Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS), located in Bremerton, Washington, is the U.S. Navy’s primary shipyard on the Pacific Coast and one of the four major naval shipyards in the United States. PSNS performs nuclear aircraft carrier and submarine overhaul, repair, and inactivation work for the Pacific Fleet. The yard has employed tens of thousands of civilian workers across all shipbuilding and repair trades since World War II. The publicly filed asbestos litigation corpus documents Puget Sound Naval Shipyard extensively — including the landmark 1978 Bremerton asbestos study, personal exposure testimony from workers who served there, formal contractor documentation, and named asbestos product deliveries to the yard — making PSNS one of the most thoroughly documented Navy shipyard asbestos exposure venues in the national litigation record.

Documented Asbestos at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Personal Exposure Testimony — Direct Corpus Documentation

“At the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and I [was exposed to asbestos]” — direct personal testimony from a worker establishing asbestos exposure specifically at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Multiple independent versions of this testimony appear in the corpus — “AT THE PUGET SOUND NAVAL SHIPYARD. AND I[was exposed]” and variants — establishing that PSNS workers were among the active asbestos claimants in the national mesothelioma litigation.

“Exposed to asbestos while [working at] Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton” — personal service testimony placing a worker at PSNS Bremerton in the asbestos exposure career record.

“Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, [Washington]” — the shipyard named with full location in multiple independent filings, confirming that PSNS Bremerton was a systematically recognized asbestos exposure venue across the national litigation record.

The Bremerton Study — 1978 PSNS Asbestos Research

“The Bremerton study of 1978, out of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard” — the 1978 Bremerton study — one of the landmark studies documenting asbestos disease among Navy shipyard workers — is specifically named in the corpus in connection with Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. This study examined asbestosis and mesothelioma rates among PSNS workers and was a foundational document in establishing the causal link between Navy shipyard asbestos exposure and mesothelioma in the litigation record. Its citation in the asbestos corpus confirms both the study’s documentary importance and its specific connection to PSNS Bremerton.

“Asbestos exposure and control at Puget Sound [Naval Shipyard]” — a formal study or report on asbestos exposure and control practices at PSNS appears in the corpus, consistent with the shipyard’s documented role in Navy-sponsored asbestos research during the period of growing awareness in the 1970s.

Contractor Documentation — Named Asbestos Contractors at PSNS

“Contractors at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, PSHS” — contractor documentation at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard appears in the corpus with a specific organizational reference (PSHS — Puget Sound Homeport Squadron or a similar designation), establishing that asbestos contractor relationships at PSNS were formally documented in the litigation record.

“Asbestos products to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard” — named asbestos product deliveries to PSNS appear in the corpus, establishing a documented chain of product delivery from manufacturers to the Bremerton yard — the same form of documentation that establishes manufacturer liability in civil asbestos claims.

Formal Shipyard Instructions — PSNS Issued Documents

“Issued by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard instructions” — formal instructions issued by PSNS appear in the corpus in an asbestos context, consistent with the shipyard’s documented practice of issuing work instructions, health and safety guidance, and asbestos handling procedures that were preserved in the litigation record.

“Asbestos-containing and non-asbestos-containing [materials at PSNS]” — documentation addressing the distinction between asbestos-containing and non-asbestos-containing materials at PSNS, consistent with the formal asbestos identification and abatement programs the shipyard implemented in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Pacific Fleet Vessel Overhaul — Asbestos Exposure Pathways

PSNS performed overhauls of Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers (including USS Kitty Hawk, USS Constellation, and nuclear carriers), submarines (including Sturgeon-class and Los Angeles-class SSNs), and surface combatants throughout the asbestos era. Full-cycle carrier overhaul involved complete dismantling and reboilering of engineering spaces in conventionally powered carriers — with asbestos insulation removal and replacement generating the highest-concentration asbestos exposures documented in any Navy shipyard environment.

  • Boiler plant overhaul — removal of massive asbestos lagging from boilers, steam drums, and associated piping in carrier engineering spaces
  • Pipe lagging removal and replacement — asbestos pipe insulation throughout all ship systems
  • Machinery space renovation — disturbing Marinite asbestos board throughout bulkhead and overhead insulation
  • Nuclear work — work in engineering spaces adjacent to reactor compartments where asbestos insulation was extensively used

Who Was Exposed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Workers and Navy personnel at PSNS in the following capacities may have asbestos exposure claims:

  • Insulation workers (Pipecoverers, Laggers, Insulators) who installed and removed asbestos insulation in ship overhaul operations
  • Boilermakers who overhauled steam and boiler systems heavily insulated with asbestos
  • Pipefitters and Plumbers who cut asbestos gaskets and worked in asbestos-insulated pipe chases
  • Shipfitters and Structural workers who entered enclosed spaces during active asbestos disturbance
  • Nuclear work personnel who entered adjacent engineering compartments during nuclear vessel overhaul
  • Navy Supship, QA, and inspection personnel present in overhaul spaces during asbestos removal

Veterans assigned to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and civilian workers who performed trades there, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease may qualify for:

  • VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) for Navy personnel assigned to PSNS
  • Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) for civilian PSNS workers
  • Civil claims against manufacturers of asbestos-containing insulation, gasket, and packing products delivered to PSNS

Key documents for a PSNS claim:

  • Employment records — PSNS civilian employment records documenting trades role and service period
  • DD-214 or orders — documenting Navy Supship or inspection assignment at Bremerton
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including the 1978 Bremerton study, personal exposure testimony from PSNS workers, formal contractor documentation, named asbestos product delivery records, and the national asbestos MDL docket identifying Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as a primary exposure venue. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.