Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Bayonne

Bayonne's waterfront was one of the earliest centers of oil refining in the country, with Standard Oil and Tide Water operations processing and storing petroleum on the peninsula. Refineries relied on asbestos to insulate furnaces, towers, tanks and steam lines, and maintenance crews replaced that insulation during regular shutdowns. Nearby, the Bayway refinery in Linden added another large refining workforce to the area. Operators, boilermakers and pipefitters often worked at more than one of these plants, and contractors moved from shutdown to shutdown across the region, handling old and new insulation at each stop.

During and after the Second World War, the Navy operated a supply depot and dry docks on the Bayonne waterfront, later known as the Military Ocean Terminal. Ship repair and overhaul work involved asbestos insulation, gaskets and packing, and longshore and terminal workers handled cargo in dusty conditions. Bayonne's older housing stock and industrial buildings added further sources of exposure for tradespeople doing repairs and renovations. With refineries, a military terminal and dense older neighborhoods packed onto one peninsula, many Bayonne families have more than one relative whose work history involved asbestos.