Asbestos Use At The Boston Naval Shipyard

Asbestos Use At The Boston Naval Shipyard

Located in Charlestown, Mass., the Charlestown Navy Yard was among the first shipbuilding sites in the country. It operated from 1801 to 1974, and has been known as the Boston Naval Shipyard since 1945. Not unlike many other shipyards across the United States, the Boston Naval Shipyard used asbestos.
The Secretary of the Navy opened the Boston Naval Shipyard to construct ships for the country’s defense and to repair those that had been bruised. The USS Independence was the first vessel built at the Boston Naval Shipyard, and many other Navy ships followed. Submarines, destroyers, destroyer escorts, tank access ships, barrack ships and motor tugs were among the ships constructed at the Boston Naval Shipyard. The Boston Naval Shipyard was also used to repair and store ships.
The Boston Naval Shipyard was active during several different wars, including the Spanish American Combat, World Strike I and World Cold war II. During the Second World Conflict, the Boston Naval Shipyard retained a document - high 50, 000 workers. This was largely due to an array of attacks from German submarines that destroyed and sank divers naval ships.
Throughout its history, the Boston Naval Shipyard busy many types of workers including carpenters, shipbuilders, electricians, plumbers, machinists, sail makers and blacksmiths. Unfortunately, many of these workers may have been exposed to the toxic mineral asbestos. Asbestos refers to a group of six minerals that were widely used for insulation. Whereas of this, asbestos was used in many industries, including shipbuilding, from the late 1800s until its ban in the tardy 1900s. When products containing asbestos are zinged or disturbed, pygmy asbestos fibers are released into the air and can be inhaled into the lungs. Eventually, these asbestos fibers can produce life - threatening illnesses, selfsame as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
The Boston Naval Shipyard used asbestos extensively during shipbuilding, especially after it began utilizing steel and metal for hulls and various other parts. According to the U. S Navy, nearly 300 asbestos - containing products were used generally in the shipbuilding process. Although the health effects of asbestos were recorded as inaugural as the 1920s, those working with the mineral were unaware of its dangers until the mid to unpunctual 1900s. As a sequence, shipbuilders, Navy veterans and naval contractors, among others, may have been exposed to asbestos fibers in hazardous amounts. Although the Navy banned asbestos use in 1973, many employees had nowadays been exposed to the harmful mineral.
The Boston Naval Shipyard was closed in 1974 as part of a government cost - saving plan. As the dangers of asbestos became public in the 1970s, any asbestos products unsocial behind at the shipyard had to be cleaned up and removed properly. Several acres of the Boston Naval Shipyard are now part of the Boston National Historical Park.