USS Bergall (SSN-667)

Name
USS Bergall
Hull designation
SSN-667
Vessel class
Sturgeon class
Evidence tier
Tier 3
Evidence entries
7
Record ID
uss-bergall-ssn667
Dataset version
2026.10.12-rc.1
Canonical URL
https://asbestosatlas.org/ships/uss-bergall-ssn667

Evidence

7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).

  1. [1]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive + navysite.de ship pages (secondary compilations) [other_primary]
    Locator
    navysite.de/ssn/ssn667.htm; navsource.net/archives/08/08667.htm
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    Documented for this hull (secondary compilations): contract awarded 9 March 1965 to Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics, Groton; keel laid April 1966 (day conflicts: NavSource/navypedia 4 April vs. navysite/hullnumber/Wikipedia 16 April - unresolved, carried in gaps); launched 17 February 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Ray C. Needham; commissioned 13 June 1969, Cmdr. Billy F. Tally. Assigned Submarine Development Group Two, Groton - she became the first submarine converted for the Mk 48 torpedo (1970), first to carry it in operational warshot configuration (1971), and a test platform for AN/BQS-13 and digital AN/BQQ-5 sonar. Inactivated 4 August 1995; decommissioned 6 June 1996; stricken 6 June 1997; recycling finished 29 September 1997. navysite accident list: 23 April 1984 USS Kittiwake (ASR-13) backed down on Bergall at Norfolk, damaging her sonar dome.
    Verification
    partial
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1966-1997
    Limitations
    Secondary compilations (navysite, NavSource, navypedia) - no DANFS page located for this hull; first-Mk-48 and sonar-test claims unverified against Navy records; accident entry unverified. Decommission/inactivation sequence differs among compilations (inactivated 1995 vs. decommissioned 1996 vs. stricken 1997 - all three dates retained). No asbestos content.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-01
  2. [2]Cooks v. General Electric Company, No. 3:07-cv-05451-EMC (N.D. Cal.), complaint Exhibit A work-history, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-10-25) [court_record]
    Locator
    ECF No. 1-2, Exhibit A vessel list ('BERGALL (SSN-667)')
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    Asbestos complaint exhibit (plaintiff Alvin Cooks's work-history/exposure exhibit) lists vessels and locations of alleged asbestos exposure, expressly including 'BERGALL (SSN-667)' among dozens of hulls. Cooks worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard as a marine machinist 1974-1995 (helper through general foreman); the exhibit's job-duty recitals describe gasket and valve-packing removal and replacement, lagging-residue removal, and pipe cut-outs aboard listed vessels including work in reactor compartments.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1974-1995 (alleged exposure window); 2007 (filing)
    Population
    Alvin Cooks (Mare Island NSY marine machinist, 1974-1995)
    Limitations
    Pleading-stage allegation (complaint exhibit), unadjudicated; a vessel-list entry is not an individualized exposure finding and does not establish that asbestos products were aboard this hull, that any exposure occurred, causation, or legal eligibility. The same exhibit mislabels 'FLASHER (SSN-670)' (SSN-670 is Finback's number) - a list-generation anomaly noted for reviewer awareness; the entry for THIS hull carries its own correct hull number.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-02
  3. [3]Halseth v. General Electric Co., No. 3:07-cv-02543-EMC (N.D. Cal.), consolidated complaint Exhibit A work-histories, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-05-14) [court_record]
    Locator
    ECF No. 1-2, Exhibit A, Robinson section, alphabetical vessel list ('BERGALL (SSN-667)')
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    Asbestos complaint exhibit (work-history of plaintiff Larry Robinson, a Puget Sound Naval Shipyard pipefitter 1975-2004) lists 'BERGALL (SSN-667)' in an alphabetical roster of vessels he worked on or around; duty recitals describe engine-room, fire-room, and reactor-room piping and valve work, steam-trap gasket changes, and close proximity to laggers and other trades 'blowing around asbestos dust', including work around General Electric and Westinghouse turbines and Johns-Manville insulation.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1975-2004 (alleged exposure window); 2007 (filing)
    Population
    Larry Robinson (Puget Sound NSY pipefitter, 1975-2004)
    Limitations
    Pleading-stage allegation (complaint exhibit), unadjudicated; an alphabetical roster entry is not an individualized exposure finding and does not establish asbestos aboard this hull, exposure, causation, or eligibility. The roster spans many hulls at one yard (PSNSY Bremerton); it documents a work assignment universe, not per-hull materials.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-03
  4. [4]Era inference built on: NavSource/navysite spec blocks (S5W-class nuclear plant, steam turbines, single shaft); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for mare-island-naval-shipyard, newport-news-shipbuilding, electric-boat-groton, and puget-sound-naval-shipyard (thermal insulation, submarine steam/propulsion lagging, gaskets, packing, block insulation) [other_primary]
    Locator
    NavSource/navysite spec blocks; shipyards.json product lists for mare-island-naval-shipyard, newport-news-shipbuilding, electric-boat-groton, and puget-sound-naval-shipyard
    Finding type
    asbestos_application
    Finding
    A Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarine built 1966-1969 at Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp. and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities across the 1970s-90s sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. The building and maintenance yards' asbestos product use in this period is independently documented at the yard level.
    Verification
    inferred
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1966-1969
    Population
    Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp. construction trades; Navy-yard overhaul trades; crew
    Limitations
    Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear secondary/auxiliary systems, not confirmed installed materials; the reactor plant establishes nothing. No quantity; material disposition at recycling undocumented per-hull.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-04
  5. [5]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinions 4324658, 4332654) [court_record]
    Locator
    Opinion, specification-history discussion (SUBSAFE/MIL-I-24244)
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    A docketed asbestos personal-injury opinion recounts that after USS Thresher's 1963 loss the Navy created the SUBSAFE program, which issued procurement specification MIL-I-24244 covering asbestos-containing insulation for submarines - court-documented evidence that asbestos-containing insulation was specified in the submarine-construction regime in force when this hull was built (all batch-39 hulls were laid down 1964-1967, inside the post-SUBSAFE era).
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    2021 (opinion); regime described 1963-forward
    Population
    Navy submarine construction/maintenance trades, SUBSAFE era
    Limitations
    Documents the era procurement-spec regime, not this hull's installed materials; the case concerns a different claimant aboard different vessels. Does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-05
  6. [6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
    Locator
    GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
    Finding type
    gov_survey
    Finding
    GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - covering this hull's construction (1966-1969) and most service-era insulation events.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1979
    Population
    Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
    Limitations
    Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-06
  7. [7]Batch-39 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror sweep; navysite + NavSource compilations; NVR; archive.org RECAP exhibit PDFs (Cooks, Halseth, Cronin); HathiTrust/Google catalog records; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
    Locator
    search_ledger rows on this record
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the pleading-stage litigation references carried on this record: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure case naming this hull was found. CourtListener direct searches (exact name + hull number, opinions and RECAP) could not be run this session - API and site returned HTTP 403/throttled (125/day exhausted; retry-after ~16h) - logged as blocked, not 'no result'.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    negative_finding
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    2026-09-18
    Limitations
    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. Hull recycled through the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program; per-hull hazmat handling records, if any exist, are not public. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-bergall-ssn667-07

Attribution

Compiled by
Paul Danziger; Rod de Llano
Publisher
Danziger & De Llano, LLP
License
CC-BY-4.0
Citation
Danziger, P., and De Llano, R. (2026). AsbestosAtlas Navy Vessel Asbestos Exposure Dataset. Danziger & De Llano, LLP. DOI: not yet assigned
Dataset version
asbestosatlas-ships-2026.10.12-rc.1
DOI
not yet assigned