Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet zck-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-bauxite-ix154-pkt-zck-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bauxite (IX-154)' (NHHC; Mary P. Walker, updated by Robert J. Cressman 2022-08-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-26 of NHHC DANFS page (live URL 404s as of 2026-09-29); entry text, paragraphs 1-3
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Bauxite (IX-154): non-self-propelled concrete barge, displacement 10,960 (full load), length 366'4", beam 54'0", draft 33'0", complement 58, armament 1 x 40mm + 4 x 20mm + 2 x .30 cal MG, class Midnight, type B7-D1. Laid down under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 1326) 1943-07-09 at San Francisco by Barrett & Hilp, Belair Shipyard; launched 1943-10-11, sponsored by Mrs. E. J. Rapley; acquired by the Navy 1944-06-22 and placed in service the same day, Lt. Aubie R. Robertson in command. Assigned to Service Force, Pacific Fleet as a floating storage facility for general naval stores and provisions; one of 13 concrete barges controlled by Service Squadron 10; carried over 7,000 different items and served an average of 600 ships a month; diesel-electric power plant generated its own power for refrigeration, cooking, lighting, ventilation, and distilling water. Towed to Shanghai after the war; continued as stores barge until authorized for disposal; sold at Shanghai to a Chinese purchaser May 1947; stricken from the Naval Register 1947-06-23.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Ship's complement (58 officers and men per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Official ship-history source cited via its 2024-05-26 Wayback capture because the live NHHC URL returns 404 (same link-rot pattern noted in BATCH-01). Establishes identity, build dates, service assignment, and disposal. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or crew-health statement and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-01
-
[3]Maes v. Barrett & Hilp, 27 BRBS 128 (1993), BRB Nos. 90-881 and 90-881A (Benefits Review Board, U.S. Department of Labor); Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq. [other_primary]
- Locator
- Published decision PDF, facts section (p. 2: subcontract and contract recitals) and coverage discussion (ALJ credibility finding on installation work); reported citation 27 BRBS 128 confirmed in later DOL decisions citing Maes (e.g., Lewis v. Todd Pacific Shipyards; Lackore v. Interstate Electronics)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal adjudicative record: 'According to the record, on August 11, 1943, employer [Barrett & Hilp] subcontracted with Asbestos Company of California to supply insulation containing asbestos for installation on the barges.' The record reflects that in June 1942 Barrett & Hilp 'contracted with the United States Maritime Commission to construct a shipyard on federal land in South San Francisco and to build 26 concrete barges at the facility.' The Board affirmed the ALJ's finding — crediting the claimant's testimony — that the decedent 'worked installing asbestos insulation on concrete barges which were being built on dry docks in the shipyard' during a two-week period in 1943. This hull, MC 1326, was on the ways at Belair through this subcontract window (laid down 1943-07-09, launched 1943-10-11, in service 1944-06-22). Decedent Joseph Maes died of pulmonary asbestosis 1986-12-22; widow's LHWCA death-benefits claim awarded (modified on the Section 14(e) issue; otherwise affirmed).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1944 (documented events); decision 1993
- Population
- Construction trades and insulation installers at Belair Shipyard, 1943 (subcontractor Asbestos Company of California)
- Limitations
- Program-level, not hull-named: the record documents asbestos insulation supply and installation across the B7-D1 contract during the window this hull was on the ways, but no evidence in the decision identifies MC 1326/Bauxite by name, and the decedent's own two-week assignment is not tied to any one hull. Establishes that asbestos insulation was specified for installation on these barges — not quantity, location aboard, post-delivery presence, or any crew exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-02
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[4]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive — Bauxite (IX-154), archivist Gary P. Priolo (last updated 2021-02-19) [museum_official]
- Locator
- IX-154 archive page (navsource.net mirror; navsource.org primary), specifications block and photo caption 094615401
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive record for Bauxite (IX-154): Midnight-class non-self-propelled storage barge; laid down 1943-07-09 (MC type B7-D1, MC hull 1326, Barrett, Hilp & Belair Shipyard, San Francisco); launched 1943-10-11; placed in service 1944-06-22, Lt. Aubie R. Robertson, Officer in Charge; served at advance bases in the Pacific Theater; occupation duty and China service at Shanghai Oct 1945-May 1947, where she was towed to serve as a storage barge (photo captioned arrival at Shanghai 1945-10-31); placed out of service and sold at Shanghai May 1947; struck from the Naval Register 1947-06-23; final disposition fate unknown. Specs: 5,678 t (lt), 10,960 t (fl); 366'4" x 54' x 26'; complement 52; cargo 3,000 DWT / 292,000 cu ft non-refrigerated; armament 1 x 40mm + 4 x 20mm; machinery: four diesel-drive 60 kW 120 V D.C. ship's-service generators; fuel 610 bbl. Awards: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Authoritative compiled archive consistent with DANFS on all shared facts; adds machinery spec, awards, and the dated Shanghai-arrival photograph. Complement 52 differs from DANFS 58 (variance logged in gaps). Contains no asbestos or material-content statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-03
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[5]Stephen S. Roberts, Shipscribe — USS Trefoil (IX-149) Class, construction/disposition tables, class notes, and ship notes (compiled from U.S. Navy and Maritime Commission records; page compiled 2010-08-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX-149 class page: construction table (IX-154 row), disposition table (FLC 31 May 47), class notes paragraphs 1-3, ship notes IX-154/BAUXITE row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe compiled Navy/Maritime Commission records for the Trefoil (IX-149) class document the naming history of this hull: the MC named the six GSK barges (MC hulls 1326-31) ONYX, QUARTZ, SILICA, SLATE, ASPHALT, and BAUXITE; ONYX and SLATE were renamed (Navy conflicts) before the 1944-02-15 CNO 'correction' reassigned names and hull numbers to match completion order — making MC hull 1326 'BAUXITE (IX-154)' (ship note: 'Ex USS MIDNIGHT (IX-149, ex merc. ONYX) 15 Feb 44'). Bauxite was a 'typical GSK issue barge' (general stores issue conversion: 'tween deck installed in the holds; crew 53 for GSK, 61 for refrigerated conversions). Disposal: FLC (Foreign Liquidation Commission) sale at Shanghai, dated 1947-05-31 in the disposition table; strike 1947-06-23. Class program: Barrett & Hilp received the 13-barge B7-D1 contract 1942-06-30 plus 13 more 1942-08-04 (six later cancelled); barges designed to transport bauxite ore.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary Navy/MC records (the standard auxiliary-vessel reference); supports the name-order history and conversion type that DANFS omits. DANFS and NavSource do not mention the ONYX/MIDNIGHT name sequence — included here on Shipscribe's documented account. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-04
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[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 that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII — the program era under which the Maritime Commission's emergency contracts, including the concrete-barge program, were executed — and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship on WWII shipbuilding asbestos use generally; does not name this vessel, the B7-D1 type, or the Belair yard, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The ship-adjacent program documentation for this record is the Maes decision (ev-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-05
-
[7]Batch-4724 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion/docket queries; DANFS/NavSource/Shipscribe full-text checks; DOL BRB published index; MARAD Vessel History Database [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bauxite-ix154-01 through sl-uss-bauxite-ix154-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the program-level Maes documentation: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, deck-log statement, or docketed case naming USS Bauxite or IX-154 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion search '"USS Bauxite"' returned 0 results (2026-09-29); the unqualified '"Bauxite"' query returns ~598 opinions consisting of name collisions (City of Bauxite, Arkansas municipal litigation; bauxite-ore and alumina/aluminum-industry matters) — none naming this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located hull-named record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard — the program-level record (ev-02) documents asbestos insulation was installed on these barges during construction. This row records only that no hull-named public record was located; it establishes nothing about presence, exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-06
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[8]National Archives, RG 24 Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (NAID 581208; Special List 44, 1801-1947); San Mateo County Historical Association online catalog, Belair Shipyard records [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA logbook research guide + RG 24 overview (archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html); SMCHA catalog https://historysmc.pastperfectonline.com/bysearchterm?keyword=Belair+Shipyard (catalog verified; items unretrieved — archive blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved: (1) IX-154 deck logs, 1944-1947 — Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, RG 24, Entry 118 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations), indexed in Special List 44, National Archives at College Park; digitized status unconfirmed. (2) San Mateo County Historical Association Barrett & Hilp/Belair Shipyard collection (catalog 2018.075): includes 'The Belair Cargoman' employee newsletter (1943-44), launch invitations/programs, and reprints of 'Brains and Brawn Combine to Build a Shipyard' (The Marine News, May 1943) and 'Concrete Construction for Ship-Shaped Barges' (Pacific Marine Review, Nov 1943) — potential construction-detail sources for the B7-D1 program including outfitting and insulation trades.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- records 1943-1947; checked 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Leads only — deck logs and yard records unretrieved; nothing in these sources is yet known to contain an asbestos statement for this hull. Any insulation/material statements found there would still require hull-level attribution before supporting ship_specific wording.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bauxite-ix154-07