Panama City's Wainwright Company was one of the companies that contributed to Florida State's industrial growth during World War II. Companies such as Pensacola, Panama City, Jacksonville and Tampa hired thousands of workers to construct the vessels needed for the war effort. Wainwright Shipyard in Panama City and many other shipyards across the United States recognized the dangers of asbestos but continued to work with it; asbestos was used in numerous buildings and workplaces to help control heat emitted by machinery, such as boilers and engines. The result was a risk of asbestos exposure on the ship construction sites for shipyard workers and Navy service members, placing their jobs among the most at-risk occupations.
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