Avondale Industries
The Avondale Industries Shipyard was first established in 1938. However, it did not begin building ocean vessels until the 1950's, when it was responsible for building both military and commercial vessels. Avondale Industries is a subsidiary of Northrup Grumman Corporation. It makes its home on the banks of the Mississippi River and is located about 12 miles from New Orleans. It is now Louisiana's largest manufacturing employer boasting over 6,000 employees in its work force.
Initially, Avondale Industries was regarded mostly as a small barge repair facility. Today, it is a large and sprawling industrial complex that is known as Avondale Operations. It has a variety of naval and commercial shipbuilding programs. The yard spans over 268 acres, which are equipped with outfitting docks as well as a Modular Construction Division and a Steel Sales Division.
Avondale is one of the biggest shipbuilders in the US. Their specialty revolves around the design, construction, conversion, repair and modernization of a wide variety of ocean vessels. They build for both military and commercial interests. Its biggest contract to date was secured in 1997 when they built two 125,000 Dead Weight Ton crude oil carriers. Recently, Avondale Industries has focused on the construction of U.S. Navy surface ships.
Today, Avondale Industries is on the cutting edge of the newest shipbuilding technology. It employs the use of robotics to facilitate the process of shipbuilding as well as employing many other groundbreaking technologies.
Just like many other shipbuilding companies in United States history, Avondale unfortunately used asbestos when building many of its ships. At the time, it was not understood that asbestos is a harmful substance that has many adverse side effects. Asbestos was used mostly as insulation, but it also had other uses on board ships. Those most likely exposed to asbestos were plumbers, pipe fitters and electricians. Asbestos was primarily used because of its great fire retardant capabilities. It is one of the most fire retardant agents known. Prolonged exposure to asbestos can lead to life changing illnesses such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. If left untreated, both of these illnesses can prove to be fatal.
In general, if asbestos is left intact there is a limited chance of being infected by one of these illnesses. However, in places where dust and asbestos particles are found, like shipbuilding and overhaul, there is a much higher risk of contamination. These small particles get lodged in the respiratory system, leading to asbestosis and mesothelioma. Additionally, most asbestos-related diseases do not surface until many years after the initial contamination.
