Asbestos Exposure on Aircraft Carriers

by Shrader Law Jun 21, 2024
Top View of Aircraft Carrier Ship

The Navy’s use of asbestos in all of its vessels, including aircraft carriers, really started in the 1930s as a result of weight limitations for ships that were imposed by international treaties. At that time, the standard pipe insulation used aboard naval vessels was magnesia and magnesium oxide, which weighed 16 pounds per foot and had a temperature limit of 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

As soon as naval architects found that insulation made from amosite asbestos weighed 14 pounds per foot and had a temperature limit of 750 degrees Fahrenheit, it became the pipe covering of choice. In addition to the added heat protection provided by the amosite insulation, the weight saving allowed these vessels to carry more equipment like guns and munitions, and to save fuel.

However, pipe insulation was only one of the many uses the Navy found for asbestos. There were over 300 asbestos-containing products employed in engine and boiler rooms, navigation rooms, mess halls and sleeping quarters. Any areas below deck that might be at a high risk for fire probably contained some sort of asbestos product. In addition, gaskets, valves, cables, cements and adhesives that were used in equipment that might be a fire safety hazard also contained asbestos.

Some Asbestos Product Applications Posed More Danger than Others

According to Naval Sea Systems Command Instruction 5100.2A, not every asbestos-containing product used by the Navy automatically created a health risk for those exposed to it. The memo specifically distinguishes between products like valve packing in which the asbestos fibers are tightly bound and thermal insulation, which have loosely bound asbestos fibers. A significant amount of the loosely bound fibers would be released into the air during “fabrication, installation, use or removal”. However, this problem was not an issue with products that had tightly bound fibers because whatever was released did not exceed the Navy Medical Surveillance Action Level.

Some Asbestos Exposures were Specific to Air Craft Carriers

Although Navy personnel aboard air craft carriers faced the same general risks for asbestos exposure as those on other types of Navy vessels, there were some added incidents for exposure.

Asbestos was sprayed on deckheads, bulkheads, and below the flight decks to prevent friction fires. Also, during combat, the firing of guns aboard the aircraft would release asbestos particles into the air.

Aircraft Mechanics Aboard Carriers had Even Greater Exposure

By far the greatest danger from asbestos exposure was faced by air craft mechanics aboard the carriers. Airplane brakes were lined with asbestos. Whenever a plane braked, the friction caused by the brakes rubbing against the lining would create asbestos dust. This dust was released into the surrounding air and inhaled when these mechanics did any kind of brake repair.

Also, these planes were built with epoxies and glues that contained asbestos as a strengthening agent. Whenever mechanics removed any parts covered in these epoxies, it released significant quantities of asbestos fibers into the air which they inhaled.

Gulf War Veterans May Have Been Exposed

Although the Navy banned the use of asbestos-containing products in its vessels in the mid-1970s, the danger for exposure is still a problem. During the Gulf War, continued aerial bombing made it necessary to use naval aircraft carriers. This strategy was employed most frequently during the beginning stages of the war. These older vessels may have been built with asbestos-containing materials, which would have caused the personnel aboard them to become exposed.

Aircraft Carriers Where Asbestos Exposure is a Risk

U.S.S. Norton Sound AVM 1 (Seaplane Tender)

U.S.S. Norton Sound was built by Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and commissioned in January 1945. By April of that year, it was providing services in the advanced areas of the Pacific campaign, operating in Saipan.

During the Second World War, seaplane tenders deployed to the Pacific to provide air reconnaissance capabilities, as well as air and sea rescue operations, without the need to build airbases. The seaplane tender could support long-range air reconnaissance well ahead of land-based aircraft being operational as the Americans advanced across the Pacific.

As the war ended, Norton Sound continued to operate aircraft out of Okinawa, Sasebo, Japan and Tsingtao, China. Occupation duties included routine air patrols as well as interdiction of smuggling and other black market activities.

Returning to the United States for an overhaul in 1946, Norton Sound served with the Atlantic fleet for a short time, returning to the Pacific in 1947.

Norton Sound was converted in 1948 to serve as a missile test and development platform, aiding in the Navy’s development of its shipborne missile programs. These duties occupied the ship until 1962, testing Terrier, Tartar, and other ship launched missiles and their associated fire control and launch equipment. In 1958, Norton Sound launched three separate missiles carrying atomic warheads for detonation in the atmosphere in a project called Operation Argus. The data resulting from the successful test was instrumental in the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.

In 1962 the ship relocated to the east coast of the United States. Overhauled in Baltimore, the ship then commenced operations in the Chesapeake Bay evaluating and developing the Typhoon missile system. In 1965 the ship began testing of the Sea Sparrow weapons system as well.

In 1966 all Typhoon equipment was removed and the ship began a period as a test bed missile countermeasure systems and tactics.

In 1973 Norton Sound received the first shipboard installation of the Aegis weapons system, designed to track multiple airborne, surface and submerged targets simultaneously. Aegis became the principal weapons systems onboard US Navy cruisers and destroyers during the 1970s and 1980s.

Norton Sound continued its support of the Aegis program until 1986, when the over forty-year-old vessel was decommissioned, having played a part in the development and deployment of nearly every shipborne missile system to that date. The ship was eventually scrapped.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Norton Sound

Over the course of its more than forty years of service, Norton Sound had major overhauls and reconfigurations accomplished numerous times, to support its changing mission. Each of these yard periods exposed the ship and crew potentially hazardous exposure to asbestos.

When the ship was built, numerous items containing asbestos were part of its fabric. The ships engine rooms contained asbestos in boiler liners and seals, turbine gears, clutches and brake linings, deck tile and in gaskets, seals, cements, and muds.

Asbestos lagging covered pipes which ran throughout the ship, including berthing and dining spaces. Asbestos could be found in electrical panels and wiring insulations, bulkhead and deck fireproofing and in many other materials and applications. Damage to any of these materials, whether accidental or caused by routine maintenance, or by the installation of new systems, would have released asbestos fibers into the atmosphere, where they could be dispersed throughout the ship via the ventilation system.

U.S.S. Coral Sea CV 43 (Aircraft Carrier)

Coral Sea, named for the World War II sea battle which was the first in history in which the contending fleets never were in sight of each other, was a Midway class aircraft carrier which served the United States through five decades. Conventionally powered, Coral Sea was built by Newport News shipbuilding and commissioned into service in 1947.

Operations in the Atlantic occupied the ship’s first decade, with flight operations in the Caribbean, along the American east coast, and in the Mediterranean. Coral Sea participated in NATO exercises, conducted training for carrier pilots and reservists, and made port visits to allied nations.

In 1957 the ship transited to the Pacific, arriving at Bremerton for overhaul and modernization. The extensive overhaul, including a new flight deck to accommodate the aircraft developed since the ship’s design, took more than two years, and Coral Sea did not return to service until 1960, when the ship commenced its first western Pacific tour.

Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Midway deployed to Vietnam and launched air attacks against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong positions. Coral Sea would continue to make deployments to Vietnam through 1975, its aircraft participating in the mining of Haiphong Harbor late in the war as a ploy to encourage good faith negotiations.

After the war, Coral Sea provided air cover for the operation to recover the Mayaguez, an American freighter illegally seized by Cambodian forces of the Communist Khmer Rouge.

In the late 1970s Coral Sea was present off the coast of Iran during the Iranian Revolution, which led to the overthrow and flight of the Shah. After the Iranians seized the US embassy and took 63 hostages, Coral Sea provided air surveillance support for the aborted rescue mission the following April.

In the early 1980s Coral Sea appeared as the recovery carrier in the film of Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff”.

In 1983, Coral Sea returned to the Atlantic by steaming around the world, a cruise that took six months. Returning to routine operations in the Atlantic and with Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, Midway was present during the tensions with Libya in 1986. When US bombers struck Libyan targets in retaliation for Libyan support of terrorist attacks which led to the deaths of US servicemen, Coral Sea launched aircraft in support.

Coral Sea was decommissioned in 1990 and eventually, after years of legal wrangling over environmental issues, scrapped. The largest ship ever scrapped at the time, it took nearly three years.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Coral Sea

Coral Sea, built beginning in 1943, and in service 46 years later, revealed much evidence of the Navy’s and their contractors’ use of asbestos aboard ships. The ship, like all conventionally powered ships, contained asbestos lined boilers, and asbestos insulation throughout the ship, as well as gaskets, fireproofing, and many other components.

During the scrapping of Coral Sea, tons of asbestos insulation was removed from the ship. Workers found asbestos in virtually every compartment and its removal significantly impeded the ability of the shipbreaker to complete the scrapping process. Workers reported to the Baltimore Sun that asbestos insulation could be made to fall in pieces to the deck simply by knocking on the pipes with a wrench. One worker reported a fine dust like snow lying everywhere, another said the air was cloudy with asbestos dust.

In one of the lawsuits, it was said the Navy had deliberately misled the contractor about the amount of asbestos on board Coral Sea and its condition.

U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)

U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln is a Nimitz class supercarrier. She is currently assigned to the U.S. Pacific fleet

Design and Construction

Abraham Lincoln was laid down in Newport News Shipyard on 3 November 1984 and was launched on February 13, 1988. She was the fifth Nimitz class nuclear-powered supercarrier.

Service

Commissioned on November 11, 1989, Lincoln transferred to the Pacific fleet in September 1990. Her first deployment was moved up to May 28, 1991 so she could support Operation Desert Storm. En route, the ship was diverted to the Philippines in support of evacuations following the explosion of Mount Pinatubo. She commanded a force that evacuated over 45,000 people from Subic Bay naval base. Following this great feat, “Abe” continued on her previous mission, running reconnaissance flights and combat air patrols in the Persian Gulf.

Lincoln was assigned to Somalia in October 1993 to assist a UN humanitarian operation. She remained there for four weeks. On the 27th, she became the first carrier to integrate a female combat pilot into her air group. This honor was sadly cut short, however, as Lt. Hultgreen was killed in a landing accident off San Diego.

In 1995, the supply ship U.S.S. Sacramento lost control of her rudder while she was replenishing “Abe”. The two ships collided and while Lincoln was able to continue with her deployment, Sacramento was heavily damaged and had to divert to a nearby port for repairs.

During her deployment in 1998, she participated in Operation Infinite Reach, a pair of retaliatory strikes intended to avenge the bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. For her actions, Lincoln received the Armed Forces Expeditionary medal.

The carrier returned to the Persian Gulf in 2000 and earned the Navy Meritorious Unit commendation and the Arleigh Burke award. She was in port during the September 11 attacks and put to sea in July 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On her way back home from this deployment, Lincoln was ordered to return to the Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This extended her deployment by four months. Consequently, she was at sea for 290 days, the longest deployment ever made by a nuclear-powered carrier.

On her return from this deployment, then-President Bush made his controversial landing and speech aboard the ship. Contrary to popular belief, the “Mission Accomplished” banner displayed on the carriers island during the speech was the idea of her sailors and was meant more to reflect the record-setting deployment she had just returned from than the conflict in Iraq.

In December 2004, Lincoln was sent to Sumatra to assist in relief efforts following the devastating tsunamis in the area. Despite the refusal of the Indonesian government to allow her pilots to train in their waters, “Abe” remained on station, moving to international waters so she could continue to support relief efforts.

Lincoln has since been temporarily transferred to Norfolk for a scheduled overhaul. During this time, her two nuclear reactors will be refueled and her landing arrestor gear will be updated. She departed for her around-the-world cruise in December 2011.

Risk of asbestos exposure

Abraham Lincoln was built after navy regulations involving asbestos use on ships took effect, meaning that use of the substance in her construction was tightly restricted. However, some parts used in the construction of the ship may contain asbestos, so there is still some risk of exposure for those involved with the ship.

Asbestos exposure has been proven to cause a malignant cancer in the lungs. Though there is no cure, treatments like chemotherapy are available. If you or someone you know has contracted this disease after exposure to asbestos during service on the Lincoln or while working on her in a shipyard, you can fill out the form at the bottom of this page. We will send you a free information packet regarding your legal options.

U.S.S. Antietam (CV-36)

Antietam was an Essex-class carrier that gained fame as the first true angled-deck aircraft carrier in service.

Construction

She was laid down in Philadelphia on March 15, 1943 and commissioned on January 28, 1945.

Service

Antietam spent the first half of 1945 training off the East Coast, transferring to the Pacific in May. She trained for combat duty at Pearl Harbor until 12 August and was headed for the war zone when Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945. She initially operated in support of the U.S. occupation of Japan, but was later transferred to Shanghai, China. Antietam patrolled the Yellow Sea for three years, witnessing the Communist takeover of China. In 1949, she returned to the U.S. and was decommissioned at Alameda Naval Air Station.

Recommissioned on 17 January 1951, Antietam trained up and down the California coast before heading to Korea in November. She remained on station until March 1952, when she returned to the U.S. This was to be the only combat tour of her career. During this deployment, her aircraft flew close to 6,000 sorties. She was decommissioned upon her return in April but was recommissioned in August. She joined the Atlantic Fleet and sailed to New York Navy Yard for modifications. Antietam left the shipyard in December 1952 as the world’s first operational angled-deck carrier. The angled protrusion from her flight deck allowed aircraft to land at an angle, instead of straight on. This meant that Antietam could store or launch aircraft from the forward part of her flight deck and land aircraft on the angled deck simultaneously. Throughout 1953, U.S. and British aircraft tested the new deck configuration. The results were impressive enough to convert both navies to the angled-deck standard.

The carrier spent much of her time after this in the Mediterranean. She covered the evacuation of American citizens from Egypt during the Suez crisis in 1956. Antietam was assigned to training duty in 1957 and would continue as the primary training carrier for NAS Pensacola for the remainder of her career. 1961 saw another milestone for Antietam. A manned balloon launched from her flight deck on May 4 achieved a record altitude of 113,740 feet, a record that stands to this day. Tragically, during the recovery of the balloon, one of its crew was lost as he slipped free of a helicopter harness.

Fate

Antietam was relieved as Pensacola’s training ship by her sister Lexington on October 23, 1962 and was transferred to the reserve fleet in Philadelphia. She remained there until 1973 when her name was officially struck from the Navy Register. Antietam was sold for scrap in 1974.

Risk of Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos was widely used in the construction of steam-powered ships when Antietam was built. It was employed as an insulator for all of a ship’s steam pipes, boilers, and turbines. It would also have been present in the tile used on some of the ship’s decks. Any damage or wear and tear on an asbestos-covered surface can cause the substance to break down into tiny fibers, which can easily be inhaled by anyone nearby.

Inhalation of asbestos is a proven cause of mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the lungs. While there is no cure, treatments such as chemotherapy can be employed to fight the cancer. If you or someone you know served aboard Antietam or worked on her in a shipyard and has contracted mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation. Please fill out the form at the bottom of this page for a free information packet regarding your legal options.

U.S.S. America (CV-66)

America was a Kitty Hawk-class super carrier commissioned in 1965. She was decommissioned in 1996 and scuttled 9 years later.

Design and Construction

America was ordered as an Enterprise-class nuclear-powered carrier, but the cost of Enterprise’s construction was massive and it was decided to build America as a modified Kitty Hawk, using conventional boilers. She was laid down on January 1, 1961 at Newport News and commissioned on January 23, 1965.

Service

The first milestone in America’s career came in October 1966, when she took aboard the Navy’s first operational A-7 Corsair II squadron. During her second deployment, the Six Day War broke out in the Middle East. America, which was on her way out of the Mediterranean, was ordered to stay behind. Three days into the war, on June 8, 1967, Israeli torpedo boats and bombers attacked the American surveillance ship Liberty.

America launched fighters immediately, but they were recalled. The ship did not know who was attacking the Liberty, and because the fighters were carrying nuclear weapons, it was feared that a nuclear war could be started if the attackers were Soviet. Once the attack was over, America sent two of her escorting destroyers and a group of helicopters to assist the Liberty. On June 10, a memorial service was held on America’s flight deck. The ship participated in several training exercises until April 10, 1968, when she sailed from Norfolk, bound for Vietnam.

America spent 112 days on station, and during this time her F-4 Phantom fighters shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-21 and her attack aircraft earned the ship a Naval Unit Commendation for their performance. She underwent a routine overhaul at Norfolk after her return in January 1969. In November of that year, she conducted tests with a U-2 spy plane to determine whether that aircraft could safely operate from carriers. After a brief deployment to Cuba, America set sail for a second deployment to Vietnam.

America spent 100 days on Yankee Station. During this time, she suffered no combat losses. She headed back to the U.S. in November 1970. Following deployments to the Atlantic, America was due to sail for the Caribbean in June 1972, but she was diverted to Vietnam for her third tour.

On November 19, 1972, America’s no. 2 catapult room caught fire, disabling the machine. Despite this damage, the ship remained on station and continued to launch strikes. America returned to Yankee Station in December, and she was on station in February 1973 when the war officially ended.

The carrier returned to the Atlantic Fleet shortly afterward. Spending much of the 1970s in the Mediterranean, America escorted evacuation ships after a 1976 crisis in Lebanon forced the withdrawal of American citizens. Consequently, she celebrated the 200th birthday of her namesake country in Taranto, Italy.

The ship was present for a new crisis in the Mediterranean in 1986. After repeated terrorist attacks on American citizens by Libyans, America joined other carriers in strikes on Libyan territory. The carrier supported coalition ground forces in Iraq during the Gulf War and departed on her final deployment in August 1995.

Decommissioning and Fate

America was decommissioned in 1996 and towed to Philadelphia. Despite aggressive efforts to preserve her, America was selected for a unique set of tests in 2005. The ship was towed into the Atlantic and bombarded with explosives that were meant to simulate attacks by torpedoes and cruise missiles. The data collected in these tests was used in the design of the Ford-class carriers. Severely damaged, America was scuttled.

Risk of Asbestos Exposure

America was built at a time when use of asbestos was rampant in ship construction. Asbestos is used as an insulator for steam lines, boilers, and numerous pieces of machinery on a ship. Any damage to this insulation can cause fibrous asbestos to escape into the air, where it can easily enter the lungs.

Asbestos is proven to cause mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the lungs. Although no cure currently exists for this disease, treatments such as chemotherapy can be used to fight the cancer.

If you or someone you know served on America or worked on her in a shipyard and has contracted mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation. Please fill out the form at the bottom of this page for a free information packet on your legal options.

U.S.S. Krishna (ARL-38)

Krishna was an Achelous-class landing craft repair ship. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Hindu deity “Krishna”.

Construction

Krishna was laid down on February 23, 1945 by Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. and was originally built as an LST. Launched on May 25, she transferred under partial commission to Mobile, AL where she was converted to a repair ship.

Service

Krishna commissioned on December 3, 1945, too late to see service in WWII. She transferred to the amphibious warfare base at Little Creek, VA on January 14, 1946. On May 25, 1951, she sailed to Greenland where she helped set up a large base at the town of Thule. In October 1964 she stood off the coast of Spain for Operation “Pike I”. This included the largest amphibious landing since WWII, a mock invasion staged for training purposes. On June 1, 1965, Krishna was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. U.S. involvement in Vietnam had increased dramatically in past months, and the landing craft repair ships special talents were needed.

Krishna arrived off Vietnam on September 17 and immediately began work with Coast Guard cutters and patrol vessels in the area. She served as a floating repair, resupply, and command station for a growing number of small craft, including PCFs (swift boats). In February 1967, she had the sad duty of recovering one of her charges. PCF-4, one of the first swift boats “in country”, had fallen prey to a crude but effective Viet Cong trap and was lost with heavy casualties. Krishna had to salvage the wreck to prevent VC soldiers from taking ammunition or supplies from her. The repair ship sent crew ashore on April 30 at An Thoi to help extinguish a fire in the town. She received then-Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze on July 15.

Krishna felt the sting of war first hand on the night of July 5, 1970. She was anchored at Nam Can near the Cua Lon River. Lashed to her side were two swift boats, one of which was up on a barge undergoing repairs. At 2200, a Viet Cong swimmer placed a charge on her hull portside amidships. The blast tore a hole twenty-by-twenty feet wide in her hull, wrecking internal spaces and repair shops. The explosion also wrecked the barge that PCF-89 was aboard, and the swift boat was prematurely refloated as her barge sank beneath her. Krishna’s crew went into action immediately, making sure the swift boats were looked after and pumping the water out of their own vessel. Her own crew had the repair vessel back in action in just five weeks. She would spend the remainder of 1970 and 1971 off Vietnam, continuing her vital work repairing and rearming river patrol craft.

Fate

As 1971 drew on, the U.S. began to prepare for its withdrawal from Vietnam. Krishna’s boats and landing craft were being turned over to South Vietnamese sailors by the dozen, and her purpose in the Navy went with them. The ship had earned four Naval Unit Commendations, ten battle stars, and numerous other personal and unit awards, and her crew had served well above and beyond what was expected of them. Their last duty came on October 30, 1971, when Krishna was transferred to the Philippine Navy. Renamed Narra, she served until the 1990s. Her fate after this is unknown.

Risk of Asbestos Exposure

Krishna was a diesel-powered vessel, so asbestos insulation would not have been used as heavily in her construction as it was on steam-powered ships of her era. Asbestos may have been present in certain machinery, however, and it was used in the construction of fireproof suits as well.

Asbestos-based products give off tiny fibers when damaged or worn down. These fibers can spread quickly through a ship via her ventilation system and are easy for sailors and other workers to inhale. Asbestos inhalation is a proven cause of mesothelioma, a malignant lung cancer. While there is no cure for mesothelioma, the disease can be treated with common methods such as chemotherapy.

If you or someone you know served aboard Krishna or worked on her in a shipyard and has contracted mesothelioma, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page to receive free information regarding your rights to compensation.

U.S.S. Card (CVE-11)

Card was a Bogue-class escort carrier. She served in WWII, and Vietnam.

Design and Construction

Card and her sisters were based on the Maritime Commission’s C3 freighter. Relatively slow, they mainly served in secondary roles, such as aircraft transport and amphibious support. In the Atlantic, however, the little carriers came into their own as effective sub chasers. The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. at Tacoma, WA laid down Card on February 27, 1942. She commissioned on November 8, 1942.

Service

She sailed for the east coast January 18, 1943, arriving at Hampton Roads, VA on February 1. There she trained her crew and air group before setting out for North Africa. She ferried men and aircraft to Casablanca until 5 July. On 27 July, she took command of the sub killer group TG 21.14 and commenced her first patrol in this new role. She quickly set an enviable record, sinking four U-Boats before her return on September 10. She quickly left on her next patrol, which gave her even more kills, five in total. The destroyer Borie made the last one. Demonstrating the hatred many held for Germany’s “devil boats”, the destroyer rammed U-405, gutting herself in the process. Borie was scuttled. The fervor and skill with which Card’s group attacked these subs earned them a Presidential Unit Citation.

On their next patrol, Card and her task group suffered another loss. The destroyer Leary found herself in the middle of a deadly “wolf pack” of U-boats on the night of December 24. Torpedoed twice, she managed to stay afloat until another sub fired, sinking her. Card pressed on and Leary’s sister Schnenck avenged her, sinking U-645. The ships then recovered Leary’s survivors.

After a brief reprieve transporting aircraft to Casablanca, Card returned to anti-sub duty on June 21, 1944. Her group bagged their last sub under her command on July 5. Card embarked on one last patrol on 1 December, but she saw no submarines. Afterwards, she underwent a brief refit in Philadelphia, then began transporting planes and personnel to Cuba. She completed this work in July 1945 and headed for the Pacific.

Card arrived at Pearl Harbor on August 14, one day before the Japanese surrender. With the end of WWII, she began “Magic Carpet” runs from Pacificc bases to the west coast, ferrying veteran sailors, soldiers, marines, and airmen home. On January 7, 1946, she sailed back to Norfolk, and was decommissioned there on May 13.

The decorated carrier sat in reserve throughout the 1950s as the postwar Navy tried to justify her reserve status with repeated classification changes. In 1958, she finally found a new purpose. Reclassified as an aviation transport and handed over to the Military Sea Transportation Service, Card began operating with a civilian crew in the service of the U.S. Navy as U.S.N.S. Card. She began her new career in 1959.

In early 1961, Card began carrying personnel and aircraft to Vietnam in support of mounting U.S. Military obligations in the war-torn country. She was small enough to serve in coastal and inland waters, and she frequently operated out of Saigon. She was docked at Saigon on May 2, 1964. Just after midnight, a pair of Viet Cong commandos strapped explosives to her hull and detonated them. Card sank in the shallow harbor, coming to rest in forty-eight feet of water. She lost five men in the attack and it took seventeen days to raise her. Towed to the Philippines, the veteran carrier was returned to service on December 11.

Fate

Card returned to the United States in 1970 and was decommissioned. Shortly thereafter, she was sold for scrapping.

Risk of Asbestos Exposure

Card, as a steam-powered ship built during WWII, would have had large quantities of asbestos aboard as insulation for her power plant. Asbestos products break down into tiny fibers when damaged or worn. The heavy damage she suffered in Vietnam would have caused millions of these fibers to break free and fly into the air inside of Card.

Inhalation of asbestos is a proven cause of mesothelioma, a malignant lung cancer. There is no cure for mesothelioma, but treatments such as chemotherapy can be used to fight the disease. If you or someone you know served aboard Card or worked on her in a shipyard and has contracted mesothelioma, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page to receive free information regarding your rights to compensation.

U.S.S. Midway CV 41 (Aircraft Carrier)

Built during World War Two by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Midway was the first aircraft carrier to be commissioned after that conflict, entering the naval service in September 1945. During its long career, the ship would participate in operations during the Vietnam War, the evacuation of Saigon, and Operation Desert Storm.

Initial operations in the Atlantic included the successful launch of a captured German V-2 rocket, the first such from the deck of a moving ship. From 1945 to 1954 Midway operated in the Caribbean, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and US home waters conducting training, diplomatic and fleet exercise missions. Midway was instrumental in the testing and evaluation of new Navy aircraft during this period.

Deployed to the Pacific in 1954, Midway operated with the 7th fleet in the Far East before entering Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1955 for modernization. The overhaul, which included changes to the ship’s bow and installation of an angled flight deck, lasted fifteen months and resulted in making Midway less stable in heavy seas.

After deployments in the Pacific alternating with periods in port, Midway underwent a second rebuilding, starting in the fall of 1966. Lasting until early 1970, and with cost overruns so extensive they necessitated the cancellation of a similar rebuild of U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Midway demonstrated a significant deterioration of its stability and seakeeping ability in heavy seas.

In the seventies, Midway deployed to Vietnam, with aviators from its air groups being awarded the first air-to-air kills by American pilots in that war. Coincidentally its aviators would also be awarded the last of the war.

After American involvement in Vietnam ended, Midway, now based in Yokosuka Japan, steamed to support the evacuation when the North Vietnamese took Saigon.

Midway shifted to the Indian Ocean in 1979, and was present in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf during the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and during the hostage crisis. Throughout the 1980s Midway served in the Pacific. In the middle of the decade, blisters were added to the ships hull in the hope of improving its stability, an operation which made the matter worse in heavy seas.

Midway returned to the mideast waters in support of Operation Desert Storm, one of six US Navy carriers to launch sorties during the opening of that attack. After the success of that operation Midway conducted one final deployment in the western Pacific before being deactivated and decommissioned. The ship is now a museum in San Diego.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Midway

During its construction and throughout its career, during which it underwent two major rebuilding, three different shipyards used asbestos-containing materials on Midway. Primarily used for thermal insulation, asbestos materials were used extensively in the engineering spaces, in gaskets for watertight doors and hatches, in ventilation system flappers, and as fireproofing for bulkheads and decks. Lagging for pipes was routinely made of asbestos cloth, which, although painted, could often vibrate loose and be releases into the air as dust. Asbestos laden pipe lagging could be found in virtually all spaces of the ship.

Poor ventilation in many spaces aboard Midway would have allowed asbestos dust to settle in those spaces, to be picked up and distributed elsewhere by clothing, or even by cleaning tools. Midway was a notoriously poor sea boat in heavy weather throughout its career, the rough ride it took would increase the likelihood of exposed asbestos fibers being released into the air.

U.S.S. Forrestal CV 59 (Aircraft Carrier)

Forrestal, the lead ship of a class of four aircraft carriers, was the largest such vessel ever built at the time of its construction by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Commissioned in October 1955, Forrestal would go on to serve the Navy for 38 years, spending the majority of its career in the Atlantic.

After initial operations near the east coast to train its crew and familiarize deployed aviation groups with its many advanced features, Forrestal deployed to the Mediterranean for service with the Sixth fleet in 1957, the first of many such cruises it would complete over its long service. Home ported in Norfolk, VA and deploying air groups from Mayport, Forrestal alternated between Mediterranean cruises, North Atlantic operations, fleet operations in the Caribbean, and in-port maintenance periods until 1963.

Forrestal successfully launched and received a modified C-130 cargo airplane in 1963 as part of a test to evaluate an aircraft capable of replenishing a carrier by air while underway. Although the tests were successful, giving Forrestal the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft ever to take-off and land on an aircraft carrier, the Navy chose not to deploy the C-130 for the purpose.

In 1967 Forrestal deployed to Vietnam, launching air strikes from Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. On July 29, after four days of combat operations, an accidentally triggered missile on a staged aircraft ignited a fire on the flight deck. Ordnance and jet fuel on the flight deck ignited, as did other aircraft and the ensuing explosions and fire severely threatened the carrier’s survival. Firefighting efforts by the crew, and assistance by escorting destroyers finally brought the fires under control, but 134 Navy personnel lost their lives, with another 161 injured and the complete loss of 21 aircraft. Future US Senator John McCain was in an aircraft near where the conflagration began but escaped uninjured.

Forrestal underwent emergency repairs in the Philippines before returning to the United States, where the ship spent seven months being repaired in Norfolk. Forrestal would endure several fires over the remainder of its career, including at least one act of arson, earning the ship the derisive nickname “Zippo”.

Following repairs, Forrestal deployed in the Atlantic and for the remainder of its career took part in NATO exercises, Sixth fleet operations, and training exercises. In 1992 the ship was re-designated AVT-59 and underwent an extensive overhaul to prepare the vessel to replace U.S.S. Lexington as the Navy’s training carrier. This decision was overturned in 1993 when the Navy decided to decommission the aging ship instead.

Decommissioned and stripped to support other carriers, Forrestal was considered for use as a museum, as well as a possible donation to be sunk as an artificial reef. It is now scheduled to be sold for scrap.

Asbestos exposure on U.S.S. Forrestal

Forrestal was built at a time when the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company used asbestos in a wide variety of shipbuilding applications. As a conventionally powered aircraft carrier, Forrestal’s engineering spaces were filled with asbestos-containing materials, including boilers, gaskets, deck tile and bulkhead insulation.

Pipe insulation made from asbestos cloth covered pipes which wound their way throughout the ship, through berthing, dining and working spaces. One of the many fires Forrestal endured during its career began when fresh paint on steampipe lagging ignited.

The extensive use of asbestos was banned in the 1970s, but did not include the removal of existing asbestos-containing materials unless the material was being removed as part of other scheduled maintenance. The miles of insulated piping aboard a ship the size of Forrestal could not all be reinsulated at a single time. The likelihood of asbestos exposure on Forrestal, particularly during maintenance periods in the 1950s and 60s, would be high.

U.S.S. Independence CV 62 (Aircraft Carrier)

The fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, Independence was a Forrestal class aircraft carrier, designed and built for the launching and recovery of jet aircraft. The need to support jet engines necessitated the increase of fuel supplies to more than double that of the predecessor Midway class. Independence served the United States for nearly 40 years.

Built by the New York Naval Shipyard and commissioned in 1959, Independence displaced more than 80,000 tons fully loaded, and could support up to ninety aircraft, their pilots, and supporting crews. On any day at sea, more than 5,000 men (and eventually women) called the ship home.

Following initial deployments for training in the Caribbean and the east coast, Independence departed for the Mediterranean in August of 1960, waters where it would spend a large amount of its career. Until the mid-sixties, Independence operated in the Mediterranean, along the North American coast and in the North Atlantic, with periodic visits to its homeport of Norfolk. The ship participated in the naval quarantine of Cuba ordered by President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In May 1965 Independence became the first Atlantic Fleet carrier to deploy to Vietnam, operating in the South China Sea for 100 days, launching over 7,000 sorties against targets in North Vietnam. Returning to Norfolk in December 1965, the carrier conducted routine training operations in the Atlantic, again operated with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, and made numerous port visits supporting NATO operations.

Throughout the remainder of the sixties and the ensuing decade, Independence remained with the Atlantic fleet, alternating deployments with necessary periods alongside for maintenance and completing scheduled overhauls. In 1974 Independence was among the first ships arriving at the crash site of TWA flight 841 which had been destroyed by a terrorist’s bomb while in flight.

By 1985, the ship had deployed to the Indian Ocean, the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific in support of American interests and crises around the globe. Entering the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1985 Independence underwent a modernization program intended to extend its service life for another fifteen years. Leaving the shipyard in 1989 the ship transited to the Pacific via Cape Horn, being too large for the Panama Canal to accommodate, and entered its new homeport of San Diego.

During the nineties, Independence operated in support of American interests in the Persian Gulf, enforcing the no-fly zone imposed on Iraq after the first Gulf War, cruised off Taiwan, changed homeports to Yokosuka, Japan, and deployed to Malaysia, the first aircraft carrier of any nation to make a port call there.

In September 1998, after 39 years and nine months of continuous service, Independence was decommissioned in Bremerton, Washington and placed in mothballs there. In 2004 it was stricken from the Naval Register and offered in donation as a museum ship. Parts were stripped from the hull for use in new carriers, including U.S.S. George H.W. Bush. In 2012, with no takers for a museum, the ship was scheduled to be scrapped.

U.S.S. Independence and Asbestos Exposure

Independence was built at the New York Naval Shipyards, also known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, at a time when the use of asbestos as a thermal insulator was commonplace.

Pipe insulation, (lagging) was routinely manufactured from an asbestos cloth provided to the yard by subcontractors as well as manufactured on site.

Large boilers, responsible for generating the steam used to drive the ships turbines, were lined with asbestos, and many of the gaskets throughout the ship were manufactured from asbestos. Floor tiles and fire protective insulation on bulkheads also contained asbestos fibers.

The likelihood of asbestos exposure from deteriorating insulation, during chipping of paint, (a seemingly unending chore on all Navy ships) while working in engine rooms and power distribution rooms and during operations in the hangar bays below the flight deck would have been unavoidable, particularly prior to the ship’s modernization overhaul in 1985.

U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt CVB 42 (Aircraft Carrier)

Christened at its launching as U.S.S. Coral Sea, Franklin D. Roosevelt was renamed on May 8, 1945, in honor of the recently deceased president who had led the nation during the massive fleet expansion which occurred in the Second World War. Although the ship was completed too late to participate in that conflict, it would go on to a thirty-year career, including several notable events.

In 1946, Roosevelt was the first aircraft carrier to operate an all-jet aircraft, conducting tests and trials for catapult launches and arrested landings. Training, exercises and Mediterranean operations would occupy the ship for the ensuing months. Operating in the Atlantic and Mediterranean for the next several years, Roosevelt was present during most major NATO exercises and fleet activities.

Too large to transit the Panama Canal, Roosevelt rounded Cape Horn at the tip of South America to complete its journey to Puget Sound for overhaul in 1954. Returning to the Atlantic after completion of the overhaul, Roosevelt operated largely as before, supporting fleet exercises and training in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, including Cuban waters during times of crisis there.

In 1966 and 1967, Roosevelt served in Vietnamese waters on the battle line, earning one campaign star. Returning to the Atlantic upon completion of its mission there, the remainder of the decade continued with more deployments and refit periods. In the early 1970s, while deployed to the Mediterranean, Roosevelt’s flight deck served as a landing platform for aircraft destined for Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

During its career, Roosevelt was denied the extensive upgrades and modifications which were made available to other ships of its class. That fact, coupled with the large number of lengthy deployments the ship had made, resulted in the material condition of the thirty-year-old ship being subpar. In early 1977 that condition was exacerbated by a collision with a freighter, although the damaged carrier was able to steam home under its own power.

Roosevelt was decommissioned in 1977 and sold for scrap. Towed to Kearny, NJ, the Franklin D. Roosevelt ceased to exist by 1978.

Asbestos Exposure on Franklin D. Roosevelt

The extensive use of asbestos during the construction of ships of the same vintage as U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt is well documented. Although the ship was completed too late to participate during the Second World War, it was nonetheless built to standards which required the extensive use of asbestos as a fire retardant and insulator.

Aircraft carriers of the era were liberally lined with asbestos to reduce the risk of and control shipboard fires, a critical consideration on ships which routinely carried vast amounts of explosives and highly volatile aircraft fuel. This was in addition to the routine use of asbestos as an insulator for pipes throughout the ship. Other uses included linings for the ship’s boilers, deck tiles and plates, electrical panels and wiring insulation, winch brakes and clutches, drive couplings, cements, glues, solvents, and paints and in the construction of exhaust plenums.

Deterioration of insulation and the paint which covered it would easily allow the release of asbestos fibers into the atmosphere, where they would be carried throughout the ship by contact with clothing and by ventilators. Routine maintenance on components would require the removal of insulation applied to the components themselves or nearby, again releasing the undetectable fibers into the atmosphere.

U.S.S. Intrepid CV-11 (Aircraft Carrier)

The fifth of the 24 ship Essex class, U.S.S. Intrepid was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and commissioned into the US Navy in the summer of 1943. Intrepid arrived in the Pacific in early 1944 and distinguished itself with service in campaigns against the Japanese in the Marshalls, Philippines, and Okinawa.

Intrepid was damaged by an air-launched torpedo in 1944 and returned to the west coast for repairs before rejoining the fleet for the invasion of the Philippines. During that campaign, after participating in several actions, the ship was struck by two kamikazes, causing heavy casualties and severe damage. The ship was forced to again retire to the west coast for repairs. Joining the fleet once again in time to participate in the invasion of Okinawa, Intrepid was again the victim of a kamikaze assault. Although less severely damaged than in the previous attacks, the overwhelming superiority of the American fleet allowed the luxury of once again sending the ship to California for repairs.

Intrepid supported the occupation of Japan following the surrender in Tokyo Bay and remained in Yokosuka until December of 1945, at which time the ship returned to the United States, arriving in San Pedro just before the end of the year.

In 1948 Intrepid shifted berths to San Francisco and was placed in reserve, remaining in that status until 1952, when the ship was moved to Norfolk. After modernization in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Intrepid began service with the Atlantic fleet. Further modernization was accomplished in 1957 and for the remainder of the decade, Intrepid alternated Atlantic operations with deployments to the Mediterranean.

Throughout the 1960s the carrier operated in a variety of roles in the Atlantic, now designated as an anti-submarine warfare aircraft carrier. In 1962, Intrepid served as the primary recovery ship for astronaut Scott Carpenter’s Mercury spaceflight in Aurora 7, a role it would repeat in 1965 when the carrier would recover the first manned Gemini flight.

The second half of the 1960s found Intrepid making three deployments to Vietnam, operating aircraft striking land-based targets and engaging North Vietnam’s Russian built and provided airplanes. Returning to the Atlantic in the early 1970s, Intrepid conducted training exercises and participated in US and NATO operations. In 1974 the carrier was again placed in reserve and moored in Philadelphia. Although scheduled for scrapping, a successful campaign was launched to have the ship preserved as a museum in New York, a role it assumed in 1982.

In 2012 the retired space shuttle Enterprise was displayed on the flight deck of the recently refurbished Intrepid.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Intrepid

Like all ships of its vintage, U.S.S. Intrepid was built using a significant number of materials and components containing asbestos. Lessons learned in the Pacific about the potential hazards of fire aboard aircraft carriers forced the Navy and its builders to employ asbestos as an insulator and fire retardant in the construction of ships. (The United States lost four aircraft carriers in combat, largely due to fire damage, before Intrepid joined the fleet).

The use of asbestos-containing materials was widespread throughout the vessel, but one component in particular was found in virtually every compartment and space on the ship. The use of asbestos cloth to insulate pipes meant that miles of asbestos-laden insulation could be found on board. This insulation, as the paint which covered it deteriorated due to normal degradation or the harsh conditions aboard ship, would release asbestos fibers into the air, where they were freely dispersed about the ship by contact with skin or clothing, or by the ship’s ventilation system.

Intrepid served its entire career before serious asbestos abatement efforts began in the late 1970s.

U.S.S. Lexington CV-16 (Aircraft Carrier)

The Fore River Shipyard of Quincy Massachusetts built U.S.S. Lexington for the US Navy in the early days of World War II, with the ship being commissioned in 1943. Named to commemorate the earlier Lexington, which had been lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea, Lexington would serve the US Navy until the 1990s.

Lexington arrived in the Pacific in time to see action in the Gilbert Islands, where the ship was torpedoed at night while operating near Kwajalein. After repairs in Bremerton, Lexington returned to service in time to participate in operations against the Japanese in the central Pacific and the Philippines, its planes being involved in the sinking of three Japanese aircraft carriers and at least two cruisers. Struck by a kamikaze attack, Lexington was reported as sunk by Tokyo, although the ship was repaired at the fleet anchorage in Ulithi.

By May of 1945, the supposedly sunken carrier was launching bombing missions against the Japanese mainland. Following the Japanese surrender, the carrier ferried home servicemen as part of Operation Magic Carpet.

Decommissioned in 1947, Lexington was placed in reserve until 1953, at which time the ship was fully modernized with an angled flight deck and made capable of operating the most modern aircraft from its decks. Re-commissioned in 1955, the ship served with the Pacific fleet for the remainder of the decade.

In 1962, Lexington relieved U.S.S. Antietam as the training carrier in the Gulf of Mexico. Lexington would continue in this role for nearly two decades, operating out of Pensacola Florida. Naval and Marine aviators who served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and virtually all naval flight operations in the latter years of the twentieth century received their carrier qualifications on its decks.

Lexington also performed a public relations role for the Navy by appearing in the films Midway and War and Remembrance.

Lexington was decommissioned in 1991. During its career, it received eleven Battle Stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. It was donated as a museum ship and is moored in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Lexington

U.S.S. Lexington, built at Fore River, was lined with asbestos and materials containing asbestos as a safeguard against the spread of shipboard fires. Fore River Shipyard used asbestos in hundreds of items destined for the ships which it built.

At the time of Lexington’s construction, boilers which provided the steam to drive ships were lined with asbestos. Gaskets and seals were made of materials containing asbestos. Other uses included brake and clutch linings, drive couplings, deck tiles, overhead tiles, paints and solvents, glues and cements, fire retardant materials, and electrical distribution panels and insulation. Pipe and valve insulation was manufactured from asbestos cloth. Pipes lagged with this insulation ran the length and breadth of the ship. Although painted, deterioration of the paint and the insulation itself released asbestos microfibers into the atmosphere.

Asbestos exposure on a ship of the vintage of U.S.S. Lexington would have been a virtual certainty, especially prior to asbestos abatement efforts which did not begin until the late 1970s. Ships donated and operated as museums have contractors which monitor the moored vessels for exposure risks and take necessary measures to limit those risks, a fact which speaks to the risk involved when the vessel was operational.

U.S.S. Saratoga CV-60 (Aircraft Carrier)

Built in the early 1950s by the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.S. Saratoga was one of four supercarriers built for the US Navy as the fleets shifted focus from gunships to naval aviation as the primary means of demonstrating naval strength. Saratoga would serve the fleet through five decades.

Commissioned in 1956, Saratoga served in the Atlantic along the US east coast, and in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet, interspersed with yard availabilities for maintenance and overhaul. One notable event during this period was an at sea collision with a German freighter off the coast of North Carolina, an episode of which detailed information remains classified, despite the US Government paying for repairs to the civilian vessel.

Saratoga remained in the Atlantic and Mediterranean areas until 1972, when the ship departed its homeport of Mayport, Florida for service in the Vietnamese theater. Operating out of Subic Bay, in the Philippines, Saratoga made seven deployments to Yankee Station, off the Gulf of Tonkin, its aircraft performing bombing, ground support, and fighter support missions over Vietnam. Its combat mission completed, Saratoga returned to the Atlantic fleet and Mayport.

The rest of the decade found Saratoga providing diplomatic support on “show the flag” missions, operating with fleet units for training and exercises, and receiving repairs and maintenance as needed.

In the 1990s Saratoga supported Operation Desert Storm, its aircraft providing ground support and bombing missions.

Saratoga was decommissioned in 1994. Since then the ship has been towed to Philadelphia and Newport as its fate awaits determination. Despite several efforts to designate the ship as a museum, no group has been able to raise the necessary funds. Saratoga will likely be sold for scrap.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Saratoga

U.S.S. Saratoga was built during a time when the use of asbestos materials in the construction of ships was widespread. Asbestos was valued for its insulating properties, its resistance to fire, and its durability. Components containing asbestos were found in nearly all areas of the ship.

Asbestos was used in the manufacture of boilers, clutches and brakes, electrical panels and insulation, deck tiles, overhead tiles, ventilation system components, valve packings, gaskets and seals, cements, glues, pipe dope and paints, and in the cloth used for insulating pipes, amongst many other components aboard the ship.

Pipes insulated with asbestos lagging ran throughout the vessel. Although contained when painted, the deterioration of the paint or the insulation itself, accelerated by harsh conditions found in routine shipboard operations, would release asbestos fibers into the ship’s atmosphere. This could continue indefinitely in hard to reach areas.

Those aboard during overhauls and maintenance periods, when much equipment was removed or under repair, would see the likelihood of asbestos exposure increased, due to the need to remove insulation to reach equipment.

U.S.S. Wright CVL 49 (Light Aircraft Carrier) CC 2 (Command Ship)

U.S.S. Wright was a light aircraft carrier of the Saipan class launched just after World War II and commissioned in 1947. The ship was built at the Camden, New Jersey yards of the New York Shipbuilding Company.

Wright’s first role in active service, after initial shakedown and training operations, was as the flight training carrier for naval aviators in Pensacola, Florida. Interspersed with training cruises and other duties, Wright was used to qualify naval aviators in carrier operations.

Remaining in those duties through the end of the decade, Wright, after an overhaul, deployed to the Mediterranean in 1952, returning to the Atlantic coast of the United States later that year. Operations with NATO allies occupied the ship for the remainder of the year, and the following year, after completing an overhaul in Philadelphia, Wright cruised to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. Based in Yokosuka, Japan, Wright supported fleet operations off Korea and in East Asian waters until 1955. In 1956 Wright was decommissioned and transferred to the reserve fleet in Washington.

In 1962 Wright was reactivated and converted to a command ship, a process that took more than a year to complete. The hangar deck was converted to command and control facilities and the flight deck housed several large communications antennae, giving the ship the ability to offer command and control facilities over several vessels and shore operations.

Upon completion of the conversion, Wright returned to the Atlantic where, operating out of Norfolk, Virginia it served for the next six years as the National Emergency Command Post Afloat. (NECPA) NECPA was part of the continuity of command process designed to ensure control of the national nuclear forces in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. By the mid-1960s, that role was overtaken by airborne and underground command posts and Wright was used to provide communications for fleet units.

In 1970 the ship was again decommissioned and placed on reserve in Philadelphia, where it lay until 1980 when it was sold for scrap.

Asbestos Exposure on U.S.S. Wright

During its construction, and later during its extensive conversion, the builders of U.S.S. Wright used asbestos extensively in the building and maintenance of ships. Because of its durability and its resistance to heat, asbestos was considered an ideal material for use as insulation and was used in a wide variety of applications.

Materials that were manufactured from asbestos included deck tiles, bulkheads, ventilation dampers and plenums, electrical panels, gaskets and seals, glues and cements, brake linings, winches and capstans, clutch liners, and pipe insulation. Asbestos insulation covered the pipes which ran throughout the vessel. Any operation which would require the insulation to be removed, such as valve maintenance and repair, would have allowed friable asbestos to release microscopic fibers into the air. Asbestos fibers were distributed throughout the ship via contact with clothing and the ships ventilation system.

Asbestos-laden insulation was present in virtually all spaces and compartments within the vessel, making the likelihood of sustained asbestos exposure a constant threat while serving aboard U.S.S. Wright throughout its career.

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