Asbestos on Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft carriers, which are critical for transporting and deploying aircrafts by sea during wartime, were once made with asbestos. Built in the early- to mid-twentieth century, the carriers favored asbestos for its heat-resistant properties. The carriers served in World War II, as well as the Korean War, Vietnam War and Cold War, though some date back as early as 1922 and as late as 2015. Since fires had the potential to occur frequently on these ships, they were typically insulated with asbestos, and some passengers even wore asbestos suits to extract pilots when a fire or crash occurred on the deck.

Because of the wide use of asbestos, veterans who served on these ships were at a high risk of exposure, and as a result, account for about 30% of mesothelioma diagnoses today. Threats of exposure continue from these ships for shipyard workers today, as these World War II ships continue to be retired or repaired for historical purposes.

Name	Commissioned	Class	Status
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)	1989	Nimitz	Active
USS America (CV-66)	1965	Kitty Hawk	Scuttled
USS Antietam (CV-36)	1945	Essex	Scrapped
USS Bataan (CVL-29)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Bennington (CV-20)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Boxer (CV-21)	1945	Essex	Scrapped
USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)	1943	Essex	Scrapped
USS Cabot (CVL-28)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)	1981	Nimitz	Active
USS Constellation (CV-64)	1961	Kitty Hawk	To be scuttled
USS Coral Sea (CVB-43)	1947	Midway	Scrapped
USS Cowpens (CVL-25)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)	1977	Nimitz	Active
USS Enterprise (CV-6)	1938	Yorktown	Scrapped
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)	1961	Enterprise	Active
USS Essex (CV-9)	1942	Essex	Scrapped
USS Forrestal (CV-59)	1955	Forrestal	To be scuttled
USS Franklin (CV-13)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42)	1945	Midway	Scrapped
USS George HW Bush (CVN-77)	2009	Nimitz	Active
USS George Washington (CVN-73)	1992	Nimitz	Active
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)	2015	Ford	Keel laid
USS Hancock (CV-19)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75)	1998	Nimitz	Active
USS Hornet (CV-8)	1941	Yorktown	Sunk
USS Hornet (CV-12)	1943	Essex	Museum
USS Independence (CVL-22)	1943	Independence	Scuttled
USS Independence (CV-62)	1959	Forrestal	To be scuttled
USS Intrepid (CV-11)	1943	Essex	Museum
USS Iwo Jima (CV-46)	Cancelled	Essex	Cancelled
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)	1995	Nimitz	Active
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)	1968	Kennedy	Decommissioned
USS Kearsarge (CV-33)	1946	Essex	Scrapped
USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)	1961	Kitty Hawk	Decommissioned
USS Lake Champlain (CV-39)	1945	Essex	Scrapped
USS Langley (CV-1)	1922	Langley	Sunk
USS Langley (CVL-27)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Lexington (CV-2)	1927	Lexington	Sunk
USS Lexington (CV-16)	1943	Essex	Museum
USS Leyte (CV-32)	1946	Essex	Scrapped
USS Midway (CVB-41)	1945	Midway	Museum
USS Monterey (CVL-26)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Nimitz (CVN-68)	1975	Nimitz	Active
USS Oriskany (CV-34)	1950	Essex	Scuttled
USS Philippine Sea (CV-47)	1946	Essex	Scrapped
USS Princeton (CVL-23)	1943	Independence	Sunk
USS Princeton (CV-37)	1945	Essex	Scrapped
USS Randolph (CV-15)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Ranger (CV-4)	1934	Ranger	Scrapped
USS Ranger (CV-61)	1957	Forrestal	On donation hold
USS Reprisal (CV-35)	Cancelled	Essex	Cancelled
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)	2003	Nimitz	Active
USS Saipan (CVL-48)	1946	Saipan	Scrapped
USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)	1943	Independence	Scrapped
USS Saratoga (CV-3)	1927	Lexington	Sunk
USS Saratoga (CV-60)	1956	Forrestal	Decommissioned
USS Shangri-la (CV-38)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Tarawa (CV-40)	1945	Essex	Scrapped
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)	1986	Nimitz	Active
USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)	1944	Essex	Scrapped
USS Valley Forge (CV-45)	1946	Essex	Scrapped
USS Wasp (CV-7)	1940	Wasp	Sunk
USS Wasp (CV-18)	1943	Essex	Scrapped
USS Wright (CVL-49)	1946	Saipan	Scrapped
USS Yorktown (CV-5)	1937	Yorktown	Sunk
USS Yorktown (CV-10))	1943	Essex	Museum