Rockbestos Products Corporation, based in New Haven, Connecticut, was a manufacturer of specialty electrical wire and cable for industrial and marine applications. Rockbestos products emphasized fire-resistant and high-temperature cable for marine and industrial uses — with asbestos as the primary insulation material for high-temperature cable in the WWII through early 1980s production period. Rockbestos asbestos-insulated cable appeared in US Navy shipboard electrical systems in applications requiring fire resistance and thermal performance beyond the capabilities of standard rubber-insulated cable.

Rockbestos Asbestos Cable in Navy Applications

Rockbestos manufactured several asbestos-insulated cable types used in Navy shipboard applications:

  • Type R asbestos-insulated cable — Rockbestos Type R and similar asbestos-insulated cable types were designed for high-temperature shipboard applications where the operating environment exceeded the temperature limits of standard rubber-insulated cable. These cables were installed in Navy engineering spaces — boiler rooms, engine rooms — where the ambient temperature from the engineering plant machinery exceeded standard cable temperature ratings
  • Marine fire-resistant cable — Rockbestos cable marketed for marine applications used asbestos insulation to provide the fire resistance required by Coast Guard and Navy specifications for cable installed in potentially fire-exposed locations aboard ships. EM and IC ratings worked with this cable during electrical system maintenance in Navy ships
  • Specialty high-temperature circuit cables — cables for boiler control circuits, fuel oil heating elements, and other high-temperature electrical circuits used Rockbestos asbestos-insulated cable where the circuit operated in proximity to high-temperature machinery

Electrical Maintenance Asbestos Exposure

EM and IC ratings working with Rockbestos and similar asbestos-insulated cable during maintenance:

  • Cable cutting and splicing — cutting, stripping, and splicing asbestos-insulated cable during electrical system maintenance generated asbestos dust from the cable sheathing material at each cut and splice location
  • Cable tray maintenance — removing and reinstalling bundles of asbestos-insulated cable in cable trays during electrical system modifications disturbed aged asbestos cable insulation that had become brittle and friable from years of service in the engineering space environment

VA Claims

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