Honoring Veterans Means Addressing Asbestos Risks & Screening Gaps
Veterans & Military
Written by Travis Rodgers | Edited by Amy Edel
November is National Veterans and Military Families Month, a time to recognize those who served and the families who supported them. For many veterans, military service also meant exposure to asbestos, a material widely used throughout the military because it resists heat and fire. Exposure can lead to mesothelioma, lung cancer and other serious diseases, sometimes decades after service.
Military asbestos exposure remains a concern long after veterans leave the service. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes asbestos and other military exposures as additional lung cancer risk factors, but standard screening recommendations focus primarily on age and cigarette smoking history.
The VA is studying ways to identify more veterans who may benefit from lung cancer screening, including those whose military exposures could put them at risk. This research comes as health care providers continue to examine how screening criteria can better account for risks beyond cigarette smoking.
Military Asbestos Exposure Can Affect Health Decades Later
Military personnel who worked in shipyards, construction, insulation, demolition and other trades handled materials made with asbestos. The VA identifies shipyard and insulation work among military occupations associated with asbestos exposure. Veterans also encountered asbestos in pipes, flooring, roofing and other building materials.
Health problems may not appear until decades after exposure. Mesothelioma, for example, can take 20 to 60 years to develop from initial exposure. The VA lists mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural plaques among diseases and conditions associated with inhaling asbestos fibers.
This long latency period can make past military exposure easy to overlook when veterans and their doctors assess current health risks. Details about where a veteran served, the work they performed and the materials they handled can become important years after military service ends.
Veterans should tell their health care providers about jobs, duty stations and tasks that involved possible asbestos exposure. Military records and a veteran’s own recollection can help document that history, especially when decades have passed since the exposure occurred. This information can give doctors more context when evaluating respiratory symptoms and long-term cancer risk.
Standard Lung Cancer Screening May Miss Some Veterans at Risk
Current lung cancer screening recommendations are largely based on a person’s age and cigarette smoking history. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual low-dose CT screening for adults ages 50 to 80 who have at least a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years.
A pack-year measures how much someone has smoked over time. For example, smoking one pack a day for 20 years equals 20 pack-years. Smoking two packs a day for 10 years also equals 20 pack-years.
Asbestos exposure alone doesn’t qualify someone for screening under these recommendations. A veteran who never smoked, for example, wouldn’t meet the standard eligibility criteria based on military asbestos exposure alone. These recommendations apply to lung cancer screenings and aren’t guidelines for mesothelioma screening or other asbestos-related diseases.
The VA acknowledges that smoking isn’t the only factor that can raise lung cancer risk. Its lung cancer screening guidance also lists asbestos, burn pits, Agent Orange, radon, family history and underlying lung disease among additional risk factors. The VA encourages veterans who don’t meet standard screening criteria to discuss their individual risk with their health care provider.
VA Study Tests Broader Lung Cancer Screening Criteria
VA researchers are studying ways to expand lung cancer screening eligibility for veterans. The MAS-EXPAND study, short for Personalizing Veterans’ Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnosis, is evaluating screening criteria that consider military toxic exposures and other risk factors.
The study is being held at VA healthcare centers in 7 cities, including Nashville, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City and Seattle. Participants must be ages 50 to 80 and have smoked at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime. They don’t have to meet the standard 20 pack-year smoking requirement or the rule that former smokers must have quit within the past 15 years.
However, the study still requires participants to have some smoking history. Veterans who never smoked don’t qualify, even if they experienced military asbestos exposure. Participants must also have at least one additional risk factor, such as a military toxic exposure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a previous tobacco-related cancer or a first-degree relative with lung cancer.
The study isn’t specific to asbestos exposure. But the VA separately identifies asbestos as an important lung cancer risk factor and says researchers are working to better understand how factors beyond cigarette smoking could be incorporated into screening. For veterans who never smoked, the study doesn’t yet offer an option for expanded screening eligibility.
VA Research Looks at Improving Screening Access
Expanding screening eligibility is only part of the challenge. Veterans also need access to screening programs, particularly those who live in rural areas or have difficulty getting care through traditional primary care services.
In August 2026, VA researchers reported that centralized lung cancer screening programs had screening rates 75% higher than programs that relied on individual primary care providers. The analysis included more than 150,000 veterans. Centralized programs organize screening through dedicated teams rather than leaving individual primary care providers to coordinate the process.
Researchers also found that hybrid programs, which combine centralized screening with primary care, were particularly effective at improving screening among rural veterans. These findings suggest that how the VA organizes screening services can make a difference in whether veterans receive recommended testing.
VA Tracks Military Exposures Through the PACT Act
The VA is also working to document military exposures before veterans develop symptoms. Under the PACT Act, veterans enrolled in VA health care receive an initial toxic exposure screening and another screening at least once every 5 years.
These screenings ask veterans about possible exposures during military service. The VA can then connect veterans with clinical resources, environmental health programs and information about VA benefits.
A toxic exposure screening isn’t a test for lung cancer or another asbestos-related disease. Instead, it creates a record of potential exposures that veterans and their health care providers can consider when discussing future care and screening.
The VA also offers Military Environmental Exposure Assessments for enrolled veterans with concerns about past exposures. Specially trained clinicians review a veteran’s exposure history and provide recommendations for the veteran and their health care team.
What Veterans With Past Asbestos Exposure Should Do
Veterans who worked with asbestos or handled asbestos-containing materials during military service should share that history with their health care providers. Details about where they served, their military occupations and the materials they encountered can help doctors evaluate their individual health risks.
Veterans should also ask whether their exposure history warrants additional monitoring or lung cancer screening, even if they don’t meet standard smoking-based eligibility criteria. The VA’s ongoing research highlights the need to identify veterans who may benefit from screening and improve access to testing.
For veterans who served decades ago, preserving a record of past exposures can remain important long after military service ends. That history can help health care providers assess potential risks and make informed decisions about screening and monitoring.
Veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma who have a history of military asbestos exposure can also contact The Mesothelioma Center’s Veterans Department for support. The department works with veterans and Veterans Service Officers, while Patient Advocates help patients and families navigate VA benefits and connect with medical, financial and other resources at no cost.
