IMO Industries, operating through its IMO Delaval division, was the successor entity to De Laval Turbine Company and continued manufacturing steam turbines, turbine-driven pumps, and associated naval machinery. IMO Delaval equipment appeared in the engineering spaces of Navy vessels that had originally been fitted with De Laval units as well as newer construction that specified IMO-era designs. Engineering personnel who operated and maintained this equipment worked in machinery spaces with asbestos-insulated turbine casings and steam piping throughout the postwar fleet.

IMO Delaval Equipment and Asbestos

IMO Delaval continued producing steam turbine and pump equipment to Navy specifications using the same construction standards that had governed De Laval products. Asbestos appeared in IMO Delaval equipment in the same applications as predecessor De Laval units:

  • Turbine casing and steam chest insulation using asbestos block and sectional covering over high-temperature turbine surfaces
  • Turbine-driven pump assemblies using asbestos packing in the steam-admission valve stems and stuffing boxes
  • High-pressure piping connections at turbine steam inlets and exhausts insulated with asbestos-containing block and mastic coverings
  • Gearbox and reduction gear enclosures associated with turbine-driven equipment using asbestos cloth and tape in fireproofing applications

Engineering Exposure Patterns

Navy Machinist’s Mates and Enginemen who stood watch in spaces equipped with IMO Delaval turbines were present in machinery spaces where asbestos insulation on turbine casings and steam lines degraded over time from thermal cycling and vibration. Maintenance operations including valve repacking, insulation patching after equipment repairs, and turbine internal inspections released asbestos fiber in the enclosed space. Publicly filed litigation records from Navy asbestos cases identify IMO Industries and its predecessors in the chain of equipment liability for turbine and pump equipment aboard multiple Navy vessel classes.

Overhaul and Repair Activity

IMO Delaval turbines required periodic overhaul at Navy shipyards and private repair yards during which asbestos insulation was stripped from the turbine casing before internal work could proceed. Insulators, ship’s engineers, and quality assurance personnel who were present during this overhaul work at facilities including Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard were in asbestos-fiber-release environments during lagging removal from IMO and De Laval turbine equipment.

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to IMO Equipment

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy vessels and in Navy shipyards. Veterans who worked on IMO Delaval or De Laval turbine and pump equipment before the early 1980s and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.