Asbestos Use During Overhauls at Naval Shipyards
Prior to World War II and up through the mid 1970s, asbestos insulating products were routinely disturbed during regular maintenance and repair of Navy ships. This caused asbestos dust to become airborne in significant quantities. Workers in all shipyards throughout the country used the same work practices and suffered the same type of exposure.
The majority of a Navy ship’s life was spent in an operational status, as a member of and under the direction and control of various fleet, battle group and other operational entities under the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). However, in accordance with a long-range maintenance planning schedule, each ship was assigned discrete periods of maintenance, repair and overhaul, designated as CNO availabilities.
Regular Overhaul and Repair Work
Generally, ships underwent a major overhaul approximately every three to five years and also received several equally spaced selective restrictive availabilities (SRAs) within the overhaul cycle.
Prior to the mid-1980s virtually all shipyard industrial periods (overhauls and SRAs) were accomplished by the various naval shipyards. At that time, there were approximately twelve shipyards capable of this type of work. When a ship was undergoing an industrial period, the industrial work was under the technical and organizational authority of the Bureau of Ships, known as BUSHIPS, and later as the Naval Sea Systems Command or NAVSEA. Each of the naval shipyards served under NAVSEA, which developed and promulgated overall policies and procedures for the construction, repair and maintenance of the ships themselves and for the organization and operation of the shipyards.
These common specifications, standards and management served to institutionalize a common body of practices that governed all aspects of shipyard activity, including that of all of shipyards and shipyard shops.
All Shipyard Shop Workers Worked With and Around Asbestos
Given this shared experiences of shipyard work practices, all shipyard workers and shop workers engaged in similar work practices, including the handling of asbestos products. The insulation workers at every shipyard worked alongside other tradesmen constantly. The deadly asbestos dust was around all of the workers and inhaled by them all. Sadly, what remains for all these workers is the risk of developing mesothelioma as a result of their exposure to deadly asbestos dust.
