Electrician’s Mates — EMs — on conventional surface ships maintained the ship’s electrical distribution systems, ship’s service generators, electric motors, motor controllers, and electrical equipment throughout the engineering spaces and the ship. EM billets on destroyers, cruisers, and carriers placed these personnel in the electrical equipment rooms, switchboard spaces, and motor control center areas of surface ships — spaces distributed through the ship’s engineering and interior areas. Surface ships built before the mid-1970s asbestos phase-down used asbestos-containing materials in the construction of electrical equipment spaces and had asbestos-containing materials in some electrical equipment components.

Electrical Equipment Space Environment

EMs working in electrical equipment spaces of surface ships built with asbestos construction:

  • Switchboard room environment — the main switchboard room controlling the ship’s electrical distribution was a below-deck space in the ship’s interior with overhead construction and mechanical system piping containing asbestos-containing materials in ships built before the mid-1970s phase-down. EMs standing switchboard watch and performing switchboard maintenance worked in the switchboard room environment throughout their engineering tours
  • Motor control center spaces — the motor control centers housing motor starters and electrical controls for engineering auxiliaries were located in engineering spaces where asbestos-insulated steam piping and equipment created an ambient asbestos environment
  • Electrical space steam heating — steam-heated electrical equipment spaces used asbestos-insulated steam supply piping in the heating circuit for the electrical spaces

Asbestos in Older Electrical Equipment

EMs maintaining electrical equipment from the 1940s-1960s era worked with equipment containing asbestos:

  • Motor lead insulation on large electric motors driving feedwater pumps, fire pumps, and auxiliary machinery used asbestos-insulated lead cables from motor terminal boxes in older motor designs. EMs working in the motor terminal box — connecting and disconnecting motor leads during motor maintenance — were in immediate proximity to the asbestos-insulated motor leads
  • Switchgear arc chutes in older motor controllers and switchgear used asbestos-containing arc-quench material in the electrical fault interruption arc chute, disturbed during arc chute replacement
  • Generator commutator insulation — DC generator commutators and electrical insulation used mica and asbestos-containing materials in their construction in some older generator designs

Generator Room Watch

EMs standing generator room watch monitored the ship’s service diesel generators or ship’s service turbine generators:

  • Generator room environments on steam-powered surface ships combined the electrical generator equipment with the adjacent steam turbine plant, placing generator room watch-standers in proximity to both the electrical generating equipment and the asbestos-insulated steam turbine casings and associated steam system piping

VA Claims for Surface EM Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from electrical system maintenance in Navy engineering spaces. Electrician’s Mates who served in electrical maintenance billets aboard surface ships built before the mid-1970s asbestos phase-down and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.