Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, now formally known as Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard located on Sinclair Inlet in Bremerton, Washington, about 15 miles west of Seattle. Established in 1891 and designated Navy Yard Puget Sound in 1901, it was the first dry dock and repair facility in the Pacific Northwest capable of handling the Navy's largest ships. During World War I the yard built submarines, subchasers, minesweepers, and roughly 1,700 small boats, and during World War II its primary mission was repairing battle damage to American and Allied vessels. Today PSNS & IMF remains in continuous operation, providing maintenance, modernization, and technical and logistics support for the fleet, and the surrounding 650-acre complex includes hundreds of acres of industrial land and tidelands along the inlet.

There are concerns about potential carcinogenic health hazards at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, stemming from decades of industrial ship repair operations that released various environmental contaminants:

1. Heavy metals: Investigations at the shipyard complex identified heavy metals, including lead, mercury, arsenic, copper, cadmium, and nickel, in soil, groundwater, and the marine sediments of Sinclair Inlet. These metals were byproducts of activities such as painting, abrasive blasting, metal plating, and general ship repair work carried out over many decades. Several heavy metals, including arsenic and certain compounds of nickel and cadmium, are classified as human carcinogens, and long-term exposure to them has been associated with elevated risks of certain cancers and other health effects.
2. PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls): PCBs were widely used in electrical equipment, cable insulation, and other shipboard materials before being banned in the late 1970s. At the Bremerton complex, PCBs were detected in soil and in Sinclair Inlet sediments along with petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds. PCBs are considered probable human carcinogens, and exposure may potentially be linked to cancers of the liver and other organs as well as immune and reproductive effects.
3. Asbestos: Like most shipyards of its era, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard relied heavily on asbestos insulation in ship construction, overhaul, and repair through much of the twentieth century. Workers who installed, removed, or worked near asbestos-containing materials, particularly in confined shipboard spaces, faced well-documented exposure. Asbestos exposure has been associated with mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis, illnesses that may not appear until decades after exposure.

The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Complex was added to the EPA's National Priorities List of Superfund sites in June 1994. Cleanup has been organized into multiple operable units and has included dredging contaminated sediment into a confined aquatic disposal pit between 2000 and 2004, capping, shoreline stabilization, and long-term monitoring. In a more recent five-year review, the EPA determined that the Operable Unit B Marine cleanup is not protective of human health and the environment, largely because of ongoing mercury concerns in Sinclair Inlet, and additional evaluation and monitoring are underway. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has also completed a public health assessment of the Bremerton naval complex.

It's important to note that while there are documented contaminants and concerns about potential exposure at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, establishing a definitive link between service or employment at the installation and any individual illness can be complex. Research into these exposures and their long-term health effects is ongoing. Veterans and former shipyard workers who believe they may have been exposed are encouraged to stay informed, document their service history, and consult the VA about health registries, screenings, and potential benefits.