Aurora Pump, headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, was a major manufacturer of centrifugal pumps supplying the US Navy with pumping equipment for shipboard seawater service, freshwater, fuel transfer, and auxiliary service throughout the WWII and Cold War eras. Aurora centrifugal pumps were installed across multiple vessel classes and Navy ship types in applications requiring reliable pumping of seawater, fuel, lubricating oil, and potable water throughout the ship’s service systems.

Asbestos in Aurora Pump Sealing Components

Centrifugal pumps operating in high-temperature or high-pressure service — seawater cooling pumps, fuel service pumps, and auxiliary steam condensate pumps — used asbestos-containing sealing materials as standard components in pump construction through the 1970s:

  • Gland packing on the pump shaft seal — braided asbestos packing compressed into the stuffing box around the rotating pump shaft, which required periodic tightening and replacement by Machinist’s Mates performing routine pump maintenance
  • Mechanical seal components on higher-pressure or cleaner-service pumps used asbestos-containing gaskets between the mechanical seal housing and the pump casing during seal assembly and replacement
  • Pump body gaskets between pump suction and discharge flanges and connected piping, using asbestos-containing sheet gasket material standard in the era
  • High-temperature pump applications — pumps in contact with steam condensate or heated fuel service at elevated temperatures — used asbestos gland packing rated for the service temperature

Machinist’s Mate Pump Maintenance

Machinist’s Mates (MM) responsible for auxiliary machinery maintenance aboard Navy ships performed routine Aurora pump maintenance that involved handling asbestos-containing packing and gasket materials:

  • Gland packing replacement — removing worn asbestos packing from pump stuffing boxes, cutting and installing new packing rings — was a routine MM maintenance task generating asbestos fiber during packing removal and cutting
  • Pump overhaul during shipyard availability periods involved complete disassembly of centrifugal pumps including removal of shaft seals, gaskets, and packing in spaces where other trades were simultaneously working on insulation removal

Named in Asbestos Litigation

Aurora Pump appeared as a defendant in asbestos litigation filed by Navy veterans whose asbestos exposure was documented through service aboard Navy vessels where Aurora pump equipment was installed. The litigation record identifies Aurora’s Navy supply contracts and the use of asbestos-containing sealing components in their centrifugal pump product lines supplied to the Navy.

VA Claims

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from pump maintenance aboard Navy vessels. Machinist’s Mates and other ratings who performed centrifugal pump maintenance — including gland packing replacement on Aurora and other brand pumps — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.