The USS S-31 (SS-136) was a first-group (S-1 or "Holland") S-class submarine of the United States Navy. She was launched on 28 December 1918 sponsored by Mrs. George A. Walker and commissioned on 11 May 1922 with Lieutenant William A. Heard in command. Also built by Union Iron Works in 1918, the submarine served the United States Navy for 13 years. It took part in World War II and won one battle star. Because it was decommissioned, asbestos might have been added to its walls as insulation, which represented a great health danger for those who were present on the submarine at the time. Finally decommissioned in 1945, it was subsequently sold for scrapping. Due to its resistance to heat and chemicals, asbestos was widely used in United States shipyards, helping the US Navy tout some of the most indestructible naval vessels in the world. Almost every shipyard worker and Navy personnel have been exposed to asbestos. Asbestos exposure can have devastating effects on a person’s body leading to lung cancer, colon/rectal cancer, throat/esophageal cancer, bronchial cancer, and mesothelioma, all of which are potentially deadly.
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