Norfolk Naval Shipyard, located in Portsmouth, Virginia across the Elizabeth River from Naval Station Norfolk, is the United States Navy’s largest and oldest continuously operating naval shipyard, with origins dating to 1767. The shipyard repairs, overhauls, modernizes, and inactivates Atlantic Fleet surface ships and submarines, with operations encompassing dry docks capable of handling the largest aircraft carriers, machine shops for precision machinery repair, and pipe shops for fabrication and installation of shipboard piping systems. Norfolk Naval Shipyard employed tens of thousands of civilian shipyard workers across the WWII and Cold War eras — pipefitters, boilermakers, insulators, electricians, riggers, and machinists — together with Navy personnel assigned to the shipyard for ship overhaul and repair supervision. The shipyard’s ship repair and overhaul work throughout the mid-20th century involved extensive use of asbestos-containing thermal insulation in boiler repair and overhaul operations, asbestos pipe covering in piping system repair and replacement, and asbestos-containing gasket materials in machinery and piping overhaul work. Shipyard workers and Navy personnel at Norfolk Naval Shipyard accumulated asbestos exposure from the insulation and repair materials used throughout the Atlantic Fleet ship repair program.

Boiler Repair and Overhaul Asbestos

Norfolk shipyard boiler repair work incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Boiler insulation removal and replacement — ships entering Norfolk Naval Shipyard for boiler overhaul required removal of aged boiler casing insulation from ship boilers before boiler tube and casing repair work. Boilermaker and insulator trades performing boiler insulation teardown in ship boiler rooms removed asbestos block insulation from boiler casings, with the insulation removal process disturbing compressed asbestos block and generating asbestos fiber in confined ship boiler room spaces. Following boiler repair, insulator trades reapplied new asbestos block insulation on repaired boiler casings as standard boiler repair practice through the mid-1970s
  • Turbine insulation and overhaul — ships’ main propulsion turbines and ship’s service turbine generators entering Norfolk for overhaul had asbestos block insulation removed from turbine casings during turbine disassembly, with turbine overhaul workers encountering asbestos casing insulation in the turbine teardown process. Machinist trades replacing turbine casing insulation after turbine overhaul applied asbestos block insulation on turbine casings as standard repair practice

Pipe Shop and Piping System Asbestos

Norfolk’s pipe fabrication and installation work involved asbestos throughout:

  • Pipe shop asbestos insulation fabrication — Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s pipe shops fabricated replacement piping systems for ships under repair, with pipe insulators cutting, fitting, and applying asbestos pipe covering to fabricated pipe assemblies before installation aboard ships. Pipe insulator trades in the pipe shops worked continuously with asbestos pipe covering materials throughout the pipe fabrication process
  • Shipboard pipe insulation installation — pipefitters and insulators installing replacement piping in ships under repair at Norfolk worked in ship engineering spaces, machinery rooms, and between-deck spaces applying asbestos pipe covering insulation to replacement piping throughout the repair scope. The confined shipboard spaces required cutting and fitting asbestos pipe insulation sections in place, generating airborne asbestos fiber in the enclosed shipboard work areas during insulation installation

Dry Dock and Ship Overhaul Asbestos

Norfolk’s dry dock and overhaul operations exposed workers to asbestos:

  • Aircraft carrier and surface ship overhaul — aircraft carrier overhauls at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, including overhauls of the Forrestal class, Midway class, and Essex class carriers, involved extensive pipe insulation replacement, boiler overhaul, and machinery overhaul work using asbestos-containing materials throughout the overhaul scope. Navy officers supervising overhaul work and Navy ratings assigned to work with shipyard workers during overhaul periods accumulated asbestos exposure from the overhaul work in progress throughout the ship
  • Machinery gasket replacement — overhaul of ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary machinery, and engineering system valves and pumps required gasket replacement using asbestos-containing compressed sheet gaskets throughout the machinery overhaul scope. Machinist and pipefitter trades at Norfolk replacing machinery gaskets disturbed asbestos compressed sheet gasket materials during the removal and replacement process

Shipyard Facility Construction Asbestos

Norfolk’s permanent facilities incorporated asbestos in building construction:

  • Industrial building and shop construction — the dry dock buildings, machine shops, pipe shops, and industrial support facilities at Norfolk Naval Shipyard were constructed using industrial construction materials with asbestos-containing pipe insulation on building mechanical systems and asbestos-containing building products in shop building construction throughout the WWII and Cold War facility construction

VA Claims for Norfolk Naval Shipyard Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval shipyards. Navy personnel and civilian employees who worked at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits or civil legal remedies.