Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a major manufacturer of personal protective equipment including respiratory protection devices, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), gas detection equipment, and other industrial safety products supplying military and industrial customers throughout the twentieth century. MSA supplied the US Navy with respiratory protection equipment for use in shipboard engineering spaces, damage control operations, and industrial activities. Certain MSA dust respirator products manufactured in the mid-twentieth century used asbestos-containing filter media in the respirator construction — a common practice of the era when asbestos was recognized as an effective filter medium — creating a situation where the equipment intended to protect workers from dust was itself a source of asbestos fiber. Navy personnel using these respirator products in shipboard and shore facility operations accumulated asbestos exposure from both the asbestos in their work environment and from the asbestos-containing filter media in their protective equipment.

Asbestos in MSA Safety Products

Some MSA protective equipment incorporated asbestos-containing materials:

  • Dust respirator filter media — MSA dust respirators manufactured during the mid-twentieth century used asbestos fiber as a component of the respirator filter medium, providing filtration of airborne particles. These respirators, when used for protection against asbestos-containing dusts in shipboard and industrial applications, exposed wearers to asbestos fiber from the respirator’s own filter medium during use and particularly during replacement of filter elements, with the used asbestos-containing filter releasing fiber during removal and disposal
  • Protective equipment construction materials — certain MSA safety products used asbestos-containing materials in their construction for heat resistance or structural purposes, consistent with common industrial product manufacturing practices of the WWII and early Cold War era
  • Self-contained breathing apparatus components — MSA SCBA products used by Navy Damage Controlmen and Firefighting teams incorporated heat-resistant components where asbestos-containing materials were used in the high-temperature construction of these devices

MSA equipment was used throughout Navy operations:

  • Damage Controlman respiratory equipment — Navy Damage Controlmen using MSA respiratory equipment during shipboard firefighting and damage control operations accumulated potential asbestos exposure from the equipment’s construction and from the asbestos-containing fire and smoke environment in which the equipment was used
  • Engineering space respiratory protection — Navy engineering ratings using MSA dust respirators during boiler maintenance, insulation work, and engineering space cleaning operations in older asbestos-insulated engineering spaces used equipment that in the mid-twentieth century era may have contained asbestos in its filter construction

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to MSA Products

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure in Navy operational activities. Navy personnel who used MSA respiratory and safety equipment in asbestos-containing work environments and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.