Pacific Coast Engineering Company (PACECO), headquartered in Alameda, California, was a manufacturer of gantry cranes, container cranes, and material handling equipment used at West Coast ports and US Navy shipyards. PACECO cranes were used at Navy shipyard facilities for ship construction, drydock operations, and heavy material handling — with crane operators and maintenance personnel accumulating asbestos exposure from crane cab insulation materials and from the shipyard ambient environment in which the cranes operated.

Asbestos in PACECO Crane Equipment

PACECO gantry and container cranes used asbestos-containing materials in crane construction:

  • Crane cab insulation and heating — the enclosed operator cab on PACECO gantry cranes used asbestos-containing insulation materials in the cab walls and ceiling for thermal control, with steam or electric heating elements in older crane cab designs using asbestos-insulated heating components. Crane operators spending full shifts in the crane cab accumulated ambient asbestos exposure from the cab’s insulation materials over years of crane operator duty
  • Electrical control equipment insulation — the electrical control panels and motor control equipment in PACECO crane control rooms and electrical cabinets used asbestos-containing arc-quench materials, asbestos board panel construction, and asbestos-insulated wiring in older electrical specifications
  • Hoist and trolley drive equipment — the hoist motor and trolley drive electrical equipment in PACECO crane machinery spaces used asbestos-containing materials in motor winding insulation and electrical component construction

PACECO and other manufacturers’ shipyard cranes at West Coast naval shipyards — Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, and Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard — were operated by Navy and civilian employees performing crane operations in the shipyard environment:

  • Crane operators working at naval shipyards where ships with asbestos-containing materials were being constructed or overhauled were in the shipyard ambient environment during crane operations — environments where asbestos from ship construction and ship demolition work contributed to the ambient air quality in the shipyard
  • PACECO crane maintenance was performed by civilian shipyard mechanics and electricians maintaining crane equipment in the shipyard electrical shops

VA Claims

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from crane and material handling equipment operation at naval shipyards. Navy personnel and civilian employees who operated or maintained PACECO and other shipyard crane equipment at Navy shipyards and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits or civilian asbestos trust claims.