- A crew member of an American Navy aircraft carrier discovered that jet fuel was contaminating their water supply.
- Insider was told by multiple veterans of the Navy and Marine Corps who experienced the same problem on other ships.
- A naval engineer expert explained how jet fuel can contaminate a ship’s drinking waters.
The US Navy recently discovered jet fuel in water used by sailors to shower, cook, and drink on the USS Nimitz. Veterans have claimed this problem has been a problem for decades on warships. Insider was told this week by an expert how dangerous this contamination could be.
An ex-Navy officer with naval engineering expertise explained that this could happen when the pipes connecting vessels’ fuel oil and potable water tanks is not properly connected or aligned.
The Navy admitted last month that Nimitz’s water supply was contaminated by what it called “contaminating agents”. “traces”A jet fuel. Insider was later informed by a sailor aboard the ship that the issue had appeared It could get worseThey were exposed to a greater amount of jet fuel than the service claimed.
A Navy official said that the fuel was discovered on the carrier just days after it was discovered. USNI NewsWater contamination was not caused by system failures or leaks, but instead was due to a procedural ‘line up’ problem. Insider heard from an expert that fuel oil can seep into water systems if it isn’t properly positioned between the fuel and water tanks.
Insider was informed by veterans of the Nimitz who were sailors and Marines on amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers following reports about the Nimitz. They also drank and bathed in.Water contaminated by jet fuel during their service. These veterans have served on different Navy warships over four decades.
Here are the ways that jet fuel can leach into the water supply to ships.
On a carrier like the Nimitz, there are tanks used to store jet fuel for military aircraft — elements of the carrier air wing — that need to be periodically inspected to ensure there’s no contamination, Bryan Clark, a former Navy officer who is now a defense expert at the Hudson Institute, told Insider.
These tanks must be empty of all fuel, and flushed with fresh water from ship’s potable drinking water system. Engineers can then inspect the tanks. The crew must then connect the ship’s potable water system with its fuel oil system via piping.
Clark stated in a recent interview that he didn’t want it to be “normally connected” to the problem he was referring to.
To align the potable water and fuel systems, you will need to open valves that are normally closed to allow them to connect. The fuel system should be depressurized and the potable system must be pressurized. By doing this, water will be pushed into the fuel tanks instead of being pushed out by the valves.
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Clark stated that the lineup was very important. It’s not difficult, but it is a systematic set of steps that you must take to connect the potable and fuel oil systems. This will ensure that there is no backflush oil in the potable water. You can end up with this problem if the steps are not done in the right order.
He explained that mistakes can be made in many ways.
If the piping connecting these two systems is in place, and the valves are opened, but the fuel oil tanks haven’t been depressurized yet, fuel can leak into the potable water supply. If the valves aren’t properly sealed after a flush, fuel can seep into water.
Navy officials stated previously that they had located the source of contamination on the Nimitz and have since isolated it to one ship’s 26 potable drinking water tanks. According to an Insider source, the Nimitz’s potable water system had been tested at San Diego Naval Air Station North Island by late September.
Insider was told by a Navy official that the Nimitz spent approximately two weeks at San Diego port while crew members worked to resolve the water contamination problem. The official said that since the contamination was first discovered, a total of 11 sailors reported symptoms that could be attributed to jet fuel exposure — including rashes, headaches, and diarrhea.
According to a 2017 study, very little information is available about the health effects of jet fuel exposure. Reportby the Agency for ToxicSubstances and Disease Registration, Department of Human Services. However, using accounts from people who were exposed to kerosene — a compound found in jet fuel — the agency cited reports of “harmful effects” that included symptoms consistent with those described by the Navy.
Clark stated that the contamination that affected the Nimitz could also affect other warships like carriers and amphibious assault vessels, as they have fuel tanks that are flushed regularly with potable water systems.
“This is the problem you should be looking out for”
Clark stated that it is possible for a crew member to notice an error in the alignment of the piping immediately. However, it is also possible that the issue could develop without them realizing it or checking to ensure that it didn’t happen. A ship’s potable water system can get contaminated even with a low concentration of fuel — making it smell, taste, and look strange.
“Normally, if you flush out your fuel oil tanks — or your fuel oil system, any part of your fuel oil system — you should be watching for this problem, because you’ve connected the two systems. And once you’ve changed the lineup back to where it’s supposed to be — this is a problem you should be looking for,” Clark said.
This isn’t an issue that should be occurring often. A ship doesn’t find itself flushing its fuel tank very often and only happens during tank inspections — which may only happen every few years or if there’s an issue.
It is time-consuming and complicated to reduce the contamination. Crew members must shut off the ship’s water supply, flush out all sources to prevent fuel residue, and inspect all connections between water and fuel tanks for any misalignments.
It can be a tedious process to identify the source and then clean up. Clark stated that if you don’t have a methodical approach to solving a problem, it could be difficult.
It was several weeks before the Nimitz could sail again after it had detected the contamination. However, the Nimitz did so in October when the water was found to be within acceptable standards.
