Mesothelioma Navy

The dangers of asbestos exposure have long been apparent. The ancient Greeks, who named the naturally-occurring mineral, observed how it affected those who encountered the toxic substance and Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder recognized that lung ailments in slaves who worked in the asbestos mines must have been associated with the mineral as well. As a matter of fact, observations such as those continued through the centuries, peaking after the Industrial Revolution, when asbestos use soared in most industrialized countries throughout the world.

As factories flourished, more and more workers came in regular contact with asbestos and asbestos-containing products. As early as the late 1800s, “company doctors” were making definitive connections between asbestos use and severe pulmonary problems in employees and began warning factory owners and company executives of the dangers associated with on-the-job exposure. By the 1920s, the term “asbestosis” was coined, used to describe the severe scarring that occurred in the lungs of those who worked with the hazardous mineral.  The term “mesothelioma” was coined a few decades later.

The advent of World War II brought still more cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma. As America prepared for the war, the shipbuilding industry burgeoned and the U.S. military purchased large amounts of asbestos for use aboard its vessels. Those who worked in shipyards during the war years, building and repairing boats, as well as U.S. Navy veterans, would eventually become the group of individuals who were at highest risk for developing asbestos-related diseases because the mineral was used literally everywhere onboard these ships, from the boiler rooms to the bunk rooms.

Asbestos use in the U.S. military continued well into the 1970s, when the government finally issued warnings about the use of asbestos. Unfortunately, by that time, many veterans and civilian workers were already diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma. And because meso can remain latent in the body for up to 50 years, some individuals who served in the 60s and 70s are only now being diagnosed with the disease.

Aside from the shipbuilding industry, many other industries and tradespeople were affected by the use of asbestos. These include:

• Construction workers and contractors
• Insulators
• Welders
• Plumbers and pipefitters
• Electricians
• Railroad workers
• Chemical plant workers
• Power plant workers
• Steel mill employees
• Mechanics
• Miners
• Millwrights
• Machinists
• …and many others

However, not only those who worked regularly with the mineral were exposed. There have been many cases of exposure due to inhalation from do-it-yourself projects, such as replacing attic insulation or tearing down drywall that may have contained asbestos. Though the exposure was minimal in these instances, doctors maintain that no amount of asbestos exposure is safe and that diseases like mesothelioma can form even after only casual exposure.

Cases of “second-hand” exposure have also been reported, especially among women who may have been responsible for washing their husband’s or father’s asbestos dust-laden clothes after a long day at the factory or shipyard.

The most recent cases of disease due to asbestos exposure have been reported among emergency responders and others who were exposed to the debris in the aftermath of 9/11. Some cases of mesothelioma were reported as early as just 2 or 3 years after the tragedy, attesting to the fact that there was an abundance of asbestos in the air after the World Trade Center Towers fell.