The San Francisco Drydock has the distinction of being the largest drydock facility in the city of San Francisco. Located on the scenic port of San Francisco, this particular drydock company opened its doors in 1978 and remains today as the only full-service ship repair company in San Francisco. Recently acquired by a major defense contractor, the San Francisco Drydock has expanded beyond warships and military vessels. Today, San Francisco Drydock Inc. operates inside the same facilities that belonged to Bethlehem Steel Company and Union Iron Works. Both of these companies were heavily involved in building and repairing U.S. Navy ships during World War I and World War II.

San Francisco Drydock is a ship repair company that performs maintenance checks, alterations, and other repairs to warships, cruise-liners, carrier ships, and tankers. This maintenance includes the process of cleaning, coating, and welding many different materials. Since San Francisco Drydock operates in a world that has found many uses for ships, more labor is required, and aesthetic details for cruise ships often require hand applications. Years ago, industrial strength cleaning and coating supplies contained large quantities of asbestos, increasing the number of shipyard personnel at risk of asbestos exposure.

Although the use of lead-based paint has seen a decline in the ship building and ship-repair industries, they are still very much commonplace. Welders are at a particularly high risk of mesothelioma and lung cancer. In fact, most shipyard workers are at an increased risk of the diseases related to asbestos exposure. Employees of San Francisco Drydock are still at risk because many of the old ships they work on still contain materials made with asbestos.

Once the particles from insulation, paint, and other asbestos products become airborne, workers become vulnerable to breathing in the toxic fibers floating in the air. Until the1970s, very little information was available regarding the effects of asbestos exposure. However, since symptoms of asbestos exposure usually occur after a prolonged period, many people are unaware until they become ill. Mesothelioma, an asbestos-related disease, is an agressive form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs.

San Francisco Drydock operates facilities that were major shipyards during World War I and WWII, and current employees are just as likely to succumb to asbestos-related illnesses as their predecessors were during the wars.

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