Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]ShipScribe.com, EFC Design 1024 notes and specifications (Robert J. McKellar compilation; special sources: Mark H. Goldberg 'The Hog Islanders' 1991; NARA RG-32 EFC records; International Marine Engineering 1917-1920) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Design 1024 notes; 'Specifications' block for USAT Cambrai (EFC Hull 669), sister design unit
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Design 1024 (Hog Island Type B) specification, the design of this hull (EFC hull 673): steel Army transport; propulsion 1 G.E. Curtis turbine, 6 Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers, 6,000 shp, single screw, 15 kts; 3 decks, 7 holds. Steam plant and boiler spaces of this 1918-1920 design belong to the era when marine boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1918-1920 (design/construction era)
- Population
- Construction trades (American International Shipbuilding, Hog Island, 1918-1920); engine-room and repair crew
- Limitations
- Design-level register data compiled from official sources (NARA RG-32, published shipyard statistics), not a hull record - the specification does not name this vessel and does not 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-uss-argonne-ap4-01
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[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, including government shipyard overhaul, conversion, and repair work - the program-level context for this hull's WWII-era yard periods (1941 overhaul, 1944-45 battle-damage and repair work).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII U.S. shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was used in any specific yard period aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-02
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[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Argonne' II (AP-4), Naval Historical Center transcription [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Argonne' II (AP-4), full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for the second Argonne: completed 1920 under USSB contract by International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island, Pa.; transferred to the Navy by the War Department 1921-11-03; commissioned 1921-11-08 at Philadelphia Navy Yard; classified transport AP-4 1921-11-16; Naval Transportation Service through-route New York-Manila 1922-24; classified AS-10 (submarine tender) 1924-07-01 and permanently transferred to Navy ownership under executive order 1924-08-06; converted at Mare Island Sep 1924-Mar 1926; flagship duties incl. Comdr. Fleet Base Force (from 1931-01-06) and Rear Admiral Calhoun, Commander Base Force Pacific Fleet, alongside 1010 Dock at Pearl Harbor 1941-12-07; ComSoPac flagship (Ghormley, then Halsey) at Noumea Aug 1942-Jun 1943; repair/salvage service Solomons, Russells, Majuro, Manus, Palaus, Leyte; damaged by Mount Hood explosion 1944-11-10 and by an accidental depth-charge blast at Kossol 1944-12; decommissioned Mare Island 1946-07-15; transferred to Maritime Commission 1946-07-31; stricken NVR 1946-08-28; sold to Boston Metals Corp. 1950-08-14 and broken up; one battle star (Pearl Harbor).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1920-1950
- Limitations
- Canonical NHHC DANFS URLs returned 404 on 2026-09-25 (link rot noted in BATCH-01); cited via 2004-03-02 Wayback capture of the official history.navy.mil DANFS page. Establishes identity and service history; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-03
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[4]DANFS 'Argonne' II (conversion items, Mount Hood and Kossol damage detail); NHHC Online Library image page, USS Argonne (AP-4, later AS-10 and AG-31), 1921-1950 (1941 overhaul armament installation) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS paragraphs on 1924-26 conversion and 1944 damage (Wayback capture); NHHC Online Library page text (1941 overhaul)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented yard and damage-repair events relevant to material disturbance aboard this hull: (a) Mare Island conversion Sep 1924-Mar 1926 in reduced commission - DANFS itemizes installation of a turbo-generator plant, compressed-air plant, machine shop, and low-pressure distilling plant; (b) overhaul April-August 1941 during which four 3-inch and four 5-inch/51 guns were installed (NHHC Online Library); (c) 1944-11-10 damage from the Mount Hood explosion 1,100 yards away at Seeadler Harbor - 221 pieces of debris recovered aboard (~1,300 lb), 12-inch searchlight destroyed, five transmitting antennas broken, steam/fresh-water/salt-water lines ruptured, concussion damage; (d) 1944-12 accidental 300-lb depth-charge explosion alongside at Kossol Roads - damage to print shop, radio-repair shop, galleys and pantries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1924-1945
- Population
- Ship's crew and navy-yard repair workers during conversion, overhaul, and battle-damage repair periods
- Limitations
- Documents ship-specific conversion, overhaul, and damage-repair events; none of these sources states asbestos content, abatement, or materials - asbestos scope of any yard period is inference, not ship-proven. NHHC Online Library locates the Apr-Aug 1941 overhaul 'there' - read as Pearl Harbor, consistent with DANFS recording her shift from San Pedro to Pearl Harbor in August 1941, but the yard is not named outright.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-04
-
[5]U.S.S. Argonne (AG-31) Commanding Officer, action report 'Enemy attack, December 7, 1941; Detailed report of,' Pearl Harbor T.H., 1942-01-28 (HyperWar transcription of the official report); CinCPac report of 1942-02-15 (TF-15 flagship entry) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Action report full text; CinCPac report Part II Task Force Fifteen at https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Pearl/CinCPac.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Pearl Harbor action report: commanding officer's detailed report of 1942-01-28 to CinCPac - Argonne lay alongside 1010 Dock as flagship (Task Force Fifteen per CinCPac report); manned guns ~0758; fired 196 rounds of 3-inch and 3,885 rounds of .50-caliber; claimed one enemy bomber downed by Cpl. Alfred Schlag, USMC; at 2116 a .50-caliber bullet fired from the direction of Ford Island passed through the port side at frame 70, second deck, killing Sea.1c. Brown and wounding Sea.1c. Price, both USS Utah survivors.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-12-07
- Population
- Ship's crew and Marine detachment, 7 December 1941
- Limitations
- Primary-source combat/damage record establishing the ship's position and crew actions during the attack; the downed-bomber claim is a wartime action-report claim, not an independently verified finding; casualty surnames differ slightly from DANFS narrative detail (rank initialisms). Contains no asbestos information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-05
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[6]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ARGONNE (AG-31), Ship History Detail 304 (incl. digitized status card and ARGONNE.pdf document) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 304, milestone table, characteristics block, status-card scans
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for ARGONNE (AG-31), Detail 304 (linked name records AP-4 Detail 12714 and AS-10 Detail 12715): year built 1920; shipyard American International Shipbuilding Co.; type Naval Auxiliary / AG (1) Miscellaneous; MARAD type USSB 1024; length 448 ft, beam 58 ft, gross tons 7,555, displacement 8,400 lightweight / 11,401 summer; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; milestones - entry into Reserve Fleet 1946-07-15, disposition and withdrawal 1950-08-14. Digitized vessel status card on file.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946-1950
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and register characteristics; reserve-fleet entry shown as 1946-07-15 vs DANFS's formal Maritime Commission transfer 1946-07-31 - treated as custody vs legal-transfer distinction. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-06
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[7]DANFS 'Argonne' I vs II entry split (Wayback capture); NARA Special List 44 Named Vessels index (two Argonne logbook entries); CourtListener search results, this batch [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS II header; NARA SL-44 Argonne lines; search_ledger sl-uss-argonne-ap4-05 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision control: the second Argonne (AP-4/AS-10/AG-31, this hull, ex-Sinsinawa, EFC hull 673) is a different vessel from the first USS Argonne - the Kobe-built freighter ex-Taifuku Maru (U.S. official no. 214640), in commission 1918-10-19 to 1919-01-30 and returned to USSB. DANFS separates the entries ('The first Argonne retained her former name'; 'II' header for AP-4); NARA Special List 44 separately indexes 'Argonne' logbooks 1918-1919 (see Alloway) and 'Argonne (AG-31, AP-4, AS-10)' logbooks 1921-1945. CourtListener 'Argonne' asbestos hits are Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, IL) and property/street-name collisions, not this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1918-2026
- Limitations
- Disambiguation record preventing cross-attribution of the 1918 freighter's records or Argonne National Laboratory litigation to this hull; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-07
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[8]Batch-2120 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback; NHHC Online Library; MARAD Detail 304 + status cards + ARGONNE.pdf; HyperWar action report; NARA SL-44; CourtListener name/hull queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-argonne-ap4-01 through sl-uss-argonne-ap4-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials specification, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, NHHC Online Library, MARAD ShipHistory + status card, the Pearl Harbor action report, and CourtListener name/hull searches (see search_ledger). All 'Argonne' asbestos litigation hits classify as name collisions (Argonne National Laboratory; property/street names).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1920 steam auxiliary with 25 years of service incl. conversion, overhauls, and wartime repair work is era-consistent with 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-uss-argonne-ap4-08
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[9]NARA Special List 44 Named Vessels (logbook index); NARA RG-32 / RG-181 record-group structure (per McKellar sourcing and NARA finding-aid framework) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA SL-44 Argonne (AG-31, AP-4, AS-10) line; record-group guides
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction-order material; no spend authorized): (a) NARA Special List 44 indexes deck logbooks for Argonne (AG-31, AP-4, AS-10), 1921-11-08 through 1945-06-30; (b) EFC/USSB construction records in RG-32 (cited by McKellar for Design 1024 naming/hull data) may hold hull-673 outfitting and machinery specifications; (c) Mare Island Naval Shipyard records (RG-181, NARA San Bruno) may hold the 1924-1926 tender-conversion work package; (d) Pearl Harbor Navy Yard records may hold the Apr-Aug 1941 overhaul work package.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1918-1950 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and index mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether these files contain asbestos-specific documents for hull 673/AP-4 is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-argonne-ap4-09