The Moore Dry Docks
The Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repairer and occasional shipbuilder in continuous operation since 1905. Originally founded in 1905 as Moore & Scott Iron Works in San Francisco, California, it burnt down during the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1908. Immediately restarted in 1909, the company instantly purchased the Boole shipyard in Oakland, California. Moore bought out Scott and changes the name to Moore Dry Dock in 1922.
The dry dock operated mostly as a repair facility prior to World War II, but with the nine million dollar investment by both the United States Marine Corp. and the United States Navy, the company was able to expand its facility and equip it with more Naval ship building features. The yard was a vital performer in the race to arm the U.S. Navy with sea worthy vessels in preparation of World War II. The Moore Dry Dock was responsible for more than one hundred ships for both the Navy and Merchant Marines during the war. It is important to note however that many people who worked here became ill with mesothelioma due to the inhalation of asbestos that was commonplace at that time.
The Moore Dry Dock is was one of the first ship building company to see the advantages in employing African Americans to perform both skilled and unskilled tasks. The several thousand Blacks employed by the dry dock were forced to endure racial prejudice on a daily basis and were still able to maintain one of the highest performance records for any World War II shipyard. In 1950, a dispute between picketing union sailors and the owner of a ship in the Moore Dry Dock lead to the Moore Dry Dock Standards for Primary Picketing at a Secondary Site which gives picketers working on job sites away from the home base of a company the same rights they would have if the were located at their home office.
The company had a reputation of being the fastest shipyard in most repair projects during World War II. The speedy turn around rates led to the company investing money to improve the site creating larger buildings and more efficient production methods. Many of the buildings were produced using the fire and heat resistant fiber known as asbestos as it was readily available during the time frame, and the cost of material urged companies focused on bottom lines to use the substance in most buildings built during the war.
The use of this material by the Moore Dry Dock Company has raised the eye of many people in recent years with the discovery that the use of asbestos as insulation in shipyards may have lead to health issues and even death of many of the workers and inhabitants of the yard. Since the closure of the ship yard in 1961, many law suits have been filed by both individuals and groups against many World War II ship building yards, including the Moore Dry Dock, claim that asbestos is directly attributed to multiple deaths caused by outbreaks of pneumonia and mesothelioma. These cases have not been settled and are still pending.
- Early Detection of Mesothelioma Crucial
2008-04-28 13:30:11
When Brandon Benoit suffered a football injury last year, he never dreamed that getting treated for that injury could change his life—and perhaps save it. When Benoit was treated for his injuries ... [read more] - Could Caffeine Help Treat Mesothelioma?
2008-04-24 16:46:33
A mesothelioma research group has discovered that treatment with anti-cancer drug Pemetrexed may be more effective if patients are treated with caffeine before r ... [read more] - Mesothelioma Researchers to Receive Innovator Award
2008-04-24 16:44:14
The Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation, in conjunction with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), has created two new funding opportunities for scientists working on cancer resear ... [read more]
