Also known as the Norfolk Navy Yard, this shipyard was built in 1767 and is located in Portsmouth, Virginia. The purpose of the shipyard was to build, remodel, and repair military ships. Norfolk Naval Shipyard is the oldest and the largest industrial facility belonging to the U.S. Navy and the most comprehensive one. However, between the 1920s and the 1980s, people employed at Norfolk Naval Shipyard would encounter the dangerous mineral known as asbestos daily, as it was fundamental to constructing vessels, whether commercial or military. Asbestos was mostly present in the form of insulation but also in building materials such as floor tiles, roofing, drywall, and ceiling tiles. Everyone who partook in the building of ships was exposed to asbestos to a certain extent.