Asbestos-Covered Pipes on Navy Ships: Gunners, Other Enlisted Personnel Exposed to Dangerous Carcinogen

Thousands of Navy veterans, including gunners, seabees, boiler tenders and laggers face an uncertain future caused by exposure to asbestos while in active military service. For Navy vets, whether officer or enlisted serviceman, all were at risk to develop serious illnesses including mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer or asbestosis.

For over 100 years, many dedicated men and women served our nation to construct the ships that served the U.S. Navy fleet throughout two world wars and in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Some of these ships are still protecting both U.S. and international waters to this day.

Unfortunately, for both those who built and repaired these ships and the Navy personnel who served on them, they were exposed to an invisible danger that would affect them many decades after ending their active military service: the asbestos that was used in virtually every area of the ship.

Many Navy veterans remember that asbestos-covered pipes ran across the ceilings in their living and sleeping quarters. War-time vets often state that asbestos dust would fall on their bunks, even falling on them while they were sleeping.  Asbestos insulation was used in the engine room, to insulate boilers, and other areas.  Because of its fire-retardant properties, it was also used in the powder rooms and other areas where explosives were kept.

Those who built and or performed dry dock repairs at navy yards were also exposed to the dangerous carcinogen (cancer-causing substance). A number of WWII-era veterans reported that when assigned to a ship brought into dry dock, ships were sometimes stripped down for refitting, exposing those assigned to these projects to breathe in asbestos.

Exposure to Asbestos Can Cause Serious Illness Many Years Later
Even though the dangers of asbestos are now well-known, asbestos-containing materials (ACM) were still used on Navy ships until the 1960s.

One of the reasons why asbestos has such a long latency period is because of its microscopic structure. Tiny asbestos fibers have jagged edges, causing them to stick to the lungs when they are inhaled. Unlike other irritating substances that are breathed in, asbestos is not expelled by coughing, sneezing or blowing ones nose.

The asbestos fibers remain in the lungs, where they can eventually cause lung tissue to scar, which results in chronic diseases like pleural plaques disease or asbestosis. In other cases, the asbestos causes the lungs to produce abnormal cells, which results in the development of lung tumors (lung cancer) and other forms of cancers, such as mesothelioma.

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