De Laval Separator Company — the predecessor to Alfa Laval’s US operations, headquartered in Poughkeepsie, New York — manufactured centrifugal separators and purifiers for fuel oil and lubricating oil service in the US Navy throughout the WWII and Cold War eras. De Laval purifiers were standard equipment in Navy surface ship and auxiliary vessel propulsion plants, where continuous fuel oil purification removed water and particulate contamination from fuel before combustion in Navy boilers and diesel engines, and where lube oil purifiers maintained lubricating oil quality in main propulsion and generator sets.

Asbestos in De Laval/Alfa Laval Purifier Components

De Laval fuel oil and lube oil purifiers used asbestos-containing materials in their construction and maintenance cycle:

  • Bowl assembly gaskets — the centrifugal bowl assembly at the heart of the De Laval purifier required periodic cleaning and reassembly, with asbestos-containing gaskets sealing the bowl sections and bowl cover. Machinist’s Mates performing routine purifier bowl cleaning — a frequent maintenance task in Navy propulsion plants — disturbed these asbestos gaskets at each cleaning interval
  • Piping connection gaskets — the fuel oil and lube oil inlet and outlet piping connections to De Laval purifiers used asbestos-containing flange gaskets at all pipe flanged connections in the purifier’s suction and discharge piping
  • Heated purifier bowl thermal insulation — some De Laval purifier configurations used heated bowl assemblies to reduce fuel oil viscosity for improved separation efficiency, with asbestos insulation on the heated sections of the purifier assembly

Purifier Maintenance Frequency

De Laval/Alfa Laval purifiers required frequent maintenance compared to most auxiliary equipment:

  • Routine bowl cleaning — purifier bowls required cleaning at regular intervals based on fuel oil quality and operating hours, typically every 50-100 operating hours for fuel oil purifiers in Navy boiler plants. Machinist’s Mates (MMs) performed these routine bowl-cleaning maintenance tasks as a regular part of their engineering department duties throughout their shipboard service
  • Seal and disc replacement — the purifier’s disc stack and sealing components required periodic replacement, involving disassembly and reassembly of the purifier with disturbance of asbestos-containing gaskets throughout the bowl assembly
  • Annual overhaul — comprehensive purifier overhaul during maintenance availability periods involved complete disassembly and reassembly with full gasket replacement

De Laval/Alfa Laval purifiers were used throughout the Navy’s surface ship and auxiliary vessel inventory wherever fuel oil purification was required for boiler or diesel engine operation — destroyers, cruisers, carriers, auxiliary ships, and submarine tenders all carried De Laval fuel oil and lube oil purifiers as standard propulsion plant auxiliary equipment.

VA Claims

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from propulsion plant auxiliary equipment maintenance in Navy service. Machinist’s Mates and other engineering ratings who performed routine De Laval/Alfa Laval purifier maintenance involving asbestos-containing gaskets and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.