War Production Board

The War Production Board (WPB) was a U.S. federal agency created in 1942 to direct industrial output during World War II. It controlled the allocation of scarce materials, including asbestos, prioritizing them for shipbuilding, military insulation, and other defense uses. The WPB classified asbestos as a critical war material, dramatically expanding its industrial use during the 1940s.

Origin

Established by Executive Order 9024 on January 16, 1942, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the WPB succeeded the earlier Office of Production Management. It operated until 1945, when it was replaced by the Civilian Production Administration as the country shifted back to peacetime manufacturing.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For many patients, especially Navy veterans, shipyard workers, and those who worked in defense industries during or shortly after WWII, the WPB era explains why their exposures were so heavy. The Board prioritized asbestos for insulation on warships, boilers, pipes, and aircraft, and it pushed manufacturers to maximize output, often without regard to worker safety, even though the hazards of asbestos were already known to industry. WPB records, military specifications (MIL-SPECs), and contemporaneous correspondence can help identify which products and manufacturers supplied asbestos to specific shipyards, bases, or factories, which is often central to proving exposure decades later.

Example Sentence

His attorneys traced the insulation used on his destroyer back to manufacturers supplying the Navy under War Production Board allocations in 1944.

Related Terms

Navy Shipyards, Military Specifications (MIL-SPEC), Bath Iron Works, Johns-Manville, Insulation Workers, State of the Art Defense

Notes

• If you or a loved one served in the Navy or worked in a shipyard during WWII or the early postwar years, request service records (DD-214, ship assignments, MOS/rating history) and provide them to your legal team to help reconstruct exposure.
• Ask your attorney whether WPB allocation records, Navy procurement files, or National Archives shipyard records have been searched for the specific vessels or facilities where you worked.
• Even though the government directed wartime production, private asbestos manufacturers generally remain liable for failing to warn workers; the "government contractor defense" is narrow and fact-specific.
• Preserve any photographs, letters, discharge papers, or union records from the WWII era. They can corroborate job duties and product exposures when company records no longer exist.