Navigation Navy Veterans Who Served on Aircraft Carriers May Have Been Exposed to Jet Fuel
Recently, the VA acknowledged that sailors on the USS Nimitz were exposed to trace amounts of jet fuel in the water they drank and used on a daily basis. However, sailors have come forward and reported that the contamination is far worse than the Navy has admitted. While the Navy has admitted that 10 sailors reported they were suffering from health issues as a result of exposure to the contaminated water, the actual numbers appear to be far higher. Furthermore, sailors have reported seen a visible layer of jet fuel on top of potable water and inside the water storage tanks on the Nimitz. While the Navy is attempting to remove all traces of jet fuel from inside the Nimitz’s water supply, it will be both time consuming and costly.
Possibly the most alarming development resulting from the discovery of jet fuel contaminated water onboard the Nimitz is that sailors from other ships have come forward to also report aviation fuel contamination onboard other ships. Veterans, who served onboard carriers and amphibious ships across four decades, have come forward to report drinking or bathing in water that reeked of aviation fuel. The problem of aviation fuel getting into the potable water onboard Navy ships is beginning to look like a widespread problem that has been ongoing for decades. The number of Navy Veterans that have bathed in or consumed fuel contaminated water is unknown, but the number of Veterans who have served onboard carriers and other ships that carried aviation fuel is likely in the hundreds of thousands.
