Albina Shipyard

Albina Shipyard is located in northwest Portland, Oregon, in an area of the city known as Albina, named for the wife of the city’s founder. The shipyard was founded by Scotsman William Cornfoot, and was located in the shores of the mighty Willamette River, bisected by the Fremont Bridge.

Founded in 1904, the Albina facility thrived as a shipbuilding and repair business until closing in the 1980s. During its heyday in the early 1940s, the workers of the Albina Shipyard produced nearly 40 sub-chasers for the U.S. Navy, and employed more than 4,000 workers, including about 350 women.

The shipyard specialized in serving the marine construction and repair needs of government, commercial, and private clients, working regularly on a wide variety of craft, including barges, cargo vessels, tankers, freighters, and yachts.

During most of its existence, the shipyard relied heavily on the use of marine materials which were composed of asbestos. In fact, every major shipyard in existence prior to the mid 1970s made use of asbestos-based materials, which were used extensively in the shipbuilding and repair industries.

Offering high resistance to heat and moisture-induced corrosion, asbestos is also flexible and strong, and must have seemed an ideal material to the manufacturers of marine components, which are constantly subjected to varying degrees of moisture and temperature. The fibrous material was so highly valued in the shipbuilding industry that it could e found in literally thousands of products, including gaskets, insulation, boiler parts, electrical and propulsion systems, and marine coatings.

But asbestos also offered a serious health hazard to those who were exposed to it, even for nominal amounts of time. The tiny fibers of the silica-based material are lightweight and airborne, easily inhaled. Once lodged in the lungs, the fibers can cause potentially deadly conditions, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer.

Asbestos diseases can be difficult to diagnose, often taking years for symptoms to manifest and often initially appearing as the symptoms of a common cold. But unlike a cold, the symptoms of malignant mesothelioma persist and grow worse. There is no cure, but some individuals may find partial and temporary relief with medical therapy. For this reason, if you were ever employed by Albina Shipyard, it is imperative that you speak with your doctor about your possible exposure risks as mesothelioma navy cases are most common.