First off, this was back in 1983 - we didn't use the fire retardant/resistant paint we use now. We still used oil-based paint at the time. Down in the engine room, we still used what we called 'red lead', which (I think) did contain lead. In fact, our steam-pipe lagging still contained asbestos. Later, in 1989 I blew the whistle because we were still using lagging with asbestos (in violation of OSHA and NAVOSH regs), and the engineering chain of command decided to blackball my ability to advance from that point on - it's why I retired as an MM1 and not as a chief petty officer.