Military Asbestos Exposure — Veterans, VA Benefits & Legal Claims

Why Veterans Have High Mesothelioma Risk

The U.S. military was one of the largest consumers of asbestos-containing materials in the world throughout most of the 20th century. From the construction of military bases to the insulation of every naval vessel, asbestos was used in nearly every application where heat resistance, fireproofing, or durability was required.

Critically, the military was slower to phase out asbestos than civilian industry. After OSHA and the EPA began restricting asbestos in civilian workplaces in the early 1970s, military procurement continued to specify asbestos-containing materials for longer. This was particularly true for the Navy, which argued that asbestos insulation was essential for shipboard fire safety, and for the Air Force, which continued using asbestos-containing aircraft brake components through the 1980s.

The result is that veterans who served during the highest-risk period — roughly 1940 through 1975 — were exposed to asbestos at rates comparable to the most heavily exposed civilian trades. Veterans who served in the Navy and Marine Corps during this period have mesothelioma incidence rates among the highest of any identifiable population group in the United States.

Because mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years between first exposure and diagnosis, veterans who served during this era are in the peak diagnostic window today. A veteran who worked in a ship’s boiler room in 1965 may not receive a mesothelioma diagnosis until 2015 or 2025.

Branch-by-Branch Exposure

All branches of the U.S. military had asbestos exposure pathways. Risk level and specific exposure routes varied by branch, occupational specialty, and era of service.

Navy Ship Asbestos Exposure

Navy and Marine Corps veterans who served aboard ships built before 1975 face the highest risk of any military population. A steam-powered naval vessel was, in effect, a sealed container lined with asbestos from bow to stern. Below-deck spaces — particularly engineering spaces — had few or no safety measures in place during most of the peak exposure era.

Where Asbestos Was Found Aboard Ship

• Boiler rooms and firerooms — the most heavily insulated compartments on any ship. Every boiler, steam drum, superheater, economizer, and foot of associated high-pressure piping was encased in asbestos insulation applied in layers several inches thick. Temperatures in these spaces reached hundreds of degrees, and the insulation was in constant need of maintenance and repair.
• Engine rooms — main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, ship’s service turbine generators, and all steam distribution piping were insulated with asbestos lagging. The engine room of a large warship might contain miles of asbestos-insulated pipe.
• Pipe lagging throughout the ship — every steam line, hot water line, and exhaust line — running through every deck and compartment from engineering spaces to the superstructure — was wrapped in asbestos pipe insulation. Damage to this lagging was common, and disturbed insulation released fibers continuously.
• Fireproofing of bulkheads and compartments — asbestos-containing spray fireproofing was applied to interior steel surfaces in compartments throughout the ship as a fire barrier. Chipping, scraping, or drilling through these surfaces released fibers.
• Gaskets and packing on valves, pumps, and flanges — every valve, pump, and pipe flange in the ship’s steam, seawater, and fuel oil systems used asbestos-containing gaskets and packing rope. Mechanics who opened these systems for maintenance released fibers each time.
• Deck covering materials — many deck coverings used in crew spaces and working areas contained asbestos, particularly in older vessel classes.

Ship Types with Highest Exposure

Steam propulsion systems were found throughout the fleet. Aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarine tenders, and destroyer tenders had the largest steam plants and therefore the most asbestos insulation. However, exposure was not limited to large surface combatants — submarines, with their extremely confined engineering spaces, often had the highest fiber concentrations of any vessel type. Amphibious ships, oilers, and replenishment vessels also had significant asbestos throughout their engineering systems.

Air Force and Aircraft Asbestos

Air Force veterans face a different exposure profile than Navy veterans, but the risk is still significant. Aircraft maintenance involved repeated contact with asbestos-containing components throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.

Brake pads and brake linings on military aircraft contained asbestos through at least the mid-1980s. Aircraft maintainers and crew chiefs who serviced landing gear brakes — particularly on high-use aircraft at busy flight lines — accumulated meaningful asbestos exposure. The same compressed-air blowout methods used in civilian auto shops were also used in military aircraft brake maintenance.

Engine gaskets and exhaust system components in jet engines and piston-engine aircraft both used asbestos-containing sealing materials through the 1970s. Engine mechanics who overhauled power plants at the depot level had substantially higher exposure than line maintainers, because depot overhaul involved complete disassembly and replacement of all sealing components in old engines.

Heat shields and insulation blankets in aircraft engine compartments, fuselage areas around hot components, and in some cockpit areas contained asbestos into the 1970s. Avionics technicians who accessed equipment bays near these areas had secondary exposure.

Depot-level maintenance — the overhaul of older aircraft at Air Logistics Centers (now Air Logistics Complexes) — generated significantly more fiber than line maintenance because depot maintenance involved stripping, inspecting, and replacing all insulation and sealing materials on aircraft that might be 10 or 20 years old. Workers at depots like Ogden Air Logistics Center (Hill AFB), Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (Tinker AFB), Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, and Sacramento Air Logistics Center have documented asbestos exposure histories.

VA Benefits for Asbestos-Related Disease

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides disability compensation and healthcare for veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases as a result of military service. VA benefits are entirely separate from — and do not preclude — civil lawsuits and trust fund claims.

No Filing Deadline for VA Claims

Unlike civil lawsuits, VA disability claims have no statute of limitations. A veteran can file at any time after a diagnosis of service-connected asbestos disease. However, compensation is generally payable only from the date of filing — not retroactively — so there is a financial incentive to file promptly after diagnosis.

Documenting Your VA Claim

A successful VA asbestos claim requires three elements: (1) current medical evidence of mesothelioma, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related diagnosis; (2) documentation of in-service asbestos exposure — typically through military records, ship assignment records (from the National Personnel Records Center), or occupational specialty records showing exposure-prone duties; and (3) a medical nexus opinion from a physician connecting the diagnosis to the in-service exposure. A VA-accredited attorney or veterans service organization (VSO) — such as the DAV, VFW, or American Legion — can assist with claim preparation at no cost.

Legal Claims in Addition to VA Benefits

VA disability compensation and civil asbestos claims address fundamentally different wrongs. VA benefits compensate veterans for disability caused by service; civil claims hold the product manufacturers who knowingly sold dangerous asbestos products responsible for their negligence. Filing both is common, legal, and does not create any conflict or offset between the two.

The defendants in military asbestos civil claims are the product manufacturers — not the U.S. government. Companies that sold asbestos insulation, gaskets, packing, and other products to the military are subject to product liability law in the same way they would be for products sold to civilian employers. Many have resolved their liability through bankruptcy trust funds:

• Owens Corning / Fibreboard Trust — Kaylo and other insulation products used aboard Navy ships.
• Pittsburgh Corning Corporation Trust — Unibestos pipe insulation, one of the most prevalent products in U.S. naval shipyards.
• Armstrong World Industries Trust — Armstrong insulation and flooring products used in military facilities and ships.
• Babcock & Wilcox Trust — boiler manufacturer that supplied the Navy with asbestos-insulated boilers for decades.
• Combustion Engineering Trust — another major Navy boiler supplier with asbestos liability.
• Eagle-Picher Trust — Eagle-Picher asbestos products used in military and industrial applications.
• Burns International / Celotex Trust — Celotex asbestos board and insulation products.

Because many veterans were exposed to multiple manufacturers’ products at multiple duty stations, it is common for a single veteran’s case to generate simultaneous claims against five, ten, or more trust funds. An experienced mesothelioma attorney handles all trust fund identification and filing as part of the representation, at no upfront cost to the veteran or family.

Frequently Asked Questions