USS Independence (CV-62) — Asbestos Aboard the Kitty Hawk-Class Carrier

USS Independence (CV-62) was a Kitty Hawk-class (sometimes designated Forrestal-class variant) conventional aircraft carrier built at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn and commissioned in January 1959. Independence served as the Navy’s longest-serving conventional carrier — over 35 years of active service — conducting nine overseas deployments including Vietnam combat operations and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The ship was homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida and later at Naval Station Yokosuka, Japan as the forward-deployed carrier. Built to the construction standards of the late 1950s, Independence incorporated asbestos insulation throughout her steam plant, engineering systems, and interior spaces.

Steam Plant and Engineering Asbestos

Independence’s Kitty Hawk-class steam propulsion system used asbestos insulation extensively:

• Babcock & Wilcox boilers — Independence’s eight high-pressure, high-temperature boilers used asbestos-containing boiler lagging on the boiler exterior surfaces to insulate the boiler pressure vessels. Asbestos combustion chamber refractory brick lined the boiler furnaces, and asbestos rope and gasket materials sealed boiler access hatches and manholes throughout the boiler plant. BT ratings maintaining the boiler plant worked in direct proximity to asbestos lagging during lagging maintenance and inspection
• Main steam distribution — the main steam piping runs from boiler steam drums to the propulsion turbines and to auxiliary steam loads used asbestos pipe insulation covering throughout the high-temperature steam distribution system in the engineering spaces. The pipe covering on main steam lines and auxiliary steam lines — asbestos magnesia and asbestos block insulation under canvas jackets — was the source of pervasive airborne asbestos fiber release in engineering spaces during maintenance
• Propulsion turbines and reduction gears — Independence’s Westinghouse main propulsion turbines and reduction gears used asbestos-containing casing insulation and steam chest insulation materials in the late-1950s construction

Accommodation and Interior Construction Asbestos

Independence’s 1958-1959 construction incorporated asbestos in interior materials:

• Crew berthing and habitability — crew berthing compartments in the 1959 construction used asbestos-containing deck tile and overhead insulation. The ship’s crew of over 4,600 personnel occupied these asbestos-containing interior spaces throughout each deployment
• Aviation spaces — the hangar deck working spaces and ready rooms used asbestos-containing deck and overhead materials consistent with the 1950s construction standards

Forward-Deployed Operations at Yokosuka

Independence served as the forward-deployed carrier at Yokosuka, Japan from 1991 to 1998:

• As the forward-deployed carrier, Independence crew members served extended periods aboard ship in Far East operations, with sustained exposure to the ship’s aging asbestos-containing engineering plant insulation throughout the Yokosuka assignment period

VA Claims for USS Independence Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard conventional aircraft carriers. Engineering ratings who served aboard USS Independence 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.