Cleaver-Brooks, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a major manufacturer of packaged fire-tube and water-tube industrial boilers for commercial and institutional heating applications — including auxiliary and heating boilers installed in US Navy shore facility heating plants at naval stations, naval air stations, and other shore commands. Cleaver-Brooks packaged boilers provided steam and hot water heating for the barracks buildings, administrative spaces, and technical facilities at Navy shore commands throughout the WWII and Cold War era. These boilers used asbestos-containing refractory materials and asbestos insulation in their original construction, creating asbestos exposure for Utilitiesmen (UT) and civilian boiler plant operators maintaining Cleaver-Brooks heating boilers at naval shore facilities.

Asbestos in Cleaver-Brooks Shore Facility Boilers

Cleaver-Brooks packaged boilers used asbestos-containing materials in their construction:

  • Boiler combustion chamber refractory — the combustion chamber and firebox refractory in Cleaver-Brooks packaged boilers used asbestos-containing insulating castable refractory and asbestos-containing refractory brick in the backup insulation courses. Utilitiesmen and boiler maintenance workers performing firebox inspection and rebricking of Cleaver-Brooks boilers removed deteriorated asbestos refractory material and applied new castable refractory in the confined boiler firebox environment, generating asbestos fiber during these rebricking operations
  • Boiler casing insulation — the outer boiler casing and jacket insulation protecting the Cleaver-Brooks boiler structure used asbestos block insulation on the boiler casing exterior surfaces. Maintenance personnel removing and replacing casing insulation during boiler overhaul encountered asbestos block insulation removal operations releasing asbestos fiber
  • Boiler access door and manhole seals — the access door and manhole cover seals on Cleaver-Brooks boilers used asbestos-containing rope gasket material for the high-temperature door sealing applications, with gasket removal and replacement releasing asbestos fiber from the deteriorated door seal material

Cleaver-Brooks boilers appeared in Navy shore facility heating plants throughout the naval shore establishment:

  • Naval station and NAS heating plants — the central heating plants at naval stations and naval air stations used Cleaver-Brooks and competitor packaged boilers to generate steam and hot water for distribution to barracks, administrative buildings, and technical facilities throughout the base. Utilitiesmen assigned to shore facility boiler plants maintained Cleaver-Brooks heating boilers as the primary equipment at these base utility plants
  • Individual building boiler rooms — the individual boiler rooms in larger Navy shore facility buildings used Cleaver-Brooks packaged boilers for on-site building steam heating, with base maintenance personnel maintaining these building-level boilers throughout their assignment at the shore command

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Cleaver-Brooks Products

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from boiler maintenance at Navy shore facilities. Utilitiesmen and maintenance workers who performed maintenance on Cleaver-Brooks auxiliary boilers at Navy shore facility heating plants and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.