The USS Arizona (BB-39) was a Pennsylvania-class battleship laid down on March 16, 1914, and launched one year later on June 19, 1915, with the hull number BB-39. The ship received the name of Arizona, the 48th state of America, it was commissioned on October 17, 1916, and carried a complement of 2,290 people on board. Due to its construction period, the vessel wasn’t able to participate in World War I and it remained stateside during the war period. Between the wars, the ship was used for training exercises. On December 29, 1941, the vessel was decommissioned after it served in the US Navy for 25 years. For the services brought to the USA during World War II, the ship received 1 battle star and many awards. Like virtually all ships built prior to 1980, the USS Arizona (BB-39) was constructed using many asbestos-containing components. The poor ventilation in the rooms where pipefitters, boilermen, engineer, or hull maintenance technicians were assigned to work aggravated the risk of developing mesothelioma and lung cancer among workers due to the high concentration of asbestos fibers.
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