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How Can a Shipyard Lagger Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Shipyard laggers apply insulation and covering to piping and machinery for water systems, air condition systems, refrigeration systems and steam machinery, bulkheads and overheads. They may work on military ships or privately or commercially owned vessels. Due to their proximity to insulation that often contained asbestos, shipyard laggers were in danger of being exposed to asbestos and breathing in asbestos fibers on a daily basis.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Shipyard Laggers
Locations in the United States for the highest employment rates for shipyard workers are:
- California
- Washington
- New York
- Massachusetts
Similar Occupations as Shipyard Laggers
Similar occupations as shipyard laggers include:
- Boilermaker
- Construction workers
- Drywall workers
- Grounds workers
- Masonry workers
- Materials movers
- Shipyard laborers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Shipyard Laggers and Mesothelioma
There have been a few lawsuits brought by shipyard laggers and asbestos insulation workers. The family of a man who worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for nearly 40 years received an award of $5.2 million. The man routinely removed asbestos insulation from boilers that were mas made by Foster Wheeler Corp. The court determined the company failed to disclose the risks of its asbestos-containing products.
In a landmark case filed in 1973 that provided thousands of claimants with the legal strategy to file claims against negligent asbestos manufacturers, a man who installed asbestos insulation in shipyards and oil refineries in Texas and Louisiana initially filed a workers’ compensation claim and received a little over $13,000. After visiting a lawyer, he decided to pursue a personal injury case. He died before the case was concluded in favor of his wife. The jury found total damages of $79,436, but the court reduced this amount to $58,534 since she had already received more than $20,000 in settlements from other asbestos companies.
Studies Related to Shipyard Laggers and Asbestos
Researchers have conducted several studies regarding the connection between asbestos insulation and mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. For example in “The Occurrence of Asbestosis Among Insulation Workers in the United States,” researchers detailed the history of asbestos in insulation. They stated that asbestos was first used in insulation in 1866 and the first union of insulation workers was established in 1884. The researchers studied 1,522 members of the insulation workers union in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. They found evidence of pulmonary asbestosis in approximately half of the men in the study.
Several other studies reached similar conclusions, finding that asbestos exposure to insulation workers was associated with higher risks of asbestos, lung cancer and mesothelioma. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that asbestos insulators who worked in a U.S. Navy shipyard in Japan who directly handled asbestos-containing materials had a higher mortality rate for lung cancer. They also had an increased risk of mesothelioma and asbestosis.
A Swedish study found that the rate of pleural mesothelioma in workers from 1961 and 2009 was more than 10 times greater for insulators than the general population.
A study in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine evaluated 162 men who worked as insulator in 1940. Researchers found a higher number of deaths attributed to asbestos-related diseases in these men.
Extensive research by Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and his cohorts conducted during the 1960s calculated that 80% of asbestos insulation workers with at least 20 years of experience in the industry asbestosis. Additionally, 40% of these workers’ deaths were attributed to asbestos exposure.
He has found that deaths of insulation workers has fallen from 1967 and 1986 due to a reduction in asbestos exposure to these workers. There has also been a decline in mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer deaths in this population in men with less than 40 years of experience.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Shipyard Laggers
The primary type of asbestos product that shipyard laggers would have come in contact with is insulation. Ships contained asbestos insulation in their walls, sleeping quarters, boilers, engine rooms and other locations. Asbestos helped prevent fires and control heat.
However, shipyard laggers could have also come in contact with other products that contained asbestos, including:
- Adhesives
- Cement powders
- Drywall
- Mortar mix
- Flooring materials and tiles
- Paneling
- Piping
- Wallboard
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Shipyard Laggers
Various manufacturers produced asbestos products that shipyard laggers may have come in contact with.
Shipyards where asbestos exposure may have occurred include:
- Albina Shipyard
- Barbours Cut Docks
- Caddell Dry Dock
- California Navy Shipyard
- Consolidated Steel Shipyards
- Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard
- Defoe Shipyard
- Duwamish Shipyard
- Galveston Docks
- GMD Shipyard
- Groton Naval Base
- Houston Shipyards
- Kane Shipbuilding
- Kaiser Shipyard
- Moore Dry Dock
- Naval Weapons Station
- New York Shipbuilding Corporation
- Orange Shipbuilding
- Pensacola Naval Air Station
- San Francisco Drydock
- Seward Ships Drydock
- Sun Shipbuilding
- Tacoma Drydock
- Washington Navy Yard
- Willamette Iron and Steel Works
