Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) — located in Bremerton, Washington across Puget Sound from Seattle — is the United States Pacific Fleet’s primary West Coast ship maintenance and overhaul facility, with a history extending from the late nineteenth century through continuous present-day operations. PSNS built, overhauled, and maintained battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines, and surface combatants throughout World War II and the Cold War era. The shipyard’s ship construction and overhaul work required asbestos insulation throughout the steam, propulsion, and mechanical systems of every vessel in overhaul — work performed by pipefitters, insulation workers, Machinist’s Mates, boilermakers, and other shipyard trades in the confined engineering spaces of partially-complete or drydocked hulls.

Documented Asbestos — Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Litigation

Asbestos at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Pacific Fleet overhaul hub: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was the primary West Coast overhaul facility for Pacific Fleet surface combatants and submarines — the venue where carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines received comprehensive maintenance and refurbishment requiring complete disassembly and replacement of asbestos insulation systems.

Nuclear ship overhaul: PSNS became one of the Navy’s primary nuclear ship overhaul facilities — performing refueling and overhaul of nuclear-powered carriers and submarines whose steam systems and containment components incorporated asbestos materials.

Drydock insulation work: PSNS operated multiple drydocks where vessels were brought out of the water for hull and engineering space work. Drydock operations involved stripping old asbestos insulation from engineering spaces and installing new insulation — the highest-exposure insulation work in the shipyard environment.

Inactive ship preservation: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard maintained a portion of the Navy’s inactive ship reserve — vessels in reduced readiness that required periodic maintenance by shipyard workers who worked in asbestos-insulated spaces throughout the stored fleet.

VA Claims and Legal Options — Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Workers

Navy veterans who served at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard — military personnel and civilian workers — and veterans whose ships were overhauled at PSNS in Bremerton, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease, may qualify for:

  • VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) for veterans with documented duty at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard or aboard vessels overhauled at Bremerton
  • Civil claims against asbestos product manufacturers whose materials were installed at PSNS, based on the documented asbestos exposure at the facility

Key documents:

  • DD-214 or service records — documenting assignment to or duty at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton
  • Employment records — civilian employment at PSNS as a pipefitter, insulation worker, boilermaker, or in any maintenance trade
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Documented asbestos exposure information derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.