Commissioned in 1943 with Lieutenant Commander Henry G. Munson in command, the USS Crevalle (SS-291) was built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. With 7 war patrols successfully completed, the USS Crevalle received a Navy Unit Commendation and 4 battle stars. It also sunk a total of 51,814 tons of enemy shipping. In 1962, the submarine was decommissioned and eventually sold for scrap 3 years later. Historically, shipyard workers were exposed to dangerously high levels of asbestos. Asbestos was used as a shipbuilding material in the United States for decades, as an insulating material for steam and hot water pipes, boilers, and incinerators. Shipyard workers who carried out lagging, joiners, sheet metal workers, and boilermakers are most at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease. Breathing in asbestos dust or fibers can lead to damage of the lungs and a range of associated respiratory conditions and diseases such as asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, benign asbestos pleural effusions, and rounded atelectasis.
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