Yuba Heat Transfer, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a manufacturer of shell-and-tube heat exchangers, feedwater heaters, and condensers supplying the US Navy for steam plant heat transfer applications aboard surface ships and submarines. Yuba heat exchangers were used in Navy engineering plants for feedwater heating, lube oil cooling, fuel oil heating, and auxiliary system heat transfer — the shell-and-tube heat exchanger being a fundamental component in any steam engineering plant requiring heat exchange between fluid streams.

Asbestos in Yuba Heat Exchanger Components

Yuba shell-and-tube heat exchangers used asbestos-containing gaskets as standard sealing materials:

  • Waterbox cover gaskets — the waterbox covers sealing the tube sheet ends of Yuba heat exchangers used large asbestos sheet or spiral-wound gaskets at the waterbox-to-shell flange joint. Heat exchanger inspection, tube cleaning, and tube plugging operations all required removing the waterbox cover — breaking the waterbox flange joint and disturbing the asbestos waterbox gasket. This maintenance task was performed by Machinist’s Mates at intervals ranging from quarterly to annually depending on the heat exchanger service and the propensity for fouling
  • Shell-side nozzle gaskets — inlet and outlet nozzle flanges on the shell side of Yuba heat exchangers used asbestos-containing gaskets at all flanged connections to steam and process piping in the heat exchanger’s shell-side circuit
  • Tube sheet packing — some Yuba heat exchanger designs used asbestos packing in the tube-to-tube-sheet joint in certain construction configurations
  • Inspection port gaskets — inspection ports and handhole covers on larger heat exchanger designs used asbestos gaskets that were disturbed during the inspection access openings

Yuba heat exchangers appeared throughout Navy steam engineering plant auxiliary circuits:

  • Feedwater heater service — feedwater heaters in destroyer, cruiser, and carrier steam plants used shell-and-tube heat exchanger designs with asbestos waterbox gaskets, maintained by Machinist’s Mates during engineering plant availabilities
  • Lube oil coolers — turbine and reduction gear lube oil coolers used heat exchangers with asbestos gaskets at all waterbox covers and pipe connection flanges
  • Fuel oil heaters — steam-to-oil heat exchangers heating heavy fuel oil to reduce viscosity for boiler combustion used asbestos gaskets in their construction

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Yuba Heat Transfer Products

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Engineering ratings who performed heat exchanger waterbox cover removal and maintenance involving Yuba and other heat exchanger manufacturers’ products with asbestos-containing gaskets and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.