Avionics Technician: Toxic Exposure and VA Claims

Avionics technicians maintained and repaired the electronic systems that kept military aircraft flying: communication and navigation radios, radar, electronic warfare equipment, flight instruments, and weapons control systems. Every branch fielded the job. The Navy trained Aviation Electronics Technicians (AT), the Marine Corps assigned avionics Marines to occupational fields 63 and 64, the Army used MOS 15N (Avionic Mechanic), the Air Force staffed avionics specialties in the 2A career field, and the Coast Guard relied on Avionics Electrical Technicians (AET).

The work split between the flightline, where technicians troubleshot systems installed in aircraft, and bench shops, where they repaired equipment down to the component level. That bench work is what set avionics apart from many other ratings. Repairing a radio or radar unit meant soldering and desoldering circuit boards, cleaning connectors, contacts, and chassis with chemical solvents, and handling capacitors, transformers, and power supplies, some of which were built in the era when PCBs were standard dielectric materials.

Exposure was rarely a single dramatic event. It was daily, low level, and repeated over years: solvent vapor at the cleaning tank, solder fume rising from the iron, and aging components that leaked when they overheated or ruptured. Shops aboard ships and in hangar back rooms often concentrated those fumes right at the workbench.

Exposures in This Job

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and chlorinated degreasing solvents

Chlorinated solvents, especially trichloroethylene (TCE), were standard degreasers for metal and electronic parts for much of the 20th century. Avionics technicians used solvent baths, spray applications, and vapor degreasers to clean connectors, contacts, chassis, and circuit assemblies before and after repair. The National Cancer Institute describes TCE as a degreasing solvent for metal equipment and reports that prolonged or repeated exposure causes kidney cancer, with some evidence of an association with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The VA lists TCE among the industrial solvents that service members encountered during routine cleaning and degreasing tasks.

Lead from solder fume and solder dust

Component-level repair meant hours at the bench soldering and desoldering circuit boards, wiring harnesses, and connectors with tin-lead solder. NIOSH notes that heating or soldering metal can produce lead fumes, and that lead enters the body by inhalation, ingestion, or absorption through the skin. Lead dust could also settle on workbenches, tools, clothing, and hands, creating exposure long after the iron cooled. NIOSH states that no safe level of lead has been identified and links elevated exposure to anemia, kidney and brain damage, elevated heart disease risk, and a potential cancer risk.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older electronic components

Aircraft electronics and shop test equipment built before the United States banned PCB production in 1979 could contain PCBs in capacitors, transformers, and dielectric fluids, materials chosen for their insulating and nonflammable properties. Technicians who repaired, replaced, or salvaged aging capacitors and power supplies could touch or inhale PCBs when components leaked, overheated, or ruptured. ATSDR notes that IARC classifies PCBs as carcinogenic to humans and that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is positively associated with PCB exposure. Because electrical equipment can stay in service for 30 years or more, PCB-era components remained in military inventories long after the ban.

Benzene and mixed solvent products

Many cleaning products used on electronics and aircraft wiring were solvent mixtures rather than single chemicals. The National Cancer Institute notes that benzene is used primarily as a solvent and may be present in glues, adhesives, cleaning products, and paint strippers, and that exposure to benzene increases the risk of leukemia and other blood disorders. The VA identifies cleaning, degreasing, paint stripping, and thinning oil-based paints as regular military tasks that brought service members into contact with industrial solvents, a list that includes benzene, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), toluene, and xylenes alongside TCE.

Linked Health Conditions

The exposures common to avionics work have documented links to several cancers:

Kidney cancer: the National Cancer Institute reports that prolonged or repeated TCE exposure causes kidney cancer.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the evidence links this cancer to both TCE (some evidence of an association, per NCI) and PCBs (positively associated with exposure, per ATSDR).
Leukemia: NCI states that benzene exposure increases the risk of leukemia and other blood disorders.

Beyond cancer, the VA notes that solvent exposure can irritate the eyes and airways and, if severe, cause neurological damage, and NIOSH links lead to anemia, kidney and brain damage, and elevated heart disease mortality. Veterans with any cancer diagnosis can review the exposure connections for each disease on the cancers overview page and should tell their doctor about their military work history.

Supporting a VA Claim

Serving as an avionics technician, by itself, almost never creates a VA presumption. Presumptive service connection depends on where and when a veteran served: PACT Act burn pit locations, Vietnam-era herbicide exposure, Camp Lejeune water contamination dates, or radiation-risk activities. Job-based solvent, lead, and PCB exposure instead supports a direct service connection claim, which generally requires three things: a current diagnosis, credible evidence of the exposure during service, and a medical nexus opinion linking the two.

Evidence that can help includes a DD214 and personnel records showing the AT or AET rating, MOS 15N, a 63xx or 64xx MOS, or an avionics AFSC; training records and performance evaluations describing bench repair, soldering, and solvent cleaning; and buddy statements (VA Form 21-10210) from shopmates who saw the work. The VA accepts lay statements from anyone with knowledge of the facts, no special credentials required, and official job descriptions that match the claimed exposure can strengthen the file.

The exposure check tool can help map a service history to likely toxins, and the presumptive conditions page shows whether service locations and dates may open a separate presumptive path. A well-documented direct claim may succeed, but no outcome is guaranteed.

Sources

See all military jobs, check the contamination documented at your base, or learn how to file a claim.

This page is for informational purposes only and is not medical or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional about your health or benefits.