Todd Shipyard, Oakland

The Todd Shipyard in Oakland, California was located in Oakland's inner harbor, between Main Street and the Navy Supply Center. It was established in the early 1900s, serving as a construction, refueling, and servicing center for ships. The World War I efforts affected the Oakland shipyard, and during World War II, the Oakland shipyard became an emergency-basis yard for the construction of Navy vessels.

Eclipsed by the Alameda Facilities

The shipyard at Oakland made naval destroyers as part of the San Francisco Division of the massive Todd Shipbuilding Corporation. It was eventually phased out when the Alameda shipyard grew to become the primary shipbuilding site of the corporation. Nevertheless, the Todd Shipyard at Alameda employed hundreds of people in its peak years.

Asbestos and Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding and ship repairing work brings many people into contact with asbestos. For the first two-thirds of 20 th century, ships were constructed using many asbestos-containing components. The fire-resistant and friction-resistant properties of asbestos made it seem like an appropriate material for ocean-going vessels, where the risk of fire is always present.

However, the asbestos fibers and dust that are released when asbestos is manipulated are highly toxic, and the employees at the Todd Shipyard in Oakland may have been exposed to long-term, high-level asbestos that may have caused diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a fatal and rare form of cancer.

Learn More about Asbestos Illnesses

If you were an employee at the Todd Shipyard in Oakland, or if your loved one worked there, asbestos exposure may now be taking its toll in your life. Contact us for more information about the tragedy of asbestos exposure among shipyard workers.