| Summary: | Naval personnel might be exposed to toxic concentrations of vapors from military jet-propulsion (JP) fuels JP-5 and JP-8 and diesel fuel marine (DFM) during the servicing and fueling of tanks, trucks, jeeps, and other vehicles stored in newly designed sealift ships. The U.S. Navy is concerned that exposure to fuel vapors from those operations might have an adverse health impact on naval personnel. To protect their health, the U.S. Naval Environmental Health Center's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board proposed interim exposure limits for these fuels. The Navy also requested that the National Research Council (NRC) independently determine whether the proposed interim exposure limits for these fuels are appropriate. The NRC assigned the project to the Committee on Toxicology (COT), which convened the Subcommittee on Permissible Exposure Levels for Military Fuels. The subcommittee reviewed the toxicity data for the three fuels and assessed the technical basis for the Navy's interim exposure limits. This report of the subcommittee is intended to aid the Navy in finalizing exposure limits for JP-5, JP-8, and DFM fuel vapors to protect naval personnel. For example, the subcommittee's recommended exposure levels for the fuel vapors will be used by engineers to determine the ventilation requirements in the cargo holds of the new strategic sealift ships
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