In September of 2022, poor maintenance procedures led to sailors aboard US Naval ships drinking and showering in contaminated water. They were exposed to e-coli and jet fuel found in the potable water systems on board the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Nimitz. The Navy launched an investigation and recently released official reports which revealed the root cause of the incidents and plants to implement remedial action.
USS Lincoln
On September 21, 2022 shortly after placing the potable water (PW) tanks in service, Plant Upper Level Starboard Watch informed the Plant Chief Machinery Operator (CMO) the water “tastes weird.” Initially the CMO did not alert the Water Control Watch (WCW) as he believed the taste may have been altered as they left port and began using water from the PW system. Later, the CMO informed the WCW the “tank is bad” without further elaboration. The WCW understood this to mean the free available chlorine measurements were out of specification and sampled the tanks, but placed them back online after sampling.
After continued complaints and many crew members beginning to purchase bottled water from the ship’s store, Medical took bacteriological samples from the PW tanks. The samples required an 18 hour incubation period before results came back positive for coliform and e-coli.
Root Cause
In the Spring of 2022, a hole in the vent header of a potable water (PW) tank was produced due to corrosion. The hole was located 6 inches off the low point in the bilge in the Main Machinery Room and allowed bilge water to flow into a PW tank when levels were high enough.
The bilge water contained sea water, oil, and grease that collected in the bilge during normal operation. The PW tank was put online allowing the contaminated water to spread to other parts of the PW system.
The MP4 Propulsion Plant Piping and Bilge Inspection Program was not tracking this piping as they should have been. Considering the location in the bilge, the vent header was susceptible to corrosion, which led to premature failure in an operational environment with higher than normal bilge levels.
The vent header should have been inspected as “high interest” piping, undergoing frequent inspections. If this was the case the corrosion would likely have been discovered prior to the PW tank being placed online in the fall. There were also many instances of poor communication between crew which deferred the discovery of the potable water contamination.
USS Nimitz
The USS Nimitz was sailing off the coast of San Diego, CA for a training period prior to deployment. On September 16, 2022 multiple sailors complained of upset stomachs, rashes from showers, and odd smells coming from drinking fountains.
The company discovered the potable water system had been contaminated with jet propellant-5 (JP-5) and the aircraft carrier returned to the pier to begin flushing the water tanks with 1 million gallons of San Diego city water.
Root Cause
Upon further investigation it was revealed the initial contamination occurred during the aircraft carrier’s last deployment in 2020. The ship identified the likely source of JP-5 as back leakage through the main drainage system caused by check valve malfunction. This allowed the bilge to be contaminated with JP-5. The manway access cover for a potable water tank is located in the bilge space and a deteriorated gasket on top of the tank allowed contaminated bilge water to flow in.
Inadequate reporting and miscommunication between crews led to the potable water system being put online.
Remedial Action
Following the two separate investigations and reports conducted by the Navy an Aircraft Carrier Potable Water Working Group was established to propose changes to: the potable water maintenance requirements, potable water technical manuals and drawings, shipboard potable water specifications, shipboard water analysis capabilities, shore facility water analysis capabilities, CVN 68 and CVN 78 Class potable water system design, and shipboard and shore pre planned response actions to resolve petroleum product or chemical contamination of the shipboard potable water systems.
This information was collected solely from US Naval Reports. Read the full reports for detailed reporting about the full scope of the incidents:
The manufacturing industry is a crucial contributor to the economy, accounting for over 11% of the total output in the United States. However, many manufacturing companies are currently facing a skills gap, with more open job positions than there are workers ready to fill them. A study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute predicts that 2.1 million manufacturing positions will go unfilled by 2030, potentially leading to a loss of $1 trillion in GDP for the United States.
The manufacturing industry is a crucial contributor to the economy, accounting for over 11% of the total output in the United States. However, many manufacturing companies are currently facing a skills gap, with more open job positions than there are workers ready to fill them. A study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute predicts that 2.1 million manufacturing positions will go unfilled by 2030, potentially leading to a loss of $1 trillion in GDP for the United States.
Manufacturing has been a key component to the South Carolina economy in the last 10 years and the state's efforts to improve infrastructure and educate a highly skilled workforce are paying off. The state has been making headlines lately for its attractiveness to corporations around the world.
Manufacturing has been a key component to the South Carolina economy in the last 10 years and the state's efforts to improve infrastructure and educate a highly skilled workforce are paying off. The state has been making headlines lately for its attractiveness to corporations around the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent world events have pushed manufacturing companies to shift their production to the United States in 2023, with 1,8000 companies in the US alone planning to reshore production to the states. While reshoring efforts are ramping up, manufacturers must be wary of the skills gap.
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent world events have pushed manufacturing companies to shift their production to the United States in 2023, with 1,8000 companies in the US alone planning to reshore production to the states. While reshoring efforts are ramping up, manufacturers must be wary of the skills gap.
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Preventive Maintenance is as important as ever and this is extremely evident considering a radioactive capsule was lost in the vast landscape of Western Australia for nearly 2 weeks. Emergency services had been scanning the truck’s route for the last seven days and finally found the capsule on Wednesday, February 1st. A team driving down the road used radiation detection equipment to locate the capsule on the side of the road, outside of Newman.
It appears the three rail workers on board the train took the appropriate measure when the sensor alerted them a bearing/axel was too hot. However, upon conducting further research it appears the system of HBDs in North America are largely ineffective.
It appears the three rail workers on board the train took the appropriate measure when the sensor alerted them a bearing/axel was too hot. However, upon conducting further research it appears the system of HBDs in North America are largely ineffective.
After nearly 2 months of investigations and a root cause analysis, TC Energy Corp revealed the cause of the oil spill was likely a combination of a welding flaw and bending stress fatigue which resulted in a crack forming and eventually lead to the rupture. The cause of the bending stress is still unclear and remains a focal point of the root cause failure analysis a third-party is conducting.
After nearly 2 months of investigations and a root cause analysis, TC Energy Corp revealed the cause of the oil spill was likely a combination of a welding flaw and bending stress fatigue which resulted in a crack forming and eventually lead to the rupture. The cause of the bending stress is still unclear and remains a focal point of the root cause failure analysis a third-party is conducting.
On February 20th around 2pm an explosion erupted at the I. Schumann & Co. Foundry in Bedford, Ohio. The foundry recycles scrap metal into bronze and brass ingots and pellets. Fire officials say the cause of the explosion is under investigation by state and federal authorities but it appears the blast originated near a kettle-like piece of equipment which holds molten metals before being poured into molds.
On February 20th around 2pm an explosion erupted at the I. Schumann & Co. Foundry in Bedford, Ohio. The foundry recycles scrap metal into bronze and brass ingots and pellets. Fire officials say the cause of the explosion is under investigation by state and federal authorities but it appears the blast originated near a kettle-like piece of equipment which holds molten metals before being poured into molds.
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