Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Pascagoula
Pascagoula, Mississippi is defined by one industry more than any other: shipbuilding. Ingalls Shipbuilding, now a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, has been the economic heart of Pascagoula and the Mississippi Gulf Coast for over 80 years. As the largest private employer in the state of Mississippi — employing over 11,000 workers — and the builder of virtually all U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships, a significant proportion of the Navy's guided-missile destroyers, and the National Security Cutter for the Coast Guard, Ingalls has shaped the lives of generations of Pascagoula families.
It has also left a devastating asbestos legacy. From the shipyard's founding in 1938 through the late 1970s, asbestos was used extensively throughout every vessel built at Ingalls. Pipe insulation, boiler lagging, turbine insulation, gaskets, valve packing, bulkhead fireproofing, and deck coverings all contained asbestos. Workers who fabricated, installed, and maintained these materials inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers daily, often in the poorly ventilated below-deck compartments where fiber concentrations were highest.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, Ingalls Shipbuilding is one of the most significant single-site sources of occupational asbestos exposure in the southeastern United States. The sheer scale of operations — building aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, destroyers, and submarines over decades — meant that tens of thousands of workers passed through the yard during the peak asbestos era, and each one carried exposure risk.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years. A welder who worked below deck at Ingalls in 1965 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This is why Pascagoula continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was restricted. The long latency also means that workers who are now in their 60s, 70s, and 80s may be receiving diagnoses from exposures that occurred early in their careers.
Beyond Ingalls, the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery — one of the largest on the Gulf Coast — used asbestos in pipe insulation, boilers, and heat exchangers throughout its operations. Mississippi Power generating stations, the Pascagoula Naval Station, and various marine service facilities along the Pascagoula River added to the city's overall asbestos exposure burden. Many Pascagoula workers were exposed at multiple facilities over the course of their careers, strengthening their legal claims by connecting them to multiple trust funds and defendants.
Pascagoula's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
Ingalls Shipbuilding employs over 11,000 workers and is the largest private employer in Mississippi. The yard has built hundreds of naval vessels since 1938, each one originally constructed with asbestos-containing materials. The Chevron Pascagoula Refinery processes over 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Mississippi allows 3 years from diagnosis to file a mesothelioma claim — but building a strong case takes time. Documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
