As a major supplier of non-combat vessels to the U.S. Navy, this shipbuilding company was founded in 1938 and is located in Louisiana. However, one of the primary shipyards of the business was located in New York. Regrettably, Avondale Shipyards, Inc. made use of tremendous amounts of asbestos between the 1920s and the 1980s, which greatly endangered the health of employees, as well as of the members of the military who would subsequently spend time aboard the vessels. Asbestos was present mostly as insulation in shipyards, which came in many forms, such as block insulation, pipe insulation, duct insulation, and boiler insulation. When these products were disturbed by maintenance or repair, toxic dust would be released, which workers would inhale and ingest.