Question 1

What was asbestos's role in World War II?

Accepted Answer

Asbestos was classified as a strategic defense material by the U.S. government in 1939 under the Strategic Materials Act, alongside rubber, tin, and chromium. Over 300 asbestos-containing products were mandated for every U.S. Navy vessel, including pipe lagging, boiler insulation, gaskets, deck tiles, and bulkhead fireproofing. Without adequate insulation and fireproofing, the secondary fires that followed torpedo and bomb impacts were the primary cause of ship loss — and fire suppression capability was a significant Allied advantage over Japanese naval forces.

Question 2

How many workers were exposed to asbestos in U.S. shipyards during World War II?

Accepted Answer

American shipyard employment grew from 168,000 workers in June 1940 to approximately 1.7 million by December 1943 — the largest industrial workforce ever assembled in the United States. These workers installed, cut, handled, and worked around asbestos insulation products daily in confined, poorly ventilated spaces. Today, 30% of all mesothelioma diagnoses in the United States occur in military veterans, the majority of whom were exposed during shipyard work or naval service. The latency period from first asbestos exposure to mesothelioma diagnosis typically runs 20 to 50 years.

Question 3

What was the proximity fuze and how is it connected to asbestos exposure?

Accepted Answer

The proximity fuze was a WWII detonation device classified at the same level as the atomic bomb and radar. Each fuze contained four vacuum tubes; more than 22 million fuzes were built, requiring 88 to 90 million vacuum tubes. Asbestos was present in the manufacturing environment and in assembly components. The women who worked those production lines were not told what they were building. Ruth Horn, who worked at the Sylvania fuze factory in Ipswich, Massachusetts, was diagnosed with mesothelioma approximately twenty years after the war. The proximity fuze reduced rounds-per-kill against kamikazes from roughly 1,000 to roughly 200, and raised V-1 flying bomb intercept rates from 17% to 74%.

Question 4

When did asbestos company executives know their product caused mesothelioma?

Accepted Answer

Documentary evidence confirms that asbestos industry executives had knowledge of asbestos health hazards as early as the 1920s. The key evidence is the October 1935 letter from Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, to Vandiver Brown, attorney for Johns-Manville: 'I think the less said about asbestos, the better off we are.' This was written eight years before the 1943 Army-Navy 'E' Award ceremony at Keasbey & Mattison, where workers received government pins for wartime production. In 1943, the Saranac Laboratory completed a mouse study commissioned by asbestos companies that documented an 81.8% tumor rate. The results were suppressed. No warning labels appeared until 1964. Federal requirements came in 1972.

Question 5

What was the Keasbey & Mattison Army-Navy E Award ceremony?

Accepted Answer

On October 20, 1943, Under Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal — who would later become the first Secretary of Defense — traveled personally to Ambler, Pennsylvania, to present the Army-Navy 'E' Award for Excellence in Production to Keasbey & Mattison, an asbestos products manufacturer. Workers received government pins in recognition of their wartime contribution. The irony is that executives at the same companies had been sitting on suppressed health evidence since at least 1935 — eight years before the workers received their pins.

Question 6

What percentage of mesothelioma patients are veterans?

Accepted Answer

Approximately 30% of all mesothelioma diagnoses in the United States occur in military veterans. The majority of veteran mesothelioma cases are attributable to asbestos exposure during shipyard work, service aboard Navy vessels, or military construction involving asbestos-containing materials. The same asbestos insulation specifications that applied to WWII vessels continued in use through Korea and Vietnam — the Navy did not significantly curtail asbestos use until the 1970s.

Question 7

Who was Rose Bonavita and what does her story represent?

Accepted Answer

Rose Bonavita worked at General Motors' Eastern Aircraft Division. On June 8, 1943, she and her partner Jennie Fiorito drilled 900 holes and drove 3,345 rivets in a single shift — a production record — on an Avenger bomber wing. She received a personal letter of commendation from President Roosevelt. Her story represents the hundreds of thousands of women who entered defense manufacturing as 'production soldiers' under official Office of War Information language. Many of those women worked in environments where asbestos was handled daily — building ships, aircraft, and classified weapons components they were told to make right and make fast.

Question 8

What compensation is available for WWII shipyard workers or their families diagnosed with mesothelioma?

Accepted Answer

Veterans and civilian shipyard workers diagnosed with mesothelioma — or families of those who have died — may be eligible for multiple forms of compensation. Asbestos bankruptcy trust funds hold over $30 billion; claims can often be filed even decades after exposure. VA benefits are available for veterans with service-connected asbestos exposure. The statute of limitations for mesothelioma claims typically runs from the date of diagnosis, not the date of exposure — meaning a claim is still viable even if exposure occurred during WWII. Danziger & De Llano offers free consultations seven days a week at dandell.com.

The Magic Mineral at War

Meet the Team Behind This Episode

Topics

Were You or a Loved One Exposed to Asbestos?