Combustion Engineering Inc., headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, was one of the two primary suppliers (alongside Babcock & Wilcox) of marine steam boilers for the US Navy in the WWII and Cold War era. Combustion Engineering’s naval boiler designs — including the 1,200 PSI high-pressure boilers installed in Gearing class destroyers and successor classes — powered a substantial portion of the US Navy’s destroyer and cruiser fleet. CE boilers incorporated asbestos-containing refractory materials in the firebox construction and asbestos insulation in the boiler casing systems maintained by Boiler Technician (BT) ratings throughout the naval steam plant era.

Asbestos in Combustion Engineering Naval Boilers

CE naval boilers used asbestos in multiple components:

  • Boiler firebox refractory — the firebox refractory system in CE naval boilers used asbestos-containing insulating firebrick and asbestos castable refractory in the backup insulation courses behind the hot-face refractory. Boiler Technicians performing firebox rebricking operations on CE boilers removed old refractory and applied new asbestos-containing castable material in the confined firebox environment, generating asbestos fiber during the rebricking operations
  • Boiler casing insulation — the outer boiler casing insulation system protecting the boiler structure and reducing heat loss used asbestos block insulation applied to the boiler casing exterior. BTs performing boiler casing work removed and replaced asbestos block insulation at each access interval, with block insulation removal releasing asbestos fiber
  • Burner register throat insulation — the burner register and throat construction in CE naval boilers used asbestos-containing materials for the high-temperature sealing at the burner mounting and throat construction

Combustion Engineering boilers powered numerous Navy ship classes:

  • Gearing class destroyer boilers — the 1,200 PSI Combustion Engineering boilers in many Gearing class destroyers powered these vessels through WWII and into the FRAM upgrade era, with BT ratings maintaining CE boilers throughout the destroyer’s service life
  • Forrest Sherman class destroyer boilers — CE boilers also appeared in Forrest Sherman class destroyers and other subsequent destroyer classes built with CE boiler specifications
  • Cruiser boiler plants — Combustion Engineering supplied boilers for various cruiser and carrier applications throughout the Navy’s steam surface combatant era

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Combustion Engineering Products

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Boiler Technicians who performed maintenance on Combustion Engineering boilers and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.