Bad water in Hawaii

[Devil Doc]

I was stationed at Camp Lejeune the first time in the late 70s to early 80s which falls in the Camp Lejeune contaminated water period. I filled out a survey annually for a few years and got a call one summer from the administrator of the survey. He told me I had been exposed to so many things (pesticides, fuel oil, nerve agent simulants, asbestos, red lead, zinc chromate, etc.) there would be no way to determine if any future health condition came from the Lejeune contaminants or anything else. He was almost apologetic. I told him not to worry about it as I was retired and would die at Walter Reed instead of the VA.

My second ship was a replenishment oiler and we carried 5 million gallons of DFM and 2 million gallons of JP5. We also had lots of food and other stores for the Fleet. At times the water had a heavy fuel oil taste and the coffee had an oil slick. The command master chief, an old BM who ran the ship and had been aboard nine years, once told me not to worry about the fuel in the water. It's good for the skin and teeth he said.

How much you want to bet he and his cats and dogs were drinking from five gallon jugs delivered weekly by a water delivery truck?

“We mistakenly felt the initial tests … meant we may drink the water, and I said in my notification that my staff and I were drinking the water,” he continued. “That was not a cover, we were. We truly thought the testing results indicated the water was safe to drink."

‘I regret I did not tell our families not to drink the water,’ Hawaii joint base commander says

Navy captain said he is 'beyond grieved' to know that he contributed to Hawaii families' suffering by his words about initial water tests.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[OldRetSWO]

My second ship was a replenishment oiler and we carried 5 million gallons of DFM and 2 million gallons of JP5. We also had lots of food and other stores for the Fleet. At times the water had a heavy fuel oil taste and the coffee had an oil slick. The command master chief, an old BM who ran the ship and had been aboard nine years, once told me not to worry about the fuel in the water. It's good for the skin and teeth he said.

Once a ship drive through oily water and sucks some up into its intakes it is very difficult to remove from the fresh water system. The distillation system used for Steam powered ships evaporates the water AND THE OIL and transfers that vapor over to the fresh water side and tanks/piping/etc.