Fire is a potential danger in many industrial settings and ships are no different. Due to its confined space, a ship can easily catch fire, and not only prevent people from escaping, but it may even sink.
This is a particular concern on military vessels, as they must be able to withstand the heat of battle. To do this, significant amounts of insulation are used throughout the ship.
This is why ships rely on Asbestos. The latter is highly resistant to heat and is not flammable making it perfect for use in insulation on a ship. Moreover, it is resistant to corrosion by salt; Another significant issue on ships that later led to the widespread use of asbestos throughout many different parts of a ship.
Asbestos in Shipyards and Why It’s Dangerous
Asbestos comprises numerous ship components, owing to its heat and corrosion-resisting properties. It served to reduce ignition risk and better allow endurance of marine degradation. Asbestos applications included:
- Insulation around pipes, pumps, valves, and boilers
- Adhesives
- Gaskets
- Valves
- Cables
- Cement
- Paint
- Bedding in crew sleeping quarters
- Fireproof blankets used in shipyards
Fibers infiltrate the lungs and scarring results, in a fate known as asbestosis inducing labored breathing. This leads to a disease known as asbestosis, in which patients have difficulty breathing. In addition, there is a risk of developing mesothelioma, which is a rare cancer that can be caused by asbestos exposure.
Lung cancer risks amplify too for those exposed to asbestos. One study of shipyard workers encountering asbestos discovered forty-nine percent of lung cancers were attributable to it. Because of asbestos’s ubiquitous use in ships, shipyards rank among the most hazardous workplaces for developing asbestos-related sicknesses.
Because of the very heavy use of asbestos in ships, working in a shipyard is among the highest-risk occupations for the development of asbestos-related diseases.
Meanwhile, research of northern Italian shipbuilders revealed alarming mesothelioma rates, particularly for those starting young—among fourteen to nineteen year olds beginning in shipyards, three point four percent later fell to mesothelioma.
Highest Risk Jobs for Asbestos Exposure in Shipyards
People who work directly with asbestos are at the highest risk for asbestos-related disease. It is asbestos dust that causes a risk to human health, not solid asbestos. This is why the highest-risk activities are those in which a worker cuts, sands, drills, or otherwise manipulates asbestos-containing material, releasing asbestos dust into the air.
The highest-risk jobs in the shipyard include:
- Maintenance worker
- Insulator
- Shipfitter
- Machinist
- Pipefitter
- Boiler worker
- Electrician
- Lagger
- Painter
A study of workers in Belgium showed that manual workers in industrial occupations had 40 times the risk for mesothelioma as the general population. Shipyard workers were shown in this study to be at very high risk for mesothelioma and also had an increased risk of other diseases.
Although shipyard workers themselves are at a high risk for mesothelioma, their family members are also at risk. This is known as para-occupational exposure. A study of the family members of shipyard workers in northern Italy showed that those who lived with a shipyard worker also had increased rates of mesothelioma.
The average latency period was 59 years, meaning that it took several decades between the family members’ exposure to asbestos and the time they were diagnosed with mesothelioma.
History of Asbestos in Shipyards
Throughout history, fires on ships were a significant risk. Shipbuilders searched for a reliable way to reduce the risk of fire, to make ships safer. The rediscovery of asbestos in the modern industrial age opened the way for its use as a fire retardant on ships.
Although this mineral had been used in certain contexts for many years, it was rediscovered in the early 1800s, and its potential use as insulation quickly became clear. One of the first uses of asbestos was as insulation for pipes.
Because we now know of its damaging effects on health, it is somewhat ironic to consider that asbestos was intended to save lives. Fires on ships were a serious threat to the lives of the crew and passengers onboard. Asbestos could prevent fires from spreading rapidly through a ship.
Asbestos on military ships was used throughout the 20th century, particularly during World War II, when the military resources of the U.S. were stretched thin by the war. Many tons of asbestos were used to insulate the hulls, boilers, and pipes of military vessels during this period.
However, it was clear by the early 20th century that asbestos was dangerous to human health. In 1924, a paper in the British Medical Journal described asbestosis, a disease that involves widespread scarring throughout the lung caused by asbestosis fibers.
This initial case involved a young woman who worked in an asbestos factory. Her levels of occupational asbestos exposure were very high. However, by the 1950s, scientists clearly understood that lower levels of asbestos exposure could also cause a significant risk to human health.
A 2016 study done in northern Italy sought to quantify the amount of occupational asbestos exposure that shipyard workers experienced. Based on autopsy results, they demonstrated that the level was very high, with a third of the patients having 10 million or more asbestos fibers lodged in their lungs.
The period between exposure to asbestos and the development of malignant pleural mesothelioma was 48 years on average, meaning that many workers who were exposed in the past could still be at risk for developing malignant mesothelioma.
Asbestos Regulations in Shipyards
In the United States, asbestos was not regulated until after the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970. This is the federal office dedicated to ensuring safe working conditions for American workers. In 1971, OSHA limited the level of asbestos that workers can be exposed to.
Based on evidence that asbestos could cause mesothelioma even at lower levels, the allowable levels were lowered over the following decades. The current standard is an average of one asbestos fiber per ten cubic centimeters of air.
Many ships still in use today were built while asbestos was still in heavy use as insulation on ships. Passengers and crew on these ships may not even be aware that they are being exposed to asbestos.
Workers who perform maintenance on these old ships, or who decommission and dismantle them, should be given personal protective equipment to prevent them from being exposed to asbestos.
Many people in the U.S. have the misconception that asbestos has been banned because it is so dangerous. Unfortunately, this is not true. Many public health officials believe that asbestos should be banned because it causes such a high burden of disease.
In addition, asbestos is so chemically stable that it often lasts longer than the products in which it was used. Asbestos used in products today could affect people in the future, even long after those products have been discarded.
In 2019, a bill was introduced to Congress that would completely ban the manufacture, processing, or distribution of any asbestos-containing product in the United States. This bill has not yet come to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote.
Mesothelioma Lawsuits Involving Shipyard Workers
In numerous cases, companies were aware of the dangers of asbestos to the health of their workers. However, rather than provide adequate personal protective equipment or substitute an alternative product, they opted to continue exposing their workers to asbestos.
Working with asbestos was common practice for many years, yet the consequences took decades to fully materialize. Countless workers were exposed to its dangers without realizing the threats it posed to long-term health and family well-being.
Mesothelioma’s lengthy incubation made it a silent killer, waiting years to manifest even after safety rules were implemented. For far too long, corporate interests prioritized profits over people.
Those in shipyards faced some of the highest risks. Asbestos fibers permeated work environments and contaminated clothes workers wore home each day. Family members trying to help or hug loved ones unwittingly inhaled poisons.
Illness stalked households, damaging multiple lives from a single job that endangered others. Although regulations aimed to curb recklessness, the past cast a long shadow of suffering into the present. Victims deserve accountability and justice, but no amount of money can undo what has been done.
There have been cases of shipyard workers suing their former employers for exposing them to asbestos. Even those who worked in the military may be eligible to bring a lawsuit. Former service members have brought successful lawsuits against the U.S. Navy and Marines. Navy veterans who handled asbestos-containing products have among the highest rates of mesothelioma.
In addition, family members who have had domestic exposure to asbestos from a worker they lived with may also be able to bring a lawsuit against their relative’s employer.
For example, a shipyard worker could be exposed to asbestos at work, and bring it home on his clothing. If his wife develops mesothelioma as a result of her household exposure to asbestos, she could bring a lawsuit against his employer for exposing her indirectly.
How to Find a Lawyer for Shipyard Workers with Mesothelioma
If you are considering a lawsuit against a former employer for occupational asbestos exposure, then you should seek out a lawyer who specializes in mesothelioma cases.
Although any lawyer can theoretically bring a case of this type to trial, these cases are not always easy to win. A lawyer who has extensive experience in this particular area of the law will be equipped with specific knowledge that can be very helpful in winning a case.
For example, there are large databases that contain detailed information about the specific times and places that asbestos was present in particular shipyards. Using these databases can help a lawyer prove that an employee was exposed to asbestos, which makes it much more likely that the plaintiff will win the case.
A specialized mesothelioma lawyer will also be able to determine whether you may qualify to receive money from a settlement fund and can help you file a claim if so.
Laws governing the statute of limitations exist in certain states. These laws require a person to file a lawsuit within a certain period after a mesothelioma diagnosis. If you wait longer than this period, you may no longer be eligible to file your lawsuit.
