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How Can Shipyard Workers Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
The job duties of shipyard laborers varied tremendously by occupation. Some job duties of shipyard laborers may include:
- Transporting, loading and unloading materials, tools and equipment
- Removing cable
- Removing malfunctioning equipment
- Installing cables and equipment
- Painting ships
- Cleaning ships
- Removing insulation and other materials from ships
- Perform routine maintenance work
- Operate various types of tools
These job duties put shipyard laborers in direct contact with products that contained asbestos. As these workers cleaned, repaired and maintained equipment and the ship, they could have breathed in microscopic asbestos fibers that could attach to the lining of their lungs and eventually result in mesothelioma.
Shipbuilding activity dramatically increased between World War II at the Vietnam War, a time that was also associated with greater use of asbestos products. Many shipyards have an extensive history of asbestos exposure. It may take between 10 to 50 years after being exposed to asbestos before symptoms of mesothelioma present.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Shipyard Laborers
There are approximately 160,000 shipyard workers currently employed in the United States. They are spread across 26 states bordering coastal and inland waters. States with the highest employment rates for shipyard workers include California, Washington, New York and Massachusetts.
Similar Occupations as Shipyard Laborers
Similar occupations as shipyard laborers include:
- Construction workers
- Foremen
- Grounds workers
- Laggers
- Material handlers
- Riggers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Shipyard Laborers and Mesothelioma
There have been a number of lawsuits brought by shipyard workers who worked in various jobs. For example, a former shipfitter at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia was awarded $25 million in 2011. He worked aboard 17 oil tankers owned by Exxon Corporation during the 1960s and 1970s. The jury concluded that Exxon was aware of the dangers of asbestos on the ships but failed to warn him of the dangers.
The family of a former naval machinist was awarded $5.2 million after the man’s death from mesothelioma in 2006. He had worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for nearly 40 years removing asbestos insulation from its boilers. It was determined that the company failed to disclose the risks of its products.
A family of a former Portland shipyard carpenter who worked for three Portland shipyards was awarded compensation after the court found that his last employer had a legal responsibility to the worker. The case was presented before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Benefit Review Board and then later transferred to federal court upon appeal.
Studies Related to Shipyard Laborers and Asbestos
There are a number of studies that have noted a connection between the work of shipbuilding industry workers 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 rate for the general population. Many of the casualties affecting people living on the East or West coasts where major shipbuilding activity occurs.
In an article in Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health published in 2017, researchers reported deaths related to asbestos for people who worked at the Coast Guard Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland from the years 1950 to 1964. They found that those with a moderate level of asbestos exposure had a likelihood of dying from mesothelioma that was almost four times greater than the general population. Workers with a high level of asbestos exposure had a likelihood of dying from mesothelioma more than seven times greater than the general population.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Shipyard Laborers
Because asbestos was resistant to corrosion and high temperature, it was used extensively in private and military vessels. Until the 1970s, the Navy authorized using more than 300 products that contained asbestos in its ships.
Asbestos was used in rooms with poor ventilation, including boiler rooms and engine rooms. It was also used as insulation for boilers and in walls. Asbestos was used as pipe covering as well as in gaskets and valves.
Other asbestos products that were contained in many ships include:
- Adhesives
- Block insulation
- Brake linings
- Cables
- Flooring
- Paneling
- Paint
- Pumps
- Roofing materials
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Shipyard Laborers
There are a number of manufacturers that were contracted by the Navy to insulate ships, most notably GAF Corporation, which alleged that the Navy was responsible for asbestos exposure. Also, Johns Manville Corporation produced products for the Navy and private industries that were commonly used to repair ships. Many of these companies have been named in asbestos litigation.
Asbestos was included in a number of different military vessels such as: aircraft carriers, amphibious warships, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, escort carriers, frigates, Merchant Marine ships, minesweepers, and submarines. Shipyard laborers who worked on these ships or in shipyards where these ships were housed may have been exposed to asbestos.
