Navy Quartermasters (QM) — the enlisted rating responsible for the ship’s navigation, chart work, helmsman duties, navigation instrument maintenance, and keeping the deck log — served aboard virtually every class of Navy surface vessel from combatants to auxiliaries throughout the WWII and Cold War eras. QM ratings worked on the ship’s bridge, in the chart room, and in the gyro room, maintaining navigational instruments, managing nautical charts, and standing helmsman watches throughout each deployment. Quartermasters working aboard vessels constructed during the WWII and Cold War era accumulated background asbestos exposure from the asbestos-containing construction of the bridge, chart room, and adjacent ship interior spaces they inhabited throughout their shipboard service, and maintained gyrocompass systems incorporating asbestos-containing electrical insulation in gyro motor assemblies.

QM ratings in bridge and chart room spaces accumulated background asbestos exposure:

  • Bridge and pilothouse construction — the bridge and pilothouse spaces aboard WWII-era and Cold War Navy vessels were constructed using ship interior construction specifications incorporating asbestos-containing insulation materials in the overhead construction, bulkhead insulation, and pipe insulation on utility systems in the bridge structure. Quartermasters working on the bridge and in the pilothouse throughout each deployment accumulated background asbestos exposure from the asbestos-containing bridge construction throughout their shipboard service
  • Chart room construction — the chart room spaces adjacent to the bridge where Quartermasters maintained navigation charts and publications were constructed with asbestos-containing interior construction materials consistent with the ship’s overall construction specifications. QM ratings working in chart rooms aboard WWII-era and Cold War vessels accumulated background asbestos exposure from the asbestos-containing chart room construction throughout their navigation duties
  • Gyro room construction and maintenance — shipboard gyro rooms housing the Sperry or Arma gyrocompass systems used asbestos-containing construction materials in the gyro room building fabric, with the gyrocompasses themselves incorporating asbestos-containing electrical winding insulation in the gyro motor assemblies. Quartermasters performing gyrocompass maintenance — lubrication, spin-up procedures, and basic operational checks — worked in the asbestos-containing gyro room construction and had exposure to the asbestos-insulated gyro motor assemblies during gyrocompass maintenance

QM ratings maintaining navigation instruments encountered asbestos in instrument components:

  • Gyrocompass motor insulation — Quartermasters performing basic gyrocompass operational maintenance encountered the asbestos-containing electrical winding insulation in Sperry and Arma gyrocompass motor assemblies during gyrocompass servicing operations. The high-speed gyro motors in naval gyrocompasses incorporated asbestos-containing electrical winding insulation consistent with mid-twentieth century electrical motor manufacturing specifications
  • Magnetic compass binnacle construction — the magnetic compass binnacle assemblies on Navy vessel bridges incorporated various materials including asbestos-containing components in some binnacle constructions. Quartermasters maintaining and adjusting magnetic compass binnacle assemblies encountered the binnacle construction materials during compass maintenance operations

VA Claims for Navy Quartermasters

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from Navy shipboard service. Quartermasters who served aboard Navy vessels constructed with asbestos-containing materials and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits, including under the VA’s recognition of background asbestos exposure from shipboard construction.