Although there are many examples of exposure to asbestos in the military from World War II onward to about the mid-1970s, the navy had the most chances of exposure to asbestos since it used asbestos within its ships where the enlisted had no choice but to breath air within confined quarters that were laced with airborne asbestos fibers.
Widely used products that contained asbestos are:
- Fire rooms
- Boiler rooms
- Navigation rooms
- Sleeping quarters
- Mess halls
- Gaskets
- Valves
- Cables
- Cement
- Adhesives used throughout ships
The navy's surgeon general was fully aware that continuous exposure to asbestos fibers caused asbestosis and published a report that covered the health conditions at the Brooklyn Navy Yard which unveiled that the yard's pipe covers and insulators exposed workers to these lethal asbestos fibers. Although the health hazards of asbestos were known as early as 1939, the navy kept on using asbestos for almost four decades, which was evidence that human safety was ignored for the sake of commercial interests.
In adjacent quarters aboard ships and within shipyards, workers and the enlisted may have inhaled the carcinogenic particles of asbestos. There existed the possibility that the particles were brought home to their families by means of their work clothes and hair, eventually affecting their friends and family members.
It is still astonishing that some naval ships still contain asbestos which is embedded in gaskets, brakes, clutches and other materials and continues to be a danger to yet another generation of navy personnel.
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Veterans and Asbestos Exposure | Shipyard Exposure