As asbestos-containing materials were ubiquitous on board ships, navy seamen are among those most at risk of developing the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Learn more about naval exposure to asbetos and veterans’ mesothelioma rates here.

Asbestos, an organic mineral that has been widely used in industrial and commercial processes because of its heat- and fire-resistant properties, can present a risk to millwrights who may have worked with it and developed mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer almost exclusively linked to prolonged asbestos exposure, affecting thousands of millwrights.

Asbestos was used throughout the twentieth century in construction materials because of its heat- and fire-resistant properties, but it has also been almost exclusively linked to the rare cancer mesothelioma. Thousands of metal lathers have been exposed to asbestos, and are therefore at higher risk for mesothelioma.

Due to the almost ubiquitous presence of asbestos-containing materials on board ships and at shipyards, veterans of the United States Navy have an incredibly high rate of contracting mesothelioma, the asbestos cancer that affects the lungs and chest cavity.