Asbestos Pad Use Aboard Navy Ships Put Countless Vets at Risk for Asbestos-Related Disease

The use of asbestos pad insulation materials on Navy ships was only one of the countless asbestos-containing materials used on Navy vessels. Crew members who breathed in toxic asbestos dusts ultimately faced a lifetime of risk to develop a number of serious asbestos-related diseases.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, asbestos lung cancer or asbestosis caused by exposure to asbestos, our asbestos lawyers are ready to fight for your rights. Please complete the form on this page to more information.

For decades, asbestos pads were used to insulate valves, flanges and other equipment aboard ships in the U.S. Navy fleet.

Navy crews often referred to the asbestos pads as removable pads or removal insulation because of their design, which allowed them to be easily taken off equipment undergoing repair.

The removal and reapplication process would cause asbestos fibers to contaminate the air, causing crew members to breathe in the hazardous dusts.

Other Asbestos Exposure Risks Aboard Ship
In addition to the use of asbestos pads, asbestos insulation was used in almost every area aboard Navy ships. Navy snipes who worked near the engine, boiler room and pump room faced daily exposure to the dangerous carcinogen (cancer-causing material), as did those assigned to the ship’s powder rooms, gunners and gunner’s mates.

Asbestos insulation covered the pipes that traversed the ship, including pipes on the ceilings in crew quarters. Many Navy veterans recalled that vibrations would cause the asbestos insulation to flake from the ceilings onto their bunks.

Long Latency Period for Asbestos Disease
The time between exposure to asbestos and when symptoms of an asbestos-related disease are present can be 30-40 or more years (known as asbestos latency periods). Tragically, this means that a Navy veteran who was exposed to asbestos when they were only in their 20s may not develop symptoms of asbestos disease until they are nearing their 50s or 60s.

This decades-long latency period is caused by the way asbestos affects the lungs. When asbestos-contaminated dusts are inhaled, the sharp edges on the microscopic asbestos fibers cause them to attach to lung tissue. Over the long asbestos latency period, the asbestos remains trapped in the lungs, where they cause scarring.

Eventually, the scarring can cause any number of serious breathing problems such as emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), asbestosis or pleural plaques disease to develop.

In more serious cases, the asbestos-scarred lungs will begin to produce abnormal cells. When abnormal lung cells cluster and reproduce, they eventually cause lung cancer to develop.

Tragically, a number of Navy veterans have developed a life-threatening form of asbestos lung cancer known as mesothelioma.

Get Help from the Asbestos Lawyers at Weitz & Weitz & Luxenberg
If you or a loved one worked has been diagnosed with asbestosis, asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma cancer, our experienced asbestos lawyers may be able to help you to seek justice for your illness and file a lawsuit on your behalf.

Please complete the form on this page and a Weitz & Luxenberg representative will contact you as soon as possible.