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I've already sent this question to the VA and am awaiting an answer but I also wanted to aske it here. Does anyone know if the VA has a program for testing former sailors for lead exposure from the lead paint used on the ships? From what I read so far, it seems that if you have lead in the body as an adult it can result in memory loss and pain in the joints, something I'm beginning to feel at 40 years old and am not sure if it's age or my exposure to lead. I also read that you have to be treated to have the lead removed. At the time I was in we didn't use respirators to chip the old paint off the bulkheads and this was a ship built in the 60s. We used a primer that scared me. If you left the can open too long it would dry into a solid rubbery green block. We were told the primer and the paint at the time was lead based. Should I get tested by my family doctor and send the results to the VA or see if they'll do the testing first?
We'd blast lead paint off where everybody looked like ghosts with the powder everywhere. It was funny to see everyone covered with dust. It was even on our food, dishes, clothes, beds... Then, we treated rust with "Purple Haze" acid, then used primers called "Red Lead" and "Blue Death" and the barnacle killer paints that are now banned. Was it harmful? Probably. I'm over 50 now and I think I feel appropriate for a 50-year-old person (memory loss, pain in joints...). However, if you feel you've been affected, you need to see a doctor pronto! Whether you'll be compensated financially, unlikely. But, your medical condition should be treated if you feel injured, regardless of who's at fault. I'd start with a VA physical and be very specific on telling your doctor what you think. Good luck!
i was on the uss kearsarege in 1969 helped decommission it, by sanding lead based paint and primar with orange lead. my body was covered from head to toe with the dust.i was a bosun mate and that was our job.i have every symptom there is from being exposed to lead and i am fighting the v.a. and have been now for about 11 years.stay in contact and i will too.
Ah yes the good ol days, chipping paint with a pneumatic needle gun, then repainting with red lead primer. USS Saratoga 67/69.
Fortunately sewed on my crow shortly after coming aboard so expose was limited. 65 and no joint problems or memory issues (I hope). Of course then I often used toluene to clean special weapons
Depending on what age you are its more common for you to have been expose to lead paint when a child than as a adult really. The type of exposer from your having actually mouth things with lead paint means much worse expose when a child.I would be muchmore worried about exposure to asbestos i a ship really but eve that often takes year unless you were a insulator wrokig with it unwrapped. This si why wrapped undesturbed asbestos is really not much of a danger compared to toehr forms like found in homes and in worker using the materials.
"If you are concerned about lead exposure, please talk to your health care provider. A simple blood test is all that is needed to determine if you have an elevated lead level."
SailorDave, I went with my brother yesterday to the VA "C & P" office. They mostly do Agent Orange during war time, and my brother wasn't in then. He cleaned paint brushes and rollers that had Red Lead in the Primer and paint in 9x9 paint lockers for years. No gloves and breathing the fumes. Then, later was a gunny with the asbestos. We asked about the lead, because we believe a lot of his health problems stem from this. They said there is a registry, which names will be put on, but we had to submit his DD 214's for her to check which ships he was on. She didn't believe it was for lead or asbestos. Although he remembers all the ship's names, she had to have the DD214's to look it up. [mod] Links edited. [/mod]
Quote:
Originally Posted by sailordave
I've already sent this question to the VA and am awaiting an answer but I also wanted to aske it here. Does anyone know if the VA has a program for testing former sailors for lead exposure from the lead paint used on the ships? From what I read so far, it seems that if you have lead in the body as an adult it can result in memory loss and pain in the joints, something I'm beginning to feel at 40 years old and am not sure if it's age or my exposure to lead. I also read that you have to be treated to have the lead removed. At the time I was in we didn't use respirators to chip the old paint off the bulkheads and this was a ship built in the 60s. We used a primer that scared me. If you left the can open too long it would dry into a solid rubbery green block. We were told the primer and the paint at the time was lead based. Should I get tested by my family doctor and send the results to the VA or see if they'll do the testing first?
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 08-09-2011 at 08:50 AM..
"If you are concerned about lead exposure, please talk to your health care provider. A simple blood test is all that is needed to determine if you have an elevated lead level."
update for poncho do your research cause lead only stays in ur blood for a short period of time before leaving your body however the damage that it causes stays with you forever.
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VA Lead Paint
