Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]NAVSEA SEA21, 'Naval Vessel Historical Evaluation - Final Determination: OBSERVATION ISLAND T-AGM 23,' Beaumont (TX) Reserve Fleet (initial evaluation 2014-12-16, final 2015-03-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full PDF (5 pp.) via Internet Archive capture (live navsea.navy.mil URL returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch 2026-09-20); Vessel Snapshot, Deployment Summary, Awards, Noteworthy Events, Criteria Evaluation sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NAVSEA SEA21 Naval Vessel Historical Evaluation (Final Determination, 2015-03-12) for OBSERVATION ISLAND T-AGM 23 documents the full lineage: Mariner-type high-speed cargo vessel converted to missile range instrumentation ship; previous designations ex-MA-28, ex-YAG-57, ex-E-AG-154; laid down 1952-09-15, launched 1953-08-15, delivered 1954-02-24, commissioned December 1958, decommissioned 1972-01-01 (its own figure), stricken 2014 (header 03-31; body text 03-30); two boilers, one GE turbine, 19,250 hp, single screw; AN/SPQ-11 Cobra Judy phased-array radar plus SINS. Records the first at-sea A-3 Polaris launches (1963-06-17 and 06-21), President Kennedy's 1963-11-16 embarkation to observe a Polaris launch, the first at-sea Poseidon launch (1969), Navy reacquisition 1977-08-18, MSC Special Mission Ships Program service as T-AGM-23, and NRHP ineligibility.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1952-2015
- Limitations
- Official Navy historic evaluation; establishes identity, chronology, machinery, and NRHP ineligibility. Contains no asbestos or materials-hazard statement; its commissioning date (December 1958) and stricken date are internally inconsistent with other official sources - see gaps. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-01
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Observation Island' (EAG-154) - published circa 1970, accessed via Internet Archive capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/o1/observation_island.htm (2010-12-08) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS text; live history.navy.mil URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-20 (NHHC link rot consistent with batch-01 finding); canonical URL noted in citation_value
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Observation Island (EAG-154) documents: Mariner-class hull laid down 1952-09-15 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden NJ; launched as Empire State Mariner 1953-08-15; delivered to MARAD and United States Lines under General Agency Agreement 1954-02-24; three MSTS voyages (Bremerhaven, Liverpool; third voyage to both coasts, Canal Zone, Guam, Korea, Japan); entered NDRF Mobile 1954-11-09; transferred to the Navy 1956-09-10; FBM conversion authorized 1957-10-15 with partial completion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth VA; commissioned 1958-12-05 (Capt. Leslie M. Slack); departed Norfolk 1959-01-03 for Guantanamo shakedown then Atlantic Missile Range operations off Cape Kennedy; returned to NNSY March 1959 for SINS installation; first at-sea Polaris launch (UGM-27) 1959-08-27; further NNSY work late 1959 - January 1960 (fire-control system, prototype FBM submarine launcher); supported first submerged Polaris launch from George Washington (SSBN-598) 1960-07-20; Navy Unit Commendation 1960-12-15; first at-sea A-2 launch 1961-03-01; NNSY modifications January 1962 for A-3; Pacific Missile Range deployment autumn 1962; first at-sea A-3 launches 1963-06-17 and 06-21; President Kennedy aboard 1963-11-16; redesignated AG-154 effective 1968-04-01; ten-month Norfolk Naval Shipyard conversion beginning 1968-06-24 for Poseidon C-3 support; still operating in that role as of the 1970 publication cutoff.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1952-1970
- Population
- Ship's crew and shipyard workers, 1958-1972
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy ship history; establishes construction, conversion events, operations, and complement (cpl. 434) through 1970. Contains no asbestos or materials-hazard statement. Commissioning date (December 5, 1958) conflicts with NVR/NAVSEA (December 15, 1958) - discrepancy logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - OBSERVATION ISLAND (AG-154/T-AGM-23), Ship History Detail 3654 (milestones + digitized USMC Vessel Status Card MC-7146a and Reserve Fleet Ship Particulars cards MA-383) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Milestones table; status card images 3654_6758AF.jpg, 3654_6758BF.jpg, 3654_6758BB.jpg and two MC-7146a card scans (OCR'd/read by reviewer)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record (Detail 3654) and digitized status cards document: C4-S-1a hull, Official No. 267046, builder hull 494, MA hull 28, built by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden NJ, completed 1954-02-24; machinery 'GE Turbine - Foster Wheeler Boilers, 19250 SHP'; custody sequence - Empire State Mariner delivered to U.S. Lines (GAA) Camden NJ 1954-02-24; NDRF Mobile 1954-11-09; Navy Department title Mobile 1956-09-10, renamed Observation Island (EAG-154); entered Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet 1973-01-26 Navy-titled; MARAD title 1974-01-26; temporary MSC custody 1976-06-29 to 1976-07-29; withdrawn 1977-08-18 (permanent transfer to MSC); re-entered under Navy-MSC retention 1977-09-19; temporarily withdrawn 1977-12-08 (card annotation 'for stripping'), returned 1978-05-02 (card annotation 'Returned from MSC/Shipyard survey'); permanently withdrawn to MSC 1979-04-13; entered Beaumont Reserve Fleet under reimbursable custody 2014-03-29; MARAD acquired title 2014-05-08; cleared historic review (NRHP-ineligible, Texas SHPO concurrence) 2015-07-10; fate 'Sold - Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1954-2015
- Population
- Reserve-fleet custody and MSC personnel, 1973-2014
- Limitations
- Primary custodial record; establishes construction, machinery make (Foster Wheeler boilers / GE turbine), reserve-fleet custody movements, and disposal pathway. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement - machinery documentation supports era inference only, not ship-proven asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-03
-
[4]MARAD Office of Ship Disposal Programs, FY2018 Ship Disposal Annual Report (Table 1: BRF April award, removed 5/3/2018, OBSERVATION ISLAND - Sale; recycler section) and FY2019 Ship Disposal Annual Report (ASM completion, April 2019) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- 2018 report Table 1 + Brownsville recycler narrative; 2019 report recycler completion list; both PDFs accessed via Internet Archive capture (live maritime.dot.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch 2026-09-20); 2019 report URL: https://www.maritime.dot.gov/sites/marad.dot.gov/files/2023-08/2019%20Ship%20Disposal%20Annual%20Report.pdf
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- MARAD's ship-disposal program record documents the end-of-life pathway: Observation Island was removed from the Beaumont Reserve Fleet 2018-05-03 under a sales contract awarded April 2018 (NARA-derived compilation gives the sale date 2018-04-03); All Star Metals LLC, Brownsville, TX, purchased the vessel and 'are actively dismantling' it as of the FY2018 report; the FY2019 report records ASM 'completing the dismantlement of the SUMNER and OBSERVATION ISLAND in April of 2019.' Program-level language in the same reports identifies environmental remediation of hazardous-material streams - 'such as asbestos, PCB and loose exterior paint present on the obsolete non-retention vessels' - as a defined cost/scope element of MARAD vessel recycling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2018-2019
- Population
- Ship recycling workers, All Star Metals, Brownsville TX
- Limitations
- Ship-specific for the sale/removal/dismantling facts and recycler identity. The asbestos/hazmat language is program-level boilerplate applying to non-retention vessels generally - it is NOT a hull-quantified asbestos figure for Observation Island and establishes only that disposal ran through MARAD's hazmat-managed recycling channel, not what ACM was found aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-04
-
[5]Franke, K., and Paustenbach, D., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20 (2011) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article body (naval-ship insulation use through the 1950s; specification-driven asbestos content)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed evaluation of Navy asbestos knowledge documents that 'beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s, amosite and chrysotile fibers... were used extensively as insulating materials on naval ships,' that the Navy required specified asbestos content in insulation, gaskets, packing, and related materials, and that amosite became the prominent fiber in molded insulation aboard naval vessels after Navy approval in the mid-to-late 1930s. This hull was built 1952-1954 inside that documented era, with a steam plant (two boilers, GE geared turbine) of the type these materials insulated.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1900-1970 documented; hull built 1952-1954
- Population
- Construction trades (New York Shipbuilding, Camden, 1952-54); crews and yard workers, 1954-1979
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarship; does not name this vessel, does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, and does not establish quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Inference rests on documented build era + documented steam machinery, not on any hull record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-05
-
[6]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 extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding from the WWII expansion onward, with asbestos disease manifesting in shipyard workers exposed 'in the 1940s and during the postwar period' - the federal specification regime under which the C4-S-1a Mariner design (this hull's parent design) was built at New York Shipbuilding, Camden.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s-postwar era documented; article 1987
- Population
- Shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation centered on WWII shipbuilding; this hull's 1952-54 construction postdates the core period studied. Does not name this vessel and establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this hull, its quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-06
-
[7]U.S. Air Force photo DF-ST-82-01485 (1980-07-23, turret installation, Baltimore) via defenseimagery/NARA public archive; USASMDC/ARSTRAT Historical Office, 'SMDC History: USNS Observation Island decommissioned' (army.mil, 2014-09-25); MSC Fact Sheet T-AGM (June 2001, archived); MARAD-filed reference card (ShipHistory 3654 cards) [other_primary]
- Locator
- army.mil article body; Commons/NARA file DF-ST-82-01485 description page (Baltimore dock location); Wayback capture of msc.navy.mil/factsheet/t-agm.htm (2013-02-22); card image 3654_6758BB.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented yard work periods on this hull (each a potential insulation-disturbance event, asbestos scope not established): 1956-1958 FBM conversion and repeated availabilities at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth VA (DANFS); ten-month Poseidon conversion at NNSY beginning 1968-06-24 (DANFS); 1979-1981 Cobra Judy conversion with rotating steel turret for the AN/SPQ-11 - DoD imagery (DF-ST-82-01485, 1980-07-23, USAF photo) shows the radar turret installation aboard T-AGM-23 'docked in Baltimore, Maryland' (the MSC fact sheet identifies Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation as the conversion yard); a MARAD-filed reference card documents a 1984-10 to 1985-03 refit by Northwest Marine, Portland OR (new foremast, heightened stacks, three new turbogenerator sets, new deckhouses, two new evaporators, added X-band radar); inactivated 2014-03-25, stricken 2014-03-31, ending the 30-year Cobra Judy program (U.S. Army SMDC history).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1956-1985 (yard events); 2014 (inactivation)
- Population
- Conversion and repair yard workers (NNSY Portsmouth; Baltimore; Northwest Marine Portland); ship's force
- Limitations
- Documents where and when hull work occurred; NONE of these sources contains an asbestos statement - asbestos scope for each availability is inference, not documentation. Yard-event exposure populations existed, but no hull-level asbestos finding is made. The MSC fact sheet's 'Conversion: Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock' and its background text 'converted at Norfolk Naval Shipyard' refer to the 1979-81 and 1956-58 conversions respectively; a MARAD-card secondary reference's boiler data conflicts with the MARAD status card - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-07
-
[8]Walden v. United States, 31 F. Supp. 2d 1230 (S.D. Cal. 1998); docket 3:97-cv-00121; also indexed 1998 WL 937902, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21720; CourtListener F. Supp. 2d vol. 31 listing [court_record]
- Locator
- Published opinion, F. Supp. 2d vol. 31 p. 1230; findings of fact 1-9 and conclusions of law (Public Vessels Act / LHWCA / Scindia analysis)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Ship-specific court record located: Walden v. United States, 31 F. Supp. 2d 1230 (S.D. Cal. 1998), No. 97-CV-121 H(POR) - bench-trial findings of fact and conclusions of law. The opinion names USNS OBSERVATION ISLAND as a public vessel and finds plaintiff Steven Walden, a ship-repair worker employed by contractor Dolphin Industries, was injured aboard on 1995-02-10 during voyage repairs when his head struck a low-hanging air duct in a passageway; the court held the United States liable under the Public Vessels Act / LHWCA framework (Scindia duties) with 25% contributory negligence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1995-1998
- Population
- Contract ship-repair workers aboard (Dolphin Industries), 1995
- Limitations
- Genuine ship-name hit but a NON-ASBESTOS matter - personal-injury negligence (head strike on an air duct), decided on the merits, not an asbestos or toxic-exposure claim. Carried to document the searched litigation surface: it confirms a published opinion naming this hull exists and is not asbestos-related. CourtListener API verification of the opinion record was blocked by rate limiting (125/day) on 2026-09-20; reporter citation verified via Justia text and CourtListener volume index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-08
-
[9]Batch-726 search ledger (this record): NAVSEA SEA21 evaluation; DANFS via Wayback; NVR AGM-23 via Wayback; MARAD ShipHistory 3654/7807 + status cards; MARAD disposal reports FY2018/FY2019; army.mil SMDC; MSC fact sheet; DoD imagery; web-wide litigation/asbestos searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-agm-23-agm23-01 through sl-uss-agm-23-agm23-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat inventory, or asbestos litigation naming Observation Island / E-AG-154 / AG-154 / T-AGM-23 / Empire State Mariner was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The one located court opinion naming the hull (Walden) is non-asbestos. MARAD status cards, the NAVSEA historic evaluation, DANFS, and the MSC fact sheet contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1952-54 steam-powered Mariner hull is era-consistent with installed asbestos, and scrapping ran through MARAD's hazmat-managed recycling program. CourtListener API was rate-limited (125/day) during this session; the litigation negative finding rests on indexed web searches and is flagged for a clean CourtListener pass when quota resets. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-09
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 19/RG 24; shipscribe.com AG154 page notes (citing NARA RG 19 Entry UD 1024-AD Box 1); MARAD ship-disposal program records [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 BuShips records; shipscribe.com/usnaux2/AG/AG154.html 'Special sources' note; MARAD disposal contract files (Beaumont/DC)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room work or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) Entry UD 1024-AD - the conversion-planning records a NARA-derived compilation cites for this hull's EAG-154 design history; RG 24 Navy deck logs for USS Observation Island 1958-1972; MARAD Office of Ship Disposal contract file for the April 2018 All Star Metals sale (would carry hazmat-handling contract terms); NAVSEA inactive-ships hazardous-material documentation for the 2014 inactivation, if retained.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1956-2018 records
- Limitations
- Record-path mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents for this hull exist in these series is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-agm-23-agm23-10