Navy Veterans High Risk Candidates for Mesothelioma
0 Comments Posted on: August 2, 2008Asbestos was a critical element of shipbuilding for many years. Mesothelioma is the lethal cancer associated with exposure to asbestos fiber – a disease than has a latency factor of 20 to 50 years. As a result, the disease has lately become an emerging factor among those who worked in and around ships during the period from 1940 to 1970. Navy veterans probably head the list for groups of retired or retiring individuals who are showing the effects of asbestos exposure.
A study of mesothelioma and published in American Family Physician states that “High-risk populations include persons in construction trades, boilermakers, shipyard workers, railroad workers, and U.S. Navy veterans.” When you take into account the fact that among these groups Navy veterans are probably by far the smallest population, it becomes clear that mesothelioma is going to be an ongoing problem for former sailors.
The ships built for the U.S. Navy from the beginning of WW II until the 70s were loaded with asbestos. The miles of pipes and pipe fittings in ships were often coated with asbestos to provide insulation - both for the contents of the pipe and the enclosed quarters that characterize military craft. The flame-retardant properties of asbestos made it an excellent insulation for isolating compartments aboard ship as well. Those sailors working in the engine rooms oar with on-board boilers were exposed to asbestos daily.
