Polaris SSBN Submarines (George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette Classes) — Asbestos in Ballistic Missile Submarines

The US Navy’s Polaris ballistic missile submarine fleet — the George Washington class (SSBN-598 through SSBN-602), Ethan Allen class (SSBN-608 through SSBN-611), Lafayette class (SSBN-616 through SSBN-626), James Madison class (SSBN-627 through SSBN-636), and Benjamin Franklin class (SSBN-640 through SSBN-659) — formed the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad from 1959 through the Cold War. Built primarily at Electric Boat (Groton, CT) and Newport News Shipbuilding between 1957 and 1966, the Polaris submarines used the Westinghouse S5W nuclear reactor (George Washington through Ethan Allen classes) and the S5W2 in the Lafayette through Benjamin Franklin classes, generating steam through a secondary circuit driving a single-shaft propulsion arrangement. Their nuclear steam propulsion plants required asbestos insulation on secondary steam circuit components in the engineering spaces of each submarine hull.

Nuclear Steam Plant and Asbestos

The S5W and derivative reactor plants used in Polaris SSBNs generate steam in the secondary circuit at temperatures requiring thermal insulation on steam-carrying components:

• Secondary steam piping from the steam generators to the main turbines and turbo-generators, covered with asbestos block insulation in the engineering spaces of the submarine
• Main propulsion turbine casings with asbestos block insulation on turbine casing and high-temperature exhaust connections in the engine room
• Turbo-generator sets providing ship’s service electrical power, with asbestos insulation on the operating turbine casings
• Auxiliary steam equipment — feedwater heaters, ejectors, and auxiliary turbines — with asbestos-insulated pipe and equipment in the engineering spaces

Two-Crew (Blue/Gold) Manning and Exposure

Polaris SSBNs were manned on a two-crew rotation system — Blue Crew and Gold Crew alternating the vessel through successive deterrent patrols — maximizing the submarine’s operational availability. Engineering ratings served back-to-back patrol cycles in the engineering spaces throughout the SSBN’s active commission:

• Machinist’s Mates (Nuclear) and Electrician’s Mates (Nuclear) standing engineering watches in the Polaris SSBN engine room accumulated patrol-cycle exposure in the enclosed submarine engineering space throughout their SSBN assignments
• Multiple crew rotations meant that each Polaris SSBN engineering space was occupied by successive watch sections across both Blue and Gold Crew assignments throughout the patrol cycle

Submarine-Specific Exposure Concentration

The enclosed, air-recirculating atmosphere of a submarine hull during a deterrent patrol — typically 60-90 days submerged — concentrated any asbestos fiber released from insulated components in engineering spaces without the ventilation dilution available on surface vessels. Engineering ratings aboard Polaris SSBNs worked in the most enclosed asbestos environment in the fleet.

VA Claims for Polaris SSBN Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy submarines. Veterans who served in engineering ratings aboard George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, or Benjamin Franklin class SSBNs and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits. DD-214 records identifying an SSBN hull number as a duty station document the qualifying assignment.

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.