Chapman Valve Manufacturing Company, located in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts (a village of Springfield), was a major manufacturer of industrial and marine valves — gate valves, globe valves, check valves, and angle valves — serving commercial shipbuilding, naval construction, and industrial piping markets throughout the mid-20th century. Chapman supplied the United States Navy with bronze and iron gate valves, globe valves, and check valves for installation in shipboard steam systems, seawater service systems, fuel oil systems, fire mains, and freshwater distribution piping throughout naval vessel piping networks. Chapman valve products manufactured through the mid-1970s used asbestos-containing braided packing in valve stem stuffing boxes and asbestos-containing compressed gasket materials between valve body and bonnet sections. Navy Machinery Repairmen (MR) and Boiler Tenders performing routine valve maintenance — valve repacking, valve overhaul, and body gasket replacement — on Chapman valves in naval engineering spaces encountered asbestos fiber released from the disturbed packing and gasket materials during each valve maintenance operation.

Valve Stem Packing Asbestos

Chapman valve products incorporated asbestos-containing stem packing:

  • Gate and globe valve asbestos stem packing — Chapman gate valves and globe valves in Navy steam, seawater, and fuel service used asbestos-containing braided packing in valve stem stuffing boxes. Navy Machinery Repairmen repacking Chapman valves during routine valve maintenance removed compressed asbestos packing from valve stem glands — using picks, hooks, and packing pullers to extract the old packing from the stuffing box bore — and installed new asbestos packing in the gland assembly. The removal of old compressed asbestos packing from Chapman valve stuffing boxes and the cutting of new asbestos packing rings to length for installation both released asbestos fiber from the disturbed and cut packing material into the engineering space work area during each repacking operation
  • Steam service valve repacking frequency — Chapman valves in Navy high-pressure steam service required more frequent packing maintenance than valves in low-pressure service due to the thermal cycling and elevated operating pressures of steam system operation. The increased repacking frequency for Chapman steam line valves increased the total number of asbestos packing disturbance events for Machinery Repairmen and Boiler Tenders maintaining Chapman steam valves in the engineering spaces

Valve Body Bonnet Gasket Asbestos

Chapman valve body assembly joints incorporated asbestos-containing gaskets:

  • Valve body-to-bonnet gasket materials — Chapman gate and globe valve body-to-bonnet joints used compressed asbestos gaskets sealing the valve body assembly joint against steam or fluid leakage. Machinery Repairmen performing valve body overhaul on Chapman valves — requiring separation of the valve body and bonnet sections for internal disc, seat, or spindle maintenance — removed and replaced these asbestos body-to-bonnet gasket materials during valve disassembly, with the gasket removal and scraping operations disturbing the compressed asbestos sheet material at the body joint face

Check Valve Gasket Materials

Chapman check valves incorporated asbestos in seat and gasket assemblies:

  • Check valve cover and seat gaskets — Chapman swing check valves and lift check valves in Navy piping service incorporated asbestos-containing gasket materials in check valve cover-to-body joints and in seat ring joints. Machinery Repairmen performing check valve maintenance required to access the valve internals for disc or seat repair encountered asbestos-containing gasket materials during check valve disassembly operations

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Chapman Valve Products

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from Navy valve maintenance activities. Machinery Repairmen and Boiler Tenders who repacked and overhauled Chapman valves in naval vessel piping systems and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.