Pentagon study reveals real 'Top Gun': Military pilots, ground crew unusually high rates of cancer

[jgo]

Source: Associated Press

A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick.

The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of air and ground crew members they knew who had cancer. They were told that earlier military studies had found they were not at greater risk than the general U.S. population.

In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found that air crew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma and a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer, while men had a 16% higher rate of prostate cancer and women a 16% higher rate of breast cancer. Overall, the air crews had a 24% higher rate of cancer of all types.

The study showed ground crews had a 19% higher rate of brain and nervous system cancers, a 15% higher rate of thyroid cancer and a 9% higher rate of kidney or renal cancers, while women had a 7% higher rate of breast cancer. The overall rate for cancers of all types was 3% higher.

Read more: https://fortune.com/2023/03/19/pentagon-study-military-air-force-ground-crew-high-cancer-rates-top-gun/

[NullTuples]

1. I wonder how many of them are victims of Operation Tomodachi?

Operation Tomodachi was an operation where the aircraft carrier Reagan and its support fleet rendered aid after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant flood, meltdown and fire.

Both articles are from 2016:

"16 US ships that aided in Operation Tomodachi still contaminated with radiation"

https://www.stripes.com/news/16-us-ships-that-aided-in-operation-tomodachi-still-contaminated-with-radiation-1.399094

"Sick U.S. sailors and Marines who blame radiation get support from Japan's ex-leader

Some 70,000 Americans took part in Operation Tomodachi, or Friend, flying in aid from an aircraft carrier and other warships off the coast of northeastern Japan.

Since then, some servicemen and women have become sick with cancers, leukemia, thyroid ailments, brain tumors and other diseases, and they blame radiation. The ships to which they were assigned were in an area of the ocean in the direction of the radioactive plumes spewed from the Fukushima plant.

Aircraft carriers routinely use drinking water from the ocean, which the lawsuit says was contaminated with radiation, and service members showered in and ate food cooked in such water. Some Navy personnel also flew on helicopters to the disaster zone."

https://www.navytimes.com/pay-benefits/military-benefits/2016/09/07/sick-u-s-sailors-and-marines-who-blame-radiation-get-support-from-japan-s-ex-leader/

[EYESORE 9001]

2. From further down in the article

But aviation crews have long asked for the Pentagon to look closely at some of the environmental factors they are exposed to, such as jet fuels and solvents used to clean and maintain jet parts, sensors and their power sources in aircraft nose cones, and the massive radar systems on the decks of the ships they land on.

Who thinks the VA will obfuscate and stall like they did with Agent Orange of burn pits?

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. or like they did with "depleted" uranium. n/t

[Rebl2]

7. Likely will

do exactly that.

[BootinUp]

3. fuel contains benzene, a known carcinogen. nt

[Backseat Driver]

15. My friend, an AF vet, died of ovarian cancer last year.

She was from a military family, once married, and had worked the tarmack at Edwards AFB California, a returnee from Iraq Desert Storm. She previously got cervical CA and was medically discharged and was treated and monitored under the military healthcare system. She recovered but could no longer have children; a factor that was instrumental in breaking up her short marriage, and she moved to be with family...she knew grief, the loss of close family members and jobs, but valiantly carried on. Only in her young 50s, she was stricken once again to fight the enemy--ovarian cancer. I attended her viewing and her military honor burial service at the National VA cemetery in my city and experienced the goosebumps with her honor multi-gun salute. RIP Serena, my funny and vivacious friend. I'll catch up with your angelic twinkle on a star someday.

[flying_wahini]

19. EdwardsAFB was a dumping ground for spent fuel byproducts for decades. Read this

[link:https://www.elglaw.com/edwards-air-force-base/|

The large amounts of fuel and solvents that have been spilled, along with poor disposal practices, are factors that have heavily contributed to the subsurface and groundwater contamination. However, the primary source of PFAS present at Edwards Air Force Base is AFFF, or aqueous film-forming foam, developed in the ‘60s and extensively used to put down petroleum and jet fuel fires.

According to the latest test performed in 2018, the PFAS concentration detected at Edwards Air Force Base was 277,000 parts per trillion, including PFOS, PFOA, and PFBS. The site ranks 40th on the Environmental Working Group's list of the top 100 most polluted military bases.

Edwards Air Force base is a Superfund site – a tremendous risk factor for human health and the environment. Due to the high levels of PFAS contamination that exceed the Environmental Protection Agency advisory level, service members are provided drinking water until the groundwater and soil are decontaminated. The development of a cleanup plan for Edwards Air Force Base has begun, with monitoring and control phases already in full force.

[flying_wahini]

20. My husband was born at Edwards AFB in '54.

His Dad was a test pilot with Chuck Yeager ( who was a real asshole according to him).

[MayReasonRule]

4. They Toast the Wine of Wartime The Finest As They Serve The Holiest Communion For Sacrilegious Words

[SheltieLover]

5. I wonder if this is true of non-military pilots & groundcrews & flight attendants?

Ty for sharing.

[Rebl2]

8. Just read

in my paper today about the fact that passengers, pilots and flight attendants are exposed to plane fumes many times a year while flying.

[SheltieLover]

10. I believe it's leaded fuel, too

[erronis]

12. I'm guessing jet fuel doesn't have lead in it. I know piston-driven planes do use leaded varieties.

Of course the range of petrochemicals in jet fuel makes it very hard to understand all of the possible negative health implications.

[SheltieLover]

14. It's leaded. I looked it up. Link.

My grandson, who is a hypermiler (cars) told me speed freaks buy leaded aviation fuel. Idiots.

https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/avgas#:~:text=Aviation%20gasoline%20(avgas)%20is%20the,can%20operate%20on%20leaded%20avgas.

Not sure if this is causal, but it sure can't be good.

[erronis]

16. Yup - this is avgas which is used for piston-driven engines. Not jet fuel.

Jets run on something more resembling kerosene with a variety of other chained hydrocarbons.

Lead is used to prevent "knocking" (or pre-ignition) in piston type engines (like my car.)

Still, it's scary what's happening to so many workers (and passengers) in some of our industries.

[SheltieLover]

17. Ty for clarifying

Yes, it's very scary!

[NullTuples]

24. Piston planes only, but their fuel clearly results in lead poisoning

It's been really, really difficult to get any government agency to act on it, too.

"A recent study that was conducted in California found that children who live in close proximity to an airport have at least 21% higher lead levels in their blood. Published in the journal PNAS Nexus, researchers emphasized that in the United States, aviation gasoline is the main source of lead emissions."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuradhavaranasi/2023/01/12/living-close-to-an-airport-puts-children-at-a-higher-risk-of-lead-exposure/?sh=78d04ef912f3


"A Geospatial Analysis of the Effects of Aviation Gasoline on Childhood Blood Lead Levels

Our results suggest that children living within 500 m of an airport at which planes use leaded avgas have higher blood lead levels than other children. This apparent effect of avgas on blood lead levels was evident also among children living within 1,000 m of airports."

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1003231

[Locrian]

13. not sure

There was some good news reported as well. Both ground and air crews had far lower rates of lung cancer, and air crews also had lower rates of bladder and colon cancers.

Possibly in the water? (base or carrier) - think "camp lejune"

[iluvtennis]

9. I hope something is done to create better PPE for pilots and the ground crew wrt exposure

to fuel vapors.

[Richard D]

11. I'm struck by . .

. . . how physicians and dentists always seem to equate x-rays with taking a cross-country flight. Like: "This is about the same radiation exposure as a flight from Los Angeles to New York". As though that makes it OK. It does in a way because it's relatively small (not including the huge radiation dose from a CT Scan). But then pilots and cabin personnel are in the air for many trans-continental or cross-continent trips a month, so their radiation exposure must be pretty immense.

[Bo Zarts]

18. I sometimes refueled at Danang ..

Did quick turn refueling on the “Ranch Hand” ramp, where C-123s were being loaded with Agent Orange.

Tick tick tick tick tick …

[Hope22]

21. My heart goes out to everyone touched by this.

The danger of the job never stops and that is heartbreaking. I hope that answers can be found.💗

[LudwigPastorius]

22. What does 'Top Gun' have to do with this?

Is that part of the plot of the movie?

Or, is the AP just dumbing down its headlines?

[Mr.Bill]

23. My dad flew 50 missions as a gunner/flight engineer

in a B24 over Europe in WWII. A B24 is an un-pressurized aircraft. A B24 burns gallons of oil per hour when the engines are running. Imagine the air quality with 50-100 of these planes fired up, taxiing and taking off then flying in close formation. When they reached altitude they did wear oxygen masks.

After the war he worked as a mechanic for several aircraft companies including United Airlines at the San Francisco maintenance base for about 30 years. He had cancer before his 60th birthday and died of cancer at 66. He had three sons, including me, currently aged 69-75. None of us have had cancer. No other known cancer in his parents or other family members. I have always speculated that his cancer was due to exposure to carcinogens related to his occupation and military experiences.