Asbestos Products

Boiler Wall Coat

Boiler wall coat is a "paint"that was used on the interior walls of boilers and reactors, most commonly on nuclear submarines and ships. It contained asbestos for its insulating properties and its resistance to high temperatures. You may have come in contact with boiler wall coat if you served on Navy submarine, particularly a nuclear submarine, and most especially if you worked in and around the boiler room. You might also have been exposed to asbestos in boiler wall coat if you worked in a Navy shipyard or other shipyard, did ship restoration or cleaning or worked in a power plant or power station.

People who worked with asbestos products are at increased risk of developing the deadly cancer, mesothelioma. Asbestos laced products were widely used until the mid-1980s in many different industries. If you worked in shipbuilding, restoration, refitting or demolition and have had contact with ships built or refurbished before the mid-1980s, there is a good chance that you have been exposed to asbestos in your work. Mesothelioma is a particularly virulent form of cancer that affects the lining around your organs. It is caused by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers, and can take up to forty or fifty years to rear its head. While it was once believed that mesothelioma was only a danger to those who had worked with asbestos products for years in their daily work, it's now known that the cancer can develop from much shorter and lesser exposures. Thus, even if you only worked a summer in a shipyard, or served a single tour of duty that put you in contact with asbestos and asbestos dust, you are at increased risk of developing mesothelioma.

Likewise, if you are currently working in a job that involves the demolition or retrofitting of old ship and power plant boilers, you are almost certainly being exposed to asbestos in your workplace. By law, your employer is required to adhere to specific workplace safety regulations that will limit your exposure to asbestos dust and reduce the likelihood that the dust will spread beyond the enclosed work area. If you are uncertain that your employer is following those regulations, it is vital to your future health to find out.

Many workers who were exposed to asbestos have successfully sued the companies that employed them and won awards that total millions. If you were exposed to asbestos while in the Navy and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis, however, you cannot sue the U.S. Government for your injuries or illness. Many veterans, however, have successfully sued the manufacturers of the asbestos products to which they were exposed.

Veterans who were most likely to have been exposed to asbestos during their tours of duty include Boiler Technicians, Construction Mechanics, Damage Controlmen, Electronics Technicians, Enginemen, Fire Control Technicians, and many others. Other products that may have been used in and around boiler rooms and shipyards include asbestos lagging, asbestos rope, asbestos spray coatings and paints or insulation. Military records, bills of lading and work orders can be used to reconstruct which products by which manufacturers may have been used on specific ships and bases. The list of possible sources of asbestos fibers in addition to boiler wall coat includes panel, insulating materials, packing material, prefabricated-forms, tubes, cables, capacitors, mixes, block insulation, pipe covering, deck covering materials, adhesives, insulation felts, thermal materials, gaskets, refractory, mortar, aggregate mixtures, rods, valves, boilers, bonds, compounds, bedding compounds, coatings, packing assemblies, hydraulic assemblies, and grinders.

If you were exposed to asbestos through your work in and around Navy ships and shipyards and are uncertain of your rights, contact a local mesothelioma lawyer for more information and advice.

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