Storekeepers (SK rating) managed inventory, procurement, and distribution of parts and materials aboard Navy ships and at shore supply activities. SK-rated sailors operated shipboard storerooms and Navy supply depots where asbestos-containing maintenance materials — gaskets, rope packing, valve packing, and insulation materials — were routinely stocked and issued to engineering and maintenance personnel throughout the period when such materials were standard Navy inventory items.

Handling Asbestos-Containing Materials in Supply

SK-rated sailors were in daily contact with asbestos-containing maintenance supplies that moved through the Navy supply system:

  • Asbestos sheet gasket material stocked in shipboard and shore supply storerooms was cut to order for engineering requests — a process that released asbestos fiber from sheet material as it was cut and handled
  • Asbestos rope packing issued for valve maintenance was handled during receipt, stowage, and issue in the supply storeroom
  • Asbestos thermal insulation blankets and materials for pipe lagging repair were stocked and distributed from supply storerooms
  • Asbestos-containing valve packing in coil and sheet form was drawn regularly for engineering department maintenance, handled in the storeroom during each transaction

Shipboard Storeroom Environments

SK-rated sailors working in shipboard supply storerooms aboard destroyers, cruisers, and carriers operated in below-deck spaces with asbestos-containing construction materials in walls, overhead, and decking. Storerooms aboard steam-propulsion vessels were often adjacent to or below engineering spaces with asbestos-insulated piping, allowing asbestos fiber from degrading insulation to migrate into adjacent spaces through passageways and ventilation.

Shore Supply Activity Exposure

Storekeepers assigned to Naval Supply Centers, Naval Supply Depots, and supply activities at major shipyards operated warehouses containing large stocks of asbestos-containing maintenance materials. Shore-based SKs who processed bulk orders, managed bin inventory, and handled materials in the era before asbestos hazard identification had repeated contact with asbestos-containing stock items over the course of their shore duty assignments.

VA Claims for SK-Rated Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy vessels and in Navy shore facilities. SK-rated veterans who served in shipboard or shore supply billets before the early 1980s and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.