General Electric Company, through its nuclear energy division in Schenectady, New York and its marine gas turbine division, supplied naval propulsion systems for US Navy surface combatants — including the D2G pressurized water nuclear reactor used in the nuclear destroyer leaders USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25) and USS Truxtun (DLGN-35), and the GE LM2500 gas turbine used in Spruance class destroyers, Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates, Ticonderoga class Aegis cruisers, and other gas turbine surface combatants. GE’s naval propulsion systems in the 1960s-1970s construction era used asbestos-containing materials in steam system insulation and gas turbine exhaust system components.

D2G Nuclear Reactor Steam Plant and Asbestos

GE’s D2G reactor plant installed in USS Bainbridge and USS Truxtun used asbestos-containing steam system insulation:

  • D2G steam distribution insulation — the steam system piping from D2G reactor steam generators through the propulsion turbines in USS Bainbridge and USS Truxtun used asbestos pipe covering in the early-1960s construction specifications of these first nuclear-powered escort vessels. Machinist’s Mates maintaining the D2G steam plant worked in proximity to asbestos-insulated steam components throughout the nuclear escorts’ service lives
  • Turbine insulation — the propulsion turbines and ship’s service turbine generators in D2G-powered vessels used asbestos-containing thermal insulation lagging in the 1962-1967 construction era

LM2500 Gas Turbine Exhaust System and Asbestos

GE’s LM2500 gas turbine installation in the first generation of gas turbine surface combatants used asbestos in exhaust system insulation:

  • Exhaust uptake insulation — the LM2500 gas turbine exhaust ducting routing combustion gases from the gas turbine engine through the ship’s uptake to the exhaust stacks used asbestos-containing thermal insulation on the hot duct surfaces in the earliest Spruance class and Perry class ship constructions of the mid-1970s. Gas Turbine Systems Technicians (GSM) performing exhaust system maintenance worked in proximity to asbestos-insulated exhaust uptake in the confined uptake spaces of these vessels
  • Engine module hot section — the GE LM2500 engine module hot section components used thermal insulation materials in early production that included asbestos-containing materials before the engine module specifications completed the asbestos phase-down

VA Claims for Veterans in GE-Powered Navy Vessels

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from reactor steam plant and gas turbine maintenance in Navy service. Engineering ratings who served in GE nuclear reactor or LM2500 gas turbine engineering billets aboard USS Bainbridge, USS Truxtun, or early Spruance class and Perry class ships and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.