Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Portsmouth

Despite its name, Norfolk Naval Shipyard sits in Portsmouth on the Elizabeth River. It has built, repaired and modernized Navy vessels ranging from battleships to aircraft carriers and submarines. During the twentieth century, shipboard propulsion and piping relied on asbestos insulation, gaskets and packing. Overhauls meant ripping out old insulation and installing new, often in cramped machinery spaces where the dust hung in the air for hours. Crews worked through long overhaul periods, sometimes lasting many months, so exposure could be steady and prolonged rather than a single event. Workers on the next job over often had no idea what the dust in the air contained.

Because the shipyard employed so many residents over so many years, exposure reached across Portsmouth neighborhoods. Pipefitters, insulators, shipfitters, electricians and laborers worked side by side, and workers' clothing carried dust home to spouses and children. The city also housed a large naval hospital and other military facilities whose older buildings and heating plants contained asbestos materials maintained by civilian crews. Many Portsmouth families have several members who worked at the yard, and their combined work histories often point to the same manufacturers of insulation, pumps, valves and boilers. That shared history can make records from one relative useful to another.