Jet Fuel Exposure And Contaminates

[steve&pat]

My husband is on here almost every day. He is 100% (since Dec. 1994), but called 80% and unemployable to make him receive 100%. He is called at the VA,: "one of them", which to me is intimidating and degrading and disrespectful to a person who served for his country and has not be able to do the "things" other his age can do since he got out of the service--- HEALTH INSURANCE HAS BEEN ONE WE could never get for him or our children since he got out in 1970.

I WANT HIM TO BE LISTED 100% WITHOUT BEING A "ONE OF THEM". We have claimed Agent Orange for years. Even though he has most of the things on the list, we get he was in Guam NOT VIETNAM!

I have his claim open again, and got the HAAS thing. So I am looking deeper into things. I wish I had found your Jet Fuel Exposure posts in 2006. Steve was considered the best Jet Mechanic in his squadron at the time. He was always a natural mechanic, and did major overhauls in Guam for 18 months he was there. Then he was stationed at Miramar NAS. I FOUND UNDER U.S. RADIATION SITES IN CALIFORNIA THAT #78 IS MIRAMAR NAS. IT SAYS CONTAMINATED SITE, NPL SITE, RAD WASTE BURIAL. Upon searching Agent Orange NAS Miramar came up! Steve and alot of other sailors ate their lunches at these contaminated sites everyday, and hiked many of these areas with everyone els, and they played with the desert fuana and the bugs (he was 19-20 years old, and still a kid at heart).

In Guam he was at the NAS in Agana, Guam (May 1967 to Nov. 1968). (The first month he was at Fleet weather central-- where he was sprayed a couple of times with DDT will they waited for the outdoor movie to start at the football field on base.)

His job at the NAS, he was attached to the power plants shop as a jet engine ground crew member whose positions were to wash, maintain (overhaul engines), and inspect aircrafts. The work area-- a test cell made off the edge of the Tarmac in a small enclave surrounded on tree sides by jungle which was sprayed back with defoliants (A.O.-- DDT????). It was used to protect them against malaria, and other insect borne diseases. This spot in the jungle was just North of their power plants building about 2-3 city blocks.

There were 3 of them who would set up and run the jet engines in their test cell on their "test rail". Their daily job was to rebuild the engines. They actually climbed right into these 26 foot long engines. Most of the damage was from birds flying right into them, shrapnel damage, or bullet hole damage from being shot in Vietnam. These engines were made so they could be fitted with wing tanks. I believe they were the planes that were spraying the Agent Orange on Vietnam. They would test run these J57 turbo jet F8 engines after they were finished doing the necessary repairs they needed. This included all the electrical and fuel lines, hydraulic pumps, did spray test patterns and cleaning on the 6 canister nozzle set up (in main part of engine), replacing all the carbon seals, stators, and vanes from the intake all the way back to the combustion chambers, prior to testing them by firing the after burner, and then canning them, and shipping them back to Vietnam. Steve said there was usually about a gallon of JP5 fuel in the fuel pumps that would get all over him when he removed it while repairing the engine, and it would peel the skin off his hands like a bad sun burn.

((Steve said the last month he was in Guam one of the 26 foot engines broke it's holdbacks when it went into after burner. It was shut down immediately, but it still "FLEW"--- it landed 12 feet in front of where the intake originally was. DOD investigated this case as a possible terrorist attempt, and sealed up the area for days. So THAT has to be soemwhere on the DOD records. It was later classified as an accident.))

Just recently we realized the carbon ash residue from the burnt fuel in the combustion chamber, back through the complete afterburner system (tail pipe)---- actually is carbon vanadium ash residue which when I see the health effects MAY BE THIS WITH THE DIOXINS OF GUAM AND MIRAMAR.

Since Steve was in Guam in 1967 to present ((((he just seen the local eye doctor today BECAUSE THE VA SENT HIM MORE EYE DROPS, INSTEAD OF THE SALVE THEY GAVE HIM FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS-- TOO EXPENSIVE NOW-- GIVE HIM DROPS INSTEAD!! The doctor gave him a prescription for salve today and it costed us $4.00))))) he has had sores, rashes, lesions, anal fistula, lumps, all over his face, neck, in ears and nose, arm pits, crotch (((VA says it was just teenage stuff, and claim they don't see it, so they have taken skin problems off as service connected). Our 6 year old granddaughter was born with the start of an eye sore. At 4 days old she was put on the same salve as grandpa. The doctor said he had never seen anything like it.

We are going to claim aspestos exposure too this time for the Med Cruise on the FDR in 1970 (the FDR had been in Vietnam just before the cruise Steve was on.), vanadium from jet engines, contamination on Guam.

If anyone can think of something more we can add, we would appreciate any good ideas, and or information, that we should put in. The 2 other sailors he worked with he believes were: ADJ 2nd class (?) Burt, and Airman Kent Davis.

Thanks, Steve and Pat

[allan]

Personally, I think i wouldn't have reopened the claim for review if rated TDIU already.

Guam is listed as a base for AO cleanup.

Does your husband have AO symptoms/illnesses and have they been confirmed by a Dr?

Does he have documentation in his records of serving on guam?

Has he requested a C&P?

Vanadium can cause specific conditions. Has he been examined by a toxicologist?

An independent medical examination(IME) or IMO would help to service connect his military occupation to his current neurological disorders.

[Pete53]

Good Luck on your claim.

[Stretch]

Smoke abatement was used on West-PAC cruises. Smoke Abatement is a toxic poison that was put in the aircraft to turn the smoke clear, so that the aircraft could not be detected from black smoke in the air.

ADJ's were the ones who put this smoke abatement into the aircraft. Everyone working on the flight deck and or flight line breathed this poison.

I don't know what the chemical make-up of this Smoke Abatement fluid was, but I do know that we were warned about it and that the port, usually in the Aft Port side of the aircraft, was marked clearly with a skull and cross bones.

We were told if you breath this stuff you are dead. I was told that is smelled like cherries.

[Berta]

The VA has service connected AO in Guam , Okinawa, Johnston Atoll , Thailand (this was a RO award) and an Alaska vet (an AMC award)as well as many Korean vets whose claims fell under those specific regs.

As above post-

the disability must be on the A0 presumptive list (recently updated to include amyoloidosis)38 CFR.3.309

I cant determined what disability your husband claims is due to AO.

In awards of service connected due to exposure outside of VIetnam- all of the above claims (I posted links to the BVA cases here)

were awarded because the veteran had a disability on the AO presumptive list and they proved, with documentation, that they were directly exposed to Agent Orange.

This information is not gping to help your claim:

"The work area-- a test cell made off the edge of the Tarmac in a small enclave surrounded on tree sides by jungle which was sprayed back with defoliants (A.O.-- DDT????). It was used to protect them against malaria, and other insect borne diseases."

Agent Orang was a dioxin based persistent organic pollutent, a herbicide defoilant that in no way is similiar to a pesticide.

My husband was sprayed with AO in Vietnam. He described this to the Judge in the AO class action lawsuit. There was no doubt at all that he had been exposed.

AO has a specific smell and taste, and feel.

The type of defoilation can be described accurately.

The barrels can be descroibed as well as numerous other facets of direct exposure to AO.

Haas is over. Any Navy veteran or Blue Water vet must prove direct service connection-not presumptive service connection -in order to succeed.

[Berta]

Allan said

"Personally, I think i wouldn't have reopened the claim for review if rated TDIU already.

Guam is listed as a base for AO cleanup."

Yep -it is a Superfund site-I believe

Allan -technically I agree with what you said- but if a vet is 100% SC for one condition and then 60% or more SC for another independent condition-

the VA will award them SMC "S"-as you know these SMC regs better than me-

I dont see the "S" award basis here at all.

But another reason a vet should file for SC when they are already TDIU is if the additional disability could eventually possibly contribute to their death.

If that additional disability is eventually SCed- and is on the death certificate as contributing or causing death-the survivor will have much less problems getting DIC.

[Berta]

I forget to add- if the 100% is in affect for ten years prior to death or Should have been in affect (due to medical evidence in VA's possession)

then the surviving can eventually obtain DIC under 38 USC 1318- the enhanced DIC benefit.

The "enhanced" VA description of 1318 DIC makes no sense to me as this benefit does not come with the same ancillary benefits of direct SC in some cases.