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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