51 Sailors from USS Ronald Reagan Suffering Thyroid Cancer, Leukemia, Brain Tumors After

[kristopher]

44. Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine: Chapter 6 Water Supply Afloat

http://www.public.navy.mil/navsafecen/Documents/afloat/Surface/Md_Hz/P50106.pdf

First let me say that the discussion about water treatment, while relevant, is only a small part of the picture.

The (1990) manual points out many opportunities for bacterial contamination exist throughout the desalinization and distribution process. It doesn't discuss radiological contaminants, so it is unknown whether the procedures detailed are adequate for that problem.

It also states the uses for non-potable water, providing another route of possible contamination.

6. Seawater (non-potable) is used aboard ships in the fire mains and for general sanitary purposes. Since conservation of potable water is a constant requirement, it is impractical to provide potable water for all purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to use sea water under certain controlled circumstances, such as: flushing weather decks, water closets, urinals and garbage chutes; decontamination showers; and laundering. Water in harbors or off-shore from habitations and when operating in fleet strength must be considered polluted and unfit for uses other than in fire and flushing systems and must not be used for other purposes. If it is necessary in an emergency situation to produce water from contaminated sources, the Medical Department must insure that increased surveillance of the system is instituted.

To me, post 11 above is most telling.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112759940#post11

The description of exposure to airborne fallout is unmistakable; as is the lack of a regime for protection and decontamination for those exposed.

The statement describes a clear route for ingestion/inhalation of fallout. That would be extant both during outdoor activities as well as continued exposure to fallout carried by the hair and clothing. Unless the interior of the ship was sealed and operating on purified air before exposure began, it too was contaminated, including living quarters, mess areas, recreational areas and work stations. It isn't that difficult to protect against fallout if you are ready for it and know it is coming, but if you walk into a situation like this blindly all of that is irrelevant.

Many moons ago before the Cold War ended, recurrent training in decontamination procedures was a standard part of military training designed for the laughable goal of surviving a nuclear exchange; I was in charge of a team and its training for a couple of years. Respirators and protective clothing, sealed living quarters working and food prep areas as well as their desalinated water supplies are all relevant and important. I definitely wouldn't want to be these guys if they were in the path of a fallout cloud and were not taking explicit precautions to deal with it.

The real question here is why, if they were in a fallout cloud (and that doesn't seem to be disputed since the Captain of the ship acknowledged it), didn't they know it was there? The answer is we don't know at this point.

We do know, however, that the crew wasn't following decontamination protocols if the description of the retrieval of the flag is accurate. And if they were as blind to the problem as that indicates, then the problem was widespread.

Why did that happen? Well that problem could have its origins in the behavior of the Japanese. They had a system (called SPEEDI wasn't it?) for tracking the route of releases, but didn't warn the Japanese public that fallout was headed their way. It seems extremely plausible, therefore, that the US Navy was similarly kept in the dark and entered the area thinking there wasn't a need at that location to deploy monitoring equipment.

I hope this case is well covered in public media; I'd really like to know what happened.

See also: Onboard systems don't always provide clean, safe water
Sep 23, 2010 CAPT. KELLY SWEENEY
http://www.professionalmariner.com/December-January-2010/Onboard-systems-don-226-128-153t-always-provide-clean-safe-water/