The USS Mayfield Victory (AK-232) was a Boulder Victory-class cargo ship laid down on August 10, 1944, under a Maritime Commission contract at the Permanente Metals Corp., Yard No.1, Richmond, CA. It was commissioned on November 16, 1944, under LCDR. Niels H. Olsen’s command, with the hull number AK-232 and it served the US Navy for 2 years until it was decommissioned on April 05, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 99 people on board and had its main missions in the Asiatic Pacific Theater and participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation during World War II. On this ship, asbestos exposure occurred mostly in the engineering spaces and boiler rooms. The ship used asbestos-containing products such as boiler and steam pipe insulation, fireproofing material for bulkheads, brake linings in winches, and gaskets of valves and pipe fixtures during the construction and repair. Unfortunately, the manufacturers whose products contained asbestos or required the use of asbestos did not provide any warnings to Navy personnel regarding the dangers of asbestos. As a result, many Navy personnel discovered years later that they might develop lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma, or another asbestos-related disease as a result of a hidden danger - asbestos - about which they were never told.
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