USS Carina (AK-74) Areas With Asbestos Exposure

The USS Carina (AK-74) was a cargo ship belonging to the Crater-class. It served the US Navy during World War II. The USS Carina was laid down and launched in 1942 at Richmond, California. On 1^st December the same year, the vessel was commissioned and assigned to Commander J.I. MacPherson. Some of the locations she visited were Purvis Bay, the Solomon Islands, Tongatapu, Tagoma, Tulaci, Australia, New Zeeland, the Fiji Islands, New Guinea, the Russel Islands, and others. In 1945, the Carina was the target of a Japanese attack at Okinawa. Fortunately, the boat survived and so did its crewmen. After this event, the vessel went home for repairs and her service also ended since she was no longer able to turn back to duty before the end of the war. In 1945, the USS Carina was decommissioned and taken to the War Shipping Administration.

Unfortunately, although a policy against using asbestos in ships was issued by the Navy in 1975, many veterans had already been exposed to the cancer-causing material by that point. Veterans who later got sick because of military asbestos exposure are eligible for free health care and other VA benefits.