Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]GAO, Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers from Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (B-163375), Oct 18, 1979 - Enclosure I, CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 of 5 Jan 1979, Attachment #1 [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 full report PDF, Enclosure I p.8 (PDF p.18): Attachment #1 table, 'AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP (GENERAL PURPOSE) - LHA' section, BELLEAU WOOD row
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- CNO office response to GAO, Enclosure I to CNO Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan 1979), Attachment #1 'LIST OF U.S. NAVY SHIPS DELIVERED SINCE 1973 OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION (Ship Class, Name and Hull Number and Status of Thermal Insulation)' - the LHA section lists BELLEAU WOOD, hull no. 3, start 8/72, delivered 9/78, with thermal-insulation status 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation except for boiler casing insulation' (cell spanning BELLEAU WOOD and NASSAU rows). The same table shows the class transition: TARAWA and SAIPAN 'asbestos-free thermal insulation except for boiler casing insulation and removable pads'; PELELIU 'asbestos-free thermal insulation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1972-1979 (construction through the CNO letter)
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked Marines from delivery 9/78; Ingalls construction workforce 1972-1978
- Limitations
- Direct ship-specific Navy documentation: the CNO office's own list names BELLEAU WOOD hull 3 and states her thermal insulation was asbestos-free EXCEPT boiler casing insulation - asbestos-containing boiler casing insulation was therefore aboard at delivery. It does not establish quantities, other locations, exposure of any individual, or whether the insulation was later removed; the 'START' column (8/72) precedes the DANFS keel date (3/73) and reads as construction/fabrication start. Verified against the Justia mirror of the official GAO PDF because gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-01
-
[2]GAO HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979), Enclosure I, CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 of 5 Jan 1979 - Attachment #1 Note 1 and letter body [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 full report PDF, Enclosure I pp.2 and 12 (Note 1)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Attachment #1 Note 1 (same CNO enclosure): 'thermal insulation refers to such insulation for machinery, equipment and piping. In addition to the exceptions noted for specific ships, asbestos is also used in shipboard applications for which no suitable (asbestos-free) substitutes have as yet been designated, i.e., gaskets and pipe hanger liners.' The enclosing letter adds that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' citing floor/deck tiling, galley-range electric cabling, piping gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches as applications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1979 (as stated at time of delivery-period documentation)
- Population
- Crew and embarked Marines; maintenance personnel working gaskets/hangers
- Limitations
- Note 1 is an attachment-wide statement covering the listed ships, including BELLEAU WOOD - it documents that gaskets and pipe hanger liners aboard retained asbestos because no asbestos-free substitutes were yet designated. The broader applications list (deck tile, galley cabling, brakes/clutches) is a fleet-level statement - 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' - not an itemization for this hull; no locations or quantities given.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-02
-
[3]DANFS, 'USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3)' - Naval Historical Center entry (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil page; live NHHC URL 404s) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block, build/christening/commissioning block, chronology entries, and homeport table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3)' (ship name number II): built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries, Pascagoula, Miss.; keel 5 Mar 1973; launched 11 Apr 1977; christened 11 Jun 1977 (sponsor Mrs. James L. Holloway III); commissioned 23 Sep 1978 at Pascagoula, CAPT Ted C. Steele in command; complement 904; decommissioned and stricken 28 Oct 2005; final disposition 'SinkEx on 13 July 2006 in the Pacific.' Yard periods documented: Post-Shakedown Availability, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, 8 Jul 1979-9 May 1980; SRA Long Beach NSY 22 Apr-5 Oct 1983 (prototype Collective Protection System); complex overhaul Puget Sound NSY 13 Mar 1985-28 Jan 1986 (drydock 13 Mar-4 Sep 1985); SRA Long Beach NSY 8 Jan-7 Jun 1988; complex overhaul Long Beach NSY 13 Nov 1990-11 Oct 1991 (drydock 6 Dec 1990-30 Apr 1991); SRA Oct 1993-Jan 1994 (RAM installation); SRA Sasebo Aug-Nov 1995; EDSRA in floating drydock (Sagami) Aug 1996-Apr 1997 incl. removal of 5-inch gun mounts; availability Sasebo Aug-Oct 1998; RA Sasebo Apr-Jun 2000; five-month drydock PMA 17 Jan-16 Jun 2001; complex overhaul at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company 22 Jan-8 Oct 2003 (drydock 11 Mar-10 Jul).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1973-2006
- Population
- Ship's company (~904 at commissioning) plus embarked Marine landing force; yard workers at Ingalls, Long Beach NSY, PSNS, Sasebo-area facilities, NASSCO
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for identity, milestones, and yard periods - contains no asbestos or insulation-material content; asbestos disturbance during yard periods is inference from the ev-01 material status, not a per-event record. Live history.navy.mil DANFS page 404s; citation is the 2009 Wayback capture of the NHC page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-03
-
[4]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 22018422, Docket No. 17-52 334 (Mar. 29, 2022) (remand) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA decision text - remand instructions paragraph ('verify the Veteran's claimed asbestos exposure, including aboard the USS Belleau Wood')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Board of Veterans' Appeals remand: a veteran with active service January 2000-November 2003 claimed asbestos exposure 'including aboard the USS Belleau Wood'; the Board remanded because the AOJ never attempted to verify the claimed exposure (including contacting NAVSEA), per its April 2019 remand instructions. LHA-3 was the only ship named Belleau Wood in service during 2000-2003 (CVL-24 decommissioned 1947, transferred to France 1953).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2000-2003 (claimed exposure); 2019-2022 (claim posture)
- Population
- Sailor aboard USS Belleau Wood 2000-2003; claimed asbestos exposure
- Limitations
- Claim-stage administrative record: the exposure is an unverified claim on remand, not an adjudicated finding - the Board ordered verification precisely because it had not been established. Documents that a claimed exposure existed, nothing more; non-precedential per 38 C.F.R. 20.1303.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-04
-
[5]Owens-Illinois, Inc.'s Joinder to Defendant Elliot Company's Notice of Removal, Siegfried v. 3M Co. et al., No. 2:18-cv-01575-FMO-E (C.D. Cal. filed Mar. 2, 2018), Doc. 50 (RECAP) [court_record]
- Locator
- Doc. 50, Preliminary Statement para. 1 - vessel/exposure list naming USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury notice of removal: complaint alleges Terry Lee Siegfried was injured by exposure to Owens-Illinois (Kaylo) asbestos while an electrician/marine electrician ~1969-1996 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and aboard a listed set of vessels, including 'USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3)' (alongside USS Tarawa LHA-1 and USS Peleliu LHA-5 among ~40 ships).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1969-1996 (alleged exposure window); 2018 (filing)
- Population
- Long Beach Naval Shipyard electrician; alleged asbestos exposure across listed vessels
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation listing the vessel among ~40 others; the court record exists and is verified, but the alleged exposure aboard this hull is unadjudicated. Does not establish Kaylo was aboard, does not establish individual exposure or causation, and does not quantify material. Same pleading surface as the Missouri (BB-63) record - Belleau Wood had four LBNSY availabilities (1979-80, 1983, 1988, 1990-91) inside Siegfried's yard window, but the document does not tie him to a specific period aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-05
-
[6]DANFS LHA-3 entry ('SinkEx on 13 July 2006 in the Pacific'); Honolulu Advertiser, 'Two warships are refusing to say die' (Jul 13, 2006); NavSource LHA-3 photo captions (US Navy photos, Jul 10, 2006 tow-out) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- DANFS final-disposition line; Advertiser Jul 13 2006 article; NavSource captions incl. USN photo 060710-N-9288T-041/-053
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal: decommissioned and stricken 28 Oct 2005 at Naval Station San Diego (first Tarawa-class ship decommissioned); laid up at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor; towed out of Pearl Harbor by USNS Navajo (T-ATF-169) on 10 Jul 2006; expended as a live-fire target during RIMPAC 2006 - still afloat late on 12 Jul after missile/gunfire hits ~50 miles northwest of Oahu; sunk by scuttling charges 13 Jul 2006.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2005-2006
- Population
- SINKEX preparation and range personnel (2005-2006)
- Limitations
- Sinking date: DANFS and contemporary reporting fix sinking on 13 Jul 2006; NavSource's 'Final Disposition 10 July 2006' is the tow-out date, not the sinking. No per-hull hazardous-material removal record (asbestos, PCBs, fuels) for the SINKEX preparation was located - the document gap matters because the hull went down with whatever ACM remained after inactivation; see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers from Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - report body and Enclosure I letter [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 letter of transmittal and report body (policy chronology); Enclosure I pp.2-6 (specification-change and selective-replacement narrative)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO HRD-80-2 documents the era framework that explains this hull's insulation status: Navy insulation specifications were changed to call for asbestos-free materials by late 1973, but already-purchased asbestos ship-sets continued to be installed, and ships 'continued through to delivery as late as May 1978 with asbestos insulation'; the Oct 1975 NAVSEAINST 5100.2 policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or needed for repairs, modified Jan 1979 to add selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - the Navy estimated this would leave the 30-50% of insulation 'normally untouched' over a ship's life in place. GAO's fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; Belleau Wood's first availability (Jul 1979-May 1980 PSA) was at Long Beach NSY in the same window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1971-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; crews of ships delivered 1973-1978
- Limitations
- Program-level context: explains why a 9/78-delivered ship carried asbestos boiler casing insulation and why some insulation could remain for the ship's life. GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk NSYs - Long Beach was this hull's overhaul yard (four availabilities 1979-1991 per DANFS), a documented overlap, but the report does not describe work on this hull and no yard work-package for Belleau Wood was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-07
-
[8]Batch-308 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback), GAO HRD-80-2 full text, CourtListener RECAP + API, VA BVA decisions, NVR detail page, SINKEX/RIMPAC environmental documentation, NHHC command-operation reports [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying hull-specific insulation survey beyond the 1979 CNO attachment, no abatement contract, no SINKEX hazmat-removal record, and no product-identification litigation naming equipment aboard this hull was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation located is allegation-stage only (Siegfried pleading list; BVA claimed-exposure remand).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not absence of material: the 1979 CNO attachment itself documents asbestos boiler casing insulation aboard at delivery, and the era policy could leave insulation in place. CourtListener's opinion API was rate-limited this session (logged), so the litigation sweep is not exhaustive; a full CourtListener re-run is the open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belleau-wood-lha3-08