The USS Pollux (AKS-4) was a Castor-class general stores issue ship laid down on October 2, 1941, and launched on February 5, 1942. It was commissioned on April 27, 1942, under Capt. E. J. Kidder’s command and served in the US Navy for 8 years until it was decommissioned on April 3, 1950. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 315 men on board and had its main missions in Guantanamo Bay, the Virgin Islands, San Juan, Trinidad and Jamaica, Panama Canal Zone, Recife and Bahia, Bermuda, Bayonne, and Norfolk. After decommissioning, the ship was used for atomic testing at Bikini Atoll. For the services brought to the country during the Korean War, the USS Pollux received 5 battle stars and 7 campaign stars for the activity during the Vietnam War. Navy veterans who served in WWII through 1980 are thought to be at high risk of having been exposed to asbestos. Roughly one-third of mesothelioma patients were exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy or working in the shipbuilding industry.
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