Navy service, shipyards, and asbestos

Why ships used so much asbestos

Asbestos resists heat and fire, which made it the standard insulation for hot equipment at sea. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains that in shipbuilding, asbestos was used to insulate boilers, steam pipes, and hot water pipes, and it lists the shipbuilding trades among the jobs with recognized asbestos hazards.

Asbestos releases fibers when it is disturbed, so building and repairing ships, which meant cutting, fitting, and tearing out insulation, could put fibers in the air. The Virginia study below found raised risk across a variety of shipyard trades, not only among the men who handled the insulation.

Who was exposed

VA's public health office says veterans who served in mining, milling, shipyard work, insulation work, demolition of old buildings, carpentry and construction, or the manufacture and installation of products such as flooring and roofing may have been exposed to asbestos. VA's disability pages add products such as cement sheet, pipes, insulation, and brake and clutch linings.

Civilian shipyard workers were exposed too. The studies below include many people who worked in shipyards during World War II.

What the research found

Federal and university researchers have studied shipyard workers for decades:

• Coastal Virginia. A 1980 case-control study, prompted by a four-fold increase in mesothelioma among white men in Tidewater Virginia from 1972 to 1978, identified 61 cases. Three-fourths had worked in the shipbuilding industry, nearly all starting before 1950. The risk was raised even among men who worked in shipyards only temporarily, mainly during World War II. Four of the five women interviewed had husbands who worked in shipbuilding. See our Virginia guide.
• Coastal Georgia. A 1978 study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at lung cancer after World War II shipyard employment in coastal Georgia. See our Georgia guide.
• Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. NIOSH researchers studied civilian employees at the shipyard in Kittery, Maine, including their asbestos exposures. See our Maine guide.

Where rates are highest

In NIOSH's ranking of the U.S. counties with the highest mesothelioma death rates in 2000 to 2004, several are coastal areas with long histories of shipbuilding or naval work. They include Sagadahoc County, Maine, home of Bath; the city of Newport News, Virginia; Kitsap County, Washington; and York County and the cities of Portsmouth and Chesapeake in Virginia. NIOSH's table does not give a reason for each county's rate. See the full list on mesothelioma rates by county and metro area.

VA benefits after Navy or shipyard service

VA says you may be eligible for disability compensation if you have a health condition caused by asbestos and you had contact with asbestos during military service. VA decides these claims case by case. The evidence VA asks for is:

1. medical records that state your health condition,
2. service records that list your job or specialty, and
3. a doctor's statement that there is a connection between your asbestos contact during service and the condition.

Helpful details to gather for a Navy claim include your rating or job specialty, the ships and shipyards where you served, the years, and any repair or overhaul periods. VA-accredited representatives from Veterans Service Organizations help with VA claims for free. See VA benefits for asbestos exposure for filing, the intent to file, and survivors' benefits.

Health care

If you are concerned about asbestos-related health problems from your service, VA suggests talking with your health care provider or your local VA environmental health coordinator. Eligible veterans can get care at VA medical centers, and our treatment centers page lists NCI-designated cancer centers by state. Talk with your doctor about your symptoms and your service history.

Legal options are separate

Besides VA benefits, many veterans and civilian shipyard workers have claims against the companies that made the asbestos products, through asbestos trust funds or lawsuits. Those are not claims against the military. Deadlines are often short and differ by state; see statutes of limitations by state. This page is general information, not legal advice.