Situated along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, the Vancouver Shipyard was an emergency shipyard to meet the production demands in World War II. The shipyard was part of the Kaiser Shipyards in the Pacific Northwest, along with the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, and the Swan Island Shipyard. The shipyard workers were building cargo ships, tank landing crafts, and various types of troop transports. Sadly, all of these tasks involved working with and around asbestos. The mineral was used within the dwellings of the ships and on various parts of the base. Due to the high demand, the workers were trained to build things fast and commonly disrupted the material, which released thousands of particles into the air.
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