Okonite Company, headquartered in Ramsey, New Jersey, was a major manufacturer of specialty electrical wire, cable, and rubber-insulated electrical products supplying military and commercial customers throughout the twentieth century. Okonite supplied the US Navy with asbestos-insulated electrical cable for shipboard power distribution systems during the WWII and early Cold War era, when asbestos was the preferred insulation material for electrical cable in high-temperature naval environments. Okonite’s asbestos-insulated cable products appeared in Navy shipboard power distribution systems, auxiliary equipment cable runs, and high-temperature electrical installations throughout the fleet. Navy Electrician’s Mates and Interior Communications Electricians (IC men) working with Okonite shipboard cable during installation, rewiring, and cable replacement operations accumulated asbestos exposure from the cable’s asbestos-containing electrical insulation.

Asbestos in Okonite Naval Cable Products

Okonite’s military cable products incorporated asbestos insulation:

  • Asbestos-insulated power cable — Okonite’s shipboard power distribution cable used asbestos fiber as an electrical insulation component in the cable construction for high-temperature applications, providing electrical insulation resistance in the heat of Navy engineering spaces. Electrician’s Mates cutting and terminating Okonite cable during installation or repair operations encountered asbestos fiber from the cable insulation at cut ends and at cable termination points
  • Cable jacket and braid materials — the outer jacket and braided protective materials on Okonite naval cable products of the WWII and early Cold War era incorporated asbestos fiber in the braided jacket construction for heat resistance. Handling and routing these cables during installation released asbestos fiber from the jacket materials at points of abrasion or where cable was cut and routed through shipboard cable runs
  • Heat-resistant control cable — Okonite supplied heat-resistant control cable for use in Navy ship engineering spaces and machinery control applications, with these specialty cable products using asbestos-containing insulation to meet the Navy’s high-temperature cable requirements

Electrician’s Mates working with asbestos-insulated cable accumulated exposure:

  • Cable pulling and routing operations — Navy Electrician’s Mates pulling Okonite and other asbestos-insulated electrical cable through shipboard cable runs during ship construction, overhaul, and rewiring operations worked in confined shipboard spaces where asbestos fiber released from cable insulation at abrasion points accumulated in the enclosed cable way spaces
  • Electrical switchboard and panel wiring — the wiring of Navy shipboard switchboards and distribution panels with asbestos-insulated cable required cutting, stripping, and terminating cable ends, releasing asbestos fiber from the insulation at each cut and termination point during panel wiring operations

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Okonite Products

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from electrical equipment maintenance in Navy engineering spaces. Electrician’s Mates and Interior Communications Electricians who worked with asbestos-insulated electrical cable aboard Navy ships and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.