From what was shown on news footage, the parts were blasted with firehoses as they came out of the water and prior to loading on the decks. Many sites have also pointed this out. Don't the ship firehoses use surface water?
yes...they do from what I am told. I wasn't in the navy.
my buds were. I don't know if they were involved with the hosing on the decks. They just said that hosing them down was required.