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Navy offers relocation assistance for neighbors impacted by jet fuel leak

Posted at 12:09 PM, May 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-17 18:50:00-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Navy is offering temporarily move people out of their homes following a jet fuel leak near Oceana last week, according to a Public Affairs Officer.

Approximately 94,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked last week. Navy officials originally said it would take 48 hours to cleanup, but cleanup efforts continue almost a week later.

Neighbors complain the smell is horrible. "It's overwhelming," said Styron Daniels, whose home backs up to the creek. "We don't have any appetite. We've all had headaches."

Sen. Tim Kaine weighed in on the cleanup efforts on Wednesday morning during a call with reporters, saying there needed to clearer answers on why the cleanup is taking so long.

People can stay at a hotel for up to a week, but longer if needed, according to Capt. Rich Meadows, the Commanding Officer of NAS Oceana.

"If we're looking back we probably wish we would've done it a few days ago," Meadows said. "We listened to the citizens at the informational meeting that we had and we made the decision."

Navy officials are in impacted neighborhoods on Wednesday explaining to neighbors how it will all work.

Air quality readings in the affected neighborhoods were initially between 0 and 4 ppm but were followed with an immediate downward trend, the Navy said.

The most recent Environmental Protection Agency air quality readings were 0 ppm.

Cleanup will last through the rest of the week, Meadows said.

Related:

Watermen react after thousands of gallons of spilled jet fuel threaten product

Watch: Crews working to clean up 94K gallon jet fuel spill at NAS Oceana