The USS Montpelier (CL-57) was a Cleveland-class light cruiser laid down on December 2, 1940, and launched on February 12, 1942. It was commissioned on September 9, the same year under Capt. Leighton Wood’s command with the hull number CL-57 and served in the U.S. Navy for 5 years until it was decommissioned on January 24, 1947. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 1,255 people on board and had its main missions in Sydney, Noumea, Leyte Gulf, Guam, Palawan, Mindoro, Wakayama, New Georgia, or Efate. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on March 1, 1959, and sold for scrapping to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation the following year. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Montpelier received 13 battle stars and one Navy Unit Commendation. Due to its heat resistance and strength, asbestos was used in the shipbuilding process for its insulation capacity. Enclosed rooms such as the engine rooms, boiler rooms, and ammunition storage rooms, where the ventilation was often poor, were the most dangerous places onboard that presented a high risk of exposure to asbestos.
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