USS Herzog (DE-178) Areas With Asbestos Exposure

The USS Herzog (DE-178) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort laid down on May 17, 1943, and launched on September 5, the same year. It was commissioned on October 6, 1943, under Lt. Comdr. J. C. Toft’s command with the hull number DE-178 and served in the U.S. Navy for one year until it was decommissioned on August 15, 1944. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 216 men on board and had its main missions in Bermuda, New York, West Indies, Recife, Trinidad, Brazil, and Panama. After the decommissioning, the ship was transferred to Brazil and renamed Beberibe. Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the air when disturbed or worn away with equipment use. Asbestos has been used to strengthen and fireproof products such as concrete pipes and sheets, plastic components, and gypsum plasters. Health investigations during the late 1900s proved that asbestos exposure causes a number of serious conditions, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.