New York Personal Injury Laws

World War Two Workers Exposed to Asbestos

70,000 workers worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War 2, and they were all exposed to asbestos. Hi. I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney here in New York City. I want to talk to you a little bit about the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Asbestos Exposure From Building Navy Ship

At the Brooklyn Navy Yard they were building ships since the time of the American Revolution. The site was 200 acres in size. Battleships like the USS Iowa and the Missouri were built there. The USS Antietam, an aircraft carrier was built and worked on there.

And I have a particular affinity for that ship because my father served on it during World War 2. In order to accomplish all of this work in the building and repair of US naval ships, there were foundries at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with high heat and steam pipes insulated with asbestos.

 Asbestos Exposure In The Machine Shops

There was machine shops, where equipment was repaired and worked on for use in these giant US navy ships. There were warehouses where parts and equipment, including all manner of asbestos components were stored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for use by the workers at the yard.

 Long Days of Exposure

During it’s height at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, ships were built and repaired around the clock, 24 hours a day. And that work using all kinds of asbestos insulation and asbestos containing products at the yard, exposed all of the workers to asbestos. These exposures to asbestos are especially important, because mesothelioma can be diagnosed up to 50 or 60 years after the time of exposure. So we have victims today who present with a diagnoses of mesothelioma. That happen because of exposures to asbestos decades and decades ago at the Brooklyn Navy Yard when those navy ships were being built. You have questions about mesothelioma, and exposures to asbestos. I’m Joe Williams, at our firm we answer questions for mesothelioma victims and their families every day. I invite you to call our office, we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

Electrician Diagnosed with Mesothelioma

You’ve worked as an electrician, and you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma. You’re trying to figure out, “How did you get this disease?” Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney, and I want to talk to you about the types of exposures to asbestos that electricians faced. Now, in order to do that, I want to talk to you about a former client of mine who’s a member of Local 3, which is the electrician’s union here in New York, where we’re shooting this video right now. This particular client was diagnosed with mesothelioma, and he was exposed to asbestos in a lot of different ways. He worked with electrical panel boards, which controlled the electricity for a residential or commercial space. That’s where the electric current comes in from the street, and it is sent out through the switches to the building. In the back of the panel boards was asbestos containing Bakelite, that acted as a insulator between the busbar and the switches. From time to time, he’d have to drill or cut through that Bakelite, to fabricate the panel boards or to install and remove them.

 Where Does Asbestos Exposure Occur

He was exposed to dust from cutting the Bakelite. He also worked throughout the course of his career with switches – switches and arc chutes – which had asbestos components. Again, part of it was Bakelite, which he had to manipulate and cut during repair work, which exposed him to asbestos. This former client of mine dealt with large switchgear, which had asbestos components, as well as, large transformers, which had asbestos gaskets that had to be replaced each time the transformer was opened. He also pulled and cut wire that was insulated with asbestos insulation. All of these things throughout the course of an entire working career exposed him to asbestos on a continual daily basis. As a result of those exposures, he developed mesothelioma. Now, his mesothelioma was diagnosed many, many years after he stopped working, and that’s because– and the doctors who evaluated his case said the same thing. The exposure to asbestos, even though, many years prior, caused the mesothelioma decades later. It’s because there’s a period between 20 and 60 years – in some cases – of time between the time of exposure, and the time of diagnosis in mesothelioma.

Why am I telling you this? Because you have questions about mesothelioma. I’m Joe Williams. At our office, we deal with these issues every day. Call our office, we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.