The USS Harwood (DD/DDE-861) was a Gearing-class destroyer launched and commissioned in 1945. The ship served in the Far East, was sent on Cold War Mediterranean deployments, and participated in intense combat during the Vietnam War. Though many of these engagements put her crew at risk, perhaps the greatest hazard faced by those onboard was
Boeing has produced commercial jetliners, military aircraft, and defense systems for more than a century, and stands among the world’s premier aerospace manufacturers. But throughout decades of operations from the 1930s into the 1980s, the corporation integrated asbestos-containing components throughout the aircraft it produced. The company’s unfettered use of the toxic mineral put thousands of
Scientists at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine have developed an experimental approach that could eventually benefit mesothelioma patients. The CAR T cell immunotherapy breakthrough takes a different approach to treating solid tumors like mesothelioma, targeting tumors’ protective cells rather than cancer cells directly.
The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program was an ambitious modernization initiative undertaken by the U.S. Navy from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. While FRAM successfully transformed hundreds of aging World War II-era destroyers into capable Cold War combatants, extending their service lives came at a cost. With asbestos used extensively in the original
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. For over 175 years, the company and its predecessors have played an enormous role in the U.S. economy and growth. But BNSF’s legacy also includes decades of exposing its own workers and entire communities to asbestos, and the legal battles over its liability
The USS Fred T. Berry (DD/DDE-858) was a Gearing-class destroyer that served throughout the Korean War, Cold War era, and Vietnam conflict. The ship is remembered for having participated in combat operations, NATO exercises, and antisubmarine warfare development, but service exposed crew members to dangerous asbestos-containing materials that were integrated throughout its construction. As a
Two sisters pursuing justice following their father’s mesothelioma death won a preliminary victory after a Louisiana federal court denied Avondale Shipyard’s attempt to exclude key witnesses from their wrongful death action. The court ruled that the shipyard had failed to provide sufficient grounds for blocking testimony from physicians who’d treated their father. Mesothelioma Victim’s Family
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is well known as one of the nation’s largest tire manufacturers, but few people know that Goodyear produced numerous products that were tainted with asbestos. Workers at Goodyear facilities, as well as those who purchased their products and individuals employed in industries that used Goodyear goods, all faced the
The USS Rupertus (DD-851) was a Gearing-class destroyer that served the United States Navy with distinction from 1946 until 1973. While the vessel saw extensive combat action during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the greatest danger to those who served on her decks may have come from the asbestos-containing materials found throughout its structure, exposing
Despite objections by mesothelioma victim Gael Garon, a federal court has granted Illinois Central Railroad’s motion compelling her to submit blood for whole genome sequencing. The order allows the railroad to pursue a controversial defense theory that genetic mutations—rather than secondary asbestos exposure from her father’s contaminated work clothes—caused her fatal cancer.