Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet zbs-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-blakely-ff1072-pkt-zbs-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Blakely III (DE-1072), NHHC (entry by Raymond A. Mann, 11 January 2006; live page returned 404 on 2026-09-29 - verbatim text verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Blakely III (DE-1072)' - specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 8 June 1968 at Westwego, La. by Avondale Shipyards, Inc.; launched 23 August 1969 (sponsor Mrs. Lila Blakely Morgan); delivered to the Navy at Charleston Naval Shipyard 1 July 1970; commissioned there 18 July 1970, Cmdr. Francis L. Carelli in command; post-shakedown availability at Charleston Naval Shipyard 22 February-4 August 1971; one Vietnam combat-zone tour on the northern sea-air rescue station, Gulf of Tonkin (January-February 1973); restricted availability at Charleston Naval Shipyard 27 June-28 November 1973 (conversion to Navy distillate fuel, LAMPS installation); redesignated frigate FF-1072 on 30 June 1975 during restricted availability and regular overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard completed 30 March 1976; drydock repair and overhaul at Boston June 1979-April 1980 (homeport Boston 1 June 1979-21 April 1980); Middle East Force deployment January-May 1981; decommissioned 15 November 1991; struck 11 January 1995; disposed of by scrapping 30 September 2000. Spec block: 3,877 tons full load, 438 ft, complement 245, 27+ kt, class Knox.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1968-2000
- Population
- Avondale Shipyards construction trades 1968-70; crew complement 245 (DANFS) over 1970-1991 service
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Narrative ends in 1981 ('Updates pending for 1981 to 1991'). Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim text verified via Wayback Machine capture dated 2025-12-09. DANFS 'laid down 8 June 1968' conflicts with NavSource/NVR-derived '3 June 1968' - conflict carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-01
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[3]Sullivan v. A.W. Chesterton, Inc. (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI)), 384 F. Supp. 3d 532 (E.D. Pa. June 6, 2019) (Robreno, J.); MDL-875 member case No. 18-3622; official memorandum PDF at paed.uscourts.gov. CourtListener corroboration (authenticated sweep 2026-09-29): opinion cluster 7336260 (courtlistener.com/opinion/7336260/) and docket 7744736, E.D. Pa. 2:18-cv-03622, filed 2018-08-22, nature of suit '368 P.I.: Asbestos', 50+ named defendants incl. Huntington Ingalls Industries and Bath Iron Works; the FF-1072 docket match originates in the amended complaint (ECF No. 100, filed 2019-02-25) [court_record]
- Locator
- Memorandum, Facts and Procedural History section (Blakely recital) and Conclusion (12(b)(2) dismissal of HIC); published at 384 F. Supp. 3d 532
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal opinion naming this hull: plaintiff Jackie L. Sullivan (executrix) brought an asbestos personal-injury action against 48 defendants in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (25 July 2018); the amended complaint (ECF No. 100) alleges decedent John L. Sullivan was exposed to asbestos during Naval service October 1967-January 1980 and that in 1973 he was assigned to USS Blakely as a machinist mate; plaintiff alleged Avondale Shipyard, 'an alleged predecessor' of defendant Huntington Ingalls, built the Blakely in Westwego, Louisiana and 'designed its ship to contain asbestos and despite the ability to know of and warn of the hazards of asbestos failed to do so.' Lung cancer alleged to have caused Sullivan's death. HIC removed under the federal-officer statute and moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction; the court granted the motion (it was undisputed that the alleged Blakely exposure did not occur in Pennsylvania and that HIC is a Virginia corporation). The docket-level record (E.D. Pa. 2:18-cv-03622, CourtListener docket 7744736, nature of suit '368 P.I.: Asbestos') independently confirms the FF-1072 reference sits in the amended complaint itself.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1973 (alleged exposure aboard this hull); 1967-1980 (total alleged service exposure); 2018-2019 (litigation)
- Population
- John L. Sullivan, USN machinist mate (service Oct 1967-Jan 1980; assigned USS Blakely 1973); lung cancer, deceased
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation recited in a published opinion - the exposure and product claims against this hull's builder were never adjudicated. Disposition was jurisdictional (12(b)(2) personal jurisdiction under post-Daimler general-jurisdiction doctrine), which is neither a merits finding for nor against exposure aboard this hull. 'Designed its ship to contain asbestos' is the complaint's characterization, not a found fact. The decedent's 1967-1980 service means exposure could have occurred aboard multiple vessels; the opinion does not apportion it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-02
-
[4]Builder-yard asbestos record, Avondale Shipyards 1961-1979 (Atlas shipyards.json 'avondale-shipyard'): Latiolais v. Huntington Ingalls, No. 18-30652 (5th Cir. 2019); Barrosse v. Huntington Ingalls, No. 21-30761 (5th Cir. 2023); Hotard v. Avondale Industries, E.D. La. 20-1877; Cortez v. Lamorak Ins. Co., E.D. La. 20-2389 (Marinite 36, Micarta/Hopeman wallboards); Robichaux v. Huntington Ingalls, E.D. La. 22-0610 (Uniroyal asbestos cloth); Chaisson v. Avondale Industries, La. App. 4th Cir. 2005-CA-1511 (Garlock/Flexitallic gaskets); Granier v. Avondale Industries, La. App. 4th Cir. 2005-CA-1085 (Kaylo) [court_record]
- Locator
- shipyards.json 'avondale-shipyard' evidence and products_documented arrays; Cortez v. Lamorak ECF No. 1179 (E.D. La. Aug. 29, 2022)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard inference: this hull was constructed 1968-1970 at Avondale Shipyards' Westwego (main) yard - a facility whose asbestos use across exactly that period is litigation-documented: Kaylo (Owens-Illinois/Owens-Corning) pipe insulation and lagging cloth; Johns-Manville Marinite 36 asbestos wallboard (40% amosite) and Westinghouse Micarta laminate veneer in Hopeman Brothers composite wallboard systems installed in galleys and living quarters of ~72 Avondale-built vessels 1961-mid-1970s; Uniroyal asbestos cloth in engine rooms ('commonplace on Avondale ships' 1961-1979); Garlock and Flexitallic asbestos gaskets at Avondale yards 1963-1976. Avondale is documented in the Atlas yard dataset at evidence_tier 2 with seven verified litigation/survey records.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1961-1979 (documented yard asbestos use); 1968-1970 (this hull's construction)
- Population
- Avondale Shipyards trades (Westwego), 1968-1970 build period
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation only - none of the cited records names DE-1072/FF-1072 among the vessels receiving these products, and the Hopeman '~72 vessels' wallboard list is not hull-itemized in the public record reviewed. Asbestos aboard this specific hull remains an inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantities, locations, or crew exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-03
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[5]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page and report PDF (policy sections)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO program-level record of the Navy asbestos regime in force during this hull's overhaul era: the Navy's October 1975 policy was to remove and replace asbestos insulation only when damaged or when removal was required for repairs; in 1979 the policy was modified to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas where repairs were expected during a ship's next operating cycle; the Navy estimated this would remove all shipboard thermal asbestos insulation except the 30-50 percent normally untouched over a ship's life; no one-time asbestos removal program was planned (estimated $2 billion cost); 'shipyard employees will continue to work with or near asbestos for many years as ships are repaired and overhauled.' This hull underwent depot-level availabilities at Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1971, 1973, and 1975-76, and a Bethlehem Boston overhaul 1979-80, all within the policy window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policies; report published October 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers generally (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level report (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards); it does not name this hull or class, does not establish that asbestos work occurred during any specific Blakely availability, and does not document shipboard conditions - it documents the policy environment in which her overhauls took place. gao.gov blocked automated full-text fetch on prior passes; summary text verified via GAO product page and PDF excerpt.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-04
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[6]Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, 'Bethlehem Boston Yard 1980 Workload Of 80 Ships Equaled 1979' (February 1981, p. 18) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, February 1981 issue, p. 18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous trade-press record identifying the yard for this hull's 1979-1980 Boston overhaul that DANFS leaves unnamed: Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Boston yard performed regular overhaul work on USS Blakely and USS Truett, begun in 1979 and completed during 1980; the yard repaired about 80 ships in 1980 with an average workforce of ~625, and was commended by the Chief of Naval Material for timely completion of the two frigates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979-1980
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Boston yard workers (avg. ~625 across all work, 1980)
- Limitations
- Trade-press item documents yard identity, work type (regular overhaul), and timeline only; contains no asbestos or industrial-hygiene information and does not establish work scope below the hull level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-05
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[7]Batch-4603 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; govinfo USCOURTS full-text; NARA Catalog; NIOSH HHE index; open-web sweep of museum/association/association-press sources; Atlas shipyards.json cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-blakely-ff1072-01 through sl-uss-blakely-ff1072-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos documentation located for this hull: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, donation-condition hazmat disclosure, NIOSH/OSHA survey, or museum record naming DE-1072/FF-1072 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship was scrapped in 2000 and survives nowhere; no post-disposal ACM record is public. govinfo USCOURTS full-text search returned zero hits for 'USS Blakely', 'DE-1072', and 'FF-1072' (the Sullivan memorandum was located directly at the issuing court's site, paed.uscourts.gov). CourtListener sweep (authenticated, 2026-09-29): 'FF-1072' opinions 0 hits; 'DE-1072' dockets 25 hits all unrelated collisions; 'FF-1072' dockets 3 hits of which only the Sullivan docket is qualifying; all 65 'Blakely'+asbestos opinion hits classified - Sullivan plus 64 surname/firm-name collisions; no litigation naming this hull beyond Sullivan was located in CourtListener's index.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1968-70 Avondale-built steam escort is precisely the hull type for which era documentation predicts asbestos insulation. This finding records only that no qualifying public ship-specific document was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-06
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[8]Archival leads, unexecuted: NARA RG 19 ship records (General Information Books / Booklet of General Plans for DE-1072, weight-control reports itemizing insulation tonnage per GAO HRD-80-2); NARA deck logs USS Blakely 1970-1991; NHHC command operation reports for this hull (not digitized); Metro Machine Corp. scrapping work packages (1999-2000) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19 / RG 24 (not retrieved); NHHC ship-COR dam paths probed 2026-09-29 (404)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary-source leads that could resolve the hull-level asbestos question were identified but not retrieved: NARA RG 19 per-vessel design/material records and weight-control reports (GAO notes these itemize shipboard thermal insulation by weight); Blakely deck logs 1970-1991 at NARA; NHHC ship command-operation reports for this hull are not digitized (spot-checked 1985, 1990, 1991 - 404); the 1999-2000 Metro Machine scrapping contract files (Navy disposal records) would document pre-scrapping hazmat/abatement scope.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- These are leads only - none of the underlying documents was retrieved or reviewed in this pass; they establish that hull-level records plausibly exist, not what they contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blakely-ff1072-07