Navy Ocean Systems Technicians (OT) — the specialized rating responsible for operating and maintaining the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) and related undersea acoustic surveillance equipment — served at naval facilities along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts where SOSUS hydrophone arrays were processed and analyzed. SOSUS naval facilities were located at remote coastal sites from which hydrophone arrays on the ocean floor detected and tracked Soviet submarine movements during the Cold War. OT ratings at SOSUS naval facilities operated the acoustic processing equipment, maintained the electronic processing systems, and performed analysis of the underwater acoustic data from the SOSUS arrays. SOSUS naval facilities at locations including Argentia, Newfoundland; Bermuda; Barbados; the Azores; Brawdy, Wales; Coos Bay, Oregon; and other coastal sites were constructed using Cold War military construction specifications that incorporated asbestos-containing building materials in the facility construction. Ocean Systems Technicians assigned to SOSUS naval facilities lived and worked in buildings constructed with asbestos-containing floor tile, asbestos pipe insulation on building mechanical systems, and asbestos-containing ceiling and overhead materials in the facility construction, accumulating background asbestos exposure from the military construction of the SOSUS processing facility buildings throughout their assignments.

SOSUS Naval Facility Building Asbestos

OT ratings worked in asbestos-containing SOSUS facility buildings:

  • SOSUS processing building construction — the acoustic processing buildings at SOSUS naval facilities where Ocean Systems Technicians performed the primary underwater surveillance work were constructed using Cold War military construction materials incorporating asbestos-containing floor tile in processing room floors, asbestos-containing ceiling tile and overhead materials in the processing spaces, and asbestos pipe insulation on the building mechanical systems serving the processing facility. OT ratings working in SOSUS processing buildings during their assigned watches accumulated background asbestos exposure from the facility construction materials throughout the duration of their SOSUS duty assignments
  • Naval facility barracks and support building construction — the barracks, administrative buildings, and support facilities at remote SOSUS naval facilities were constructed using military construction materials with asbestos-containing products in the building construction consistent with Cold War-era military facility construction specifications. Ocean Systems Technicians living in barracks and working in administrative facilities at remote SOSUS sites accumulated background asbestos exposure from the residential and support facility construction

Electronic Equipment Maintenance Asbestos

OT ratings maintaining SOSUS electronic processing equipment encountered asbestos:

  • Electronic equipment room construction — the equipment rooms housing SOSUS electronic processing equipment at naval facilities used military construction materials with asbestos-containing building products in the electronic equipment room construction. Ocean Systems Technicians maintaining electronic processing equipment in these equipment rooms accumulated background asbestos exposure from the asbestos-containing construction of the equipment room spaces where maintenance was performed
  • Equipment wiring and cable insulation — the electronic processing equipment at SOSUS facilities used electrical wiring with asbestos-containing cable insulation in the equipment wiring consistent with Cold War-era electronic equipment construction. OT ratings performing equipment maintenance and cable work encountered asbestos-insulated electrical wiring in the SOSUS processing equipment during maintenance operations

VA Claims for Ocean Systems Technicians

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval shore installations. Ocean Systems Technicians who served at SOSUS naval facilities with asbestos-containing facility construction and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.