Griscom-Russell Company, headquartered in Massillon, Ohio, was one of the Navy’s primary suppliers of main condensers, feedwater heaters, and shell-and-tube heat exchangers for steam turbine propulsion plants throughout World War II and the Cold War. Griscom-Russell main condensers — the large heat exchangers condensing exhaust steam from the propulsion turbines back to feedwater — were installed in destroyers, cruisers, carriers, and auxiliary vessels across the fleet, making Griscom-Russell one of the most widely distributed heat transfer equipment manufacturers in the Navy’s propulsion plant inventory.

Asbestos in Griscom-Russell Condenser and Heat Exchanger Components

Griscom-Russell condensers and feedwater heaters used asbestos-containing gaskets as standard sealing materials:

  • Waterbox cover gaskets — the large end-cap waterbox covers on Griscom-Russell main condensers sealed the condenser water box at the tube sheet ends using large asbestos sheet gaskets at the waterbox-to-shell flange joint. Main condenser waterbox cover removal — performed by Machinist’s Mates to access condenser tubes for cleaning, tube plugging, and tube inspection — directly disturbed these large asbestos waterbox gaskets at each maintenance cycle. Condenser tube cleaning and plugging were among the most frequently performed engineering department maintenance tasks aboard steam-powered surface ships
  • Feedwater heater waterbox gaskets — feedwater heater waterbox covers used the same asbestos sheet gasket construction at the waterbox flange joint, disturbed during feedwater heater tube inspection and cleaning
  • Shell-side nozzle gaskets — steam inlet and condensate outlet nozzle flanges on the shell side of Griscom-Russell condensers and heat exchangers used asbestos-containing flanged pipe gaskets
  • Inspection port and handhole gaskets — inspection access covers and handhole covers on larger condenser designs used asbestos gaskets at the cover faces

Main Condenser Maintenance Frequency

Main condenser waterbox maintenance was one of the most frequent major engineering maintenance tasks:

  • Condenser tube fouling from seawater deposits required periodic cleaning — typically during every maintenance availability — with waterbox cover removal and tube cleaning as the primary condenser maintenance task. MMs performing this routine maintenance disturbed the waterbox flange asbestos gasket at each waterbox cover removal and reinstallation
  • Condenser tube failures required tube plugging at the tube sheet — accomplished with the waterbox cover removed, placing MMs in the condenser waterbox with the asbestos gasket disturbed at the waterbox flange

VA Claims

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from condenser and heat exchanger maintenance in Navy engineering plants. Machinist’s Mates who performed main condenser and heat exchanger waterbox maintenance on Griscom-Russell and other manufacturers’ equipment with asbestos-containing waterbox gaskets and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.