U.S. Naval Veterans – Prime Candidates
Owing to the peculiarities of their service conditions, U.S. Navy veterans especially those who were in service in the mid 1940s till the 70s would have been more prone to suffer from mesothelioma because the technology used in that era had not realized the extent of dangers in using asbestos for closed marine environment. Asbestos was widely used in all naval applications especially on-board ships as it is a good insulator and thus formed an integral part of lagging work in ships, aircraft and submarines. So any veteran who had worked in the following places could have contracted mesothelioma:
- Ships – all types, be it aircraft carriers or battleships, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, minesweepers you name it and asbestos is an all encompassing lining used throughout the interiors.
- Aircraft – All internal lining in the crew and passenger cabin was usually lined with asbestos.
- Submarine – Was widely used as thermal padding in the insides of submarines.
- Naval Dockyards – without doubt the place where asbestos in dust or particle form would have been present as a lot of asbestos is cut, shaped and formed in the workshops.
- Civil Shipyards – Similar to Naval Dockyards.
- Naval Offices and Buildings – Asbestos was extensively used as thermal coating.