NAVY RELATED EXPOSURES TO ASBESTOS: LIBERTY SHIPS DURING AND AFTER WW II
By the end of World War II, the US Navy had grown from a fleet of roughly 700 commissioned ships to more than 6,000, each one bearing a unique name and constructed as part of a class of ships. This blog will focus on the Liberty Class of ships that were so essential to the war efforts.
From Wikipedia: “The Liberty Ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass-produced on an unprecedented scale, the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output.”
Between 1941 and 1945, 2710 Liberty Ships were built at eighteen American shipyards. This is an average of 1 1/2 ships per day. Henry Kaiser was a driving force in building Liberty Ships.
Did Liberty Ships contain asbestos? Most certainly and in large amounts. As discussed in Asbestos: The Silent Killer of Navy Veterans, Denials by Department of Veterans Affairs, Liberty Ship! (3rd Edition 2001) by William S. Burton, Sr., the use of asbestos on the ships was extensive. Burton served in the U.S. Navy Armed Guard (that used Liberty Ships) which, by definition, was a dangerous place to be during the war. The Guard had the primary duty to protect troop transports, tankers and supply ships from hostile submarines and planes.
As stated by Burton on page 222:
“Priorities in relation to asbestos during WW II was the overwelming necessity of winning the war. Asbestos was seen as a primary protection against fire resulting from enemy attack and so the more asbestos, the greater the protection. The United States Maritime Commission underwrote the contracts for building of Liberty ships though they have never acknowledged their part in this decision. The result has been a series of claims based on product liability which has fallen on the suppliers of asbestos containing materials. Great Britain because of the health effects of asbestos on their factory workers passed the first regulations which was the ASBESTOS INDUSTRY REULTATIONS OF 1931. This bill was the result of the first comprehensive study of the health effects of asbestos.” (Citations Omitted).
Burton, in his well written book, provides 550 pages discussing the dangers of the war in combination of the difficulties in dealing with the Veterans Administration after the war in trying to get compensation for his asbestos related injuries. The book is not easy reading, but a worthwhile preservation of history and primary source documents as The Greatest Generation leaves us.
What happened to Liberty Ships after WW II? In 1946, they were mothballed and stored in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet near Tarrytown, New York. In 1965, at its high point, 189 Liberty Ships were stored there. The last two were sold for scrap in 1971.
Let me know if you would like to borrow Burton’s book or if you have any questions or comments. I can be reached at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thank you. Marty
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