Veterans and Asbestos Mesothelioma – Is There Risk?

Nashville, TNChip has led an interesting life; part of it was spent in the Navy. Between 1986 and 1990 he served as an Interior Communications Petty Officer 3rd class on board the USS Peleliu LHA-5. As part of his job he performed ship's maintenance, which involved exposure to asbestos.

"I worked around asbestos the whole time," Chip said. "When we were at sea we had a maintenance schedule – we were responsible for 25-35 spaces. Some of the rooms we worked in had air flow controllers wrapped in asbestos. Sea water would get in and makes things dirty. So it was our responsibility to clean and paint these areas. We would work in these spaces continually. We didn't have air respirators, gloves or suits, no protective gear. But there wasn't much information out about asbestos, or asbestos mesothelioma at that time, as I recall.

But somebody must have known something. When we were in the Philippines the Ship's officers suspended our efforts to move or encapsulate the asbestos saying that it was too dangerous for ship's personnel to continue to work with it. Yet at sea we were sent into pockets of the ship with ripped up insulation panels and exposed to raw product, and were required to work with it.

We did have suspicions, and if you really wanted to push you could demand a mask. If you did, you were told that a mask would be ordered for you but you were expected to go into these areas anyway."

Asbestosis and Asbestos Mesothelioma - Is It Really A Problem?

Chip left the Navy in 1990 with an honourable discharge. A veteran of the Gulf war, he is proud of his time in the Navy. "I truly appreciate the opportunity to work for American military services, and serve my country," he said. "We took the Marine Corp into and out of battle. The ship has a large flight deck. When the San Francisco earthquake hit we sailed into San Francisco Bay and provided a flight deck for emergency services, and we lit up about 15 blocks of the city with our generators for a week."

However, he is concerned about his health – and the risk for asbestos mesothelioma. The latency period for developing asbestosis and asbestos mesothelioma can be 30 years or more, and that's only an educated guess. In truth, a clear understanding of the disease is still evolving. However, the number of deaths a year that are asbestos-related is estimated to be 10,000, according to the Environmental Working Group Action Fund: this includes one out of every 125 American men who die over the age of 50.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), that number is on the rise. In a recent analysis of deaths records of US citizens, CDC officials found that between 1999 and 2005 malignant asbestos mesothelioma accounted for 18,068 deaths and that the numbers of deaths increased annually during that period. And people continue to be exposed today. Of note, the CDC report states, "Although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported and used in the US in various construction and transportation products."

As public awareness grows about the possible implications of asbestos exposure, so too does the number of people getting tested for asbestosis and asbestos mesothelioma. While Chip has not been tested, he is concerned about the cough he has developed, and that 4 years of asbestos exposure could affect his health as he gets older. He's only 50.