Bloodworth Bond Shipyard is near Houston, Texas. It has a drydock on the bay side of Galveston Island. Ships can be serviced or repaired at the Bloodworth Shipyard, near one of the busiest seaports in the U.S.
Asbestos at the Shipyard
Asbestos exposure was a danger at Bloodworth Shipyard because asbestos was very prevalent at essentially all shipyards from the 1930s through the 1970s. Asbestos was considered a "miracle material" that was the ideal insulation material on board sea-going vessels, and thus both military and merchant ships were built with hundreds of asbestos-containing parts such as:
- electrical and plumbing insulation
- gaskets, adhesives, valves, and cables
- in boiler rooms
- in fire and engine rooms
Asbestos was also widely used in the construction of buildings on the shipyard grounds, and in welding blankets and other welding applications.
Inhalation of Asbestos Fibers
Asbestos was essentially all over the place at the average shipyard; so much so that workers at the shipyard — whether they worked directly with an asbestos product or not — were often exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos dust. When asbestos in any form (and it has many forms) is manipulated as it is being used, it is prone to release some of its millions of tiny fibers .
Asbestos is a mineral that is made up of fibers that are too small to see with the naked eye, and so light that once airborne, they hang suspended in the air for hours or days. Humans (and animals) in the area may not see the asbestos in the air around them, and they can inhale the asbestos without even being aware that they're doing so. Asbestos, once inhaled, can cause life-threatening diseases.
Learn More about Asbestos at the Bloodworth Shipyard
If you or your loved one worked at a shipyard before the 1980s, you may have been at risk for developing an asbestos-caused disease such as mesothelioma or lung cancer. Contact us online to learn more.
