Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Charleston

The Charleston Naval Shipyard on the Cooper River employed thousands of civilians until it closed in the 1990s. The yard overhauled surface ships and submarines, work that meant removing and replacing asbestos insulation on boilers, turbines and piping. Crews worked in confined spaces during long overhauls, and bystander trades breathed the same dust as the insulators. For many Lowcountry families, the shipyard was the best-paying job available, and several relatives often worked there at the same time, sometimes across two or three generations. That concentration is part of why shipyard exposure remains such a large share of local claims.

The Navy's presence in Charleston extended to the naval station and weapons station, where sailors and civilians maintained ships and facilities from the same era. Sailors assigned to ships in overhaul often stayed aboard while insulation work went on around them. Charleston's industrial waterfront also included paper and chemical operations whose boilers and steam systems used asbestos insulation. Families of these workers faced household exposure from dusty clothes brought home at the end of each shift, which is why spouses and children appear among Charleston-area patients even though they never worked at the shipyard themselves.