Royal Navy Asbestos Exposure

We dealt with a successful case for mr k mbe who was exposed to asbestos when serving in a military capacity in the royal navy.

Royal navy asbestos exposure.

Graham martin hills 73 died at his home in old frome road east. The navy finally stopped filling new ships with asbestos in the 1970s but service members continued to risk exposure into the 1990s when repairing or decommissioning existing vessels. Asbestos was used in all u s. The ministry of defence is notorious for denying compensation for asbestos diseases to members of the armed forces.

Exposure to asbestos aboard naval vessels caused many veterans to later develop mesothelioma and other serious asbestos related conditions. Today navy veterans make up the highest percentage of patients with mesothelioma a life threatening cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Claims cannot usually be brought against hm forces due to crown immunity although we succeeded in showing that mr k s post may 1987 exposure to asbestos was of sufficient dose to have materially contributed to the risk of him developing mesothelioma. A royal navy veteran who has a terminal lung condition caused by exposure to asbestos has now been told he will be entitled to compensation.

Asbestos was widely used in the royal navy including incorporation into ship and submarine engines boilers and pipes. Many navy personnel were exposed to asbestos not only during the shipbuilding process but while working in the boiler rooms of vessels. Navy service members were also exposed to asbestos products in aircraft carriers land vehicles and buildings on naval bases. It was also used in army jeeps torpedoes parachute flares and bazooka shells.

Asbestos was routinely used to insulate the pipes following world war ii. The navy used the toxic mineral because of its affordability tensile strength and resistance to heat and chemical damage. Asbestos exposure claims against the royal navy. Navy vessels built prior to 1980 were laden with asbestos.

An inquest has heard how a former royal navy officer who stripped old aircraft died after he developed cancer linked to asbestos.