The SS Solomon Juneau was a Liberty ship built at California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, during World War II. The ship was named after Solomon Laurent Juneau, a French Canadian fur trader, land speculator, and politician who helped found the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The SS Solomon Juneau was laid down on 9 January 1943, under a Maritime Commission contract, and launched on 6 February 1943. Prior to 1980, the U.S. Navy built vessels using asbestos because of its affordability, tensile strength and resistance to heat and chemical damage. Asbestos has been widely used for the insulation of pipes, boilers, electrical fixtures, and hull construction. Although asbestos fibers did not respect job classifications, personnel most commonly exposed include boiler tenders, electrician's mates, enginemen, machinist mates, pipefitters, and shipfitters. The health effects of exposure to asbestos are well-documented and include asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs, as well as lung cancer and mesothelioma.
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