Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina — established in 1943 as a WWII fighter pilot training base on the South Carolina coastal plain — developed through the Cold War era into one of the Marine Corps’ primary tactical jet aircraft bases, hosting F-8 Crusader and later F/A-18 Hornet squadrons. The base expanded significantly during the Korean War and Cold War era with new construction that used asbestos-containing building materials consistent with military construction specifications of the period. Marine aviation personnel — pilots, crew chiefs, avionics technicians, and support ratings — working at Beaufort from the 1940s through the early 1980s accumulated asbestos exposure from the base’s facility construction stock.

Hangar and Maintenance Facility Asbestos

MCAS Beaufort’s aviation maintenance facilities used asbestos throughout their construction:

  • WWII hangar construction — the original 1943 hangars at Beaufort used asbestos-containing roofing materials, asbestos fire-barrier curtains separating hangar bays, and asbestos-containing insulation board in the hangar wall and ceiling construction. Aircraft Maintenance technicians working in these hangars during routine aircraft servicing and major overhaul operations worked in proximity to the asbestos-containing hangar construction
  • Flight-line maintenance buildings — the squadron maintenance spaces, line shacks, and avionics maintenance facilities supporting MCAS Beaufort’s tactical jet squadrons used standard military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling tile, and asbestos pipe insulation in the mechanical spaces of these WWII and Korean War-era construction buildings
  • Aircraft engine test cells — the engine test facility at Beaufort used high-temperature insulation and fire-suppression systems with asbestos-containing construction consistent with jet engine test cell requirements of the 1950s and 1960s construction era

Barracks and Administrative Building Asbestos

MCAS Beaufort’s residential and administrative facility stock incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Enlisted barracks construction — the enlisted personnel barracks built during WWII and expanded during the Korean War era at Beaufort used asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling tile, and asbestos pipe insulation in the barracks mechanical systems. Marines living in these barracks throughout the Cold War period were in daily proximity to the asbestos-containing floor and ceiling materials
  • Administrative building stock — the squadron administrative buildings, base headquarters, and support facility buildings at Beaufort used construction materials including asbestos-containing thermal insulation consistent with South Carolina military construction of the 1940s through 1960s

VA Claims for MCAS Beaufort Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at Marine Corps air stations. Marines and Navy personnel who served at MCAS Beaufort during any period from the station’s 1943 establishment through the asbestos abatement programs of the 1980s and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.