Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Groton

Electric Boat has built submarines on the Thames River in Groton for more than a century, and the Navy's submarine base sits just upriver. Submarines of the mid-twentieth century relied on asbestos to insulate steam and hot-water piping, to line bulkheads and to pack valves and pumps. Installing those materials, and later tearing them out during overhauls, happened inside a pressure hull with little room and limited ventilation, which concentrated the dust. Workers describe cutting insulation in spaces barely big enough to turn around in, with other trades working inches away, which is exactly the kind of setting that produced heavy exposure.

Shipyard employees included pipefitters, electricians, insulators, welders and machinists, many of whom spent entire careers at the yard and some of whom followed parents into the same jobs. Submariners stationed at the base lived and worked aboard boats that contained the same materials, often for long patrols where the air was recirculated. The combination of a large shipbuilding workforce and a major Navy installation makes the Groton and New London area one of Connecticut's most significant sources of mesothelioma claims. Household exposure from dusty work clothing adds spouses and children to the list of people affected.