Southwest Marine Shipyard, San Diego

The Southwest Marine Shipyard in San Diego is the U.S. Navy's largest ship repair/maintenance facility on the Pacific Coast. It's owned by The Carlyle Group, a corporation based in Washington, D.C.

The Southwest Marine Shipyard is one of several shipbuilding and repairing companies located on San Diego Bay, and it was found liable by a federal district court for contributing a tremendous amount of pollution to San Diego Bay. Another very real problem at this shipyard is asbestos exposure.

Ship Building and Repairing Involved Asbestos

In addition to its history of environmental pollution, the Southwest Marine Shipyard at San Diego is known to have conducted its shipbuilding and maintenance activities without giving its workers protection against asbestos poisoning.

The Port of San Diego has been host to the U.S. Navy since the earliest days of naval aviation, and the World War II years were a particularly busy time at the shipyard, as both military and merchant vessels were serviced and repaired.

Asbestos Exposure Can Cause Cancer

The asbestos that was widespread in those vessels may well have damaged the health of the thousands of shipyard workers who had to deal with the many asbestos components of the ships and land-based structures, including:

• Boilers
• Brake linings
• Bricks
• Cement
• Flooring
• Gaskets
• Hot water pipes
• Incinerators
• Pumps
• Steam pipes
• Turbines
• Wall insulation

Military Retirees in San Diego

San Diego County is now the home of the largest number of military retirees in the U.S., with more than 250,000 veterans, mostly of the Navy and the Marines. So much work has been done at the Southwest Marine Shipyard in San Diego; unfortunately, too often that work involved dangerous levels of asbestos.

If an asbestos-caused disease such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis has been diagnosed in your family, it's in your best interest to find out all that you can about the link between asbestos and the disease. Contact us today to learn more.