Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant (the design of this vessel) describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty ships were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore, 1942); merchant engine crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual does not name this vessel and does not itself state 'asbestos' content; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-01
-
[2]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and program under which this EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship was mass-produced, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-02
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[3]National Park Service, SS John W. Brown place page; Maryland NRHP Registration Form B-4611 (nomination text); Virginia DHR 1985 nomination (VLR 121-0045, NRHP listed 1985-03-01 while at James River Reserve Fleet) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS place page; nomination PDF https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Baltimore%20City/B-4611.pdf ; VA nomination https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/121-0045_SS_John_W_Brown_1985_Final_Nomination.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The 1942 EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship John W. Brown (USMC hull 312) was built in 41 days at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore; launched Labor Day 1942-09-07; maiden voyage departed 1942-09-29 for the Persian Gulf with Russian-aid cargo. Modified 1943 to carry ~500 troops plus cargo; combat veteran of Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, and Operation Dragoon (Southern France); carried U.S. and Free French troops and transported Italian and German POWs to Bizerte. Operated postwar by States Marine Corporation; loaned to NYC Board of Education November 1947 as stationary maritime schoolship (closed 1982-06-30); entered James River Reserve Fleet 1983; conveyed to Project Liberty Ship 1988 and returned to Baltimore; steaming museum/memorial since.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1942-1997
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, wartime service, schoolship period, and preservation history. Neither the Maryland nor Virginia nomination contains any asbestos or insulation-material statement; this row supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-04
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[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - JOHN W BROWN, Ship History Detail 2688 (incl. digitized status card) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2688, milestone table and status card scan
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for John W. Brown: U.S. Official No. 242209; type EC2-S-C1; built 1942 by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard; milestones show MARAD custody entry/acquisition 1983-07-31 (James River Reserve Fleet after schoolship closure) and disposition/withdrawal 1988-06-29 recorded as 'SOLD PROJ LIBERTY SHIP.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones; status-card handwriting partially legible (OCR-aided). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-05
-
[5]Project Liberty Ship, S.S. John W. Brown official ship history page (ssjohnwbrown.org/ship-history) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Ship history page: Wartime Service, Schoolship, Restoration sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official museum history: the ship made 13 voyages during WWII; was crewed by about 45 civilian merchant seamen with 41 U.S. Navy Armed Guard manning her guns; carried ~500 troops after the 1943 conversion; served as the nation's only floating maritime high school; acquired by Project Liberty Ship and arrived in Baltimore 1988; today an all-volunteer-operated steaming museum ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1942-present
- Limitations
- Museum-published operational history; the 13-voyage count and 45/41 crew figures are museum figures not independently corroborated by a voyage-by-voyage log; schoolship start stated as 1946 here vs November 1947 loan date in the NRHP nomination (see correction row). No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-06
-
[6]Maryland NRHP Registration Form B-4611 (loan date, closure date); NPS place page (NHL language); Virginia DHR register page 121-0045 (1985 listing record); museum ship-history page (1946 framing) [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP nomination section 8; DHR page https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/121-0045/ ; NPS place page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) schoolship dates - museum page says loaned 1946 and served '1946 to 1982,' while the NRHP nomination documents the Maritime Commission loan in November 1947 and school closure 1982-06-30; the November 1947 loan date is adopted as controlling. (b) Designation - the NPS place page narrative and the Red Oak Victory NRHP nomination call the ship a 'National Historic Landmark,' but the formal designation record is National Register listing (NRHP 97001295, and earlier 1985 listing); the 'Historic Landmark' honorific on record is the SNAME engineering-plant award, not the Secretary of the Interior NHL program.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1947-1997
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary framings; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-07
-
[7]Batch-05 search ledger (this record): NRHP nominations B-4611 and VA 121-0045; MARAD ShipHistory 2688 + status card; ssjohnwbrown.org site; CourtListener name/hull searches; NPS page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-ss-john-w-brown-01 through sl-ss-john-w-brown-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the John W. Brown hull was found in the public sources searched - the Maryland and Virginia NRHP nominations contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement; MARAD record and museum site contain none; CourtListener ship-name search returned no hull-specific asbestos case (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 2026-09-15
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942 Liberty ship retaining much original fabric is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-08
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (US Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), and NARA merchant-vessel logbook guidance (RG 26 regional distribution) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 178 Construction Division + regional directors; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/248.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/merchant-vessels-pl.html ; https://www.archives.gov/atlanta/finding-aids/rg26_merchantmarines.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission) - Construction Division records 1942-46 and East Coast Director for Construction files (Philadelphia) may hold Bethlehem-Fairfield contract/hull 312 construction records incl. outfitting specifications; RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) holds vessel acquisition/operation files for WSA-operated hulls; merchant vessel logbooks 1939+ are in RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard) distributed to regional NARA facilities by port of submission - this ship's wartime logs would follow her operating ports (Baltimore/New York).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Study period
- 1942-1988 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 312 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-ss-john-w-brown-09