Ship’s Servicemen (SH) managed the ship’s store, ship’s laundry, barber shop, dry cleaning operations, and other habitability services aboard larger Navy vessels — carriers, cruisers, large amphibious ships, and auxiliaries. The ship’s laundry was the primary work environment for SH ratings, and laundry operations in pre-1975 Navy vessels required direct engagement with steam-heated laundry equipment where asbestos-containing insulation was present on steam supply connections.

Laundry Equipment Steam Connections and Asbestos

Shipboard laundries aboard pre-1975 vessels used steam-heated laundry equipment — washing machines, dryers, flatwork ironers, and pressing equipment — supplied by auxiliary steam from the ship’s steam plant:

  • Steam supply piping to laundry equipment — the auxiliary steam supply serving the ship’s laundry used asbestos-insulated pipe and fittings throughout the steam distribution run serving the laundry space
  • Steam trap and control valve connections in the laundry steam system used asbestos packing and gaskets at the valve and trap connections maintained by MM and BT ratings during repair work performed while SH personnel were working in the laundry
  • Laundry equipment steam headers connecting the steam supply to the individual washing and pressing machines used asbestos-containing gaskets and packing at the connection points

General Interior Construction and Exposure

SH ratings worked and lived in the general asbestos-containing interior of pre-1975 Navy vessels:

  • Ship’s store spaces and storerooms aboard pre-1975 vessels used asbestos floor tile, overhead lagging, and bulkhead insulation in the same pattern as all other ship’s interior construction
  • Crew berthing where all shipboard personnel including SH ratings slept was built with asbestos-containing construction materials throughout
  • Passageways and working spaces throughout the hull where SH personnel moved to deliver services to crew spaces used asbestos-containing floor tile and overhead construction

Carrier-Scale Laundry Operations

Ship’s Servicemen aboard Essex, Forrestal, and Midway class carriers operated industrial-scale laundries handling the laundry loads for 3,000-5,000 man crews. Carrier laundry spaces were large industrial facilities within the carrier hull, with more extensive steam-heated equipment installations and correspondingly more asbestos-containing steam connections than the smaller laundries on destroyers and cruisers.

Shore Assignment Exposure

SH ratings assigned to naval station ship’s stores or Navy Exchange (NEXCOM) facilities on naval installations worked in older building infrastructure with asbestos-containing building materials in the same pattern as other shore-based naval personnel.

VA Claims for SH Rating Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure for Navy veterans who served aboard vessels built before the mid-1970s asbestos phase-down. Ship’s Servicemen who served aboard pre-1975 vessels and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits based on the asbestos-containing interior construction of the vessels where they served.