Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company was founded in 1919 as a machine shop and blacksmith operation, but later grew into a well-respected shipbuilding company. The Mobile, Alabama-based shipyard operated until 2009, and for many of those years, its employees faced substantial asbestos exposure from the materials used during vessel construction and conversion, as well as from asbestos already installed in the ships brought to their facility for maintenance and repairs. Many of those who worked at Bender Shipbuilding in its later years now live with the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related illnesses.
Did Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company Use Asbestos?
First as Bender Welding and Machine Company and later as Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company, the organization used asbestos extensively. Up until the time that scientific testing confirmed its dangers, asbestos was a popular shipboard component. Through much of the twentieth century, the mineral’s superior fire resistance and insulating properties made its use ubiquitous: By 1922, the U.S. Navy had mandated its use in new submarines, requiring it in gaskets, insulation, packing, and tape. By 1939, the United States had designated asbestos as a critical material and began stockpiling it to strengthen and insulate all types of shipboard materials.[1] As a result, the ships that Bender’s employees repaired, converted, and serviced for decades thereafter were heavily contaminated with the material.
Even after experts began raising concerns about the mineral, it took years for regulations to be enacted, for manufacturers to stop making asbestos-containing products, and for employers to take action to protect their workers. The Clean Air Act of 1970 gave the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate both asbestos use and its disposal, and in 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was established to create and enforce federal guidelines for workplace safety.[2]
Asbestos wasn’t officially identified by OSHA as carcinogenic until 1975, and up to that point, the material was widely used. Bender’s workers applied asbestos liberally to pipes, boilers, and engine rooms, and removed it during repairs and re-outfitting. It took years beyond that for shipyards like Bender to phase out the use of the material in shipbuilding and repair. Additionally, almost all the vessels that arrived at the shipyard for repairs after 1975 had been built decades earlier, when asbestos was used extensively. This meant that workers continued to be exposed to legacy asbestos. Decades later, this led to asbestos-related diseases among shipyard employees who had worked on the ships, as well as the Navy veterans who had served on them.
History of Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company
Bender Shipbuilding began operations as Bender Welding and Machine Company in 1919. Founded by Theodore Jackson Bender, the company made extensive use of asbestos decades before the public became aware of the link between the mineral and diseases like malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer. After Bender died in 1948, his son Thomas Benton Bender, Sr., began diversifying operations. In the early 1950s it fabricated and erected Mobile’s Ernest M. Ladd Memorial Stadium, and through the 1940s it began doing more topside outfitting In 1950, Bender built 1,200 buoys as part of the expansion of the Intracoastal Waterway System, and in 1951, the company supported the Korean War effort by reactivating ships that had been in the reserve fleet.[3]
After a move to the Mobile River in 1952, the company significantly expanded and extended its operations, building a deck barge. In 1953, the company leased a 1,000-ton dry-dock from the U.S. Navy and became a full-service shipyard. The 1960s saw the company build 11 Offshore Support Vessels, and the 1970s saw it produce more than 1,000 fishing vessels, more than 100 shrimp vessels, and dozens of crab boats. These boats represented the majority of its work through 1980, when it was officially renamed the Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company.[3]
Throughout its history, Bender expanded significantly, eventually operating 12 yards with over 7,000 feet of deep water frontage. Its facilities included 11 overhead cranes, a 64-ton floating derrick crane, four floating dry docks capable of lifting over 24,000 tons, and more than 150,000 square feet of shop and warehouse space. The shipyard operated around the clock, becoming one of only a few full-fledged shipbuilders in the country. Busy with new ship construction, repair and conversion, dry dock facilities, and surplus marine equipment sales, its shipyard workers built, serviced, and repaired numerous vessel types, including push boats, riverboats, tugboats, shrimp boats, tuna seiners, crabbers, factory trawlers, offshore supply vessels, and passenger vessels. Over 800 Bender-built ships operated in private and commercial fleets worldwide. Despite its long history, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 and eventually ceased operations.[3]
How Did Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company Use Asbestos?
During its decades of operation, Bender Shipbuilding’s shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos from the materials and equipment they used for construction, as well as from asbestos-containing components already installed on ships they maintained and repaired. Nearly every aspect of vessels built before the 1980s incorporated asbestos for strength, durability, and fireproofing, making exposure to airborne fibers during shipyard work virtually unavoidable.
Even after asbestos was identified as carcinogenic and safety regulations were put in place, these employees remained at risk of occupational exposure. In light of new rules, many workers took on new duties, removing asbestos insulation and components from existing equipment. This work was often done in confined spaces with poor ventilation and without adequate protective clothing or respirators.
Asbestos-containing materials and equipment that Bender Shipbuilding employees were exposed to include:
- Insulation
- Pipes
- Boilers
- Cement
- Pumps
- Gaskets
- Valves
- Sealing
- Packing
- Textiles
- Asbestos Rope
- Safety gloves
- Fireproofing material
- Adhesives
- Hot water pipes
- Steam pipes
- Bulkheads
- Cabin walls
- Fire doors
Beyond the risk to the shipyard workers themselves, their family members were also in danger. Secondary asbestos exposure resulted from dust being carried home on workers’ hair, skin, and clothing. Many spouses of people exposed to asbestos at work have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases after years of handling and laundering their work clothes.
What are the Risks of Asbestos Exposure?
When asbestos is damaged or manipulated, it breaks into tiny particles that become suspended in the air as dust and deposit on nearby surfaces. When this occurs, anyone in the area can end up unknowingly inhaling or swallowing the needle-like fibers, which can become embedded in the cells of the organs that line the abdominal cavity and the cavity that holds the lungs. Difficult to expel, after remaining there for extended periods, they eventually cause inflammatory responses that can evolve into serious health conditions. Some of these illnesses don’t manifest until decades after initial exposure.
The respiratory system is particularly vulnerable to asbestos fibers because they are so easily inhaled. The primary health threats linked to asbestos exposure include respiratory diseases and cancers, including:
- Pleural mesothelioma – A deadly cancer of the mesothelial tissue lining the lungs and other organs
- Lung cancer – Malignant tumor growth within lung tissue
- Asbestosis – Progressive scarring of lung tissue
- Pleural plaques – localized thickening of the pleural membrane
- Pleural thickening – widespread scarring of the pleural lining
- Pleural effusions – abnormal fluid buildup around the lungs
- Laryngeal cancer – cancer affecting the voice box
Gastrointestinal cancers, including stomach and colorectal cancers and peritoneal mesothelioma, have also been linked to accidental ingestion of asbestos fibers.
Were You Exposed to Asbestos at Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company?
Occupational exposure to asbestos has been directly linked to malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer, and other serious diseases, so if you worked at Bender Shipbuilding, you are likely at risk. You may feel healthy today, but it’s important for you to learn the symptoms of asbestos-related illnesses. These conditions have latency periods ranging from twenty to fifty years, and because they don’t appear until decades after exposure, and their symptoms tend to resemble those of less serious conditions, many people dismiss them. Similarly, physicians unfamiliar with your exposure history may misdiagnose your symptoms, wasting valuable treatment time. To protect against delays and give yourself the best chance of early diagnosis, let your healthcare provider know that you’re at risk so they can add it to your medical history, monitor your health, and act accordingly should concerning symptoms develop.
If you or a loved one associated with the Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease, you may be able to seek compensation from the asbestos companies that supplied the hazardous material to the shipyard or the ships you worked on. Your medical care should be your priority, but once a treatment plan is in place, your next step should be consulting an experienced asbestos attorney who can answer all your questions and explain your options. These include filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit or filing claims with the trust funds established by asbestos companies that filed for bankruptcy protection after paying out millions in asbestos liabilities. Be sure to contact an asbestos lawyer as soon as you can, as there are deadlines called statute of limitations that restrict the amount of time you have to file a claim.
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