El Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, or BethShip for short, was once one of the largest shipyard companies in the U.S. Bethlehem Shipbuilding relied on amianto for many years, leading to amianto exposure and illness in workers.
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Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation History
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1907 by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation after it bought the Union Iron Works shipyard. It began in Quincy, Massachusetts, but in the 1960s, moved to Sparrows Point, Maryland.
According to Time magazine, Bethship was considered the #1 shipbuilding company in the 1940s compared to the “Big 3 U.S.” shipbuilders that could build any type of vessel.
BethShip was instrumental in the war effort in the 1940s. It built more ships during that time than any other company and employed nearly 200,000 people.
Shipbuilding continued until 1997, when Bethship focused more on its steel operations. The company’s focus turned to steel, tunnel construction, and repairing and refurbishing ships.
Did Bethlehem Shipbuilding Use Asbestos?
Like most shipyards, BethShip used amianto in its shipbuilding activities for decades. Bethlehem’s busiest period coincided with the peak use of amianto in the industry, which put hundreds of thousands of workers at risk of exposure and enfermedades relacionadas con el amianto.
BethShip used asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in products, equipment, and machinery. Some workers were more at risk of exposure than others.
How Did Bethlehem Shipbuilding Use Asbestos?
Shipyards used amianto in hundreds of components that went into ships. Amianto was prized for its ability to insulate and protect against fire, important properties in shipbuilding. It was also easy to get and inexpensive. Some of the many amianto products BethShip workers installed in ships include:
- Aislamiento
- Revestimiento de tuberías
- Textiles
- Juntas
- válvulas
- Calderas
- Zapatillas
- Floor tiles
- Azulejos del techo
- Adhesivos
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure at BethShip?
Workers all over Bethlehem’s shipyards were once exposed to amianto on a daily basis. Maintenance workers routinely tore out and replaced amianto-containing insulation and worked with Raybestos cloths made out of amianto.
Boiler and engine room workers were constantly around machinery and equipment made with amianto-containing products. Welders worked around gaskets and other products filled with amianto.
Numerous contractors were hired to install amianto-containing products, such as cement, insulation, and blocks.
One company, in particular, McCormick Amianto Company, not only supplied large amounts of amianto-containing products but also sent its employees and contractors to install them.
McCormick Amianto Company is one of the many asbestos manufacturers that faced many amianto-related lawsuits after people began developing fatal illnesses, including amianto-related lung cancer and mesotelioma maligno.
Other companies that supplied Bethlehem Shipbuilding with amianto products include:
- Armstrong Contracting and Supply
- Eagle-Picher Industries
- Johns-Manville
- Pittsburgh Corning
- Raybestos
- Ruberoid
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Ignores Safety Standards
Although the United States Navy provided a booklet in 1943 with a set of safety guidelines for the safe use of amianto, BethShip reportedly ignored the guidelines and continued to expose workers to amianto.
BethShip also failed to provide respirators to its workers and properly ventilate areas known to contain high amounts of amianto.
Shipyards Owned by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
- Bethlehem Wilmington (Wilmington, DE.)
- Hunter’s Point Dry Docks (San Francisco, CA.)
- Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard (Sparrows Point, MD.)
- Union Iron Works (San Francisco, CA.)
- Fore River Shipyard (Quincy, MA.)
- Bethlehem Elizabethport (Elizabethport, NJ)
- Alameda Works Shipyard (Alameda, CA)
- Victory Plant Shipyard (Quincy, MA.)
- Bethlehem Mariners Harbor (Staten Island, NY)
- Bethlehem Southwest Marine Terminal Shipyard (San Pedro, CA)
- Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard (Baltimore, MD)
- Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard (Hingham, MA)
- Bethlehem Atlantic Works (Boston, MA)
- Bethlehem Brooklyn Shipyard (Brooklyn, NY)
- Hoboken Shipyard (Hoboken, NJ)
- Bayonne Naval Drydock (Bayonne, NJ)
- Bethlehem Pennsylvania Shipyards (Beaumont, TX)
Asbestos Lawsuits Related to Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Many of the people who worked at BethShip shipyards and later developed amianto illnesses sued for damages. Most often, they sued the amianto companies that supplied Bethlehem.
These lawsuits illustrate the risks of working at BethShip and all the ways workers were exposed to amianto:
- In one case, a worker sued Armstrong after developing an asbestos illness. He worked as a rigger at the Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Shipyard from 1964 to 1982. He worked near laggers, the workers who installed or repaired asbestos pipe insulation. They cut into and fit lagging, which released asbestos fibers into the air.
- Another former worker sued Eagle-Picher. He worked with the company’s insulating asbestos cement at BethShip facilities and developed mesothelioma later.
If you worked at a BethShiph facility and now have an amianto disease, contact a mesothelioma lawyer to learn how to seek compensation. You may be eligible to presentar una demanda or to make a claim with an asbestos trust fund.
Resources and Help for Asbestos Victims
Keep in mind that you may qualify for significant compensation if you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesotelioma, amianto-related lung cancer, or asbestosis. Remember to fill out our form to get your free Financial Compensation Packet, with information on experienced amianto y mesotelioma lawyers in your area.
