Water Treatment Specialist: Toxic Exposure and VA Claims

Water treatment personnel handled raw and finished water drawn from wells that, at some bases, were contaminated with industrial solvents. At Camp Lejeune, the Hadnot Point plant delivered water contaminated primarily with trichloroethylene (TCE), measured as high as 1,400 parts per billion, along with PCE, benzene, and vinyl chloride, while the Tarawa Terrace plant delivered water with PCE up to 215 parts per billion. ATSDR estimates Tarawa Terrace water exceeded the current PCE limit for 346 months between 1957 and 1987. Conventional treatment of that era did not remove these solvents, so plant operators sampled, handled, and drank the contaminated water daily.

Disinfection was a core daily duty. Army 92Ws mix and dose calcium hypochlorite and monitor chlorine residuals in finished water, and installation plant operators worked around pressurized chlorine feed equipment in enclosed chlorination rooms where leaks could concentrate quickly. NIOSH identifies chlorine as a strong oxidizer that attacks the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, with a ceiling exposure limit of just 0.5 parts per million and effects that range from burning eyes and cough to lung swelling and inflammation of lung tissue. Repeated handling of concentrated hypochlorite powder and chlorine gas over a career meant routine respiratory and skin exposure.

Firefighting foam (AFFF) used at crash sites and fire training areas seeped into groundwater at many installations, and VA acknowledges that service members may have been exposed to PFAS through the water supply at several bases. Water treatment specialists were closer to that pathway than most: they drew from the affected wells, collected and tested water samples, backwashed filters, and maintained distribution systems carrying PFAS before the contamination was recognized or regulated. VA notes the duration and intensity of exposure at any given base is often unknown, which makes job records especially important.

Older base water systems relied on asbestos cement distribution pipe, and treatment plants, pump houses, and utility buildings contained asbestos insulation on piping, boilers, and equipment. VA specifically lists work with pipes, insulation, cement sheet, construction, and demolition of old buildings among the duties that carried asbestos exposure risk. Cutting, tapping, or repairing asbestos cement mains and stripping old lagging during plant maintenance released respirable fibers, and Utilitiesmen and water and fuel systems mechanics performed exactly this kind of repair work for years.