Asbestos exposure control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos exposure control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, by R.R. Beckett (Environmental Research, 1976).

The study

• Author: R.R. Beckett
• Journal: Environmental Research
• Published: 1976;11(2):248-60
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 002476).

In plain English

This 1976 article described the asbestos exposure control program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. The program was drafted in 1967, and the article set out methods rather than a formal study. The shipyard employed 8000 to 10,000 workers, of whom 40-120 worked as pipe coverers and insulators using asbestos products. The program had four parts: respirators, changes in work practices, engineering controls such as material substitution and ventilation, and education. The author reported that a survey found 76% of insulators did not use a respirator, so dust respirators were made mandatory in January 1968. The author stated that wetting amosite materials reduced airborne asbestos dust production by 50 to 60%. The article also described a lecture program begun in June 1969, after which, the author wrote, most workers began applying changes in work methods that reduced exposures. The author concluded that respirators and changed work practices were an immediate solution, but that substitution of less hazardous materials and engineering controls must ultimately be applied. The author noted the report was by no means complete.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive report of a workplace asbestos exposure control program (not a formal study)
• Who was studied: Workers at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, a U.S. Navy shipbuilding and repair facility in Bremerton, Washington, which employed 8000 to 10,000 workers. Of these, 40-120 were pipe coverers and insulators. The program was drafted in 1967.
• Exposure: Asbestos products used in ship insulation work, including amosite materials, rigid magnesium or calcium carbonate block containing 15% asbestos fibers, asbestos cements and asbestos cloth, and the removal ("rip-out") of existing asbestos material
• Main results:
  • A survey showed that 76% of insulators did not use a respirator and about 50% did not have one; dust respirators were made mandatory in January 1968
  • The author stated that wetting amosite materials reduced airborne asbestos dust production by 50 to 60%
  • The 3M #8710 disposable respirator, evaluated at the shipyard in 1971, was used by over 50% of the asbestos workers at the shipyard
  • After the lectures and demonstrations that began in June 1969, the author reported that most workers began applying changes in work methods that reduced exposures
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that respirators and changes in work practices provide an immediate solution, but that substitution of less hazardous materials and engineering controls such as improved ventilation must ultimately be applied
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that the report of control methods was not complete

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Shipyards and maritime work.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• A visual historical review of exposure to asbestos at puget sound naval shipyard (1962-1972) — D.M. Hollins, D.J. Paustenbach, et al. (2009)
• Asbestos exposure during naval vessel overhaul — W.T. Marr (1964)
• Case-control study of lung cancer in civilian employees at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine — R.A. Rinsky, J.M. Melius, et al. (1988)
• A nested case-control study of lung cancer risk and ionizing radiation exposure at the portsmouth naval shipyard — J.H. Yiin, S.R. Silver, et al. (2007)
• Experience with asbestos disease and its control in Great Britain's naval dockyards — P.G. Harries (1976)
• Industrial hygiene and occupational health studies in Australian (New South Wales) shipyards — A. Bell (1976)

Browse more research in Environmental Research, or return to medical research.