Construction Mechanics (CM) served in Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) — the Navy’s Seabees — maintaining the heavy equipment, vehicles, and machinery supporting Navy construction operations at forward bases, naval facilities, and deployed construction projects worldwide. CM Seabees maintained bulldozers, craders, scrapers, trucks, generators, and other heavy construction equipment used in the Seabee construction mission throughout the Cold War.

Heavy Equipment and Asbestos Exposure

Construction Mechanics maintaining older heavy construction equipment encountered asbestos in vehicle and equipment components throughout the Cold War:

  • Brake linings on heavy equipment — bulldozers, scrapers, dump trucks, and other heavy construction equipment used asbestos friction material in brake assemblies requiring periodic replacement. CM mechanics performed brake work on this equipment in equipment maintenance shops at home ports (Gulfport, Port Hueneme) and at deployed locations
  • Engine head gaskets and manifold gaskets on diesel engines in heavy construction equipment used asbestos-containing gaskets in the engine’s high-temperature sections, disturbed during major engine overhaul and cylinder head work
  • Clutch facings and torque converter components on heavy equipment transmissions and power trains used asbestos friction material in clutch disc assemblies serviced during drivetrain maintenance
  • Generator and pump engine gaskets on the portable generators and pump sets deployed with Seabee construction operations used asbestos-containing gaskets on diesel engine components

Construction Project Asbestos Exposure

Seabees involved in construction and renovation projects at naval facilities and forward bases encountered asbestos in building materials during construction and renovation work:

  • Demolition of older structures on naval installations — an important part of the Seabee facility improvement mission — involved disturbance of asbestos-containing materials in WWII-era and postwar building construction being demolished or renovated
  • Pipe installation and mechanical work — CM Seabees and Utilitiesman (UT) Seabees installing mechanical systems in base construction worked with pipe insulation materials and equipment connections using asbestos-containing materials throughout the Cold War era

Seabee Deployment Locations

Naval Mobile Construction Battalions deployed worldwide throughout the Cold War — to Vietnam, the Philippines, Guam, Diego Garcia, Holy Loch (Scotland), Rota (Spain), and other locations — maintaining construction equipment in field conditions where maintenance shops were less equipped than home port facilities. CM mechanics performed equipment maintenance including brake and engine gasket work in these deployed environments throughout the Cold War.

VA Claims for CM Rating Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure for Navy Seabee veterans. Construction Mechanics who performed brake and engine maintenance on heavy construction equipment and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.