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 (4 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-234-ata234-pkt-crew-dg-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, USS ATA-234 (09/38/38234), Service Ship Photo Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATA-234 page, chronology bullets, specifications block, and photo caption 'ATA-234 underway on builder's trials near Port Arthur, Texas'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's ATA-234 vessel page records: laid down 3 March 1945 by Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, TX; launched 7 May 1945; completed December 1945; stricken from the Naval Register 12 March 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal; sold 26 March 1947 to Brazil as Tritao (R-1), redesignated R-21 (date unknown); final disposition 'fate unknown.' A Gulfport Boiler & Welding photograph shows the tug underway on builder's trials near Port Arthur. Specifications listed: displacement 835 t. light / 1,360 t. full; 143' x 33'10" x 13'2"; 12 kts; one 3"/50 DP mount and two single 20mm AA mounts; 5-ton boom; complement 5 officers and 40 enlisted; two GM 12-278A diesel-electric engines, single Fairbanks-Morse main reduction gear, two 60 kW 120V DC generators, single propeller, 1,200 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1947
- Population
- Gulfport Boiler & Welding construction trades (Port Arthur TX, 1945)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not an official document. Page line 'Canceled by the War Shipping Administration in 1945' is imprecise - Shipscribe's Navy-directive compilation shows the hull was accepted/delivered to Navy custody December 1945 in caretaker status, then disposed through MC/WSA; the vessel was never commissioned. Displacement (835 lt / 1,360 fl), speed (12 kts), power (1,200 shp), and complement (45) figures differ from Shipscribe class data (534 lt / 835 max, 13 kts, 1,500 HP, 43) - discrepancies noted, not resolved. No asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-01
-
[3]Shipscribe.com, USS ATA-174 Class (class notes, construction table, disposition table, ship notes; compiled 2011, Stephen S. Roberts) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table ATA-234 row; disposition table ATA-234 row; Class Notes paragraphs 2-3; Ship Notes ATA-234 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe's ATA-174-class compilation (Stephen S. Roberts, drawing on Navy directives and Maritime Commission records) documents: ATA-234 ordered 20 November 1944, built by Gulfport Boiler & Welding; keel 3 March 1945; launched 7 May 1945; never commissioned. Class context: on 18 November 1944 CNO approved 20 additional tugs of this class (ATA 219-238) for Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union; contract awarded two days later; assigned to the USSR by the Munitions Assignment Committee 17 or 24 January 1945; after the Soviet assignment lapsed, CNO directed on 14 September 1945 (for ATA 234-238) that the remaining tugs be accepted from builders upon completion but, being surplus, not commissioned - placed in caretaker status and turned over to WSA for disposal after removal of equipment. In August 1946 Levingston Shipbuilding was awarded a Navy contract to complete ATA 234 and ATA 235 - the two hulls cancelled in late 1945 at Gulfport - for the Brazilian Navy as TRITAO and TRIDENTE, plus Levingston's own ATA-225 as TRIUNFO; Levingston advertised delivery of the three tugs at the end of 1948. Disposition table: stricken 12 March 1946, Maritime Administration disposal 26 March 1947, MA sale awarded 24 March 1947. Ship note: 'Accepted 7 Dec 45 and delivered 11 Dec 45. Sold (awarded) by MC to the Brazilian Navy Purchasing Office, Washington, D.C., as TRITAO. Deleted ca. 1986.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1986
- Population
- Gulfport Boiler & Welding construction trades (Port Arthur TX, 1945); Levingston Shipbuilding completion/outfitting trades (Orange TX, 1946-47)
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly compilation transcribing CNO directives and MC disposal records, not an official document. Internal tension preserved: class notes describe the Gulfport contracts for ATA 234-235 as 'cancelled in late 1945' yet the ship note records Navy acceptance 7 Dec 1945 and delivery 11 Dec 1945 - the harmonization (substantially complete hull accepted for caretaker disposal, final outfitting by Levingston for Brazil) is inferred, not stated by the source. The identification of the third Brazilian tug (TRIUNFO) as ex-ATA-225 conflicts with shipbuildinghistory's Gulfport table (ATA-236) - noted in gaps; does not affect ATA-234/TRITAO, on which all sources agree. No asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com), Gulfport Shipbuilding / Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur TX yard production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Gulfport yard table, hull 263 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works yard production table (shipbuildinghistory.com, compiled from yard records) lists yard hull no. 263 as 'ATA 234,' owner US Navy, type Tug, 835 dwt-class tonnage, 134 ft, launched 7-May-45, disposition 'Cancelled, to Brazil as Tritao (R 1, later 21).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1947
- Limitations
- Independent secondary compilation of yard records; corroborates builder, launch date, cancellation, and Brazilian transfer as Tritao, and adds yard hull number 263. 'Cancelled' compresses the Navy non-commissioning/caretaker sequence documented by Shipscribe. No asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-03
-
[5]Navios de Guerra Brasileiros (naval.com.br NGB), 'RbAM Tritao - R 1/R 21' (T/T061), citing Brazilian Navy SDM documentation and Mendonca & Vasconcelos, Repositorio de Nomes dos Navios da Esquadra Brasileira (SDGM 1959) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Datas block (incorporacao MB 16/09/1947; baixa 18/11/1986); Historico narrative; Caracteristicas block; bibliography
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Brazilian warship reference NGB (Navios de Guerra Brasileiros, citing the Brazilian Navy's Servico de Documentacao da Marinha, the official Repositório de Nomes dos Navios da Esquadra Brasileira, Jane's Fighting Ships 1980-81, and the Navy magazine NOMAR) records the ocean-rescue tug RbAM Tritao (R-1, later R-21) as ex-USS ATA 234, built by Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur TX; keel 3 March 1945; U.S. custody ('incorporacao USN') 11 December 1945; acquired by Brazil 26 March 1947; incorporated into the Brazilian Navy by Aviso No. 1737 on 16 September 1947 in a ceremony at Lake Charles, Louisiana, under Capitao-de-Corveta Newton Tornaghi; arrived Rio de Janeiro 19 November 1947 with sisters Tridente (R-22) and Triunfo (R-23). Documented service: November 1947 rescue of British SS Caduceus; June 1958 salvage of grounded corvette Angostura (V-20); November 1962 salvage of flooded destroyer Ajuricaba (D-11); Southern Naval Group 1974; SALVAMAR permanent-readiness rescue ship 1979-80; May 1980 tow of Korean M/V Ocean Dynamic; March 1986 Operation COSTEIREX-SE I. Disarmament ceremony (baixa) at Rio de Janeiro 18 November 1986 after 39 years active - career marks of 1,692.5 days at sea and 282,829 miles steamed. Brazilian data block: 534 t standard / 835 t loaded; 43.60 m x 10 m x 4 m; diesel-electric, one GM 12-278A diesel of 1,500 bhp on one shaft; 13 kts; two 20mm/70 Oerlikon; crew 5 officers, 40 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1986
- Population
- Brazilian Navy crews, Tritao service 1947-1986; Levingston completion trades 1946-47 (Lake Charles LA incorporation is consistent with the Levingston completion site at Orange TX)
- Limitations
- Well-sourced Brazilian secondary compilation drawing on Navy documentation (SDM) and official publications; it is not itself a Brazilian Navy primary document. 'Incorporacao (USN) 11 Dec 1945' corresponds to U.S. custody delivery, not commissioning - Shipscribe shows the tug never commissioned. Propulsion line '1 GM 12-278A' conflicts with NavSource's two-engine listing - discrepancy noted, not resolved. Establishes that this hull remained in active naval service in Brazil for 39 years (1947-1986) - a far longer service life than U.S. custody - without any statement on asbestos, materials, or crew exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-04
-
[6]Derived from Shipscribe ATA-174-class machinery data (diesel-electric plant, no steam) combined with era-level asbestos literature: 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
- Shipscribe class header (Machinery: '1 screw, G.M. diesel electric'); AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference for a steel diesel-electric fleet tug completed December 1945: the hull was built to a standard Navy BuShips design during the documented period of Navy-wide asbestos use in new construction. Because the machinery plant is diesel-electric (GM 12-278A diesels, no boilers, no steam distribution), the boiler and steam-line lagging that dominates the asbestos mass of steam-propelled ships is absent by design; era-typical asbestos applications for this vessel type are instead engine-exhaust and machinery-space thermal insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation and arc barriers around the diesel-electric plant and switchgear, and towing-winch brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1947 construction and completion; Brazilian service era
- Population
- Construction trades (Gulfport Boiler & Welding, Port Arthur TX, 1945; Levingston Shipbuilding, Orange TX, 1946-47); Brazilian Navy crews 1947-1986
- Limitations
- Era/design inference, not a hull record: no document names ATA-234 with an asbestos statement, and no class-specific materials schedule was located. The diesel-electric plant removes the largest steamship asbestos applications by design; remaining applications are inferred from period practice, not proven aboard this hull. Does not establish quantity, locations, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-05
-
[7]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record 21016030 (bibliographic record). A 2026 peer-reviewed critique of the study's epidemiology exists (Kelly RJ, New Solut. 36(2):138-150, PMID 42307414) - it does not dispute that the surveyed pipe-covering work used asbestos.
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed U.S. Public Health Service wartime fieldwork documents asbestos pipe-covering and insulation operations in the construction of U.S. Navy vessels during WWII - the construction program and era under which this hull was built (1945, BuShips/GM contract).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946 fieldwork; article 1946
- Population
- WWII naval-vessel construction workers (program context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level documentation of asbestos use in naval-vessel construction; the survey covered pipe covering at yards building larger combatants and does not name this hull, this class, or the Gulfport/Levingston yards. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard ATA-234, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-06
-
[8]National Archives, Ship Plan Index (Cartographic Branch), ATA-234 entry, NAID 175665688 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index table, 'NA / ATA-234 / RG 19 / Microfilm / 175665688' row; catalog link https://catalog.archives.gov/id/175665688
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists a Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) microfilm entry for hull ATA-234 under National Archives Identifier 175665688 - engineering drawings for this hull survive in NARA custody even though the vessel never commissioned.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1947 drawings
- Limitations
- Index-level finding only - the microfilm's drawing list and contents were not retrieved; whether it includes insulation/lagging (S39) or piping (S48) drawings is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-07
-
[9]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; Bureau of Ships correspondence and Cartographic Branch sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA describes asbestos use in U.S. Navy materiel from 1941 through 1961 as a frequently requested topic requiring ship-by-ship archival research in Bureau of Ships RG 19 records (general/confidential correspondence 1940-1946 arranged by Navy Filing Manual; hull-designation files; shipyard 'QM' contractor files; S39 insulation-and-lagging and S48 piping drawings in the Cartographic Branch). ATA-234 was built 1945-46 within that era, but the guide identifies no material aboard this hull. For this vessel the applicable filing paths are the ATA-234 hull file, the ATA-174 class file, and the QM contractor files for Gulfport Boiler & Welding and Levingston Shipbuilding; the hull's microfilmed plans (NAID 175665688) are a concrete starting point.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide era)
- Limitations
- Era-level research guidance, not a hull record - establishes that asbestos research for this hull would proceed through RG 19 hull/class/yard files, not that any asbestos product was installed, encountered, or remains. No ATA-234 document was located in indexed public material beyond the plan-index microfilm entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-08
-
[10]CourtListener authenticated v4 API opinion and RECAP docket searches, exact hull number (see search_ledger) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ata-234-ata234-14 through -16
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener v4 searches on 2026-09-26: the exact-string "ATA-234" opinion search returned zero results; the same string in the RECAP docket index returned one result, Hampton v. Conner, 1:07-cv-02221 (D.D.C., employment discrimination, filed 2007) - 'ATA-234' there is a filing-text artifact, not a reference to the vessel, classified as a name collision. A supplemental opinion query under the Brazilian service name "Tritao" was deferred by fleet pacing at research time (see search_ledger). The vessel carried no commissioned U.S. name - ATA-234 is the only Navy identifier. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this vessel was located in these indexes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- A search-index result is not an exhaustive survey of all filed cases; opinions or filings naming the vessel only in body text, under the Brazilian name Tritao, or under alternate hull formatting may not surface, and Brazilian admiralty proceedings would not appear in this U.S. index. The single docket hit does not name ATA-234 as a vessel; no allegation, discovery finding, trial finding, or judgment about this hull was identified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-09
-
[11]Batch-2905 official-source search ledger (this record): NavSource; Shipscribe ATA-174 class page; shipbuildinghistory Gulfport and Levingston yard tables; NGB Tritao record; NHHC DANFS (live); NARA Special List 44, ship-plan index, and asbestos research guide; NARA catalog; NVR; NAVSEA reading room; MARAD Vessel History Database [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ata-234-ata234-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos material specification, insulation drawing, survey, abatement document, hazmat disclosure, or exposure finding for ATA-234 was located in the official sources reviewed in this batch's search ledger. Corroborating absences: no DANFS entry exists (live NHHC URL 404 - consistent with a never-commissioned, never-named hull); NARA Special List 44 indexes no ATA-234 deck logs (index ATA coverage runs ATA-121 through ATA-217; the never-commissioned hull generated no deck logs); the Naval Vessel Register carries no entry (pre-1987 disposal); the NAVSEA asbestos FOIA reading room returned HTTP 403 to automated access and could not be searched; the MARAD Vessel History Database returned no record for the Brazilian name searched.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- A negative result in searched public sources is not proof that the vessel had no asbestos - a 1945-46 Navy-contract hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull's RG 19 microfilm plans (NAID 175665688) plus undigitized RG 19 construction/outfitting records remain unreviewed. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-234-ata234-10