U.S. Navy veterans claims

AFFF has been linked to the development of several types of cancer:

• kidney cancer
• testicular cancer

If you are a Navy veteran who has been diagnosed with cancer mentioned previously and you were exposed to AFFF, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation.

Aqueous film-forming foam is the primary firefighting agent used aboard U.S. Navy vessels for flammable liquid fires. The Department of Defense knew that the firefighting foam used on military bases and Navy ships contains fluorinated surfactants and is toxic, but continued its use.

Navy personnel serving aboard ships receive basic damage control and firefighting training regardless of their primary rating. Many go on to earn additional specialized qualifications tied to their onboard duties, and some of these qualifications involve direct contact with AFFF. One of our hired claimants served as an Interior Communications Electrician, a role not typically associated with firefighting. Alongside his basic damage control training, he held additional qualifications including Advanced Shipboard Firefighter, Damage Control Central Supervisor, and AFFF Transfer Station Operator, the last of which connected his onboard duties directly to firefighting foam and made him eligible for a claim.

If you served in the Navy and held any of the following qualifications, you may qualify for a claim even if firefighting was not your main assignment:

• Advanced Damage Control
• Team Leader
• Repair Party Investigator
• Scene Leader
• Conflagration Station Operator
• Crash and Salvage Hot Suitman
• Crash and Salvage Scene Leader
• Repair Party Leader
• Damage Control Training Team (DCTT)
• AFFF/Transfer Station Operator

Aqueous film-forming foam is the primary firefighting agent used aboard U.S. Navy vessels for flammable liquid fires. The Department of Defense knew that the firefighting foam used on military bases and Navy ships contains fluorinated surfactants and is toxic, but continued its use. Here is a timeline of internal DoD reports detailing how much they knew about the dangers of using PFAS-based firefighting foam:

• 1963: Navy scientists seek a patent for AFFF
• 1966: Navy granted the patent for AFFF
• 1967: Navy requires the use of AFFF after fire on the USS Forrestal kills 34 sailors
• 1976: Navy scientists cite toxic effects of PFAS-containing foams
• 1985: Navy report again cites harmful effects of AFFF

U.S. Navy ships/shipyards are known for asbestos exposure

U.S. Navy ships and shipyards are known for asbestos exposure. For the better part of the last century, asbestos was present in over 300 different products on U.S. Navy ships, and anyone who spent time aboard a ship or at a shipyard could have been exposed to it. Asbestos exposure is linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma, and it was used in Navy products including:

• insulation
• tiling
• electrical cables
• gaskets
• packing
• sheathing
• roof coating
• siding
• brake linings
• mastics
• spackling

Areas of the ship with the heaviest asbestos exposure

Certain areas of Navy ships carried a higher concentration of asbestos than others, and veterans who spent significant time in these spaces face a higher risk of developing lung cancer or mesothelioma:

• the damage control room
• the pump room
• the engine room
• the propulsion room
• the boiler room
• the powder and shot magazine
• the pilot house
• the wardroom
• the turret

Navy jobs with high asbestos exposure risk

Certain Navy occupations involved daily, direct contact with asbestos-containing materials:

• boiler technician
• machinist's mate
• hull maintenance technician
• pipefitter
• electrician's mate
• damage controlman
• welder
• shipyard worker

Ships known for asbestos exposure

Asbestos was used aboard nearly every U.S. Navy ship class built before the early 1980s, spanning aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. Documented examples include:

Aircraft carriers

• USS Enterprise (CV-6)
• USS Lexington (CV-2)
• USS Saratoga (CV-3)
• USS Yorktown (CV-5)
• USS Wasp (CV-7)
• USS Hornet (CV-8)
• USS Essex (CV-9)
• USS Yorktown (CV-10)
• USS Intrepid (CV-11)
• USS Hornet (CV-12)

Light carriers

• USS Independence (CVL-22)
• USS Princeton (CVL-23)
• USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)
• USS Cowpens (CVL-25)
• USS Monterey (CVL-26)
• USS Langley (CVL-27)
• USS Cabot (CVL-28)
• USS Bataan (CVL-29)
• USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)

Battleships

• USS Texas (BB-35)
• USS New York (BB-34)
• USS Arkansas (BB-33)
• USS Nevada (BB-36)
• USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
• USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
• USS Arizona (BB-39)
• USS New Mexico (BB-40)
• USS Mississippi (BB-41)
• USS Idaho (BB-42)

Cruisers

The Navy operated over 100 cruisers during this period, including heavy, light, and guided missile cruisers, all of which contained asbestos materials:

• USS Chester (CA-27)
• USS Astoria (CA-34)
• USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
• USS Baltimore (CA-68)
• USS Boston (CA-69)
• USS Canberra (CA-70)
• USS Quincy (CA-71)
• USS St. Paul (CA-73)
• USS Toledo (CA-133)
• USS Des Moines (CA-134)

Destroyers

The Navy operated over 900 destroyers between 1930 and 1980, with documented asbestos exposure across every major class:

• USS Fletcher (DD-445)
• USS The Sullivans (DD-537)
• USS Kidd (DD-661)
• USS Cassin Young (DD-793)
• USS Allen M. Sumner (DD-692)
• USS Laffey (DD-724)
• USS Gearing (DD-710)
• USS Frank Knox (DD-742)
• USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931)
• USS Turner Joy (DD-951)

Submarines

Nearly 400 submarines built before 1980 contained asbestos, and submarines carried the highest exposure risk of any vessel type, since confined spaces and recirculated air kept fibers concentrated throughout the boat:

• USS Balao (SS-285)
• USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
• USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
• USS George Washington (SSBN-598)
• USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602)
• USS Haddo (SSN-604)
• USS Flasher (SSN-613)
• USS Finback (SSN-670)
• USS Tunny (SSN-682)
• USS Parche (SSN-683)

Navy shipyards with a history of asbestos use

Veterans who worked at or served on ships undergoing repair at these shipyards may have faced significant asbestos exposure:

• Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton
• Norfolk Naval Shipyard
• Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
• Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
• Long Beach Naval Shipyard
• Charleston Naval Shipyard
• Mare Island Naval Shipyard
• Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard

Navy bases with a history of asbestos exposure

The U.S. Navy used more asbestos than any other military branch, both aboard its ships and shipyards and in the construction of its bases. Veterans stationed at these bases may have faced asbestos exposure through base housing, older buildings, or equipment maintenance:

• Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina
• Naval Air Station Alameda, California
• Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida
• Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia
• Naval Air Station Lemoore, California
• Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida
• Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
• Naval Amphibious Base, Virginia
• Naval Base San Diego, California
• Naval Operating Base Terminal Island, California
• Naval Ordnance Plant, Arkansas
• Naval Submarine Base, Connecticut
• Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
• U.S. Naval Hospital, Georgia
• Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC