Month: March 2009

USS Flier SS-250

During World War II, the submariners of the U.S. Pacific Fleet  faced great danger.  In fact, nearly 22 percent of submariners were lost in World War II.  Of the 288 submarines deployed in the Atlantic and Pacific, 52 were lost.  All but four were lost in the Pacific war zone.

Today, explorers continue to search for these boats that disappeared.  The various discoveries of these lost or missing vessels have answered many questions about these submarines and, as a result, families who lost loved ones aboard the boats can finally feel a sense of closure.  The USS Flier SS-250 is the fifth U.S. submarine to be discovered since 2005.

A Brief History Of the USS Flier

The USS Flier was laid down on October 30, 1942 and was commissioned on October 18, 1943.  She was a Gato class submarine and was the only boat in the United States Navy to be named after the flier, a well-known round sunfish.

On August 12, 1944, while on her second war patrol to the coast of Indochina, the USS Flier struck a mine and began to sink immediately.  Seventy-eight men died in the tragic incident, and only eight men survived.

Recent Discoveries

In the spring of 2009, a team from YAP Films located the wreckage of USS Flier.  According to the Navy, Mike and Warren Fletcher, a father and son team of divers from the television show Dive Detectives, took the first footage of the submarine and provided it to the Naval History and Heritage Command to confirm the identification.

On February 1, 2010, the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force confirmed that the submarine found in the Balabac Strait is the USS Flier that was lost in World War II.  The Balabac Strait is located in the South China Sea between the Philippines and the islands of Borneo.

Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman Continues to Help U.S. Veterans

Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman has represented many men who served or worked on submarines during their repairs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and at other shipyards such as Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Mare Island and Puget Sound.   Although they did not realize the danger at the time, our clients were exposed to deadly asbestos dust.  Many shipyard workers and U.S. Veterans were put at risk for developing mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases as a result of the toxic asbestos on board.

Through our work, we have had the pleasure of meeting and representing many U.S. Veterans who have served on submarines during WWII, the Vietnam War, the Korean Conflict, and the Cold War.  We have listened to their stories and have been greatly moved by their dedication and sacrifice.  The discovery of the USS Flier in Southeast Asia clearly demonstrates that the brave sailors and their families faced untold hardship as they gave their lives in service of our country.

USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

It was Larry Sharpe’s dream to build an accurate model of the USS Indianapolis CA-35, a Navy cruiser sunk in action two weeks before the end of World War II.  This event marked the greatest single loss of life at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy.  Larry’s dream remained unfulfilled when he died unexpectedly in January, 2006.  Happily, his dream came to fruition last month as the completed model was presented as a tribute to the service and sacrifice of her crew members.

Larry’s Dream Fulfilled

After his death, the partially finished model of the USS Indianapolis sat untouched in Larry Sharpe’s garage where the walls were covered with blueprints of this cruiser.  Larry was a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and an admirer of the men who lived and died on the Indianapolis.  His model was to honor those who died in this tragic attack.  Another woodworker in Lizton, Indiana tried to complete the model, but he was unable to do so.

Undaunted, Larry’s wife, Diane Sharpe, was determined to see the model of the USS Indianapolis completed.  Last April, she loaded up the pieces of the 17-foot model and carried them in a box truck to the home of Harry Powell, a member of the Fleet Reserve Association, Memorial Branch 130.  Mr. Powell was also a Navy veteran and shared Larry’s enthusiasm for the USS Indianapolis.  Two months later the model of the USS Indianapolis that Larry started in 2005 was finally completed and unveiled last month.  Larry’s dream had been fulfilled.

Noteworthy Place in Naval History

The USS Indianapolis holds a great, and tragic, place in naval history.  She was commissioned in 1932 and received 10 Battle Stars for her exceptional service in World War II.  As the war was nearing an end, the USS Indianapolis was called upon to perform a special mission.  She departed San Francisco on July 16, 1945, and ten days later arrived at Tinian Island delivering parts and uranium for the first atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” that was later dropped on Hiroshima.  The cruiser was then ordered to Leyte Bay in the Philippine Sea to prepare for the invasion of Japan.  The USS Indianapolis left Guam on July 28, 1945.  Two days later, on July 30, 1945, she was hit by two torpedoes fired from a Japanese submarine.  Of the 1,196 crew members, almost 600 crewmen perished as they floated in the shark- infested waters for four days.  Only 316 men survived the ordeal.

Controversy surrounded this sinking.  Captain McVay was given a court-martial by a hastily convened tribunal, but later he was exonerated and returned to active duty.  Whatever the actual circumstances were, this was a sad and tragic day for the U.S. Navy.

Asbestos Use on Navy Cruisers

The USS Indianapolis, like other Navy ships, held many dangers for the men who served on them.  Literally tons of asbestos insulating products were used to construct the USS Indianapolis and other Navy cruisers, battleships, and destroyers.  The shipyard workers at New York Shipbuilding who built the USS Indianapolis were exposed to the asbestos dust generated from this massive amount of asbestos insulation.  Other shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos as the USS Indianapolis underwent overhaul and repair at various shipyards.

Because of the asbestos use on Navy ships, the crewmen who served on the USS Indianapolis were exposed to the asbestos insulation on a daily basis as they maintained and operated the machinery and equipment that was covered with asbestos.  Each time the asbestos insulation was installed and removed to allow for repairs, millions of hazardous asbestos fibers were released into the air.  Asbestos exposure would also occur as the fibers became airborne from ship vibration and when the ship’s main guns were fired.

Thousands of shipyard workers and Navy seamen who worked on Navy cruisers were exposed to asbestos dust and the dangerous health risk associated with that exposure including the risk of contracting mesothelioma.  Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman has represented many veterans who served on Navy cruisers and other warships.  Their exposure to asbestos on these ships was the cause of their mesothelioma.

If you believe that you were exposed to asbestos in the Navy, you should be sure to inform your physician and have regular physical exams.

Toxic asbestos insulating products are no longer used in the construction of U.S. Navy or commercial ships, but the hazards of asbestos live on.  Hundreds of Navy and commercial ships built in the United States prior to the mid 1970s incorporated toxic substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, and asbestos, that must be carefully handled when these ships are dismantled for scrap recycling at the end of their useful lives.

The stakes are high in the ship breaking industry.  A single ship can be worth $5 million in scrap steal and there are the many subsidiary businesses that thrive on the dismantling of the various parts of the ship, including its furniture, fittings and machinery.  There was a substantial ship breaking business in the U.S., but strict regulations regarding the disposal of hazardous substances have lead some ship owners to circumvent these requirements and send their ships to foreign ship breaking yards.

Reportedly half of the ships from around the world that need to be dismantled end up in Alang, a town in the state of Gujarat, India, known as the center of India’s ship breaking industry.  Significant controversy has surrounded the Alang yards related to the hazardous working conditions, the poor living conditions, and the environmental impact related to the ship breaking industry.  Nevertheless ship owners continue to go to extremes to have their ships dismantled there.

SS Independence Laden With Toxic Materials Reaches Alang

SS Independence

One of the most recent instances involves a well-known luxury liner, the SS Independence that was built in 1951 at the Bethlehem Quincy Shipyard in Massachusetts.  She operated for many decades as a cruise ship and spent the last part of her life sailing in the Hawai‘ian Islands.  After her owners declared bankruptcy in 2001, she was moth balled in San Francisco Bay at Pier 70.  In February 2008, however, she was towed away amid speculation that she was headed to Alang, India to be dismantled.

Environmental groups that keep a watchful eye on old ships containing hazardous materials did not let this situation go unnoticed.  Claims were made by the Basel Action Network (BAN), an organization that campaigns against the illicit movement of hazardous waste, that this ship never should have been allowed to leave San Francisco because the export of the PCB-ladened ship was illegal under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  The 18,500 ton former luxury liner reportedly had 210 tons of PCBs and 250 tons of asbestos as part of its construction materials.

Notwithstanding intervention by the Environmental Protection Agency, the ship ultimately reached Alang under a new name, SS Platinum II.  Claims were made that the ship had reached Alang with a falsified flag and ship registry.  In response to complaints concerning the presence of hazardous materials, the SS Platinum has been left anchored in the harbor while investigations continue to look into into the toxic substances aboard.  Recent reports indicate, however, that the SS Platinum may be allowed into Alang for dismantling, contributing further the hazards associated with the disposal of toxic materials.

High Incidence of Asbestosis in Alang

Although ship breaking may provide much needed jobs in India, these monetary gains come at a very high cost to both workers and the environment.  In South Asia, workers dismantle ships with hand tools and without strict regulations in place to prevent their exposure to hazardous substances, including asbestos.  According to attorney Gary Galiher, who has handled cases involving asbestos-related diseases for over 30 years, the impact is predictable and devastating:

Given the quantities of asbestos incorporated into these ships when they were built, these unprotected workers are being exposed to high quantities of asbestos dust.  We know this will lead to asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a rare and fatal lung cancer.  It is a travesty that the western industrial world is exporting the hazards of asbestos to other countries that have yet to put into place the needed protections to ensure workers do not become sick.

A 2006 report by a panel appointed by India’s Supreme Court confirmed what attorney Gary Galiher predicts.  They found that one in six workers at Alang had signs and symptoms of asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs caused by breathing asbestos.  Although the Supreme Court’s report called for reforms in working conditions at Alang, the work at this ship breaking yard goes on.  Ship owners continue to export their asbestos hazards to India and to expose uninformed and unprotected workers to this deadly hazard.

USS New York

The destruction of the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001, left behind not only an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of all Americans, but also thousands of tons of construction debris.  But in an act that symbolizes the resiliency of Americans, seven and a half tons of the steel debris from Ground Zero were melted down to make the bow of one of the Navy’s newest ships, the USS New York LPD-21.  This landing platform dock was commissioned last November on the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Pier.

Although State names are ordinarily reserved for submarines, naming the Navy’s new surface ship the USS New York is only fitting.  “This new class of ships will project American power into the far corners of the Earth and support the cause of freedom . . . and will be a fitting tribute to the people of the Empire State,” announced the Secretary of the Navy in September of 2002.  The new ship will honor the victims and heroes of the September 11th attack.

The USS New York made her maiden voyage from New Orleans to New York in October.  Upon her arrival in New York City in early November she paused in front of the World Trade Center site and fired a 21-gun salute to the people of her namesake city and state.

Asbestos Use on Navy Battleships

Among the crowd gathered to celebrate the ship’s commissioning were families of  September 11th victims, first responders to the September 11th attacks, and sailors who had been aboard a former Navy battleship carrying the same name, the USS New York BB-34.  This battleship served in both World Wars and earned three battle stars in World  World II.  Ironically, her keel was laid on September 11, 1911, 90 years to the day the World Trade Centers were attacked.  But there is another connection between the first responders to the World Trade Center disaster and the crew of the battleship USS New York.  Both were exposed to asbestos dust from the  insulation used in the construction of the twin towers and this Navy warship.

World War II vintage battleships contained literally tons of asbestos insulating products.  Asbestos had been used to insulate the machinery and piping throughout every battleship.  The crewmen who served on the  USS New York, including those who attended the commissioning of the Navy’s newest ship, were exposed throughout their service to the asbestos dust generated from this massive amount of asbestos insulation.  Each time this asbestos insulation was disturbed, removed, and replaced during routine operations and maintenance, millions of hazardous asbestos fibers were released into the air.

Asbestos Insulation Sprayed on World Trade Towers

The World Trade Center attacks on September 11th caused the greatest environmental catastrophe in New York City history.  Over 400 tons of asbestos fibers were used in the construction of the World Trade Center and were released into the air when the towers collapsed.  During the construction that began in 1966, the steel beams were heavily coated with a slurry mix of asbestos and cement sprayed on as fireproofing material.  Although the City of New York banned the use of spray-on asbestos in 1971, hundreds of tons of this cancer-causing product had already become part of these towers.  The first responders who raced to the World Trade Center to help the victims of this tragedy were exposed to the airborne asbestos that was released when the towers collapsed.  Many of the people who escaped the towers and those in the vicinity also experienced bystander exposure to this asbestos dust.

At Risk Because of Past Exposure to Asbestos

As they witnessed the historic commissioning of the Navy’s newest ship honoring the victims of the tragic 9/11 attack, the crewmen of the battleship USS New York and the first responders to the World Trade Center were faced with an insidious danger that binds them again.  Both remain at risk of developing asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a rare and fatal cancer, because of their past asbestos exposure.

For over 100 years, Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation, has played a pivotal role in supporting and maintaining the country’s fleet of submarines.  This company has shipyards  in both Groton, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, which together employ about 10,700 workers.  At least for the foreseeable future, however, Electric Boat will be carrying out its work with a smaller work force on the waterfront.  Because of a reduction in modernization and maintenance of submarines, there will be  hundreds of layoffs among the trades such as carpenters and other construction trade workers.  Fortunately, this reduction will be offset by needs in other areas.

The Company executives estimate between 400 to 600 layoffs and 100 to 200 furloughs are possible in the year 2010, but these layoffs will be offset by the need to hire 300 to 400 new engineers and designers.  In addition to working on a surface ship program in conjunction with Northrop Grumman, these new employees will be carrying forward Electric Boat’s tradition of working at the cutting edge of submarine design as they develop the next generation of ballistic missiles.

A Series of “Firsts”

USS Holland (SS-1)

The Electric Boat Company, founded by Isaac Rice in 1899, has been at the forefront of submarine construction since its inception.  The first submarine to be purchased and commissioned into the United States Naval Service was the USS Holland SS-1 built at this shipyard.  The Holland was originally named the Holland VI after its inventor John Philip Holland.  Interestingly, this submarine had many of the design features that appeared in subsequent submarines  in more advanced forms, including an internal combustion engine for surface operation and an electric motor for submerged operation.

The company continued its outstanding service during both world wars.  During World War I, Electric Boat received orders to build 85 submarines for the US Navy and built 74 submarines during World War II.  More than half of the Gato class and many Balao class Submarines were built by Electric Boat Company, including the USS Gato SS-212, USS Darter SS-227, USS Scorpion SS-278, USS Perch SS-313, USS Sealion SS-315, USS Bugara SS-331 and USS Capitaine SS-336.

In 1951 the company received the contract to build the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus SSN-571.  This submarine was christened by then First Lady Mrs. Eisenhower and launched in 1954.  Among her many firsts, the USS Nautilus was the first submarine to reach the geographic North Pole on August 3, 1958 and to go on to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole.

Electric Boat also achieved another first when the first ballistic-missile submarine, the USS George Washington SSBN-589, was built there in 1959.  In July, 1960, this submarine conducted the first Polaris missile launch from a submerged submarine which added significantly to our country’s deterrent forces.

Asbestos Use at Electric Boat Company

The submarines built at Electric Boat from the 1940s through the mid 1970s contained many pounds of asbestos insulating products.  The shipyard workers who constructed these submarines were exposed to the hazards of asbestos on a daily basis.  Submariners who later served on these subs were exposed to asbestos dust generated through the routine operation and maintenance of asbestos-covered equipment, piping and machinery.  These submariners and shipyard workers are at risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases because of their exposure to asbestos.

Map of Rajasthan, India

Most people in the United States today are aware that asbestos is a dangerous and potentially deadly substance.  Asbestos is no longer commercially mined for domestic use in the U.S., and asbestos-containing products have largely been banned.  There are a host of federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that work to protect workers and consumers from the hazards of asbestos.  As a result, American workers are not usually exposed to raw asbestos without respiratory protection.  In developing countries like India, however, the picture for workers is vastly different.

The Growth of the Indian Asbestos Industry

Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that asbestos causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis, the Indian asbestos industry is alive and well.  India is a leading importer of raw asbestos, purchasing hundreds of thousands of tons of chrysotile asbestos from Canada, Russia, Brazil, and Zimbabwe.  Asbestos is also mined commercially in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Most of this asbestos is manufactured into asbestos cement, which is widely used as a construction material in impoverished villages and shantytowns throughout India.  The Indian asbestos industry has had great success in promoting asbestos cement roofing, pipes, and siding to India’s poor.  According to the Indian business daily Business Standard, the asbestos cement industry in India produces almost 4.5 million tons of asbestos products annually, and is growing at a “healthy” 10-12 percent a year.

Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear that Indian workers and consumers are paying a heavy price for this “healthy” growth in the asbestos industry.  This large-scale industrial use of asbestos is leading to high rates of occupational exposure, household exposure, and environmental exposure.  As a result, India is likely to face an epidemic of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma

Indian Workers at Risk

Asbestos disease is already a major problem in the mining region of Rajasthan.  Many of the asbestos mines there are operated illegally.  According to the asbestos mine workers who attended a recent workshop by the Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India, the working conditions in the mines are horrendous.  Not surprisingly, this has led to a high rate of asbestos disease among the miners.  The India Times recently reported that three former mining workers from a single mining district have died of asbestosis in the last six months alone.

Working conditions in India’s asbestos processing plants are also extremely hazardous.  A recent study of the small-scale asbestos mills of Rajasthan showed that many workers in these units are diagnosed with asbestosis after only five years of exposure, far less than the usual 20 year latency period.  Researchers also reported extremely high concentrations of airborne asbestos fibers in these plants, up to 18-22 fibers per cubic foot of air.  By contrast, the permissible exposure limit in the U.S. is 0.1 fiber/cc.

In addition to this heavy occupational exposure in the asbestos mines and processing plants, there is also a high risk of secondary exposure among users of asbestos products.  Construction workers and pipefitters often cut asbestos cement pipes and roofing as they are installed, generating large amounts of asbestos dust that settle over the nearby streets and houses.  This puts both the workers and the nearby residents at risk for mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases.

The Asbestos Industry’s Pattern of Denial

Indian labor unions, environmental groups, and public health experts are working hard to educate the Indian people about the hazards of asbestos, and have repeatedly asked the Indian government to ban the mining and manufacture of asbestos products in India.  Unfortunately, the Indian asbestos industry has been largely successful in whitewashing the hazards of asbestos, thereby insulating themselves from any real accountability for the harm caused by their toxic product.

Rather than warning workers and consumers about the deadly properties of asbestos, Indian asbestos industry officials continue to insist that their product is safe, and even environmentally friendly.  In an interview with the Toronto Star, an executive at Visaka Industries insisted that the company’s asbestos cement products were not at all hazardous to workers or consumers, and were “not creating carcinogenicity in any way.”  Indeed, he went so far as to state that asbestos “is such an environmentally friendly product actually.”  Likewise, in a recent Business Standard story, industry officials described the production of asbestos cement as “environmentally benign,” and insisted that their products were perfectly safe.

Tragically, this approach seems to be working.  Rather than banning asbestos, the Indian government is currently considering an expansion of asbestos mining in Rajasthan to promote economic development in this very poor region.  Unless the situation changes dramatically, it appears that India will be facing an epidemic of mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases for many decades to come.
Brig Sethi, executive director of the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers’ Association