Western Asbestos Company was a California-based asbestos distributor that sold asbestos-containing insulation materials directly to the United States Navy and to Navy contractors throughout the mid-twentieth century. Unlike asbestos manufacturers (who produced asbestos products) or insulation contractors (who installed them), Western Asbestos Company operated as a distributor — purchasing asbestos materials from manufacturers and supplying them to the Navy and its contractors for use in ship construction and overhaul operations. Western Asbestos Company later merged with or became associated with Western MacArthur Company. A Western Asbestos Settlement Trust was established to compensate individuals who developed asbestos-related disease from exposure to materials distributed by Western Asbestos Company. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Western Asbestos Company’s direct sales to the United States Navy in multiple independent documents, dated company records from 1945 through 1964, corporate officer testimony, and formal litigation proceedings.

Documented Asbestos Sales to the Navy

Direct Sales to the U.S. Navy — Multiple Independent Documents

Dated Company Records — 1945 and 1964

Supply for Navy Needs — Documented Purchasing

Submitted Bids — Navy Procurement

Western Asbestos Settlement Trust

Western Asbestos and Western MacArthur

Corporate Officer Testimony — Western Asbestos Leadership

Who Was Exposed to Western Asbestos Company Materials

Western Asbestos Company’s role as a distributor meant its materials reached workers across the full range of Navy asbestos applications:

  • Navy shipyard pipecoverers and insulators — who received and installed the asbestos pipe insulation and block insulation that Western Asbestos Company distributed to Navy facilities
  • Shipyard workers of all trades — who worked in spaces where Western Asbestos-supplied materials were being installed
  • Western Asbestos Company workers — employees who handled, moved, and delivered asbestos insulation materials from warehouse to delivery point

VA Claims and Legal Options — Western Asbestos Company Workers

Navy veterans and shipyard workers exposed to asbestos insulation materials distributed by Western Asbestos Company, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease, may qualify for:

  • Western Asbestos Settlement Trust claims — trust fund claims for workers whose asbestos exposure was from Western Asbestos Company-distributed materials
  • VA service connection under VA asbestos-claim guidance for veterans with documented exposure to asbestos materials at Navy facilities supplied by Western Asbestos Company
  • Civil claims against Western Asbestos Company successors based on documented direct sales of asbestos materials to the United States Navy

Key documents:

  • DD-214 or service records — documenting duty at California naval facilities or service aboard ships where Western Asbestos-supplied insulation was installed
  • Employment records — shipyard employment records documenting work with asbestos insulation materials during the period when Western Asbestos was active (1945-1964 and beyond)
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including multiple independent documents establishing that Western Asbestos Company sold asbestos materials directly to the U.S. Navy, dated company records from 1945 and 1964, Western Asbestos Settlement Trust documentation, formal bid submission records, corporate officer testimony, and formal proceedings in Western Asbestos Company et al. litigation. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.