The USS Lauderdale (APA-179) was a Haskell-class attack transport ship that was launched on November 23, 1944, under a Maritime Commission contract at the Oregon Shipbuilding Group, Portland, Oregon. It was commissioned on December 12, 1944, under Cmdr. William F. Ramsey’s command, with the hull number APA-179 and served the US Navy for 2 years until it was decommissioned on April 25, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 536 people on board and had its main missions in the Asiatic Pacific Theater during World War II, and participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation. Asbestos exposure occurred extensively aboard this ship and was common in engineering spaces and boiler rooms. The ship got redesignated as Amphibious Transport (LPA-179) on January 1, 1969, and sold for scrapping in September 2005. Although the serious health risks associated with asbestos exposure increase with heavier and longer exposures, even brief exposure is known to cause asbestos-related diseases because there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. When toxic asbestos fibers are breathed in, they build up in the lungs and lead to scarring, inflammation, and ultimately to cancerous cell mutation.
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