The Use of Asbestos by the United States Military Other Than Navy

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ACI’s 17th National Advanced Forum on Asbestos Claims & Litigation

Mark C. Greene

Banker Lopez Gassler P.A.

501 East Kennedy Boulevard

Suite 1500

Tampa, FL 33602

813-221-1500

813-222-3066 (FAX)

[email protected]

The Use of Asbestos by the United States Military Other Than Navy

June 26-27, 2014

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I. INTRODUCTION

• Navy Specifications (NAVSPECS) are really Federal Specifications and apply to all branches of the United States Military (MILSPECS)

• Used extensively by United States Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and the National Guard

• Components in Airplanes, Tanks, Missiles, Grenades, and Various Ammunition

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Mess Hall Conley, GA

February 1942

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Marine Corps Women’s

School

Camp Lejeune, NC

Sept 1943

(Barrack Piping)

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Mess Hall Galley, Camp Lejeune, NC February 1942 (Piping and Ovens)

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Camp Lejeune, January 1945 Applying Asbestos Water Proofing Grease to Motor

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Marine Engineer Trainee

Butzbach, Germany

August 1946

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Food Service School – Montfold Point (Marines) December 1951

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Marine Corps Supply Depot - Transport School - December 1951

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Mess Hall – Lawson General Hospital Chamblee, GA February 1942 (Piping)

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Engineer Training Center

Butzbach, Germany

July, 1946

(Welder)

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Engineer Training Center

US Army Corp of Engineers

Butzbach, Germany

July, 1946

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US Army Signal Service Garage, Paris, France October 1946

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US Army

Boiler Room Location

Unknown

September 1956

(JM 85% MAG BLOCK INSULATION BOX)

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Naval Training Station – Great Lakes, Illinois - May 1939

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Korea, August 1952 Wounded Marines Brought to USS Haven

“ASBESTOS CLAD SAILORS”

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II. Examples of Asbestos Products Used by the Non-Navy Personnel

• Wire used in jets and propeller planes • Asphalt cements and asphalt shingles used in

extensively throughout military bases • Firebrick, insulation and millboard • Vehicles, tanks and trucks, including brakes,

gaskets, transmission bands and clutches • Clothing, gloves, suits and other protective fire

gear • HVAC duct vibration dampers • Aircraft brakes and heat shields • Cockpit cooling systems for Air Force helicopters

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• Exhaust cones in Air Force turbo jet engines • Packing used in airplane ignition systems • Fiber composite insulation for rocket motors • Machine gun hot barrel gauntlet gloves • Acid proofing on chemical tanks • Spray coatings on B-52 bombers • Gas mask filters • Marine Corp berets • Ammunition wadding • Torpedoes • Bedding compounds

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All modes of transportation used by the military including tanks, automobiles, trucks, jeeps and aircraft contained asbestos components

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• Buildings located on facility bases • The military required specific products to

be used in military installations nationwide • The Government had specifications for

gaskets, felts, roofing shingles, cement, gloves, cloth, packings, insulation board, insulation block and blankets, paper, wick, tape, drywall, joint compound and even sewer pipe

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III. Military Jobs Encountering Asbestos Containing Materials

• Aviation machinist mate – would use clamps with asbestos pads to repair high temperature areas in jets and helicopters

• Depot mechanics – would use standard friction products

• Metal smiths and welders – asbestos blankets or sheets to protect themselves from the heat of welding torches

• Tank Loaders and artillery men – used asbestos gloves to handle hot cartilages ejected from guns

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III. Military Jobs Encountering Asbestos Containing Materials

•National Guardsmen

• 9/11 Twin Tower Attacks

• Peacekeeping Missions to Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia

• War Torn Buildings in Iraq and Afghanistan

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IV. Bases Where Asbestos Has Been Found

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•Chanute Air Force Base

• Located in Rantoul, Illinois

• 6,000 Feet of Asbestos-Laden Steam Pipes were removed

• The pipes connected the abandoned former Air Force steam plant with three other Chanute Buildings

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• Fort Campbell Army Base • Located on the border between Tennessee

and Kentucky • Building materials containing asbestos

included: • Floor Sheeting - Cement Pipes - Flex Duct Joint

Compound – Insulation – Roofing Felt Pipe Insulation – Fire Door Insulation – Stage Curtains – Acoustical tile – Floor Tile - Transite pipe/board – Ceiling Tile – Flashing Tar – Fire Blankets – Heat Shields – Safes – Fire Cabinets – Seam Paste – Gloves - Glazing

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• Fort Knox

• Located near Louisville, Kentucky

• Asbestos used extensively to insulate boiler rooms

• Asbestos also found in large amounts in mess halls and sleeping quarters

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• Fort Bliss Military Housing • Located in El Paso County, Texas • When waterlines ruptured, repair workers

discovered that the waterlines were insulated with asbestos

• Of the 146 homes, which all appear to have asbestos insulation, 92 required immediate asbestos removal

• http://www.asbestos.net/newsroom/news/2011/02/24/asbetos-removal-at-fort-bliss-military housing

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•Camp Roberts • Located near San Miguel, California

• Nearly all of the old green-roofed structures at Camp Roberts contained Asbestos

• This includes barracks, mess halls, chapels, supply rooms and administration offices

• Asbestos was used in roofing shingles, ceiling tile, floor tile, plaster and wall board, steam and water pipe insulation and as electrical insulation

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• Marine Recuperation Barracks • Located in Klamath Falls, Oregon • During construction of barracks, over 1,533 tons

of asbestos was used in building materials for the construction of over 80 buildings

• The barracks were eventually torn down and houses were built on the property

• In 2001, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality received a complaint of two large piles of asbestos insulated pipe on the surface of a lot being developed

• Over 57 tons of asbestos-containing material was removed but the asbestos cleanup is ongoing

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V. Examples of Military Documents

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• War Department Technical Bulletin TB MED 223

• June 21, 1946

• Specifically lists asbestos as a pneumoconiosis-producing dust

• Avoidance practices discussed

• List of approved respirators are also provided for different exposure scenarios

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• Wright-Paterson Air Force Base Regulation Regarding Personal Protective Equipment

• 1949 Air Force Regulation

• Requires the use of asbestos containing coats and aprons, clothing and headgear when exposed to heat, spark or hot material hazards

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• Air Force Pamphlet 160-6-1A

• Published October 6, 1952 for the first time

• Establishes a threshold limit value for asbestos exposure of 5 M.P.P.C.F.

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• Air Force Occupational Safety and Health Standard 161-4 • Predates October 1976

• PEL is listed at two fibers per cubic centimeter of air

• Discusses engineering controls

• Mandatory use of various respirators for exposures above the PEL

• Medical surveillance and examinations were mandatory

• Employee medical records maintained a minimum of 40 years

• Army War College issued similar document on December 29, 1983

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• The United States Army Installation Asbestos Management Program • March 23, 1998

• Technical Bulletin 420-70-8

• 194-Page document encompasses all aspects of asbestos remediation on facilities owned, managed or controlled by the Army

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• The United States Army Installation Asbestos Management Program

• Several types of ACM are specifically addressed and diagrammed

• Pipe lagging, boiler lagging, spray-on fireproofing (Limpet spray), plasters, floor tile, roofing felts, wall paints and even fire doors

• Contains a list of asbestos containing materials found in Army Buildings with the approximate asbestos content and the years installed

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• Requires drafting of an asbestos management plan for each facility owned

• Mandates site inspections of each building and structure

• Analyzing bulk samples

• Assembling a database

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• The total amount of asbestos-containing material identified in linear feet or square feet

• ACM Checklist required

• Sent to a Certified laboratory

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• Polarized microscopy (PLM), dispersion staining, x-ray defraction analysis, scanning and electronic microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry

• Chapter 12 of the directive deals in part with record keeping

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• “It is essential that a complete record of the asbestos abatement project be assembled and then maintained by the AMT (Asbestos Management Team)”

• “All records pertaining to an asbestos abatement should be kept in a permanent file and maintained indefinitely”

• Records required to be kept include: notifications to the EPA and OCHA, specifications, air sampling reports, project plans and specifications, waste handling and disposal

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• Appendix B – Listing of Governmental locations where records may be kept

• Appendix C – ACM Check list with detailed information for each product analyzed

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VI. Practice Pointers • Plaintiffs should be thoroughly questioned at

deposition about their specific job duties in the military, the products that they encountered, the tools that they used and the machines they operated

• Specific barrack locations, office locations, building locations, and every installation where the Plaintiff was stationed should be examined

• Thereafter the practitioner can search the base for asbestos remediation information and potentially obtain information from the United States Government through a Freedom of Information Request

• Give consideration to removing the case under Federal Enclave and/or Federal Officer Jurisdiction

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The Use of Asbestos by the United States Military Other Than Navy

Law

engineer training center

united states military

mess halls

camp lejeune

military documents

floor tile

roofing shingles

navy personnel