The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, or BethShip for short, was once one of the largest shipyard companies in the U.S. Bethlehem Shipbuilding relied on asbestos for many years, leading to asbestos 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 asbestos in its shipbuilding activities for decades. Bethlehem’s busiest period coincided with the peak use of asbestos in the industry, which put hundreds of thousands of workers at risk of exposure and asbestos-related illnesses.
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 asbestos in hundreds of components that went into ships. Asbestos 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 asbestos products BethShip workers installed in ships include:
- Insulation
- Pipe lagging
- Textiles
- Gaskets
- Valves
- Boilers
- Pumps
- Floor tiles
- Ceiling tiles
- Adhesives
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure at BethShip?
Workers all over Bethlehem’s shipyards were once exposed to asbestos on a daily basis. Maintenance workers routinely tore out and replaced asbestos-containing insulation and worked with Raybestos cloths made out of asbestos.
Boiler and engine room workers were constantly around machinery and equipment made with asbestos-containing products. Welders worked around gaskets and other products filled with asbestos.
Numerous contractors were hired to install asbestos-containing products, such as cement, insulation, and blocks.
One company, in particular, McCormick Asbestos Company, not only supplied large amounts of asbestos-containing products but also sent its employees and contractors to install them.
McCormick Asbestos Company is one of the many asbestos manufacturers that faced many asbestos-related lawsuits after people began developing fatal illnesses, including asbestos-related lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma.
Other companies that supplied Bethlehem Shipbuilding with asbestos 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 asbestos, BethShip reportedly ignored the guidelines and continued to expose workers to asbestos.
BethShip also failed to provide respirators to its workers and properly ventilate areas known to contain high amounts of asbestos.
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 asbestos illnesses sued for damages. Most often, they sued the asbestos companies that supplied Bethlehem.
These lawsuits illustrate the risks of working at BethShip and all the ways workers were exposed to asbestos:
- 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 asbestos disease, contact a mesothelioma lawyer to learn how to seek compensation. You may be eligible to file a lawsuit 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 mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis. Remember to fill out our form to get your free Financial Compensation Packet, with information on experienced asbestos and mesothelioma lawyers in your area.
