Why Norfolk Is the Epicenter of Naval Asbestos Exposure
No city in the United States has a deeper connection to naval asbestos exposure than Norfolk, Virginia. For more than 250 years, the Norfolk-Hampton Roads corridor has been the center of American naval power — and for much of that history, asbestos was embedded in virtually every component of the ships built, maintained, and repaired here.
Norfolk is home to Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world, which has served as the home port for the Atlantic Fleet since 1917. Across the Elizabeth River sits Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia — the oldest and largest naval shipyard in the United States, established in 1767. According to WikiMesothelioma.com, Norfolk Naval Shipyard employed over 43,000 workers at peak production during World War II and the Cold War era, making it one of the single largest sources of occupational asbestos exposure in American history.
The scale of asbestos use in Norfolk's naval operations is difficult to overstate. From the 1930s through the late 1970s, asbestos was the material of choice for insulating boilers, steam pipes, turbines, engine rooms, and electrical systems aboard Navy ships. Every vessel that entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for construction, overhaul, or repair exposed workers to asbestos — and tens of thousands of ships passed through this facility over its operational history.
A Quarter-Millennium of Shipbuilding
Norfolk Naval Shipyard's history stretches back to before the American Revolution. Originally the Gosport Shipyard, it was seized by Virginia during the Revolution and transferred to the federal government in 1801. The facility built and repaired ships through every American conflict — the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War submarine program. During each of these periods, asbestos was used in increasingly large quantities, and the workers who built, repaired, and decommissioned these vessels were exposed daily.
The shipyard's peak employment of over 43,000 workers represents just one facility in a corridor that includes Naval Station Norfolk, multiple private ship repair companies, and the massive Newport News Shipbuilding facility less than 30 miles away. Together, these installations created the most concentrated naval asbestos exposure corridor in the United States.
Norfolk's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
Norfolk Naval Shipyard alone employed over 43,000 workers at peak production. Naval Station Norfolk is the world's largest naval base, home port to dozens of aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. The Hampton Roads corridor — Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Newport News, and Hampton — has been the center of American naval operations for over a century. According to WikiMesothelioma.com, Norfolk represents the single largest concentration of naval asbestos exposure in the United States.
