Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Vallejo
Mare Island Naval Shipyard built, repaired, and overhauled naval vessels for 142 years, making it one of the longest-operating and largest sources of occupational asbestos exposure in the country. At its World War II peak, Mare Island employed over 46,000 workers. The shipyard constructed submarines, destroyers, cruisers, and support vessels using asbestos insulation in every steam pipe, boiler, turbine, and engine room. Pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, machinists, electricians, welders, and laborers all worked in enclosed ship spaces where asbestos insulation was cut, applied, and disturbed daily.
The asbestos exposure at Mare Island was particularly severe because work was performed in confined ship compartments with minimal ventilation — engine rooms, boiler rooms, and below-deck spaces where asbestos fibers from pipe insulation, boiler lagging, and thermal insulation had nowhere to go but into the lungs of the workers present. Insulators who applied asbestos insulation to ships' steam systems worked at the highest exposure levels, but every trade that worked in these spaces — pipefitters, machinists, electricians, painters, and laborers — breathed the same asbestos-laden air.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years. A worker exposed to asbestos at Vallejo facilities in the 1970s may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This is why Vallejo continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was restricted.
Mare Island also built and repaired nuclear submarines during the Cold War era, using asbestos in the thermal and acoustic insulation that was critical to submarine construction. The specialized nuclear submarine work at Mare Island meant that the facility continued heavy asbestos use into the 1970s and beyond, as nuclear vessel construction and maintenance requirements kept asbestos-insulated components in use longer than in many other applications.
Vallejo's economy was so closely tied to Mare Island that the entire city — its commercial buildings, schools, housing, and civic facilities — was built largely to serve the shipyard workforce. The city's older building stock reflects the same asbestos-era construction practices as shipyard-adjacent communities throughout the country. Construction tradespeople who built and maintained Vallejo's buildings faced asbestos exposure both on the job and through the community's proximity to the nation's most asbestos-intensive industry.
Vallejo's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
Mare Island employed over 46,000 workers at its World War II peak and operated for 142 consecutive years. Shipyard workers have the highest mesothelioma rates of any occupational group. Every Navy ship built at Mare Island contained asbestos in its steam systems, engine rooms, and boiler spaces. California allows only 2 years from diagnosis to file a mesothelioma claim — one of the shortest deadlines in the nation. Documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
