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How Can a Shipfitter Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Shipfitters worked in the Navy and as civilians to help build ships. They work with steel to fabricate and assemble structural components of a ship. They fit together these portions of the ship by welding or riveting. Because shipfitters work around the internal structure of ships, they could have been exposed to asbestos, which was very prevalent on vessels. When asbestos fibers broke off of materials like insulation or pipe covering, shipfitters could breathe in these toxic fibers that could become lodged in their lungs and eventually cause mesothelioma.
Common duties of shipfitters include:
- Lay out and fabricate metal structural parts like bulkheads, frames and plates
- Braces metal parts in position within the hull of a ship
- Locate and mark reference lines
- Align parts using hand tools and heavy machinery
- Install temporary fasteners around parts
- Prepare molds and templates for fabrication
- Install gaskets, liners and packing
- Tack weld clips and brackets in place before permanent welding
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Shipfitters
Civilian shipfitters are classified under the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ category of “layout workers, metal and plastic,” which includes 8,550 people. Locations in the United States for the highest employment rates for shipfitters include:
- California
- Alabama
- Washington
- Virginia
- Kansas
Similar Occupations as Shipfitters
Similar occupations as shipfitters include the following:
- Boatswain’s mate
- Boilermaker
- Damage controlman
- Engineman
- Metal and plastic workers
- Pipefitter
- Ship builder
- Steamfitter
- Welder
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Shipfitters and Mesothelioma
Up to 30% of mesothelioma diagnoses are to military veterans, with many of these involving Navy veterans. These individuals may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturers of asbestos products that they were exposed to during their time in service. For example, the family of a former Navy and civilian shipfitter sued Burnham LLC that manufactured boilers made with asbestos after he developed pleural mesothelioma and died in 2012 from the disease. The man served in the Nav during the Vietnam War where he worked as a pipefitter and shipfitter. He later worked as a steamfitter at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He worked around boilermakers who removed asbestos insulation from boilers. The family received a verdict of $20 million in 2015 after finding the defendant was liable for the man’s death and acted with reckless disregard for his safety.
Other possible forms of compensation that may be provided to individuals exposed to asbestos during their career as a shipfitter may be to file a VA claim for benefits, workers’ compensation claim, or asbestos trust fund claim.
Studies Related to Shipfitters and Asbestos
A few studies have explored the connection between shipbuilding and asbestos exposure. The U.S. National Institutes of Health conducted a study in 2008 called “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences” in which researchers concluded that shipfitters were 16 times more likely to be diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease than people employed in other occupations.
The 2010 study entitled “Asbestos-related cancers among 28,300 military servicemen in the Royal Norwegian Navy” found increased risks of mesothelioma among engine room crews. Additionally, engine room crews and non-engine room crews were more likely to develop lung cancer or colorectal cancer, compared to other workers.
According to the 2011 study “Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),” the government was aware of the connection between asbestosis and asbestos exposure as early as 1930 but continued to include asbestos-containing materials in ships until 1980.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Shipfitters
Shipfitters could have come in contact with a variety of asbestos-containing materials because Navy ships often included more than 300 types of products that contained asbestos. Other vessels also often contained asbestos. Asbestos was often used in parts near high temperatures or where parts could be corroded. Asbestos products were contained in engine rooms, cabins and crates and pallets in shipyards. They were included in products such as:
- Gaskets
- Valves
- Pumps
- Boilers
- Cement
- Insulation
- Adhesives
- Pipe covering
- Paint
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Shipfitters
Manufactures of asbestos products may have supplied these products to the following shipyards where shipfitters may have been exposed:
- Alabama Dry Dock
- Albina Shipyard
- Barbours Cut Docks
- Bethlehem Steel Shipyard
- Bremerton Naval Shipyard
- Brooklyn Navy Yard
- Caddell Dry Dock
- California Navy Shipyard
- Charleston Naval Shipyard
- Consolidated Steel Shipyards
- Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard
- Defoe Shipyard
- Duwamish Shipyard
- Galveston Docks
- General Dynamics NASSCO
- GMD Shipyard
- Groton Naval Base
- Houston Shipyards
- Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
- Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Kane Shipbuilding
- Kaiser Shipyard
- Lockheed Shipyard
- Long Beach Naval Shipyard
- Moore Dry Dock
- Naval Station Everett
- Naval Weapons Station
- New York Shipbuilding Corporation
- Newport News Naval Shipyard
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- Orange Shipbuilding
- Pearl Harbor Shipyard
- Pensacola Naval Air Station
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
- San Diego Naval Shipyard
- San Francisco Drydock
- Seward Ships Drydock
- Sun Shipbuilding
- Tacoma Drydock
- Todd Shipyards
- Washington Navy Yard
- Willamette Iron and Steel Works
