Located between Long Beach Harbor and Los Angeles Harbor, Terminal Island is a man-made, 4.5-square-mile island. It was the home of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, but the facility was given the name Terminal Island Naval Shipyard in late 1945. Former employees and veterans who worked at this site may have received excessive exposure to asbestos, putting them at risk of diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Shipyard Jobs Involving Asbestos

Workers at the Terminal Island Naval Shipyard performed a variety of repair work on many types of vessels, some of which housed asbestos-containing components such as:

• Boilers
• Electronics
• Insulation
• Lagging
• Pipes
• Rigging
• Sheet metal

World War II, Korean War Years and Beyond

During the World War II years, more than 16,000 civilian and military personnel worked at the Naval Yard, repairing tankers, cruisers, destroyers, cargo ships, and troop transports. The Korean War years were also very active times at the Naval Yard. Unfortunately, in those years, no safety measures were used to protect workers who were installing, repairing, or replacing asbestos-containing parts.

A Disease Process That Can Take Decades

When asbestos is disturbed or manipulated, its tiny fibers are released into the air. Many shipyard workers remember the dust in the air around them as they worked with an asbestos part; however, even when this dust was not seen, there may have been asbestos in the air.

Once inhaled, the asbestos fibers lodge themselves inside the body, where they can start a diseases process that takes years, even decades, to fully develop. Shipyard workers are now experiencing the symptoms of mesothelioma and lung cancer ─ for example, wheezing and coughing, chest or abdominal pain, and fluid build-up.

If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-caused disease, contact us online to learn more about your options.