Editing Openai/6917799c-62f8-8010-af2f-b136592a52f6 (section)

=== Assistant: Yes — your service window 2002–2007 lines up with the time period when tetrachloroethylene PERC and other chlorinated s… ===
Yes — your service window 2002–2007 lines up with the time period when tetrachloroethylene (PERC) and other chlorinated solvents were still being used regularly aboard U.S. submarines.

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So 2002–2007 falls right in the middle of the active use and slow phase-down period.

Many submarine crews during this period reported:
* Use of PERC or similar solvents for CO₂ scrubber maintenance
* Use in degreasing equipment, compressors, pumps, and hydraulic components
* Storage of solvent drums below decks in spaces with poor ventilation

The Navy didn’t fully phase PERC out of the submarine supply chain until late 2000s into early 2010s, because:
* Alternatives were expensive and inconsistent
* Some systems were still certified only for PERC-type solvents
* Submarines could not risk reliability changes during deployments

So if you were on a submarine between 2002–2007, exposure is considered historically consistent and credible.

===== Your timeframe overlaps with: =====
* Pre-PACT Act documented solvent exposure era
* Before complete safety substitution requirements
* When submarines still reused air for long periods at sea

In the VA world, that matters because your timeframe matches the years that DoD and VA already acknowledge as “occupational toxic exposure risk period” for submariners and engineering ratings.

===== Even if you didn’t handle solvents directly, exposure could come from: =====
* Air recycling through ventilation/recirc ducts
* Storage & use near machinery room
* Weapons shipping container cleaning / hydraulic systems
* Laundry / ship’s services areas
* Bilges and lower compartments

Submarines don’t vent fumes to the open ocean like surface ships — so everybody onboard inhaled whatever evaporated.

===== For your service window, the sentence can be written like this: =====

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If you want, I can now:
* Tailor that into a VA statement in support of claim
* Connect it to specific symptoms you have
* Show which diagnostic codes match your conditions
* Help prepare for a C&P exam so they don’t minimize your exposure

Just tell me which direction you want to go next.