Shipyard Asbestos Exposure
Shipyards were notorious sources of asbestos exposure for workers in the United States. Thousands of shipyard workers have been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases including malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other cancers.
Thousands of navy ships were constructed in the World War II ship building effort in the 1940s. Asbestos was used extensively on those ships, including on steam pipes, boilers, turbines and other high temperature applications. Asbestos products used include: pipe coverings, cement, block insulation, gaskets, pumps, valves, refractory materials and many others. Asbestos continued to be used in the shipyards after World War II and well into the 1970s.
Shipyard workers have always been at an especially high risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. The reasons for this include the large amount of asbestos used on ships, the poor ventilation in the work environment aboard the ships and the fact that respiratory production was typically not provided. Virtually every occupation at the shipyard was at risk of significant asbestos exposure, including pipe coverers, shipwrights, pipefitters, boiler workers, carpenters, engine room mechanics, electricians, insulators, maintenance mechanics, millwrights, sheet metal workers and welders.
Because of the latency period for mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases, shipyard workers are at risk of developing an asbestos disease for decades after their work at the shipyard ended. Even a shipyard worker from the World War II era is still at risk of developing mesothelioma now, more than 60 years later. The mesothelioma lawyers at Martin & Jones have represented shipyard workers for more than 20 years.
The following are some of the shipyards in the United States with known asbestos exposure:
Alabama
Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company - Mobile, AL
Bender Shipbuilding - Mobile, AL
Chickasaw Shipyard - Chickasaw Shipbuilding and Car Co. - Chickasaw, AL
Alaska
Seward Ship's Drydock - Seward, AK
California
Bethlehem Shipyard - San Pedro, CA
Bethlehem Steel Shipyard - Terminal Island
California Navy Shipyard - Terminal Island, CA
Calship Shipyard - Terminal Island - Los Angeles Harbor, CA
Consolidated Steel Shipyards
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard - Baywiew - Hunters Point - San Francisco, CA
Kaiser Shipyard - Richmond, CA
Long Beach Naval Shipyard - Long Beach, CA
Mare Island Naval Shipyard - Vallejo, CA
Marinship Shipyard - San Francisco Bay - Sausalito, CA
Richmond Shipyard No. III - Henry J. Kaiser Shipyard - Richmond, CA
San Diego Naval Shipyard - San Diego Bay - San Diego, CA
San Francisco Drydock - San Francisco, CA
Todd Shipyard - Los Angeles, CA
Todd Shipyard - San Francisco, CA
Vallejo Shipyard - Vallejo, CA
Connecticut
Groton Electric Boat Company - Groton, CT
Groton Naval Base - Groton, CT
New London Naval Submarine Base - Groton, CT
Florida
Atlantic Dry Dock - Atlantic Marine - Jacksonville, FL
Derecktor Florida - Dania Cutoff Canal - Dania, FL
Gulf Marine Repair Corporation - Tampa, FL
Hendry Corporation - Tampa, FL
J. A. Jones - Panama City, FL
Mayport Naval Station - Mayport, FL
Pensacola Naval Air Station - Pensacola, FL
St. John's River Shipbuilding - south of Jacksonville in Palatka, FL
Tampa Bay Shipbuilding - Tampa, FL (now Tampa Ship, LLC)
Georgia
J. A. Jones - Brunswick, GA
Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation - Savannah, GA
Hawaii
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard - Pearl Harbor, HI
HSI Electric Boat - Sand Island - Honolulu, HI
Louisiana
Avondale Shipyard - New Orleans, LA
Bollinger Shipyards - Lockport, LA
Conrad Industries, Inc. - Morgan City, LA
Delta Shipbuilding - New Orleans, LA
Martin Terminal - Leeville - Port Fourchon, LA
Maine
New England Shipbuilding - South Portland, ME
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - Kittery, ME
Maryland
Baltimore Marine Industries - Sparrows Point, MD
Bethlehem Shipbuilding - Sparrows Point, MD
Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard - Baltimore, MD
General Ship Repair Corporation - Baltimore, MD
Indian Head NSF - southern Maryland
Key Highway Shipyard - Baltimore, MD
Maryland Shipbuilding & Dry Dock - Baltimore, MD
U.S. Coast Guard Yard - Curtis Bay - Baltimore, MD
U.S. Naval Academy - Annapolis, MD
Massachusetts
Bethlehem Shipyard - Hingham, MA
Bethlehem Steel Company - Quincy, MA
Boston Naval Shipyard - Charlestown, MA
Charlestown Navy Yard - Charlestown, MA
Fore River Shipyard - Braintree, MA
Victory Yard - Squantum, MA
Michigan
Defoe Shipbuilding Company - Bay City, MI
Mississippi
Ingalls Shipbuilding - Pascagoula, MS
New Hampshire
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - Portsmouth, NH
New Jersey
Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company - Newark, NJ
New York Shipbuilding Corporation - Camden, NJ
New York
Bethlehem Steel Company - Staten Island, NY
Brooklyn Navy Yard - Brooklyn, NY
Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company, Inc. - Staten Island, NY
Derecktor New York - Mamaroneck, NY
GMD Shipyard Corporation - Brooklyn Navy Yard - Brooklyn, NY
Todds Shipyard - Brooklyn, NY
North Carolina
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company - Wilmington, NC
Ohio
American Ship Building Company - Lorain Shipyard - Cleveland, OH
Oregon
Albina Shipyard - Albina Engine & Machine Works - Portland, OR
Astoria Marine Construction - Astoria, OR
Cascade General Shipyard - Portland, OR
Commercial Iron & Steel Shipyard - Portland, OR
Dyer Shipyard - Portland, OR
Gunderson - FMC Shipyard - Portland, OR
Kaiser Shipyard - Portland, OR
Northwest Marine Ironworks - Portland, OR
Oregon Shipbuilding - Portland, OR
Portland Ship Repair Yard - Swan Island - Portland, OR
South Portland Shipyard - Portland, OR
Swan Island Shipyard - Portland, OR
Willamette Iron & Steel Corporation - Portland
Zidell Marine Corporation - Portland, OR
Pennsylvania
American Bridge Company - Pittsburgh, PA
Dravo Corporation - Pittsburgh, PA
Philadelphia Navy Yard - Philadelphia, PA
Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company - Chester, PA
Rhode Island
Newport Naval Yard - Goat Island - Newport, RI
Quonset Point Electric Boat Facility - Quonset Point, RI
South Carolina
Charleston Naval Shipyard - Detyens Shipyards, Inc. - Charleston, SC
Port Royal Naval Station - Parris Island, SC
Texas
American Bridge Shipyard - Orange, TX
Brown Shipbuilding Company - Houston, TX
Consolidated Steel Corporation - Orange, TX
Galveston Docks - Galveston, TX
Kane Shipbuilding & Boiler Works - Galveston, TX
Naval Station Ingleside - Kingsville, TX
Orange Shipbuilding - Orange, TX
Pennsylvania Shipyard - Beaumont, TX
Port Adams Shipyard - TX
Todd Shipyard - Houston, TX
Virginia
Colonna's Shipyard - Norfolk, VA
Dahlgren Naval Support Facility - Dahlgren, VA
Naval Amphibious Base - Little Creek, VA
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company - Newport News, VA
Norfolk Naval Shipyard - Portsmouth, VA
NORSHIPCO - now with BAE Systems - Norfolk, VA
Washington
Bremerton Naval Shipyard - now part of Puget Sound - WA
Duwamish Shipyard, Inc. - Seattle, WA
Lake Union Drydock Company - Seattle, WA
Lake Washington Shipyard - Houghton, WA
Lockheed Shipyard - Seattle, WA
Masco Shipyard - WA
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard - Bremerton, WA
Tacoma Boatbuilding - Tacoma, WA
Todd Shipyard - Tacoma, WA
Washington, D.C.
Washington Navy Yard - Washington, D.C.
U.S. Companies
