Known first as the Charlestown Navy Yard and then as the Boston Naval Shipyard, the site in Boston’s Inner Harbor that was ultimately called the Boston Naval Yard opened in 1800 and was one of the first yards opened by the U.S. Navy. The yard operated as an integral American resource for 174 years, but its last five decades of work on military ships were marred by the use of asbestos that put thousands of shipyard workers and service members at risk of malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Boston Naval Shipyard History
The Shipyard’s Early Years
The Charlestown Navy Yard, also known as the Boston Naval Shipyard or Boston Navy Yard, was established in 1800 as one of the first U.S. Navy yards. Located where the Charles and Mystic Rivers met in Boston’s Inner Harbor, the area was originally called “Mishawum” (Great Springs) by the Massachusett people, who used the tidal flats for thousands of years.[1]
The yard’s creation followed the Navy Act of 1794, which reestablished the U.S. Navy. The Charlestown Navy Yard was one of the first six navy yards opened on the eastern seaboard. Early construction included a storehouse, the Commandant’s House, Officers’ Quarters, and Marine Barracks. The USS Independence, built in 1814, was the first ship built at the yard.[1]
During the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, the yard’s chief responsibility was the repair of Navy vessels. By the 1850s, as ships began transitioning to steam power, the yard added steam-powered facilities. Notable vessels built during this period included the USS Hartford and USS Merrimack. The Civil War marked a period of intense productivity at the Charlestown Navy Yard: The yard built, repaired, or converted over 170 warships, ten ironclads, and five innovative “double-ender” ships designed for river travel. In 1865, a railway system was installed to facilitate the movement of supplies.[1]
In the 1880s, the yard was modernized and renamed. Now called the Boston Navy Yard, its entry into the 20th century included the addition of a second dry dock, additional piers, and a new Forge Shop. Soon, the yard began producing steel warships including the USS Cumberland, the first all-steel ship built there. By 1915, the Navy had expanded the yard with nearly 50 new buildings.[1]
During World War I, yard workers converted German ocean liners into troop transports and serviced over 450 ships. With many male workers enlisting in the military, women filled open jobs at the yard in roles including telephone operators, stenographers, and typists. In 1917, the yard launched its largest ship to date: The USS Bridge was the first refrigerated supply ship built by the U.S. Navy. After the war, international treaties limiting naval forces and a general decrease in naval needs significantly reduced the Charlestown Navy Yard’s workforce.[1]
World War II
From the 1930s through 1945, the Charlestown Navy Yard saw its greatest level of activity as ship construction and repair tied to World War II saw the yard construct a remarkable 6,000+ naval vessels. The yard was noted for its efficiency, converting the time it took to build a destroyer from a year in 1941 to just 3-4 months by 1945. The level of activity demanded of the yard exceeded its capacity, leading the Navy to expand its operations by expanding to include the South Boston Annex in Boston’s Outer Harbor.[1]
The World War II period encompassed the Charlestown Navy Yard’s peak productivity —over half of all the ships ever constructed there were built during those years, with the workforce growing to more than 50,000 employees working three shifts a day, seven days per week. Though the yard became known for building destroyers and destroyer escorts, it did not build any of the Allen M. Sumner or Gearing class ships.[2]
Unfortunately, those years marked the beginning of the yard’s most extensive use of asbestos, the carcinogenic mineral that added strength and robust insulation against heat and flame, but which also led to countless shipyard workers and veterans being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases including malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer.
The Cold War Years
When the war ended, the Charlestown Navy Yard’s responsibilities shifted to upgrading naval vessels. The yard specialized in destroyer reconstruction and repair as part of the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program that became a priority during the 1950s and 1960s. The FRAM program’s goal was to extend the useful life of World War II-era vessels of all kinds.[2]
Because of the Boston Navy Yard’s extensive history of building destroyers, it was assigned responsibility for the modification of many of the ships identified for the FRAM project. To make them useful for hunting submarines, workers removed outdated equipment and installed cutting-edge radar and sonar systems in their place. Some ships were completely overhauled, receiving new engines, new weapons systems, and other improvements.[2] All of this activity involved disturbing a significant amount of asbestos-containing materials, putting shipyard employees who worked at the yard between 1958 and the mid-1960s at particular risk.
Closure of the Boston Naval Shipyard
Though still in operation when the United States became involved in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the Boston Naval Shipyard was considered too far removed from those actions to provide service. It was identified as obsolete in the early 1970s and transferred to the National Park Service in July 1974, where the USS Constitution and the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Cassin Young are on display as part of a 30-acre park.[2]
Asbestos at the Boston Naval Shipyard
In the years between the 1930s and mid-1970s, almost all shipyards in the United States and around the world made extensive use of asbestos in their shipbuilding and repair processes, and the Charlestown Navy Yard/Boston Navy Yard was no exception. Asbestos-containing materials were not only common in the years before the mineral was confirmed as being carcinogenic — they were considered desirable, and this was especially true for vessels built for the U.S. military. To the War Department, strength, durability, resistance to heat and flame, and soundproofing, were all essential capabilities, and the fact that the material was inexpensive and accessible made it all the more attractive. The construction of each destroyer that the yard built during World War II specified the use of tons of asbestos materials, and the same was true during repairs, upgrades, and revisions that were part of the FRAM project.
During World War II alone, 25 million tons of asbestos were handled by 4.5 million workers, putting them at risk for asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other forms of cancer that would emerge decades later.[4]
How Were Boston Naval Shipyard Workers Harmed by Asbestos?
Though the companies that supplied the Boston Naval Shipyard with asbestos-containing materials had been warned of the dangers of asbestos, they continued using the product, prioritizing their profits over the future health of those who came into contact with their dangerous products. Shipyard workers at the Boston Naval Shipyard worked with no protection against the asbestos fibers released into the air by their work; they inhaled those fibers, and in many cases, the particles became embedded in their lungs. The resulting cell death and mutations eventually led to significant and deadly diseases, including malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis.
Many of the illnesses associated with asbestos have long latency periods and don’t appear until decades after exposure. This created a delayed health crisis that affected thousands of former shipyard workers and continues to do so into the present day. Long after the shipyard’s closure, many workers’ illnesses have appeared during their retirement, and delayed diagnoses have been connected to diminished effectiveness of treatment because the disease progresses so aggressively. The legacy of asbestos use is one of the most significant occupational health disasters in American industrial history.[4]
The hazardous material was found throughout the shipyard but was particularly prevalent for those who were working on the ship’s interiors, where engine rooms, boiler rooms, and other areas requiring heat resistance or insulation made the heaviest use of the material. Even workers who didn’t directly handle asbestos products faced significant exposure risks from airborne fibers that circulated throughout the environment, and the lack of respiratory protection or safety protocols meant that virtually everyone working in the shipyard, regardless of their specific job title, potentially carried these deadly fibers home on their clothing, inadvertently exposing family members to the risk of secondary exposure leading to the same health risks as the shipyard workers themselves.
Asbestos-related illnesses are considered occupational diseases, and shipyard workers who were exposed to the mineral before 1980 are among those who’ve been most impacted. The trades most commonly affected include:
- General shipyard laborers
- Painters
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Boilermakers
- Insulation installers
- Pipefitters
- Mechanics
- Electricians
Boston Naval Shipyard Asbestos Lawsuits
The truth about asbestos was made public in the mid-1970s, at roughly the same time that those who’d been exposed to asbestos decades earlier began being diagnosed with mesothelioma and other debilitating illnesses. The legal battles that followed represent one of the largest mass tort litigations in American history, with former workers, veterans, and their survivors pursuing justice from asbestos manufacturers, suppliers, and sometimes the government itself. Though these cases can be challenging to pursue, they can also result in significant jury awards or out-of-court settlements. Notably, because the Boston Naval Shipyard continued operating until the early 1970s and mesothelioma has such a long latency period, many of those exposed there continue to be diagnosed with the deadly illness today. Some examples include:
- After her husband’s mesothelioma death in March 2019, Irene McIsaac filed a personal injury lawsuit against Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, the successor by merger to Buffalo Pumps, Inc. In her suit, she claimed that her husband had been exposed to asbestos and asbestos-containing materials while working as a rigger at the Boston Naval shipyard in 1965 and from 1967 through the 1970s. As evidence, she provided United States Navy archive records showing that Buffalo Pumps had been installed onboard the ships that her husband had worked on in the yard. The case was settled out of court.[5]
- In 2012, after having worked as a marine machinist at the Boston Naval Shipyard from July 1958 until October 1964, Berj Hovsepian was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. He filed suit against multiple defendants including John Crane, Co., accusing them of product liability, negligence, and failure to warn. In his testimony, he described his work responsibilities in the yard, which included repairing, replacing, and maintaining the boilers, generators, pumps, turbines, and valves that supplied power to Navy vessels. He never wore a mask or respirator while performing any of that work, and specifically recalled being told that he was working with asbestos.
- Navy veteran Donald Johnson was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and succumbed to his disease one month later. His family pursued justice on his behalf, and though he was unable to provide a deposition before his death, his former colleagues who worked with him at the Boston Naval Shipyard testified on his behalf, recalling their work environment and responsibilities from 1966 through 1967 replacing McCord and Victor engine gaskets that exposed all of them to asbestos dust.
Were You Exposed to Asbestos at Boston Naval Shipyard?
If you or a loved one were diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition after working at the Boston Naval Shipyard, you may be entitled to pursue legal action seeking compensation for damages and losses that you’ve suffered. An attorney with expertise in asbestos claims can provide guidance about your available options, including filing a lawsuit against the companies that irresponsibly exposed you to asbestos-containing materials. You may also qualify to submit a claim with one of the numerous asbestos trust funds established by corporations that filed for bankruptcy protection due to their asbestos-related liabilities, and if you’re a veteran you can file for disability compensation and care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
It’s important to seek advice from a mesothelioma lawyer promptly to ensure you don’t miss critical filing deadlines. Statutes of limitations that restrict the amount of time you have to apply start from the time you were diagnosed, and in many states, the window for taking legal action is extremely limited. To avoid forfeiting your right to pursue the financial compensation you deserve for medical expenses, lost income, and other damages resulting from your asbestos exposure, contact an asbestos attorney today.
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