GMD Shipyard
GMD Shipyard is situated within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with an office in Building 595. It’s comprised of two 1,090-feet by 150-feet graving docks and one 280-foot by 66-foot graving dock, all of which were originally part of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. GMD also has 1,100 feet of wet berth and eight cranes ranging from 15 tons mobile to 200 tons gantry. It is considered to be the biggest dry dock within New York City. It offers 24-hour full service, and is equipped with machinery to manufacture and perform any type of maintenance or repair, such as grit blasting, high-pressure water blasting, painting and steel fabrication.
Both the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the GMD Shipyard played an important role in World War II. The ships that were repaired at the dry docks were built with a variety of asbestos products manufactured by Armstrong World Industries, and the company’s products could also be found in various locations within the yards themselves. Because of various working conditions and policies at the shipyard, asbestos exposure was common and resulted in workers developing conditions like mesothelioma cancer later in life.
In 1966, the Navy decommissioned both the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the GMD Shipyard. The facilities were sold to the City of New York during President Nixon’s Administration. The city chose to develop the Brooklyn Navy Yard as an area for private commercial activity, but maintained ship repair operations at the GMD Shipyard.
Cross Contamination of Asbestos at GMD
Many of the shipyard’s tradesmen worked in close proximity to the asbestos-containing products (particularly insulating materials) used on the ships in dry dock at the yard. The routine use of these products created a large amount of dust that filled the air, which then typically fell on these workers, covering their clothing, hair and exposed skin, even if the workers didn’t directly handle the products.
In addition, insulators and other shipyard laborers who worked in the vicinity of the dry docks might be asked to help out in the yard’s many fabrication and repair shops without being able to change clothing or bathe. This meant that they carried asbestos fibers into these areas, causing the shop workers to experience secondhand exposure.
Shop Workers Exposed through Ventilation Practices
The only recourse for ventilating the shops was to open windows. It was customary for windows to remain open during most of the year, allowing asbestos dust to continually blow from across the dry dock and through the windows into the shops. The open windows were intended to ventilate the shops, but they also allowed ambient asbestos fibers to flow into the shop.
Resources for Workers
GMD Shipyard produces so much hazardous waste beyond asbestos that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the yard to a special hazardous waste list known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. According to the 2007 National Biennial RCRA Hazardous Waste Report: List of Reported RCRA Sites in the U.S., GMD Shipyard generates nine tons of waste; but fails to manage any of it currently.
Thankfully, there are resources for workers who've been exposed to hazardous substances like asbestos at GMD Shipyard. Past workers can fill out the form on this page to request a free informational packet from the Mesothelioma Center that addresses many concerns a shipyard worker may have about asbestos exposure. The packet also includes information for patients who've been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, including treatment options, top doctors and forms of financial assistance.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Friday, February 10th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
