INGALLS SHIPBUILDING 
Asbestos Exposure

Since 1938, Ingalls Shipbuilding workers have had an elevated risk of occupational toxic exposure that may have later led to a cancer diagnosis. It is likely that many shipyard workers had close contact to dangerous levels of asbestos and other known toxic materials, increasing their chances of developing lung disease and mesothelioma cancer.

Ingalls Shipbuilding was tasked with meeting a great need for Navy vessels during World War II. Thousands of men and women came to work on the docks before and after the war. When the war ended, the shipyard continued construction of naval ships as well as nuclear-powered submarines.

A comprehensive study published by the Ulster Medical Society concluded that shipyard workers had an asbestosis mortality rate much greater than other industrial occupations, primarily due to the poor ventilation and amount of toxins on the work sites. Many thousands of Ingalls shipyard workers—as well as others in the region—have been diagnosed with related illnesses as a result of prolonged asbestos exposure.

In 2021, the International Journal of Environmental Health Research published a review of the asbestos cancer risk among seamen. Shipyard workers were at high cancer risk, and those living on the ships even more so. 

Former Ingalls Shipbuilding Workers have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, lung cancer, asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis and other asbestos-related conditions. 

Joe Lyon is an asbestos cancer lawyer representing former shipyard workers and veterans nationwide in mesothelioma and lung cancer claims.

Was I Exposed to Asbestos at Ingalls?

Civilian ships and naval vessels were often filled with toxic materials. Asbestos was one of those hazardous materials, and was used liberally due to corrosion-resistant durable properties. 

Asbestos was used in sleeping quarters, boilers, engine rooms, and even in the paint coating the vessels. Toxic dust would built up in ship holds and exposure was essentially inescapable, no matter how workers tried to protect themselves.

The Navy used hundreds of asbestos-containing products for shipbuilding and naval outfitting. Only many year later did health and medical professionals recognize the potential toxicity of the materials.