Bender Shipbuilding, on the Gulf of Mexico, has been in the ship building and repairing business for more than 70 years. The Bender Shipbuilding facilities in Mobile, Alabama use the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, and include four floating drydocks, a 64-ton floating derrick crane and more on 7,000 feet of water frontage. It's a big operation, with hundreds of employees over the seven decades of the company's existence.

Asbestos Exposure

As is the case with all shipyards, the work at Bender Shipbuilding has involved using asbestos for ship components such as boilers, incinerators, and pipe insulation. Before asbestos began to be heavily regulated in the late 1970s, workers at shipyards were often exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos, a toxic mineral that can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.

Bender Shipbuilding has constructed or repaired thousands of vessels, including:

• Factory trawlers
• Riverboats
• Passenger vessels
• Crabbers
• Push boats
• Shrimp boats
• Tuna seiners
• Tugboats
• Offshore supply vessels

Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer

The construction or repair of all of these vessels presents the potential for asbestos exposure. When an asbestos-containing material is installed, or when aged, deteriorating asbestos is disturbed, the microscopic asbestos fibers may become airborne, where a shipyard worker could inhale them. The resulting mesothelioma or lung cancer often takes years, even decades, to manifest itself. Many shipyard workers across the U.S. have already developed mesothelioma and lung cancer, at a rate that is significantly higher than the rate among the general population.

Contact Us for More Information

If an asbestos-caused disease has stricken you or your loved one, you can find out more about your options by contacting us today. Your medical bills and other losses may be compensated by the asbestos companies.