Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in St. Clair County, Illinois, 17 miles east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. One of the oldest Air Force bases still in service in the United States, it was first established in 1917 and has largely been used as a training facility ever since. The base has undergone numerous phases of rebuilding and redevelopment, with the majority occurring in the years when asbestos was most frequently used for military construction and infrastructure. As a result, many of the tens of thousands of Air Force cadets, veterans, and civilians who have passed through, worked, or lived at Scott Air Force Base have been put at risk for asbestos-related diseases.
The History of Scott Air Force Base
Though many of the bases used by the U.S. Air Force were first built in the run-up to World War II, Scott Air Force Base had its start during World War I. A short time after the United States entered the fray, the U.S. Army Signal Corps met with leaders in the Midwest to assess potential sites for an aviation station close to St. Louis. A 624-acre site that would later be named Scott Field was leased by the War Department for a payment of $7,400 per year to each of seven local landowners, with an option to purchase by 1920.[1]
The site’s primary mission was training pilots and ground crews being deployed to France during the war. Airmen were housed in white wooden buildings before being deployed to France. The first training flight took place in September 1917 and by the war’s end in November 1918, Scott Field had trained over 500 pilots and hundreds of mechanics and ground crews. The War Department purchased the land for $120,000, and in 1921 a new mission was announced: Scott Field would be the site of the U.S. Army Air Service Balloon and Airship School and the Air Intermediate Depot.[1]
Over 1,000 Airmen began training there, and construction to accommodate those men began in earnest. Airship Hangar/Building 75, the second-largest airship hangar in the world, was completed in 1923, as were a heating plant, an electrical substation, a balloon hangar, hydrogen plants, a helium purification plant, helium cylinder storage facilities, an airship mooring mast, several duplexes, and barracks to accommodate 200 men.[1] Almost all of this construction incorporated the use of asbestos-containing materials.
When airship and balloon operations were discontinued due to improvements in airplane technology, Scott Field was given a new mission as General Headquarters, Air Force, which managed the air combat arm of the Army that had previously been located at Langley Field. Scott Field went through another major expansion, including the construction of major buildings, a warehouse, runways, hangars, and more housing. The base grew from 628 to 1,574 acres, then expanded again to 1,882 acres as World War II approached.[1]
In the run-up to World War II, Scott Field assumed responsibility for prerequisite training for Air Corps radio operators and radio mechanics, and the Army Air Corps Communications School was relocated to Scott Field. More building took place, as barracks, classrooms, mess halls, chapels, recreation centers, and other support buildings were needed to accommodate thousands more cadets. By the end of World War II, the Scott Field Radio School had prepared 77,370 radio operators/mechanics.[1]
After the war, Scott Air Force Base continued to host the Air Force Radio Mechanic General Course and became the headquarters for the entire Air Training Command, producing thousands of radio operators and mechanics for the Korean War. It later supported surface-to-air missile bases in Illinois, and its primary mission changed from Technical Training to Aeromedical Airlift in 1957.[1]
Scott continued to fulfill crucial missions through the Cold War, Space Age, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. It was redesignated in 1964 as an Aeromedical Transport Wing in charge of all military aeromedical evacuations in the United States, evolving into a modern Air Force installation after the Vietnam War.
How Was Asbestos Used at the Scott Air Force Base?
Asbestos was used extensively by the U.S. armed forces in the years between 1930 and 1980, and that was especially true in the years preceding and during World War II. Those were the same years that Scott Air Force Base experienced its greatest expansion, and the carcinogenic material was used to build almost every structure on the base.
Before it was known to cause malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases, asbestos was prized for its strength and its ability to insulate against flame and heat. The military took advantage of its accessibility and low cost and ordered that it be used in almost all phases of military construction and infrastructure, as well as to strengthen and fortify aircraft and vehicle parts.
Asbestos-containing materials and parts used at Scott Air Force Base included:
- Adhesives
- Aircraft
- Aircraft Brakes
- Automobile and truck brakes
- Cargo bay insulation Adhesives
- Caulking
- Ceiling tiles
- Cement foundations
- Drywall
- Electrical wiring
- Epoxies
- Fireproofing materials
- Floor tiles
- Gaskets
- Heat shields for aircraft engines
- Heating systems in the cockpit
- HVAC systems
- Insulation materials
- Paint
- Pipes
- Plumbing
- Roofing
- Roofing adhesives
- Sealants
- Siding
- Soundproofing
- Valves
- Vinyl floor tiles
- Wallboard
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure at Scott Air Force Base?
Scott Air Force Base served as a school, home, and employer for tens of thousands of Air Force service members and civilians for decades. The buildings that made up the base and the infrastructure that supported it, as well as the aircraft and equipment on which cadets trained all contained asbestos, putting Air Force veterans, their family members, and workers in all phases of military preparation and life at risk for asbestos-related diseases.
Those who were most at risk of asbestos exposure at Scott Air Force Base included:
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Welders
- Electricians
- Contractors
- Construction Workers
- Airmen
- Boiler Workers
- Pipefitters
- Machinists
- Aircraft mechanics
- Pilots
- Carpenters
Though many think that asbestos exposure in the Air Force was restricted to the years surrounding World War II, legacy asbestos remained in place at Scott Air Force Base as recently as last year, when a report was prepared for the U.S. Army Air Corps of Engineers detailing the presence of asbestos in thirty-nine facilities on the base.[2]
Air Force Veterans who served at the base, as well as those who worked there and their family members who may have been exposed to asbestos carried home on their clothing, hair, or skin, are all at risk for asbestos exposure, and because asbestos-related diseases have such long latency periods, it can take decades after exposure before symptoms begin to appear and their illnesses can be diagnosed and treated.
Help for Scott Air Force Base Asbestos Victims
Scott Air Force Base has a long history of service. Unfortunately, throughout the years of its operation, asbestos exposure represented a real risk and reality for any service member or civilian who spent time there. If you or someone you love spent time working, serving, or living on Scott Air Force Base and you have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer, or any other asbestos-related disease, you have rights and options. The best way to learn more about the benefits available to you from the Veterans Administration, as well as through the U.S. justice system, is to speak with an experienced asbestos attorney. They can help you navigate the challenges that lay ahead and offer you guidance on filing claims with the many asbestos bankruptcy trust funds that have been established by asbestos companies, as well as your right to file a personal injury lawsuit or to seek disability compensation through the VA.
