The USS Halsey Powell (DD-686) was a Fletcher-class destroyer laid down on February 3, 1943, and launched on June 30, the same year. It was commissioned on October 25, 1943, under Comdr. W. T. McGarry’s command with the hull number DD-686 and it served in the US Navy for 25 years before it was decommissioned on April 26, 1968. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 336 people on board and had its main missions in Norfolk, Eniwetok, Ulithi, San Diego and Okinawa. For the service brought to the country during World War II, the USS Halsey Powell (DD-686) received 7 battle stars and another 2 for the Korean activity. Exposure to asbestos could have occurred either by being a part of the crew serving in the Navy, but also by being implicated in some way in the process of building or dismantling ships and vessels, both processes involved the release of asbestos fibers into the air. Breathing in asbestos fibers can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. The risk of developing these diseases increases with the amount of fibers inhaled. Usually, the symptoms of these diseases do not appear until about 15 to 40 years after the first exposure to asbestos.
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