Read the video transcript

Did you serve aboard the USS Saint Paul? This cruiser carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Saint Paul, hull number CA-73, was a cruiser, built by Bethlehem Steel Company and commissioned in 1945. She served through WWII Pacific Theater, Post-WWII occupation duty, and Korean War. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Saint Paul, CA-73 — insulated and sealed with asbestos. Each shipyard overhaul and major repair meant asbestos insulation was torn out and replaced — peak-exposure work for the yard workers and the crew aboard. Exposure was worst in the engineering spaces, where the snipes worked — but asbestos lined the whole ship, so all hands were exposed. The companies that made the asbestos equipment aboard — not the Navy — are who asbestos claims are brought against. According to asbestos litigation records, the equipment aboard the USS Saint Paul from makers such as Halliburton, Quimby, Warren Pumps, and Warren Pumps, LLC allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Saint Paul and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the companies that made the asbestos products used aboard your ship. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.

USS St. Paul (CA-73) was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser commissioned 17 February 1945 and serving the U.S. Navy through 1971 — combat operations in Pacific Theater WWII, Korean War (where she was the flagship of the U.N. Naval Forces during the Inchon landings and Yalu River campaign), and Vietnam. The equipment data below is drawn from the 1948 BUSHIPS Report of Material Inspection conducted at Long Beach, California — primary-source documentation of the machinery installed aboard.

Equipment Manifest

Equipment Manifest — USS St. Paul (CA-73). 7 machinery/equipment entries identified through ship-specific BUSHIPS documentation. Manufacturers in bold link to documented asbestos-product history on AsbestosIndex.com.
EquipmentManufacturerQtyNotes
Double effect evaporatorBethlehem Steel Company2BuShips Design, low pressure, 20,000 g.p.d.
Emergency evaporatorGriscom-Russell1Solo shell, low pressure, 10,400 g.p.d.
Refrigeration compressorCarrier Corporation25-ton capacity units
Air conditioning unitCarrier Corporation212.77-ton capacity for CIC and Central; 4.0-ton capacity for Steering Engine station
Air conditioning unitGeneral Electric13.80-ton capacity for Flag Plot
Air conditioning unitYork40.85-ton capacity for Magazines
Air conditioning unitFrick16.02-ton capacity for Sick Bay

Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard St. Paul

The standard asbestos-containing materials installed throughout U.S. Navy heavy cruisers of this era are documented to have included:

  • Pipe lagging and thermal insulation on main steam, feed-water, fuel-oil, condensate, and saltwater piping throughout machinery spaces
  • Boiler block insulation, refractory brick, and gun-blocks around the main boilers
  • Asbestos gaskets and braided packing in valves, flanges, pumps, condensers, heat exchangers, and turbine glands
  • Insulation jackets and removable lagging on main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, ship-service turbine generators, and forced-draft blowers
  • Sheet asbestos and Marinite panels as fire-stops, bulkhead insulation, and overhead insulation
  • Vinyl asbestos floor tile (VAT) in passageways, berthing, mess decks, and habitable compartments
  • Asbestos rope, wick, and tape in gland-seal applications throughout the engineering plant

Sailors in Boilerman, Machinist’s Mate, Engineman, Electrician’s Mate, Hull Maintenance Technician, Damage Controlman, and other engineering ratings worked routinely in spaces where these materials were installed, maintained, ripped out, and replaced.

VA Benefits for St. Paul Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease as conditions that may be service-connected for Navy veterans with documented asbestos exposure. The St. Paul equipment manifest is direct documentary evidence of the asbestos-containing materials her crew worked around throughout her service life.

Parallel claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established by the manufacturers of these products are also available, and do not reduce VA compensation.

Speak with an asbestos attorney with Navy veterans experience →

Equipment manifest derived from public-record BUSHIPS documentation specific to USS St. Paul (CA-73). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Editorial review applied per site standards.