A Visual Historical Review of Exposure to Asbestos at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (1962–1972)

Abstract

The study of occupational exposure to asbestos has been an ongoing activity for at least 75 years, dating back to the papers of Merewether and Price (1930). Since that time, literally tens of thousands of air samples have been collected in an attempt to characterize the concentration of asbestos associated with various activities. Many of the individuals who developed diseases from the 1970s to the current day were often exposed to very high airborne concentrations because of direct or indirect exposure to either raw asbestos fiber or insulation during the approximate 1940–1970 time period. Often, these high exposures were associated with work in shipyards during and after World War II and the Korean War, as well as with decommissioning, which continued into the mid-1970s. This study reviews the historical asbestos concentrations measured in shipyards and presents a visual illustration of typical conditions and work practices. A majority of the photographs presented in this article depict work conditions at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, circa 1940–1965, which is representative of other military shipyards of the time.

To the best of our knowledge, the photos presented here were personally taken or collected by Mr. Mangold, are in the public domain, and can therefore be freely used. Unfortunately, Mr. Mangold passed away prior to completion of this article. His estate agreed to publish this article. This pictorial study is intended to honor his dedication to protecting worker health at PSNS. The time and effort involved in assembling the photographs and writing the text was provided as a public service by the authors. None of them received any compensation whatsoever from any entity. Mr. Mangold and Dr. Paustenbach have served as expert witnesses in asbestos-related litigation for a number of years.

Notes

¹There was also electrical insulation that contained asbestos.

² Figures 6, 29, 31, and 33–38 have been published by Mr. Mangold elsewhere (Mangold et al., 1970).