‘Enveloped in fog’: The asbestos problem in Britain’s Royal Naval Dockyards, 1949–1999

Abstract

In the twentieth century, asbestos was used extensively in Britain’s Royal Naval Dockyards, especially between the mid-1940s and 1960s. In an era of international tension and conflict, it was invaluable for fire protection and thermal insulation on warships. In 1930, it was established that heavy and prolonged exposure to asbestos dust could cause asbestosis, and from 1931, precautions were required to protect at-risk workers in asbestos factories. These precautions did not apply on ships under construction or undergoing refit or repair in HM Dockyards. Until the 1960s, notwithstanding that asbestos dust was by then linked with two more fatal diseases, health precautions in these yards remained inadequate. Surgeon Commander Peter Harries played a crucial part in recognizing and controlling the occurrence of asbestos-related diseases in the yards. As a result, the occurrence of disease among HM dock workers fell at a time when its incidence was increasing in the wider population.