Shipbuilders | Mesothelioma Symptoms

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Asbestos Exposure, Ship Builders and Mesothelioma Symptoms

Especially during times of warfare in American history, shipbuilding has employed hundreds of thousands of men and women – both civilians and enlisted soldiers and officers in the armed forces – who spent their days working in shipyards building, retrofitting, and repairing large and small ships for military use. It is estimated that in World War II alone, 4.5 million individuals were involved in the production and repair of ships in various shipyards across America and in ports with an American presence. These men and women were oftentimes exposed to high amounts of asbestos dust and asbestos fibers in the many roles they played as shipbuilders. Unfortunately, most of these patriotic individuals who were working to help ensure American life and liberty had no idea they were inhaling fibers that would create diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, usually decades after their asbestos exposure was halted.

Due to the nature of asbestos as an insulating agent with remarkable heat-shielding capacities, the mineral was used very heavily in the shipbuilding process. Boilers, hot water pipes, reactors, furnaces, steam pipes and incinerators all were covered or coated with asbestos in order to contain the high heat used to power ships as they traveled across the Atlantic and Pacific. Physical contact with asbestos occurred on a daily basis for shipbuilders and shipfitters who worked with the material on the pieces of equipment they tended or installed. Asbestos dust, knocked loose from the materials it covered, collected in the poorly ventilated areas underneath the decks of ships only to be inhaled by workers on duty or even sleeping in their quarters at night. Ships damaged in battle and brought back to shipyards for repairs or conversions offered new workers opportunities to touch and breathe asbestos particles. In short, it is not surprising that of all occupations, shipbuilders and shipyard workers have one of the highest exposure records for asbestos and have developed mesothelioma symptoms many years after their work in the shipyards ceased.

Mesothelioma symptoms are often unrecognized at first, since the disease may take 30 to 40 years to appear, and the former shipbuilders may have worked in a second or third career for so long that the connection to the asbestos exposure of their youth is forgotten or never made in the first place. There are three primary types of mesothelioma – pleural, peritoneal and pericardial – and there are several observable symptoms. Unexpected or unexplained weight losses, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest or chest pain are all symptoms that may point towards pleural or pericardial mesothelioma. With peritoneal mesothelioma, symptoms include abdominal swelling, bowel obstruction, and ascites (an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Again, these symptoms may develop so many years after the asbestos exposure has been halted that the patient may never associate his or her past ship work with the source of illness.

If you or a loved one has been employed as a shipbuilder and feel you may have been exposed to asbestos during your work history, particularly if you know of other shipbuilders who have contracted mesothelioma, it is highly recommended that you seek counsel about your health condition and treatment and legal options. The Simmons firm passionately cares about your situation and wants to help you with guidance and information. For the past decade, we have been assisting clients afflicted with mesothelioma in all its forms.  We understand the pain a mesothelioma diagnosis and mesothelioma symptoms can cause and truly desire to be of assistance to victims and families struggling with this disease. In many cases, those administrators in charge of the shipbuilding process knew of the dangers of asbestos exposure, but did little to inform employees of the potential dangers, nor was protective clothing or ventilation equipment provided for the shipbuilders.  Contact us today to learn more about treatment and diagnosis options.