Navy experienced still are paying out the cost today. The Navy lastly halted filling up ships with asbestos in the early ’70s, but those vessels continued to be in use for many years right after creation stopped Prior to the U.S. Environment Protection Company (EPA) regulating the use of asbestos, shipbuilders were utilizing it in 100s of programs. Motor rooms, boiler rooms, weaponry and ammo storage rooms – anywhere that needed heat resistance – all had the mineral. It was in the mess halls, the sleeping quarters and navigation rooms, too. Items like cables, gaskets and valves had asbestos. It covered the pipes, pumps, motors, condensers and compressors that assisted run a ship. It was in the wall insulation and the floors.
Navy experienced still are paying out the cost today. The Navy lastly halted filling up ships with asbestos in the early ’70s, but those vessels continued to be in use for many years right after creation stopped Prior to the U.S. Environment Protection Company (EPA) regulating the use of asbestos, shipbuilders were utilizing it in 100s of programs. Motor rooms, boiler rooms, weaponry and ammo storage rooms – anywhere that needed heat resistance – all had the mineral. It was in the mess halls, the sleeping quarters and navigation rooms, too. Items like cables, gaskets and valves had asbestos. It covered the pipes, pumps, motors, condensers and compressors that assisted run a ship. It was in the wall insulation and the floors.
The building, demolition, repair or renovation of ships – or naval structures on land – uncovered Navy staff to the microscopic asbestos fibers. As ships aged, asbestos became brittle. Any disturbance, particularly in the near quarters of ships and submarines, might make the fibers airborne.
Sailors aboard warships often slept in bunks that were below asbestos-covered pipes, making them to shake off the dusty substance on a regular foundation. The Marine corps that often were moved on the same ships were uncovered, too. Staff who worked below deck on ships were at the highest risk simply because of where the most heat-resistant asbestos was used, nearest the engine and boiler rooms.
