Friday 30 September 2022 03:44 PM Five sailors report health concerns after jet fuel contaminates drinking water ... trends now Five sailors are sickened after water tanks aboard USS Nimitz were contaminated with JET FUEL: Emergency procedure to flush out water supply fails within days Sailors have suffered acid reflux and other illnesses feared to be linked to the contaminated water Attempt to flush out the system failed, and further traces of jet fuel were detected in same supply just days later Sailors say the entire vessel - which is 47 years old - now reeks of the fuel By Neirin Gray Desai For Dailymail.Com Published: 15:41 BST, 30 September 2022 | Updated: 15:41 BST, 30 September 2022 Viewcomments Five sailors on USS Nimitz reported experiencing acid reflux and other illnesses after the aircraft carrier’s water system became contaminated with jet fuel, Navy officials have confirmed. Naval staff aboard the carrier are telling crew members to ‘report to medical immediately if they exhibit any illness’ that might have been caused by the water said Navy spokesperson Commander Sean Robertson. Disgruntled sailors took to social media to share images of the murky drinking water they were being supplied on the ship. It has now been docked in San Diego pending an investigation. ‘Most of the water sources on the ship still reek of JP5, let alone have the strong taste. Most of our showers haven’t gotten rid of the smell,’ said one. Sailors also reported feeling sick, nauseous, lightheaded and extremely weak after showering. While the drinking water system was down vending machines selling bottled water sold out and personnel had to rely on friends to make water deliveries to the ship. USS Nimitz was launched in 1972 and is one of the largest nuclear powered warships in the world. On September 16 JP-5 jet fuel contaminated the ship's drinking water system USS Nimitz water contamination timeline September 16 – USS Nimitz staff discover aviation fuel in water system during a pre-deployment cruise in the Pacific Ocean September 17 – The ship returns to San Diego and staff flush the its drinking water system September 19 – Drinking water is restored on the ship after a ‘thorough flush and inspection’ that finds no detectable amounts of fuel September 21 – A couple of days later Navy officials reported that the ship’s potable water system ‘yielded detectable traces of hydrocarbons’ September 27 – The Navy confirms that fuel is still being found in the water system despite the flush but there were no ‘confirmed’ cases of illness September 29 – Five crew members raise health concerns to medical staff, the Navy confirmed Advertisement The Navy said that the fuel, known as jet propellant-5 (JP5), was first reported on September 16 causing crew’s drinking water supply to be cut for three days. Despite indications in the following days that the water system had been flushed, issues persisted, and further traces of jet fuel were found in the same water supply. Officials are now investigating the cause of the leak. In an email to Navy Times on Thursday Robertson said: ‘The source of the jet propellant-5 (JP-5) contamination has been identified and isolated to one of the 26 potable water tanks on board.’ Little is known about the effects of ingesting jet fuels but ‘harmful effects on the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and nervous system’ are possible according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a federal public health agency ‘The contaminated tank has been isolated from the potable water system. As an added precaution, three other nearby tanks have also been isolated from the potable water system,’ said Navy officials in a statement. Of the five sailors that reported sickness the Navy said that one was experiencing acid reflux caused by drinking contaminated water aboard the ship. The Navy said that the other four crew had been ‘cleared’ but the details are not known. Launched in 1972 USS Nimitz is one of the largest warships in the world with a crew of around 5,000. Her most recent deployment lasted 11 months and was completed in February 2021. The recent contamination of the ship’s drinking water was first reported during a ‘pre-deployment cruise’ in the Pacific off the coast of southern California. The carrier was swiftly returned to its homeport NAS North Island in San Diego, where it remains now. The ship has been hooked up to a San Diego water supply since September 17. The aircraft was expected to complete training for a global deployment later this year but the water contamination has delayed that, the Navy has confirmed. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility