Sailors, Deckhands and Asbestos Exposure

There are two types of at-risk workers: those who were most at risk between the 1940s and 1980s (the peak period of asbestos use in America), and those who are at risk now.

Overall, people in the construction and ship-building industries were most at risk in the twentieth century, due to the enormously heavy use of asbestos in those industries. Workers involved in manufacturing asbestos-containing products were also at high risk of exposure. Some types of workers are still at risk of asbestos exposure, however. Depending on their circumstances and place of employment, some sailors and deckhands may potentially be at risk.

Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos has many chemical and physical properties that made it highly desirable for use in many industries. It is highly resistant to chemical degradation, extremely fire resistant (in fact, it's all but fireproof, and simply won't burn), and is also extremely strong. In short, asbestos is a durable, lightweight material that is an excellent insulator against heat, electricity, and sound.

These qualities made it ideal for use in many industries, including the ship-building industry. In fact, asbestos use increased enormously during World War II, when the substance was used to build, repair, and maintain the Navy's warships. It was used as insulation, fire-proofing material, and as a sound barrier, in many different locations on commercial and industrial vessels as well as Navy ships.

As a result, men and women working on and around these ships were at significant risk of asbestos exposure simply by being onboard. This was particularly true of people who worked on Navy ships, or repairing such ships, as repairs were often carried out quickly with little regard to safety, meaning exposure to large amounts of asbestos dust was likely.

Men who stoked boilers and furnaces, repaired electrical equipment, and carried out other tasks directly involving contact with asbestos-containing materials are at the highest risk of exposure, but for the most part, any sailor or deckhand aboard such a ship faced at least some exposure risk.

Spouses and children may have been at risk of exposure too, because often, workers weren't provided with safety equipment such as gloves and coveralls. This meant that workers' clothes became covered in asbestos dust, and the dust would be transported home at the end of a workday. Washing the work clothes could produce clouds of asbestos dust, creating further exposure risks. This type of asbestos exposure - called secondary exposure - doesn't usually cause asbestosis, but can cause mesothelioma to develop decades later.

Ship and Boat Asbestos Uses

The ship-building industry was among the largest consumers of asbestos in the United States. Vast amounts of the substance were used in insulation in particular, to dampen sound, prevent heat and electrical conduction, and reduce fire risks.

Asbestos insulation covered wiring, furnaces, boilers, and pipes. It was used in gaskets, seals, and as friction-reducing lining for moving parts. Because it was so widely used onboard ships, any workers, including sailors and deckhands, were at risk of asbestos exposure. Even a worker who did not directly work in contact with asbestos might be at risk, because of the possibility of ship-board work generating asbestos dust that could transfer to other workers.

What Sailors and Deckhands Should Know

Asbestos is dangerous because, when inhaled or otherwise ingested, it can cause chronic irritation and inflammation in delicate body tissues. In the lungs, for example, prolonged, heavy asbestos exposure causes asbestosis, a respiratory disease that is caused by the development of scar tissue as a result of damage caused by tiny needle-like asbestos fibers. Exposure to airborne asbestos fibers also causes pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive and treatment-resistant cancer that develops in the lung's lining.

Asbestos-related diseases, particularly malignant mesothelioma, have very long latency periods. In the case of mesothelioma, three to five decades typically elapses between exposure and the onset of the first noticeable symptoms. An estimated 27.5 million people were exposed to asbestos at work, and millions of workers who were exposed may appear healthy yet still be at risk developing mesothelioma.

Due to the very long latency period of mesothelioma, men who served the country's Navy in the Second World War are still developing the deadly cancer. Men who served in the Navy during the Korean and Vietnam wars also face the possibility of developing asbestos-related cancer.

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