California Class (CGN-36) Nuclear Cruisers — Asbestos in Early Nuclear Surface Combatants

The California class (CGN-36) nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers — USS California (CGN-36) and USS South Carolina (CGN-37), commissioned in 1974 and 1975 respectively at Newport News Shipbuilding — were nuclear-powered surface combatants combining the D2G reactor plant with a purpose-built cruiser hull designed from the keel up as a nuclear ship, unlike the nuclear carrier conversions and the USS Long Beach (which was the Navy’s first nuclear surface combatant). The California class served as carrier battle group escorts with the nuclear propulsion advantage of unlimited sustained high-speed operation without refueling. Built in the early 1970s at the height of asbestos use in naval construction, California class ships contained asbestos insulation in their engineering spaces.

Nuclear Secondary Steam and Asbestos

California class cruisers generated secondary steam from their D2G reactor plants for propulsion turbines and ship services:

• Secondary steam system piping — high-pressure secondary steam piping from the steam generators to the propulsion turbine throttle valves and ship service turbine generators used asbestos pipe covering in California class construction, consistent with the early-1970s period when asbestos was still the standard insulation material in naval engineering spaces
• Steam-heated auxiliary equipment — auxiliary steam distribution serving heating coils, galley steam equipment, and laundry equipment throughout the ship used asbestos-insulated steam supply piping
• Turbine casing insulation — main propulsion turbine casings and reduction gear casings had asbestos insulation on their external casing surfaces in early-1970s construction
• Secondary steam valve insulation — the high-pressure secondary steam isolation and control valves used asbestos blanket insulation and asbestos packing in the valve stem stuffing boxes

Nuclear Engineering Space Watch Stations

Nuclear-qualified Machinist’s Mates and Electrician’s Mates stood engineering watches in the California class nuclear engineering spaces:

• Engineering watch stations in the nuclear engineering spaces placed nuclear-qualified ratings in the environment of the secondary steam system throughout each watch rotation — in spaces where asbestos-insulated secondary steam components were the dominant thermal insulation material
• The long-duration carrier battle group deployments of California class cruisers during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in sustained watch-standing periods in nuclear engineering spaces with asbestos insulation

Comparison to Predecessor Nuclear Surface Combatants

The California class represents a step in the evolution of nuclear surface combatants following USS Long Beach (CGN-9) and the nuclear-powered frigates USS Bainbridge (CGN-25) and USS Truxtun (CGN-35):

• All of these earlier nuclear surface combatants were built in the 1960s through early 1970s with asbestos insulation in their secondary steam systems
• The California class, as the most numerous and systematic design (purpose-built as a class rather than one-off designs), produced the largest number of engineering ratings serving in nuclear surface combatant billets during the full asbestos-use period

VA Claims for California Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard nuclear-powered surface combatants. Nuclear-qualified engineering ratings who served in engineering billets aboard California class nuclear cruisers and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.

Source notes: equipment-manifest entries (where shown) are sourced from public-record BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation, NARA archives, and the public asbestos litigation record. Manufacturer attributions link to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Nothing on this page constitutes medical or legal advice.