As the U.S. Navy's first permanent air station and the first Navy pilot training center, the Pensacola Naval Air Station was up and running in the early 1900s. When World War I broke out, naval aviation was greatly expanded at Pensacola Naval Air Station, and hundreds of pilots received started receiving their training there.

Aviation Mechanics and Pilots

By the mid-1930s, aviation mechanics was added to the list of services available at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Aircraft, similar to ships, often had parts that contained the mineral asbestos. The insulation and friction-resistant properties of asbestos made it a useful component of aircraft parts such as gaskets, pumps, turbines, and covering for wires and pipes.

Before Asbestos Regulations Were Implemented

Asbestos exposure at the Pensacola Naval Air Station may have put many aviation mechanics, pilots and others at risk for life-threatening diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos is not the "miracle material" that it was once thought to be. Although asbestos seemed like an ideal material to use in planes, ships, trains, and land vehicles, eventually it became clear that asbestos is a human carcinogen. Its uses are now severely limited, due to strict government regulation.

The men and women working at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in years past did not have the benefit of those asbestos regulations. They may have inhaled the toxic asbestos fibers that cause cancer. In fact, the Navy and civilian personnel at Pensacola Naval Air Station may have been inhaling the fibers on a regular basis without even knowing it ─ the fibers are invisible to the naked eye.

Asbestos Causes Several Diseases

Once the asbestos fibers are inhaled, they lodge in the lungs, mesothelium, pericardium, or other internal organs, where they can start a process that results in lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, or other severe conditions. The symptoms of these diseases often do not appear until years or even decades after the asbestos exposure.

To learn more about the resources available to the victims of asbestos exposure, contact us online today.