Naval Air Station Moffett Field, located in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, was established in 1933 as a Navy lighter-than-air (dirigible) base and later became the Pacific Fleet’s primary west coast patrol aviation hub. NAS Moffett Field was home to the historic Hangar One — one of the largest freestanding structures in the world, built in 1933 to house the USS Macon (ZRS-5) rigid airship — and later served as home to Pacific Fleet VP (patrol) squadrons operating P-3 Orion aircraft until the base’s 1994 BRAC closure. The station’s extraordinary 1930s-era building heritage created significant asbestos exposure pathways for Navy personnel assigned there.

Hangar One and 1930s-Era Building Asbestos

NAS Moffett Field’s building complex centers on 1930s and WWII-era structures with extensive asbestos:

  • Hangar One (Blimp Hangar) — the massive 1933 Hangar One structure used asbestos-containing materials in its original construction and in subsequent modifications, with asbestos applied as fire protection and insulation on structural steel in the hangar’s interior. The Environmental Protection Agency has documented significant asbestos contamination in Hangar One from the structure’s original construction materials. Navy personnel working inside Hangar One during its active aviation maintenance use accumulated ambient asbestos exposure from the building’s construction
  • WWII-era hangars and maintenance buildings — smaller WWII-era aircraft maintenance hangars added during the station’s WWII expansion used standard WWII military construction with asbestos-containing structural fireproofing, floor tile, and building mechanical system insulation
  • 1930s-era barracks and support buildings — the original station support infrastructure built in the 1933-1940 period used construction materials standard to 1930s military construction, including asbestos throughout building mechanical systems

P-3 Orion Patrol Squadron Maintenance

NAS Moffett Field hosted Pacific Fleet VP patrol squadrons from the late 1950s through the base’s 1994 closure:

  • Aviation maintenance ratings — Aviation Machinist’s Mates (AD), Aviation Structural Mechanics (AM), and Aviation Electronic Technicians (AT) — maintaining P-3 Orion aircraft at Moffett Field worked in the station’s older hangars, with ambient asbestos exposure from hangar building construction in addition to any asbestos in the aircraft themselves
  • P-3 engine and nacelle maintenance — the Allison T56 turboprop engine nacelles on P-3 aircraft used asbestos-containing insulation in fire zones and hot section thermal management components in earlier-production aircraft

EPA Hangar One Remediation

Hangar One at the former NAS Moffett Field has required EPA-supervised asbestos remediation work following the Navy’s departure, with documented asbestos-containing exterior cladding panels removed under hazmat protocols. The scale of Hangar One asbestos remediation reflects the quantity of asbestos-containing materials in the structure’s original construction.

VA Claims for NAS Moffett Field Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval aviation installations. Veterans who served at NAS Moffett Field — particularly those who worked in Hangar One or older WWII-era base buildings — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.