Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Patuxent River), known throughout the Navy as “Pax River,” is located on a peninsula in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Established in 1943, Pax River serves as the Navy’s primary flight test and evaluation center — home to the Naval Air Test Center (NATC), the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM), and the Naval Test Pilot School. The installation’s aircraft maintenance hangars, test support facilities, technical laboratories, and administrative buildings were built and expanded with asbestos-containing construction materials standard to the era. Veterans, civilian DoD employees, and contractors who worked at NAS Patuxent River during the asbestos era faced documented asbestos exposure at the installation.

Documented Asbestos at NAS Patuxent River

Publicly filed asbestos litigation records provide specific documentation of personnel, administrative records, and asbestos exposure histories tied directly to Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Deposition Testimony — Asbestos Exposure at NAS Patuxent River

The publicly filed corpus contains direct deposition testimony establishing asbestos exposure at NAS Patuxent River during the relevant period:

“Decedent was exposed to asbestos from 1967[-1979] at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland” — a specific, dated, site-specific asbestos exposure record in the publicly filed litigation record. This deposition testimony places a specific individual at the installation during a documented service period with confirmed asbestos exposure — one of the most direct forms of site-specific evidence in the corpus.

Naval Air Test Center — NATC Records

The corpus contains records specific to the Naval Air Test Center (NATC) at Patuxent River, including:

  • “NATC/NAS PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND” — the combined NATC/NAS designation appears in publicly filed documents from the installation, establishing institutional records from the test center in the litigation record
  • “1967-1979 NAS Patuxent River, Maryland” — service period documentation placing personnel at the installation across a twelve-year period covering the peak of both asbestos-containing material use and the most intensive aircraft development work at NATC

The corpus contains Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM) Patuxent River administrative correspondence in multiple formats, reflecting the command’s institutional documentation from the installation:

  • “MNAVAIRSYSCOM PATUXENT RIVER MD//3.1.2D/4” and “MNAVAIRSYSCOM PATUXENT RIVER MD//3.1.2D/PM” — NAVAIRSYSCOM administrative message traffic originating from Patuxent River in the relevant period, establishing the command’s active documentation record at the installation
  • “IRWARCENACDIV PATUXENT RIVER MD//4.1.10.2” — Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) message traffic, the NATC’s successor command, also documented at Patuxent River

These administrative records establish that Patuxent River was a major active command during the period when asbestos-containing materials were installed and maintained throughout the installation’s infrastructure.

Naval Air Test Center Personnel — Test Pilots and Technical Staff

“Chew Jr., of Naval Air Test Center Patuxen[t River]” — a specific individual connected to the Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River is documented in the corpus in a context involving asbestos exposure claims. Test center personnel — including test pilots, flight test engineers, and technical support staff — worked in hangars, maintenance shops, and laboratory buildings with the same asbestos-containing construction materials present throughout the installation.

“Test pilot plant” — corpus documentation placing test pilot operations in the context of industrial facilities (test pilot plant), consistent with the aircraft test and evaluation facilities at Patuxent River where both aircrew and maintenance personnel worked in asbestos-containing environments.

Installation Premises Records — Jobsites and Exposure Claims

“Alleged exposure to asbestos — JOBSITES/PREMISES” — the corpus contains a document categorizing NAS Patuxent River in the “jobsites and premises” category of asbestos exposure claims, establishing the installation as a documented asbestos exposure site in the formal litigation record alongside other Navy installations and industrial facilities.

Who Was Exposed at NAS Patuxent River

Active duty Navy test pilots, flight test engineers, and associated squadron personnel assigned to NATC and its successor commands worked in:

  • Aircraft maintenance hangars — test and evaluation hangars with asbestos-containing fireproofing on structural steel, asbestos insulation board on interior walls, and asbestos floor tile in maintenance and support areas
  • Technical laboratories — engineering and instrumentation labs with asbestos-containing construction materials standard to mid-20th century laboratory construction
  • Test aircraft support facilities — avionics shops, powerplant test cells, and aircraft systems test facilities where heat-resistant asbestos materials were used in high-temperature test environments

Civilian Engineers and Technical Staff

NAVAIRSYSCOM Patuxent River employed a large civilian engineering and technical workforce that worked in the installation’s laboratory and office facilities throughout the asbestos era. These employees worked in buildings with asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling tile, insulation board, and pipe insulation in the heating and mechanical systems.

Civilian Navy employees may pursue:

  • Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) claims through the Department of Labor
  • Civil litigation against manufacturers of asbestos-containing building materials and aircraft components used at NAS Patuxent River

Contractors

Construction, renovation, and maintenance contractors at Pax River — including insulation contractors, pipefitters, HVAC contractors, and general construction trades — worked with asbestos-containing materials in the installation’s facilities throughout the relevant period.

Active Duty Veterans

Navy veterans with documented active duty assignment to NAS Patuxent River and a diagnosis of mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease may qualify for VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d). There is no statute of limitations to file a VA claim.

Key documents:

  • DD-214 — confirming duty station assignment to NAS Patuxent River, NATC, or NAVAIRSYSCOM Patuxent River
  • Shore assignment orders — if the DD-214 does not list NAS Patuxent River specifically
  • Medical diagnosis linking condition to asbestos exposure

Civilian Employees and Contractors

Civilian workers and contractors who developed mesothelioma or asbestos-related disease after working at NAS Patuxent River may have claims against manufacturers of asbestos-containing building materials and aircraft components documented at the installation.

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Documented asbestos records derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation including deposition testimony, NAVAIRSYSCOM administrative correspondence, and premises/jobsite records specific to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.