One of the questions most people find hard to believe, particularly navy veterans and former shipyard workers is that there’s a correlation between asbestos exposure and their present health problems that mostly turn out to be mesothelioma and lung cancer. Shipyard workers continue to be at risk of contracting diseases caused by asbestos exposure even today. While lots of safety measures are already in place and asbestos use is almost not happening in the Navy and shipyards today, it was heavily used in submarines and warships from the Second World War all the to the Korean War and still in use today.
To understand whether you have a reason to worry after serving your country in the navy or as a shipyard worker back in the day, here’s an explanation of mesothelioma, asbestos dust exposure and you.
Superior and cost-effective insulator
For hundreds of years, asbestos was harvested heavily and used in many areas of the society. It was largely loved for its superiority in insulation, fire resistance, and lightweight amidst being very cheap to manufacture. As a result, it was heavily used in the military in submarines and warships. The servicemen manning these vessels or making them were largely exposed to asbestos fibers and dust.
It takes time to manifest
You might not know this but asbestos exposure doesn’t cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related complications immediately. Most of these veteran shipyard workers would later contract these diseases decades later as they start complaining of wheezing, shortness of breath, serious chest pains and unending coughs. Diagnosis, later on, would lead to asbestosis, mesothelioma cancer, and asbestos-caused lung cancer. Shipyard workers were also heavy smokers and together with asbestos exposure, their lung cancer risk was compounded by tobacco smoke inhalation.
Were you at the highest asbestos exposure risk?
Not every shipyard worker was actually at the risk of asbestos dust exposure. There are those United States shipyards across the country where asbestos and related products were largely deployed in shipbuilding. Anyone who worked in these shipyards could have been exposed to the material. Most insulation was asbestos-made and most shipyard workers were definitely exposed. It’s important to know whether the shipyard you worked for was one of those heavily used to make submarines and all types of ships. This should tell you the risk of asbestos-related diseases in your life if it hasn’t glared its symptoms yet, is real.
Were you the asbestos insulator in the shipyard? It’s most important you seek to know if you worked in asbestos insulation back in your shipyard days. In fact, it is reported that for every 500 workers in shipyards, one shipyard worker would have this job. Other jobs that exposed asbestos dust or fibers to shipyard workers included electricians, machinists, pipefitters, ship fitters and boiler creators. All these individuals had to use a form of a product containing asbestos in their shipyard job.
After the end of the Second World War, shipyard workers numbers went down. In 1943 alone, almost two million workers were in operation, declining to around 200,000 once the war was over. This rate of workers was maintained in shipyards and shipbuilding between 1946 and 1970 where asbestos remained the main material in shipbuilding processes.
From California to New York shipyards, no shipyard worker was immune to asbestos exposure. The large-scale use of asbestos in New York shipyards, for instance, goes back to mid-1920s continuing for over 50 years until about the 70s after the realization of the toxicity of asbestos.
Did you work in the New York Shipyard up to about 1970 or your loved one? It’s highly likely you suffered asbestos exposure and your health has never been the same decades later as asbestos dust cause problems much later. Call a mesothelioma attorney today for a free initial consultation to know your legal rights in this matter.