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How Can a Foreman Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Shipyard foremen are responsible for supervising the loading and unloading of cargo onto ships, receiving materials and goods and maintaining a clean yard. They may be tasked with hiring and supervising staff to meet production goals. They often serve as the main point of contact for operations on the job site.
Asbestos was commonly used on thousands of components aboard private and military vessels and in shipbuilding shipyards. Asbestos resists corrosion and high temperatures, so it seemed to be an ideal product to use on ships. Because foremen often had myriad responsibilities, they could have been exposed to asbestos from a variety of sources, including insulation for boilers, water pipes, steam pipes and incinerators, gaskets, valves, deck flooring and many others. Often, foremen would work in poorly ventilated spaces where asbestos was present, which could lead to foremen breathing in dangerous asbestos fibers from contaminated materials.
While some foremen were considered “general foremen” and had floating responsibilities, others had more specific designations, such as pipe foremen, Senior Bay foremen or hull foremen where they had specific duties related to a particular portion of the ship where they may have had more specific exposure to asbestos.
Typical job duties of shipyard foremen include:
- Supervise staff in shipyard operations
- Hire and train staff
- Perform inspections of ships and the shipyard
- Survey and analyze results
- Act as a go-between for the company and the client
- Develop and implement yard fire protection programs
- Ensure the proper handling and storage of materials
- Monitor inventory of yard supplies
- Maintain the premises
- Perform maintenance on equipment
- Monitor loading and unloading of materials
- Monitor employee actions and work
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Foremen
There are approximately 160,000 shipyard workers who are currently employed in the United States. They are spread across 26 states bordering coastal and inland waters. Many work in the northeastern part of the country. States with the highest employment rates for shipyard workers include California, Washington, New York and Massachusetts.
Similar Occupations as Shipyard Foremen
Similar occupations as shipyard foremen include:
- Construction foremen
- Electrical foremen
- Grounds workers
- Riggers
- Sheet metal foremen
- Yard supervisors
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Foremen and Mesothelioma
There have been some lawsuits filed by shipyard foremen. For example, a former shipyard foreman and his wife sued Air & Liquid Systems Corporation and other asbestos manufacturers after the man was allegedly exposed to asbestos from their products while working at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. He worked as a rigger foreman between 1967 to 1973 and as a rigger general foreman between 1985 to 1991.
Other potential paths of compensation for shipyard foremen include workers’ compensation benefits or VA benefits if their exposure occurred while serving in the armed forces. Some asbestos manufacturers also established special asbestos trust funds to pay damages to people adversely affected by their products.
Studies Related to Foremen and Asbestos
There are a number of studies that have found a connection between the work of people in the shipbuilding industry or who work aboard ships and exposure to asbestos. In the 2008 study “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,” researchers found that shipyard workers had a mortality rate from asbestosis that was 16 times greater than the average for other occupations. Many of these deaths were from people who lived along the East or West coasts of the United States where a lot of shipbuilding work is performed.
In the study entitled “Cancer at sea: a case-control study among male Finnish seafarers,” researchers investigated the possible work-related reasons for the increased incidence of many cancers among sea workers. They found that certain occupations aboard ships had a greater incident rate for certain cancers. For example, engine crew workers were almost 10 times more likely to develop mesothelioma when they had worked in the industry for at least 20 years.
Many studies have also shown that military veterans have been exposed to asbestos, resulting in nearly 30% of asbestos lawsuits stemming from this population. The Navy is the branch of service that has received the largest number of complaints.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Foremen
Foremen may have come into contact with a variety of products made with asbestos, such as:
- Adhesives
- Block insulation
- Boilers
- Brake linings
- Cables
- Flooring materials
- Gaskets
- Insulation
- Paint
- Pipe covering
- Valves
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Foremen
Top manufacturers of asbestos products like Johns Manville and Union Carbide also supplied products to the shipbuilding industry. Shipyards where workers may have been exposed to asbestos include:
- Alabama Dry Dock
- Bethlehem Steel Shipyard
- Bremerton Naval Shipyard
- Brooklyn Navy Yard
- Charleston Naval Shipyard
- General Dynamics NASSCO
- Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
- Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Lockheed Shipyard
- Long Beach Naval Shipyard
- Naval Station Everett
- Newport News Naval Shipyard
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- Pearl Harbor Shipyard
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
- San Diego Naval Shipyard
- Todd Shipyards
