Army Veterans and Asbestos Exposure

During their service time, Army veterans often worked around various tradesmen, including boilermakers, pipe fitters, and insulators who used asbestos materials while making repairs to various heat-related machinery and heavy duty equipment on military bases. Similarly, members of the Army’s Construction Battalion were often required to help construct and tear down various buildings and structures at the bases.

To protect themselves from burns while handling hot shells and machine gun barrels, Army infantrymen and artillerymen often wore asbestos gloves.

Asbestos was among the contaminants at 32 U.S. Army installations before they were closed or realigned during the late 1990s. The U.S. Army received congressional approval in the ’90s for the environmental cleanup, producing a 157-page checklist titled “The Installation Asbestos Management Program Assessment” as part of the process.

Army mechanics who worked on jeeps, trucks, motorcycles and troop transports have an increased risk for asbestos exposure. The same is the case for Army aviation mechanics who worked on helicopters and other aircraft. These mechanics may have been exposed to asbestos-containing brakes, clutches, gaskets, adhesives and other asbestos-containing products while performing maintenance and repairs on these types of equipment.