Veterans and Asbestos Exposure
For much of the 20th century, asbestos was normal in the U.S. Military as red, white and blue. It was considered a vital ingredient to help safeguard men and women whose job it was to protect their country. Asbestos was everywhere by design, mandated from the top, prevalent in all branches of service.
The ability of asbestos to insulate and fireproof a variety of construction materials made asbestos perfectly suited for use in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, plus the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marines. It was flexible, resilient and heat resistant, a naturally occurring mineral that could be woven into, mixed with, or applied on most everything.
Asbestos Surrounded Veterans
Veterans make up about 8 percent of the U.S. population today.
For a long time, no one understood just how dangerous it was. And when those health hazards were known, they weren't publicized – and men and women in uniform were exposed to it. A number of them were – and still are – forced to cope with the result of that exposure in the form of life-changing illnesses like mesothelioma, asbestos-caused lung cancer and asbestosis.
A diagnosis of mesothelioma can be especially devastating to a veteran because the life expectancy of the disease is short compare to that of other cancers. Mesothelioma patients often are not diagnosed property until the disease is in its late stages.
This continues to matter to veterans because of one unique trait of asbestos diseases – a long period between asbestos exposure and the onset of the disease. Depending on the type of asbestos-related illness, the latency period between exposure and a doctor's diagnoses can be anywhere from 10 years to 50 years. In fact, not only are veterans long gone from the military when a doctor tells them they have an asbestos disease, most are also retired from civilian jobs as well. (Some of the veterans, according to lawsuits on file, were exposed to asbestos while in the military and after they got out. There are examples of sheet metal workers who were exposed to asbestos in the military and out.)
Although branches of the U.S. military required asbestos to be used in construction of ships, tanks, planes and barracks, private part and product manufacturers that knew the truth about asbestos did not make sure its dangers were known to those who used those parts and products.
I don't think anyone intentionally put a soldier's life at risk [from asbestos]...But the military is responsible for cleaning up its mess, and taking care of its business.
said Dr. Abraham Lebenthal of Boston, who specializes in treating veterans with asbestos-related diseases.
Because of the statistical anomaly with veterans and mesothelioma, many of those who are diagnosed explore their legal options against product and parts manufacturers. There are a myriad of example of former servicemen filing successful lawsuits against companies that have already set up trust funds to pay off these asbestos-related claims. In fact, an overwhelming number of these cases never go to trial. They are settled out of court.
Even without a decision to sue, veterans are entitled to extra financial and medical benefits if they are diagnosed with an asbestos related disease.
The VA designates disabilities in 10-percent increments and doles out benefits based on those increments.
Asbestos: World War II to Vietnam War
From before World War II to the end of the Vietnam War, asbestos use in the military was at its peak, hailed for all the good things that it did. It wasn't until the Clean Air Act of 1970, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began regulating many asbestos-containing materials, that its use began to decline.
Since the 1980s until the present, considerable time, effort and money have gone toward fixing the asbestos problem in the United States, particularly in and around military bases. Therein lays another irony. While it was inexpensive to use asbestos originally – that was part of its appeal – the cost of removing it – and of repairing the damage that it caused – is astronomical.
Asbestos and U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy paid the heaviest price. As early as 1939, the Navy Surgeon General issued a report generalizing the harmful effects of asbestos, yet every ship built from the 1930s until the 1970s was loaded with asbestos materials.
Almost every area of each Navy ship is tinged with it. Some veterans report now their memories of going to bed on a submarine and on other Navy vessels and sweeping dust off their pillows before climbing into their bunk. That dust was asbestos dust like spread through ventilation systems.
Walls, doors, ceilings and pipes all required fireproofing, and asbestos was the answer. The engine rooms and munitions rooms, in particular, needed heat resistance, and asbestos again was the solution. Even the galley and the sleeping quarters were covered with asbestos paint to cut down the risk of fire erupting.
More veterans were exposed in the 1990s when the Navy started scrapping old vessels. Ships were dismantled by unknowing shipyard workers, and pieces were sold to foreign countries, ones that had little to no asbestos laws.
Asbestos and U.S. Army
Ships were not alone in their asbestos prevalence through the military. Jeeps, tanks, and aircraft all used asbestos for the same heat resistance. It was in brakes and clutch pads, electrical wiring. It was everywhere that military personnel worked, ate and slept. It was used in the cement foundations, flooring, roofing and throughout the plumbing system in all the bases.
Asbestos was one of the contaminants at 32 Army Installations that needed an estimated $1 billion environmental cleanup before they could be closed or realigned during the '90s. Although the use of asbestos was dramatically reduced in the new construction, much of the older construction was used for decades after being built.
Asbestos and U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marines
In the Air Force, asbestos was used in the building and maintenance of aircraft. It aided in the protection against fire and heat. It was the used in the cockpit heating system and in the heat shields for engines. It insulated the cargo bay. It was in gaskets and valves within the engines. Air Force mechanics often inhaled asbestos dust and fibers through contact from engines.
Marines often were transported on ships with poor ventilation, housed in the same asbestos-laden bases, using weaponry protected by asbestos products.
At-Risk Jobs for Asbestos Exposure
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, on its own website, lists a variety of duties performed by servicemen in all branches that would have exposed its men and women to asbestos. Among them: pipefitting, mining, milling, shipyard work, insulation work, demolition of old buildings, carpentry and construction.
Also included are the manufacture and servicing of friction products such as clutch facings and brake linings; the installation of products such as roofing and flooring materials, asbestos cement sheets, pipe products, and all military equipment.
Veterans Get Help with Asbestos Illnesses
And while the VA will assist qualified veterans with asbestos-related illnesses, it often is difficult to claim asbestos health problems as a service related disability. The Veterans Assistance Network at the Mesothelioma Center can assist you, if needed.
Veterans must prove their exposure occurred during active duty, and that no other exposure existed, either before or after, active duty. And when symptoms do not appear until years after the exposure, that proof can be tough to obtain, without good assistance.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Friday, April 27th, 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.
