Fisher Maritime
Consulting Group

Asbestos Reading

The following asbestos related resources have been developed by Fisher Maritime:

Available from Fisher Maritime: the 416 page book, Asbestos in Shipbuilding.

This book is a powerful research resource and reference compilation addressing both history and responsibility issues.

Why was asbestos used in ship construction and ship repair to the extent it was and why was it used for as long as it was? Fisher Maritime was assigned to answer those questions in court testimony on behalf of defendants in multiple lawsuits.

The research accomplished by Fisher Maritime and summarized by its expert witnesses included two significant areas. The first research area focused on the archives of numerous governmental agencies, departments and commissions from 1934 to the present. After reviewing thousands of documents, over 500 detailed abstracts with associated key words, names and dates were prepared . This formed the primary database.

The second database developed was a detailed list of the 9,000+ ships constructed in the U.S. since 1938, with the construction standards for each being identified to determine if any use of asbestos on the ship was specified as a consequence of a governmental standard or requirement.

A key finding focused on the 1934 casualty of the Morrow Castle and subsequent legislation to create ships having greater fire resistance. A second key finding was the delay in identifying the lengthy development period of asbestos-caused diseases. A third key finding was the lapse between identification of the some of the hazards created by asbestos, on one hand, and the elimination of asbestos from government-approved shipbuilding materials, on the other.

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Available from Fisher Maritime: the paper Asbestos: Examining the Shipyard's Responsibility.

This paper draws from over 500 archived documents to assess the shipyard's role in what is perhaps the 20th century's greatest industrial health concern.

• Why was asbestos used to such a great extent in U.S. ship-building without sufficient regard for long-term safety?
• Which organizations took responsibility for shipyard safety standards but didn't consider long-term safety?
• Which ones mis-identified the form of risk?
• Which ones attempted to fit their "model" for safe exposure limits to a situation they didn't understand?
• How did shipyards contribute to the development and continuation of these problems?

The use of asbestos products in U.S. shipbuilding was given far greater emphasis in the late 1930's than previously incurred as a consequence of the fire aboard the passenger vessel Morrow Castle off the coast of New Jersey in 1934, resulting in severe loss of life due to fire. Subsequent hearings in the U.S. Senate led to regulations requiring the fireproofing of passenger ships and other vessels. Asbestos-containing products became major components in ships thereafter, commencing with the passenger ship S.S. Panama in 1938. At that time, it was understood that too many airborne asbestos particles could be harmful to the shipyard workers, causing asbestosis; but by limiting the airborne concentrations below acceptable concentrations, continuous, daily exposure was thought to be acceptable.

Over the next several decades, there continued to be the perception that there was, in fact, some acceptable, continuous exposure concentrations which would not lead to asbestosis.

It is now recognized that there is no safe, continuous exposure concentrations for airborne asbestos particles; nor is the sole concern asbestosis; rather, the primary concern is that of cancers. The persons who developed cancers due to their shipyard exposure to asbestos are the victims of a collective misunderstanding, since the 1930's, of

• whether there was a safe, continuous exposure limit,
• what constituted the true asbestos-related concerns and
• the fundamental causes of asbestos-related diseases.

The role and responsibility of U.S. shipyards in that collective misunderstanding is analyzed through an examination of historical documents.

Sample Material:

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Timeline of Recommendations and Regulations.

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