Navy Steelworkers — SW rating — assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) performed structural steel fabrication and erection, pile driving, underwater construction, pontoon assembly, and heavy cutting and welding operations in support of WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Cold War military construction projects. Seabee Steelworkers trained at Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme, California and deployed to construction sites in the Pacific, Atlantic, and overseas in support of fleet and Marine Corps construction requirements. Steelworker construction operations involved direct work with structural steel materials that in WWII through mid-1970s construction used asbestos-containing fireproofing compounds applied to steel structural members, creating asbestos fiber exposure during structural steel erection, cutting, and welding operations.

Structural Steel Fireproofing and Asbestos

Seabee structural steel work involved asbestos-containing fireproofing applications:

  • Structural steel fireproofing application — military construction specifications for WWII through early 1970s building construction required spray-applied or troweled asbestos-containing fireproofing compounds on structural steel beams, columns, and decking to provide fire resistance. Seabee Steelworkers erecting steel-framed military buildings worked in proximity to asbestos-containing fireproofing applications — either during spray application by other trades or during welding and cutting operations that disturbed previously applied fireproofing coatings on structural steel
  • Steel cutting and welding near asbestos fireproofing — flame cutting and welding operations on structural steel members with asbestos-containing fireproofing coating disturbed the asbestos coating and released asbestos fiber into the cutting and welding work area. Steelworkers performing structural modification, demolition, or repair welding on fireproofed steel accumulated asbestos fiber exposure from the disturbed fireproofing during these cutting and welding operations

Pontoon Assembly and Marine Construction Asbestos

Seabee Steelworker marine construction operations involved additional asbestos exposure:

  • Landing craft and pontoon repair — Seabee Steelworkers assigned to pontoon assembly and landing craft repair operations worked on military marine vessels and pontoon structures that used asbestos-containing pipe insulation and marine construction materials in the vessel mechanical systems and structural insulation. Welding and cutting operations on pontoon structures and landing craft brought Steelworkers into proximity with the asbestos-containing marine construction materials
  • Navy pier and wharf construction — structural steel pier and wharf construction at naval facilities used structural steel with asbestos-containing construction products applied per military construction specifications, with Seabee Steelworkers erecting and welding these asbestos-fireproofed structural components during naval facility construction projects

Construction Battalion Camp Facilities and Asbestos

Shore-based Naval Construction Battalion facilities used asbestos throughout their construction stock:

  • NMCB camp buildings — the temporary and semi-permanent construction battalion camp facilities built and occupied by NMCBs at staging and operational locations used military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos wall and ceiling products, and asbestos-containing mechanical system insulation in the camp facility building stock

VA Claims for SW Rating Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure in construction work and Navy shore facilities. Seabee Steelworkers who performed structural steel construction with asbestos-containing fireproofing or worked in WWII-era military construction and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.