Naval Station Keflavik, Iceland — established in 1951 under the US-Iceland Defense Agreement as part of NATO’s Iceland Defense Force — was one of the most strategically critical Cold War naval bases, positioned at the GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom) to monitor and interdict Soviet submarine movements from the North Atlantic into the broader Atlantic Ocean. The station hosted Navy P-2 Neptune and later P-3 Orion patrol aviation squadrons flying ASW patrols over the North Atlantic, as well as Marine Corps fighter defense squadrons and a Navy nuclear weapons storage facility. The extreme subarctic climate of Iceland drove the use of heavily insulated construction throughout the base — construction that in the WWII through 1970s era incorporated extensive asbestos-containing thermal insulation to maintain facility habitability and operational capability in one of the harshest environments of any Cold War naval installation. Naval Station Keflavik closed in 2006 following the end of Cold War threat patterns.

Subarctic Building Construction and Asbestos

Keflavik’s Arctic climate required heavy insulation using asbestos-containing materials:

  • Heavily insulated facility construction — the Cold War-era buildings at Keflavik used extensive thermal insulation to protect facilities from the Icelandic climate’s severe cold, persistent storms, and volcanic ash conditions. The building envelopes, pipe systems, and mechanical installations at Keflavik used asbestos-containing thermal insulation, asbestos pipe covering, and asbestos-containing construction materials to meet the military specification requirements for subarctic construction
  • Heated facility mechanical systems — the steam and hot water heating systems serving Keflavik’s extensive facility complex used asbestos-insulated pipe distribution systems throughout the base. Utility maintenance ratings and engineers maintaining these heating systems accumulated asbestos exposure from the asbestos-insulated pipe distribution network serving the base
  • Aviation hangar and maintenance building insulation — the P-3 Orion patrol aircraft hangars and maintenance buildings at Keflavik used heavily insulated construction with asbestos-containing materials in the hangar building envelopes and mechanical systems to maintain the heated working environment required for aircraft maintenance in the Icelandic climate

Cold War ASW Patrol Operations and Facility Asbestos

Keflavik’s role as the primary GIUK Gap ASW base created specific exposure contexts:

  • ASW patrol squadron operations buildings — the ready rooms, operations buildings, and crew rest facilities supporting intensive North Atlantic ASW patrol operations at Keflavik used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing materials in the operations facility building stock

VA Claims for Naval Station Keflavik Veterans

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served at Naval Station Keflavik during any period from the station’s 1951 establishment through its 2006 closure and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.