISSN:
  1935-7893 ; 1938-744X
• Pubmed ID:
  41020388
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12771560
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Hawaii
• Pages in Document:
  e281 (9 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  19
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/261027/cdc_261027_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 317.28 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5d9813fd21379854dd4a59da6e22e9f711d70321208b72458c76bed9d1e0f2bab85e13076306df1cd418caa6aa662ab1f51c68270946be9bbd15dd9d2ab09ff4