Asbestos Exposure

Where the military used asbestos

Asbestos was used aboard virtually every U.S. Navy vessel built before the late 1970s — in pipe lagging, boiler insulation, gaskets, brake pads, deck tiles, fire-resistant clothing, and bulkhead panels. Engine rooms, boiler rooms, and machinery spaces had the highest concentrations.

Other heavy-exposure environments included Navy and civilian shipyards, the demolition or renovation of pre-1980 military buildings, brake-and-clutch maintenance on military vehicles, and certain construction-engineer specialties.

M21-1 high-probability MOS and occupational categories

• Navy: boiler tender, machinist's mate, hull maintenance technician, damage controlman, pipefitter, engineman.
• Navy: shipyard workers, especially at Mare Island, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Long Beach, Puget Sound, and Hunters Point.
• Marine Corps: motor transport, combat engineer.
• Army and Air Force: vehicle maintenance, construction trades, demolition, and certain aircraft maintenance specialties.
• Coast Guard: same as Navy for shipboard rates.

Conditions linked to asbestos exposure

• Mesothelioma (pleural and peritoneal) — almost exclusively caused by asbestos; latency typically 30-50 years.
• Lung cancer (especially when combined with smoking history; the synergistic effect is well documented).
• Asbestosis (interstitial fibrosis caused by asbestos fibers).
• Pleural plaques and pleural thickening.
• Other cancers under active study: laryngeal, pharyngeal, gastrointestinal, ovarian.

How a strong asbestos claim is built

1. Pull your full personnel record and identify every duty assignment that placed you in a high-probability environment (engine room, shipyard, demolition site).
2. Get a current diagnosis from a pulmonologist or oncologist with imaging (chest CT) showing the relevant pathology.
3. Obtain a medical opinion linking the diagnosis to the documented in-service exposure. For mesothelioma, the opinion is largely formulaic — the disease is essentially diagnostic of prior asbestos exposure.
4. Add lay statements from former shipmates describing the working environment and the routine handling of asbestos-containing materials.

Where these claims break down

• ×Not connecting post-service asbestos exposure to the in-service exposure timeline — the VA is allowed to consider intervening exposure but not required to deny when in-service exposure is well documented.
• ×Filing for lung cancer without addressing smoking history; a strong nexus opinion accounts for both factors.
• ×Overlooking secondary conditions such as cor pulmonale (heart strain secondary to chronic lung disease) and depression.
• ×Settling for asbestosis when imaging actually supports a mesothelioma or lung-cancer diagnosis.

Frequently Asked Questions