Marine Corps Equipment & Asbestos Exposure

The Marine Corps equipment that allegedly exposed Marines to asbestos — amphibious assault vehicles, trucks and combat vehicles, and the engineering spaces of the Navy amphibious ships that carried them — with the friction, gasket, and insulation products involved.

The Marine Corps fields two very different kinds of equipment, and both carried asbestos for the same reason: it stood up to heat, friction, and fire better than anything else available for most of the twentieth century. On land, that meant the brake, clutch, and gasket materials in amphibious and ground vehicles. Afloat, it meant the insulation, gaskets, and packing that lined the engineering spaces of the Navy amphibious ships Marines deployed aboard. Asbestos-containing materials were allegedly built into this equipment from World War II into the 1980s, and older equipment kept those materials in service long after.

This page walks through the equipment categories where exposure was most concentrated. For the way exposure tracked with a Marine’s job specialty, see Marine Corps Exposure by Job (MOS). For installation and building exposure, see Marine Bases & Barracks.

Amphibious Assault Vehicles and Tracked Vehicles

Amphibious assault vehicles and other tracked vehicles use braking, steering, and drivetrain components that generate intense heat. The brake bands, brake shoes, and clutch friction facings in this equipment were allegedly made with asbestos so they could absorb that heat without failing. Marines who removed, ground, adjusted, or reassembled these friction components could release asbestos dust — and the confined interior of a maintenance bay concentrated it.

Trucks and Wheeled Combat Vehicles

The Marine Corps ran large fleets of tactical trucks, cargo vehicles, and wheeled combat vehicles. Their brake shoes and linings, clutch discs, and engine and exhaust gaskets were the same asbestos-based friction and sealing materials found in civilian heavy vehicles of the era. Routine brake jobs, clutch replacements, and gasket scraping were daily motor-pool work, and compressed air used to blow out brake drums could turn settled asbestos dust into a breathable cloud.

Shipboard Machinery Aboard Amphibious Ships

Marines deployed aboard amphibious assault ships, dock landing ships, and troop transports, and those vessels were built to Navy shipboard standards. Their engine rooms, boiler rooms, and machinery spaces were allegedly lined with asbestos pipe covering and block insulation and sealed with asbestos gaskets and valve packing. Marines assigned to shipboard details, and even those simply berthed for long transits below decks, could be exposed to shipboard asbestos.

Because the ships themselves are the subject of an entire companion resource, the ship-by-ship detail lives there: our companion site NavyShipExposure.com documents the amphibious ships and Navy vessels that carried Marines, class by class and hull by hull.

The Jobs Behind the Equipment

The way a Marine was exposed usually mirrored the way a civilian in the same trade was exposed. These occupation pages on Asbestos-Products.com describe the exposure pathway for the work behind Marine Corps equipment:

VA Benefits vs. a Civil Product Claim

There are two separate paths, and they do not cancel each other out.

A VA disability claim is filed directly with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is a government benefit for a service-connected condition, not a lawsuit. No attorney is required to file it, and a Veterans Service Organization such as the DAV, VFW, or American Legion will help a veteran file at no cost. Start at VA.gov › Hazardous Materials Exposure.

A civil product claim is a separate matter against the private companies that made and sold the asbestos-containing products — never against the Marine Corps or the government. That is the lane an asbestos attorney handles. A civil claim runs in parallel with VA benefits; pursuing one does not reduce or affect the other. If you served in the Marine Corps, were exposed to asbestos, and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against those manufacturers.