Information About Asbestos

Asbestos is a natural fibrous material mined from serpentine rock. The rock is crushed and fibrous strands of asbestos are extracted from the rock. The strands are then used as ingredients in insulation, ceiling tiles and other materials. Three major types of asbestos used commercially are:

  • Chrysotile, or white asbestos, has curly fibers and is known as serpentine because it is found in serpentine rocks. This form of asbestos is used predominantly used in products manufactured in the United States. This asbestos is mined mostly in Canada and then shipped to the United States.

  • Crocidolite, or blue asbestos, has rod like fibers. This form is the least used in the United States.

  • Amosite has brown rod like fibers belonging to the amphibole group, and contains iron and magnesium.

Items Containing Asbestos

  • Most insulation materials before the mid-1970s contained asbestos. More than 5,000 products have contained asbestos. A few of the products containing asbestos are:

    • Cement sheets and pipe products used for roofing and siding, electrical casings, fireproofing spray and materials, building materials and piping.

    • Asbestos paper products such as table pads, industrial filters, wire insulation and heat protective mats

    • Friction products such as brakes and clutches

    • Textile products such as roofing materials, fire-resistant materials

    • Also included are plastics, artificial ashes and embers, paints, caulking

     

Shipyards With Asbestos Exposure

  • US Navy

    • Portsmouth
    • Puget Sound
    • Pearl Harbor
    • Norfolk

  • Commercial

    • American Shipyard Corp.
    • AMFELS, Inc.
    • Atlantic Marine Shipyards
    • Avondale Industries, Inc.
    • Bender
    • Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.
    • Colonna’s Shipyard, Inc.
    • Cascade General
    • Eastern Shipbuilding Group
    • Ingalls Shipbuilding
    • Halter Marine Group, Inc.
    • Honolulu Marine, Inc.
    • McDermott Shipbuilding Inc.
    • Metro Machine Corporation
    • National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
    • Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Corporation
    • Ocean Technical Services, Inc
    • Portland Ship Yard
    • San Francisco Shipyards

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