Mare Island Naval Shipyard, located on Mare Island in the Napa River across from Vallejo, California in San Francisco Bay, was the United States Navy’s first permanent Pacific Coast shipyard, established in 1854 and continuously operated until its closure in 1996. Mare Island conducted ship construction, including submarine construction from the 1910s through WWII, and conducted nuclear submarine maintenance and overhaul work through the Cold War period. The shipyard was a major employer in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 140 years, with military and civilian workers accumulating asbestos exposure from insulation and mechanical work in ship repair operations throughout the shipyard’s history.

Ship Construction and Repair Asbestos Exposure

Mare Island conducted ship construction and overhaul with extensive asbestos use:

  • Submarine construction — Mare Island constructed submarines from the 1910s through WWII, with submarine construction incorporating asbestos pipe covering and insulation in the submarine engineering plant installation. Pipe insulation trades at Mare Island applied asbestos magnesia pipe covering throughout the engineering spaces during submarine construction
  • Nuclear submarine refueling and overhaul — after WWII and through the Cold War, Mare Island conducted nuclear submarine refueling overhaul (ROH) work on Pacific Fleet submarines. The submarine ROH process required removal of asbestos pipe covering from the submarine’s reactor plant and engineering spaces during the overhaul period, generating high asbestos fiber concentrations in the confined submarine spaces during the insulation stripping operation
  • Surface ship overhaul — surface ship overhaul work at Mare Island involved insulation removal and reinstallation on steam system piping in the ship’s engineering spaces, with PI (Pipe Insulator) and Sheet Metal trades performing asbestos insulation work throughout each overhaul period

Historical Asbestos Construction

Mare Island’s 19th and early 20th century construction created a shipyard environment with extensive asbestos in the shore infrastructure:

  • The older Marine Island buildings and dry dock facilities — some dating to the pre-WWII era — used asbestos-containing construction materials in building mechanical systems and structural construction throughout the shipyard’s older building stock

VA Claims for Mare Island Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from ship construction and overhaul work at naval shipyards. Military and civilian workers who performed insulation, mechanical, or other trades work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.