Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet crew-dg-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ata-228-ata228-pkt-crew-dg-packet-md
-
[2]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheet, 'USS ATA-174 (later Wateree) Class' page - per-hull construction/disposition tables and ship note for ATA-228, plus class notes (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, BuShips/SCB records, and MARAD files) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATA-174 class page: construction table (ATA-228 row), disposition table (ATA-228 row), ship notes (ATA-228 row), class notes (FY1944 Lend-Lease batch narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register-compiled per-hull record for ATA-228: ordered 1944-11-20 under the FY1944 program; built by Levingston Shipbuilding, Orange, TX; keel 1945-05-01; launched 1945-06-09; never commissioned (Commiss. column '--'); accepted and delivered 1946-04-25; struck 1946-11-13; disposal via Maritime Commission 1947-07-18 (MA sale entry 1947-07-16); ship note - 'Sold (delivered) by MC to Advice Incorporated, Washington, D.C., then to Argentina as hydrographic ship SANAVIRON.' Class context: on 1944-11-18 CNO approved 20 additional tugs of this class (ATA 219-238) for Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union, contract awarded two days later, MAC assignment to the USSR 17 or 24 Jan 1945; the assignment lapsed/was retracted as the war ended (contracts for ATA 229-233 cancelled Aug 1945); on 1945-10-31 (1945-09-14 for ATA 234-238) CNO directed the remaining 15 tugs be accepted from the builders upon completion but not commissioned - caretaker status, then WSA disposal after equipment removal. Class/design data: Navy BAT-1 design; 534 t light / 835 t max; 143.0' oa / 134.5' wl x 33.8' x 13.2' max; original armament 1 x 3"/50 + 2 x 20mm; complement 43 (1944); 13 kts; 1,500 HP; 1 screw, G.M. diesel-electric; BuShips contracted with General Motors, which supplied the diesel engines and subcontracted hull construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding construction workforce (1945-46); Maritime Commission disposal/caretaker personnel (1946-47)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, design, and MARAD records, not the registers themselves; consistent with the Levingston yard table and NavSource. The ship note's 'Stricken 1985' for the Argentine career is superseded by Argentine Decreto 361/97 (1997-04-23) - see the decree evidence row. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), Levingston Shipbuilding, Orange TX yard page - hull-number production table and yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- Levingston yard page: production table row for hull 375; yard-history narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Levingston yard production table carries this hull as yard hull no. 375: original name ATA 228, owner US Navy, type Tug, 600 GT, 143 ft, delivered 1946-04-25, disposition 'To Argentina 1947 as Sanaviron.' Yard context: Levingston 'was the Navy's leading builder of ocean tugs' in WWII, 'producing more than any other U.S. yard'; incorporated 1933 at Orange, TX (riverboat/gunboat yard lineage to 1859); sold by founder George Levingston to Edgar W. Brown Jr. in 1945; yard closed 1985.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1947
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding workforce, Orange TX (WWII-era tug construction)
- Limitations
- Specialist shipbuilding-industry compilation, secondary in character; delivery date and buyer corroborate the shipscribe register compilation. Gross-tonnage figure (600 GT) is a register-tonnage basis distinct from the displacement figures elsewhere in this record. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - ATA-228 page (file 09/38/38228), incl. contributed photos of ARA Sanaviron (RHF-2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 38228.htm - narrative block, specifications block, photo captions (images 093822801-093822803)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records the hull sold to Argentina and renamed ARA Sanaviron (Q-16), later redesignated A-8 then RHF-2 (dates unknown); 'Struck from the Argentine Naval Register, date unknown; final disposition, fate unknown.' Photographic documentation includes ARA Sanaviron (RHF-2) underway in an Argentine port and moored pierside at Puerto Belgrano in 1981 (photo by Henk Ros, showing the tug present as ARA 9 de Julio, ex-USS Boise CL-47, was towed out for breaking), and passing through Tierra del Fuego. Spec block: 835 t light / 1,360 t full; 143' x 33'10" x 13'2" limiting; 12 kts; 1 x 3"/50 DP + 2 x 20mm AA; boom 5 t; 5 officers + 40 enlisted; diesel fuel 1,200 bbls; propulsion two GM 12-278A diesel-electric engines, single Fairbanks-Morse main reduction gear, two diesel-drive 60 kW 120 V DC ship's-service generators, single propeller, 1,200 shp. NavSource labels the type 'Sotoyomo Class Auxiliary Fleet Tug.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1997
- Population
- Argentine Navy crew of ARA Sanaviron (1947-1997)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation. Two narrative defects vs the register-compiled record: NavSource's 'Laid down in 1946' conflicts with shipscribe (keel 1945-05-01) and 'Canceled by the War Shipping Administration in 1946' conflicts with shipscribe (contract not cancelled; accepted/delivered 1946-04-25 then sold via MC 1947) - the shipscribe figures are carried and the NavSource variants logged as discrepancies. NavSource's spec-block displacement (835 lt / 1,360 fl) conflicts with shipscribe class data (534 lt / 835 max) - logged. The 1981 Puerto Belgrano photo independently documents the hull extant and in Argentine custody that year - after the shipscribe note's 'Stricken 1985,' consistent with the Argentine decree date (1997). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-03
-
[5]Decreto 361/97, Republica Argentina - 'Declaranse en desuso a los Barreminas A.R.A. "Chubut", ... Aviso A.R.A. "Sanaviron", Remolcador A.R.A. "Huarpe" y Chata "E 6"' (Buenos Aires, 1997-04-23; Presidente Menem; Infoleg official legal database) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Infoleg norma page, Decreto 361/97, Arts. 1-3 (SANAVIRON listed among units declared en desuso)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Argentine executive decree of 1997-04-23 declares the Aviso A.R.A. 'SANAVIRON' (the ex-ATA-228, per NavSource/shipscribe/yard-table concordance) 'en desuso' (out of service), reciting that the units 'han superado el limite de su vida util' and directing sale by statutory procedure after removal of usable naval material (Art. 2), or use as a naval target ('blanco naval') if sale is not completed (Art. 3); proceeds to armed-forces restructuring under Ley 24.045. This is the controlling primary record for the hull's end of service - superseding the shipscribe note's 'Stricken 1985.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1997
- Population
- Argentine Navy Puerto Belgrano personnel and any disposal/transfer crews (1997)
- Limitations
- Official Argentine primary record establishing the 1997-04-23 out-of-service date and the authorized dispositions (sale or target use); it does not record which disposition was ultimately executed - final fate remains unverified. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-04
-
[6]Historia y Arqueologia Maritima (histarmar.com.ar, Carlos Mey compilation), 'Buques de la Armada Argentina 1900-2013' master list (Wayback capture 2015-03-17); plus Montalban, C., 'Vivencias Distantes,' Vol. 4 No. 3 (Jul-Sep 2013), pp. 230-243 (Centro de Estudios Historicos Navales y Maritimos, Montevideo; via Dialnet) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Histarmar list row for SANAVIRON (archived 2015); Montalban 2013 pp. 235-236 (Sanaviron/Chiriguano paragraph, Vema/IGY passage); es.wikipedia ARA Sanaviron (A-8) service section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Argentine-service record: the Histarmar master list of Argentine Navy vessels carries SANAVIRON as 'RHF2/A-8, Buque Hidrografico/Aviso,' former name 'USS AT 288' (typo for ATA-228), service period 1947-1997, 800 t, crew 50. The peer-reviewed naval-history article (Montalban 2013) documents that the twin hydrographic vessels Sanaviron and Chiriguano (ex-ATA-227), 'construidos en Estados Unidos,' were integrated into Argentine Antarctic campaigns from 1947, performed sounding work improving nautical charts in poorly surveyed regions, and that during the International Geophysical Year Sanaviron worked jointly with Columbia University's oceanographic vessel R/V Vema in a campaign sponsored by Columbia and the Argentine Servicio de Hidrografia Naval. Secondary compilation (es.wikipedia, citing Argentine references) adds: acquired 1947 for a reported US$260,000; Argentine assignment 1947-08-05; first commanding officer Tte. de Corbeta Ricardo Fitz Simon; participated in the September 1949 search for the mined/lost rastreador ARA Fournier in the Strait of Magellan; based at Puerto Belgrano from 1974; sister ship ARA Chiriguano (A-7).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1947-1997
- Population
- Argentine Navy crew and embarked hydrographic/scientific personnel (1947-1997); Antarctic campaign participants; IGY joint-campaign personnel with R/V Vema
- Limitations
- Histarmar and the Montalban article are reputable non-official naval-history sources - Histarmar's 'AT 288' and 'built in 1946' are typos/simplifications resolved against shipscribe. The es.wikipedia-sourced details (price, assignment date, first CO, 1949 Fournier search, 1974 basing) are secondary-reported and not verified against Argentine naval archives; carried as reported detail, not controlling fact. The 1947-1997 service span corroborates Decreto 361/97. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-05
-
[7]Consolidated era/design inference - shipscribe ATA-174-class design data (Navy BAT-1 design, G.M. diesel-electric plant) + NavSource spec block machinery details for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe ATA-174 class page characteristics block and class notes; NavSource 38228 spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1945-built steel ocean tug of Navy BAT-1 design with a General Motors diesel-electric plant (two GM 12-278A diesels, ship's-service generators, Fairbanks-Morse reduction gear, single screw) built at the peak of WWII asbestos usage at a Navy-contract Gulf Coast yard - the machinery configuration and outfit for which engine-room and machinery insulation, exhaust and muffler lagging, engine and flange gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation and cable covering, accommodation/galley joiner insulation, and towing-winch and windlass brake linings of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. Disturbance-phase pathways documented for this hull: never-commissioned construction completion (1945-46), equipment removal under the WSA disposal directive, MC sale (1947), ~50 years of Argentine service incl. Antarctic deployments and hydrographic refits (1947-1997), and disposal authorized for sale or target use (1997).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1997
- Population
- Levingston construction trades (1945-46); USN/MC caretaker and equipment-removal personnel (1946-47); Argentine crew, hydrographic personnel, and refit workers (1947-1997); 1997 disposal workforce
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented design, machinery plant, and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming ATA-228 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Diesel-electric plant means no boiler/steam-line asbestos scope - smaller insulation footprint than steam auxiliaries, but era-consistent applications remain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-06
-
[8]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 Navy-contract construction program under which this BAT-1-design tug was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- 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 or class 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-uss-ata-228-ata228-07
-
[9]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of this hull's era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Levingston Orange was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. The study's focus is steam-pipe covering aboard naval vessels - a smaller scope aboard this diesel-electric tug than aboard steam auxiliaries. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-08
-
[10]Batch-2902 search ledger (this record): shipscribe ATA-174 class page; NavSource 38228; shipbuildinghistory Levingston yard table; MARAD ShipHistory name-autocomplete; NVR detail lookup; NHHC DANFS index; Infoleg Decreto 361/97; Histarmar master list (Wayback); Montalban 2013; es.wikipedia; indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; CourtListener (blocked - fleet pace) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ata-228-ata228-01 through sl-uss-ata-228-ata228-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming ATA-228 / USS ATA-228 / ARA Sanaviron / Levingston hull 375 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's never-commissioned status means there was essentially no USN crew-service exposure window; its crewed operational life was entirely Argentine (1947-1997). 'ATA-228' web-index hits are name collisions - a Geneva Tribunal Cantonal des Assurances Sociales docket series (ATAS/228/2007 etc.) - not this hull. Unlike better-documented ATAs, no law-firm marketing ship-list page for this hull was located either.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945 steel tug is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and 50 years of Argentine service plus an unverified 1997 disposition are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener API sweeps could not be completed in-session (shared fleet request budget spent; three spaced attempts returned the pacer's stand-down response) - negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking, which surfaced only name collisions. Argentine-court coverage was not searched at all.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-09
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission); Argentine archival leads: Archivo General de la Armada / Departamento de Estudios Historicos Navales; Rodriguez & Arguindeguy, 'Buques de la Armada Argentina' (print reference used by Histarmar) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/178.html ; Archivo General de la Armada (Buenos Aires); Rodriguez/Arguindeguy print bibliography
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): BuShips records for the BAT-1 design and the BuShips-General Motors tug contract under which Levingston built this hull (RG 19 - the class note records BuShips contracted with GM, which supplied engines and subcontracted hulls); USMC disposal/sale file for the July 1947 sale to Advice Incorporated, Washington, D.C., and resale to Argentina (RG 178 - the most promising disposal-era document set; the sales file may carry condition or material declarations); Argentine Navy archival records for ARA Sanaviron's 1947-1997 service, refits, and the 1997 disposal outcome (Archivo General de la Armada; Departamento de Estudios Historicos Navales); Rodriguez & Arguindeguy, 'Buques de la Armada Argentina 1970-1996' (print; the standard Argentine fleet reference cited by Histarmar).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1997 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and bibliography mapping only - no box-level or print retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-228-ata228-10