The 18th Civil Engineer Group has found spalling concrete in several units at the Sebille Manor housing area on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Failing concrete in housing units has prompted the 18th Wing to move one family from its home and notify several others they must relocate by June 30.
The wing announced in December that the 18th Civil Engineer Group had found spalling concrete in several units at the Sebille Manor housing area near Bob Hope Elementary School.
Spalling refers to cracking and delaminating steel-reinforced concrete.
One occupied home was identified as at high risk for spalling, and the family has been relocated, the wing wrote in an unsigned email Tuesday. The wing defined high risk to include significant spalls in which “damage to the drop ceiling has occurred, or spalls have significantly delaminated, are separating from the roof slab and are expected to fall.”
The wing declined to identify the family, the building in which they were living or when or where they were relocated.
Families in an unspecified number of homes with moderate-risk spalling — minor spalling with no damage to the drop ceiling or “early signs of delamination from the concrete slab” — will be moved by June 30, the email stated.
The wing identified spalling in 32 quadplexes — 128 homes in total — at Sebille Manor, according to a Facebook post on Dec. 19.
The affected buildings are 5437-5441, 5500-5507, 5510-5515, 5517, 5520, 5540, 5541, 5543, 5545, 5547 and 5549-5554, according to a Tuesday post on Kadena’s official Facebook page.
Not all units in those buildings have been affected by spalling and no injuries have been reported, the email stated. The civil engineer group contacted residents via updated letters “detailing the situation and the inspection process.”
Spalling is caused by pressure under the surface of the concrete, and most often occurs due to improperly constructed joints or corrosion of rebar under the concrete, according to the U.S. General Services Administration.
Of all homes inspected, 81% are at low risk for spalling, meaning that no safety concerns have been observed, the email stated.
The wing declined to identify how many homes are at moderate or high risk for spalling, how many families will have to move or where they will move.
“We are actively working with families in moderate-risk homes to facilitate their relocation,” the email stated.
No new families have been moved into the affected buildings since the spalling was discovered, according to the email.
The issue is unrelated to mold caused by leaky air conditioners in 50 recently renovated duplexes in Sebille Manor. A wing memo issued in December recommended that some families move by Feb. 28 to address potential health risks.
Wing commander Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans and wing Chief Master Sgt. Brandon Wolfgang will host two forums for residents affected by spalling at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 22 in the Schilling Center ballroom. Engineers and housing experts will be available to answer questions, according to the Facebook post.
Residents should contact Kadena’s housing office at 315-634-4663 or fill out a housing maintenance request on Kadena’s website if they notice cracking or sagging ceilings, the post states. Damage photos can be emailed to 718ces.servicecall@us.af.mil.
