Why was asbestos used at Jacksonville's shipyards and naval stations?

Asbestos resists heat and fire, so it was used heavily in shipbuilding, ship repair, and base construction for insulation on boilers, steam pipes, turbines, and hulls, and in gaskets, packing, insulating cement, and building materials. Jacksonville's yards and naval stations built, repaired, and operated through decades when asbestos use was routine, so these materials were widespread.

Who may have been exposed to asbestos in Jacksonville?

Trades such as insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, shipfitters, welders, electricians, and machinists worked directly around asbestos materials, and others nearby could be exposed in shared, enclosed spaces. Navy personnel who served at the stations or aboard vessels repaired there, and family members exposed to fibers carried home on work clothing, are also part of the pattern.

I worked at a Jacksonville shipyard or base decades ago. Could it still matter?

Possibly. Asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma often appear decades after exposure, and for these illnesses the time to file a claim is generally measured from diagnosis rather than from when the exposure happened. A documented history of work at a known exposure area like Jacksonville's shipyards and naval stations can be relevant. Deadlines vary by state and are best confirmed with a licensed attorney.

Asbestos Exposure at Jacksonville Shipyards and Naval Stations

By David Meldofsky, California-licensed attorney · Founder, Lawsuit Informer

Last updated: June 6, 2026

Jacksonville, Florida, has long been a Navy town, and its shipyards and naval stations on the St. Johns River were among the most asbestos-intensive workplaces in the state. For generations, the people who built and repaired ships there — and who built and maintained the bases themselves — worked around asbestos every day, often without knowing it. This page explains, in plain terms, how and where exposure happened in the Jacksonville area, who was affected, the illnesses linked to it, and why that history can still matter today.

Educational information.

This page provides general background about a historical exposure area and is not legal or medical advice. Whether any particular exposure may support a claim depends on facts specific to each person.

On This Page

Shipbuilding and the Navy in Jacksonville
Why asbestos was present
Where exposure may have happened
Who may have been exposed
Illnesses linked to the exposure
Why this history can matter in a claim
Records that can help
Common questions

Shipbuilding and the Navy in Jacksonville

Jacksonville's position on the St. Johns River, near the Atlantic, made it a natural center for shipbuilding and ship repair, and the Jacksonville–Pensacola region grew into one of the most concentrated military areas in Florida. The Navy commissioned Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville in 1942 to support the war effort, and it later grew into a major seaport and air facility; Naval Air Station Jacksonville became another major installation in the area. Alongside the bases, commercial shipyards and dry docks along the river built, serviced, and repaired both Navy and civilian vessels for decades.

Florida has the second-highest total of mesothelioma cases in the country, and much of that traces to its coastline of naval shipyards and ship repair facilities together with its dense network of military installations. Through the decades when Jacksonville's yards and stations were most active, asbestos was a standard material in shipbuilding and base construction alike, which is why so many of the people who worked there were exposed.

Why Asbestos Was Present

Jacksonville's exposure profile is shaped by repair work. Unlike a construction yard, a repair yard spends nearly all its time aboard older vessels, cutting into insulation, machinery lagging, gaskets, and packing that had been in place for decades, and that disturbance is what releases fibers. The commercial yards along the St. Johns River serviced Navy and civilian ships side by side, while the naval stations generated their own maintenance exposure aboard ships and aircraft. For the general background, see asbestos exposure in shipyards and naval service.

Where Exposure May Have Happened

Exposure settings spanned the river yards and the bases:

The downtown repair yards and their dry docks, where machinery spaces of older vessels were opened and stripped
Floating dry docks and repair berths along the St. Johns
Ship maintenance at Naval Station Mayport, including work alongside tenders and repair availabilities
Aircraft and facility maintenance at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, where asbestos appeared in brakes, gaskets, and base buildings
Boiler and engine room repair work, the dustiest jobs on any waterfront
Yard shops where contaminated components were rebuilt

Repair work is intermittent and varied, which means many workers were exposed across dozens of different vessels rather than a few.

Who May Have Been Exposed

Those most exposed included:

Repair gangs, boilermakers, and pipefitters and steamfitters opening up machinery spaces
Insulators stripping and replacing lagging on vessel after vessel
Machinists, welders, and electricians working the same compartments
Sailors at Mayport aboard ships during repair availabilities, and aviation mechanics at NAS Jacksonville
Contractors who moved between the commercial yards and the bases

Take-home exposure through work clothing reached family members here as it did at every waterfront.

Illnesses Linked to the Exposure

The diagnoses that follow this work, mesothelioma (pleural and peritoneal), asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis, surface decades later, often after a worker has retired.

Why This History Can Matter in a Claim

Jacksonville claims differ from navy-yard claims in one important way: the major employers were private companies, and the principal downtown yard closed in the early 1990s. That does not end the road for claimants. Asbestos litigation routinely proceeds against the manufacturers and suppliers of the products involved rather than the shipyard employer, and bankruptcy trust funds established by asbestos companies pay claims tied to documented exposure sites. Florida's large retiree population also means its courts see asbestos disease regularly, whether the exposure happened in state or elsewhere.

The window to file is generally counted from when the disease was diagnosed, not when the exposure happened, and state deadlines vary. If you are researching on behalf of yourself or a family member, our companion directory can connect you with Florida asbestos lawyers who handle these matters, and you can also see who may qualify for an asbestos claim.

Worked at or served through a Jacksonville shipyard or naval station, and later diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness? A free, no-obligation case review can help clarify whether your history and diagnosis may support a claim.

See If Your Situation May Qualify

Records That Can Help

With a private employer now long closed, Social Security earnings statements become especially useful, since they document every employer and year even when company records are gone. Union locals, Navy service records for Mayport and NAS Jacksonville personnel, and coworker testimony fill in the rest. Job titles, dates, vessels worked, and which yard or base all help; see records that help support an asbestos claim.

Common Questions

The shipyard company is long gone. Who would a claim even be against?

Usually the manufacturers of the asbestos products used aboard the ships, not the yard itself. Many of those manufacturers also established bankruptcy trust funds that pay claims tied to documented exposure, including at closed facilities.

I was stationed at Mayport but never worked in a shipyard. Does this page apply?

It can. Sailors aboard ships during maintenance and repair availabilities, especially in engineering ratings, encountered the same disturbed materials as the repair crews.

How do I prove I worked at a yard that no longer exists?

Social Security earnings records list employers by year regardless of whether the company survives, and union and coworker evidence has anchored many claims from closed yards.

Take the Next Step

Lawsuit Informer provides general educational information. To find out whether your specific history and diagnosis may support a claim, continue to Lawsuit Center for a free case review.

Request a Case Review Shipyard & Naval Exposure

About the Author

David Meldofsky is a California-licensed attorney and the founder of Lawsuit Informer, an educational platform focused on helping people understand lawsuits, consumer safety issues, and legal rights related to defective products and toxic exposures.

Learn more about our Editorial Policy, About page, or Contact us.

Last Updated: June 10, 2026

Educational information only. Not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed.