United States Navy Machinery Repairmen (MR rating) were the enlisted machinists responsible for repairing and maintaining the metal components of ship machinery — fabricating replacement parts, overhauling valves, maintaining pumps, and performing precision machining work in the ship’s machine shop. Machinery Repairmen worked across all engineering spaces aboard ship, performing the repair and overhaul work that Machinist’s Mates and Boiler Technicians brought to the machine shop. This role placed Machinery Repairmen in direct and repeated contact with asbestos gaskets and asbestos packing — the standard sealing materials removed from valves, pumps, and flanges during repair — and with the asbestos dust generated by machining, grinding, and cutting operations on asbestos-containing parts. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Machinery Repairmen with personal testimony about Garlock asbestos gasket removal, Leslie Controls gasket removal, service aboard USS Forrestal (CV-59), and formal MDL plaintiff documentation.

Documented Asbestos Exposure — Machinery Repairman Rating

Garlock Asbestos Gaskets — Routine Removal Work

Leslie Controls — Named Asbestos Component

USS Forrestal (CV-59) — Carrier Service

Formal MDL Documentation — Navy MR Rating

How Machinery Repairmen Were Exposed to Asbestos

Gasket removal and replacement: MRs removed asbestos sheet gaskets from flanged connections on valves, pumps, heat exchangers, and piping throughout ship engineering spaces. Cutting old gaskets, scraping residue from flange faces, and cutting new gaskets from asbestos sheet stock were routine tasks generating significant asbestos dust.

Packing removal and replacement: MRs removed asbestos braided packing from valve stuffing boxes and pump glands throughout the ship’s steam and seawater systems. Old asbestos packing was cut, compressed, or dug out of stuffing boxes — all dust-generating operations.

Machine shop operations: The ship’s machine shop where MRs fabricated replacement parts was itself often contaminated with asbestos fibers from gasket cutting and packing work, creating a background asbestos dust environment for all work performed in the shop.

Cross-exposure from other ratings: MRs worked in proximity to Boiler Technicians, Machinist’s Mates, and Pipefitters who were simultaneously handling asbestos materials in the same engineering spaces, creating secondary exposure pathways for Machinery Repairmen even during tasks not directly involving asbestos.

Navy veterans who served as Machinery Repairmen (MR), whether aboard carriers, destroyers, cruisers, or at shore activities, 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) — the MR rating’s documented asbestos gasket and packing work establishes qualifying service-connected asbestos exposure
  • Civil claims against Garlock Sealing Technologies (asbestos gaskets), Leslie Controls (asbestos valve equipment), and other named manufacturers of asbestos-containing components maintained by Navy MRs

Key documents for an MR asbestos claim:

  • DD-214 — documenting MR rating and ship assignments
  • Service records — documenting machine shop or engineering space duty stations
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including Machinery Repairman testimony about Garlock asbestos gasket removal, Leslie Controls asbestos gasket documentation, USS Forrestal (CV-59) carrier service, and formal Navy MDL plaintiff documentation identifying the MR rating in the national asbestos mesothelioma litigation record. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.