Asbestos Exposure in the Military information can be found here. During and in the years following World War II, the use of asbestos on U.S. ships increased dramatically as asbestos manufacturers help write specifications for their products. Hundreds of thousands of Navy personnel and civilian shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos products in the course of their military service or in their work as “yard birds”, and would, decades later, suffer malignant diseases as a result.