From World War II through the late 1970s, every U.S. Navy steam-propulsion vessel — battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious ships, auxiliaries, submarines, and merchant ships of the Navy auxiliary — had a boiler room (or “fire room”) packed wall-to-wall with asbestos-containing materials. The men who served as Boiler Tenders (BT), Machinist’s Mates (MM), and Firemen (FN) in these spaces spent their watches surrounded by asbestos pipe insulation, asbestos block insulation, asbestos cement, asbestos gaskets, asbestos packing, asbestos cloth, asbestos refractory, and asbestos-bearing valve and flange components.

Decades later — typically 20 to 50 years after their Navy service — these veterans are receiving diagnoses of mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has formally recognized asbestos exposure during Navy service as a basis for service-connected disability and survivor compensation. Veterans and surviving family members may also have legal rights against the manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos-bearing products installed aboard their ships.

The three principal boiler-room ratings

  • Boiler Tender (BT) — operated, monitored, and maintained the ship’s boilers, fuel-oil systems, feed-water systems, soot blowers, and forced-draft blowers. Highest direct boiler-area exposure. See the dedicated Boiler Tender exposure page →
  • Machinist’s Mate (MM) — operated and maintained main engines, auxiliary machinery, evaporators, distilling plants, refrigeration systems, hydraulics, and steam-driven auxiliary equipment in adjoining engine rooms. Heavy asbestos exposure to insulated turbines, condensers, pumps, and steam piping. See the dedicated Machinist’s Mate exposure page →
  • Fireman (FN) — apprentice rating leading to the BT or MM career path; worked under BT and MM supervision throughout the propulsion plant.

Where Navy boiler-room workers were exposed

Asbestos exposure in the Navy boiler room and adjoining engineering spaces came from many distinct product categories:

  • Pipe insulation on every steam, feed, condensate, and fuel-oil line throughout the propulsion plant
  • Block insulation on boiler shells, steam drums, water drums, and casing surfaces
  • Boiler refractory — castable, gunite, brick, and plastic refractory in the furnace, burner-front, and combustion area
  • Asbestos gaskets at every manhole cover, handhole cover, flange joint, valve bonnet, and steam-drum penetration
  • Asbestos packing at every valve stem, pump shaft, and rotating-equipment penetration
  • Asbestos cloth — fire-blanket jacketing on bare piping, removable lagging blankets on inspection-access surfaces
  • Asbestos cement — used to patch insulation joints, dress flange surfaces, and rebuild damaged block insulation
  • Asbestos-bearing valves, gauges, and instruments — including asbestos-insulated bonnets and asbestos-packed stems
  • Asbestos brake and clutch linings in steam-driven and electric-driven auxiliary equipment

Common shipboard exposure activities

Navy boiler-room workers performed many routine maintenance and operational tasks that disturbed asbestos-bearing materials and released airborne fiber into the breathing zone:

  • Gasket replacement at manhole covers, handhole covers, and steam-drum penetrations
  • Valve packing replacement at every valve in the propulsion plant
  • Insulation removal and replacement during outages, repairs, and battle damage restoration
  • Refractory tear-out and replacement during furnace cleanings and rebuilds
  • Soot-blower service and replacement
  • General boiler cleaning, water-side and fire-side
  • Tube-bundle pulls and re-tubing
  • Bystander exposure to other ratings (boilermen, insulators, hull technicians, repair-yard workers) performing asbestos work in the same machinery space

Ship classes with asbestos boiler rooms

Asbestos-bearing boiler rooms were standard equipment across virtually every U.S. Navy steam-propulsion ship class through the asbestos era — including battleships (Iowa class), aircraft carriers (Essex, Midway, Forrestal, Kitty Hawk, Nimitz classes), cruisers (Cleveland, Baltimore, Worcester, Albany, Long Beach, Belknap, Leahy, Virginia classes), destroyers (Fletcher, Sumner, Gearing, Forrest Sherman, Charles F. Adams, Spruance classes), frigates (Knox, Garcia, Brooke, Perry classes), amphibious ships, submarines, and auxiliaries.

For per-ship asbestos exposure documentation, see the Navy Ship Exposure Archive at navyshipexposure.com.

Equipment defendants

The asbestos-bearing equipment installed in Navy boiler rooms was supplied by major U.S. industrial OEMs, many of whom are named asbestos defendants today: Babcock & Wilcox (boilers, refractory), Combustion Engineering (boilers, refractory), Foster Wheeler (boilers), General Electric (turbines, generators, electrical), Westinghouse (turbines, generators, switchgear), Crane Co., Henry Vogt, Jenkins Bros. (valves), Garlock, John Crane, A.W. Chesterton (packing and gaskets), Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning, Pittsburgh Corning (insulation), and Cleaver-Brooks (auxiliary boilers).

For the full catalog of Navy boiler-room asbestos products, see the boilers category at asbestos-products.com.

If you served as BT, MM, or FN — or in any boiler-room or engine-room rating

If you served in a U.S. Navy boiler room, engine room, or propulsion plant during the asbestos era — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness — you may have legal rights, including claims against asbestos product manufacturers and access to asbestos trust funds. Veterans may also be eligible for VA service-connected disability and surviving-spouse benefits.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.