US Navy shipyard occupational medicine through World War II.

For more than 60 years the US Navy has maintained occupational health programs for its civil service workers in shipyards, arsenals, and aircraft repair facilities. The early history of the organization, people, and professional activities dedicated to the health of this large federal industrial workforce is examined. Early efforts were stimulated by increasingly complex naval technology and worker compensation law. During World War II training, clinical, and preventive programs were pursued vigorously. Navy occupational health paralleled and at times led the development of occupational medicine and industrial hygiene in America.