American Bridge Shipyard (Orange)

Orange, Texas is home to the American Bridge Shipyard. It was built along the Sabine River and served prominently as a ship building facility during World War I. Following the war, the yard hit difficult times caused by the onset of the Great Depression.

The economic hardships which affected people and businesses all over the United Sates put the fate of the Texas based shipyard in question. Production dropped immensely and it seemed there was not much demand for the facility. The second World War brought an even greater need for large vessels to be added to the American Naval Fleet, and the American Bridge Shipyard once again picked up the reigns to assist in the efforts. It became one of largest ship building sites in all of Texas, and produced new ocean going crafts quickly and professionally.

Thousands of Texans were proud to be employed at the shipyard, and to serve their country in this capacity. Tragically, as they toiled on to aid the nation's ship building needs, many of them were affected by a poison that was willingly introduced into the facility. The poisonous material in question was the mineral known as asbestos, and although it was widely found in almost every shipyard as a key ingredient in insulation and other products, many people did not know about it's toxic secret. Most Americans were not made aware of the dangers from asbestos until the late 1970's, and by then millions of people had been exposed to the mineral.

Employees of the American Bridge Shipyard and hundreds of other plants like it around the country worked in close proximity to a variety of goods that were made from asbestos. As these items were used, small bits of asbestos dust would escape into the air, where they could be inhaled by unsuspecting victims. The dust is invisible to the human eye, so people did not realize they were breathing in anything other than oxygen.

Exposure to asbestos can have several detrimental effects, but most of them take long periods of time to develop. That factor caused people to continue to work around this dangerous material and inadvertently allow their conditions to worsen. People who ingested the poisonous dust would eventually experience severe enough tissue scarring to have great trouble breathing, and this unhealthy condition was often followed by respiratory disorders and diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Many of the people who labored at the Orange based facility became very ill or even lost their lives after years of dedication.

Since the effects of asbestos sometimes take more than a decade to be noticeable, even people who spent time around it years ago may be at risk. If you or anyone you know worked with or around this toxic mineral, notify your doctor immediately and schedule an appointment for a checkup.

Last modified: December 09 2009.