Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Blueback II (SS-581) - construction, deployments, Vietnam service (NHHC DANFS entry; live page 404 on 2026-09-18, text via Wayback capture 2024-03-20) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and service narrative; archived text: web.archive.org/web/20240320195832/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/blueback-ii.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS): laid down 15 April 1957 at Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, Miss.; launched 16 May 1959, sponsor Mrs. Kenmore M. McManes; commissioned 15 October 1959, Lt. Comdr. Robert H. Gautier. Spec block: 2,145 t surfaced / 2,895 submerged; 219'6" x 29' x 28'; 15/20 kt; complement 78; six 21-inch torpedo tubes; class Barbel. Service: SubRon 3 San Diego from 1960; Mare Island post-shakedown availability and 1962-63 overhaul; Pearl Harbor home port 1963 (SubDiv 13); Puget Sound overhauls 1965-66 and 1969; Vietnam war-zone service 1965, 1967, 1970; Pearl Harbor overhauls 1972-73 and 1976; San Diego home port April 1977; UNITAS XVIII South America 1977. Two Vietnam battle stars. DANFS entry ends 'Updates pending for 1980-1990.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1957-1990
- Population
- Ingalls construction trades (1957-59); crew (1959-1990); overhaul-yard trades
- Limitations
- Ship-specific operational history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS narrative stops at 1980 ('updates pending') - the final decade including the May 1989 fire is not covered by this source. Live NHHC URL returned 404; dated Wayback capture supplied the text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-01
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register, BLUEBACK (SS 581) ship detail page (nvr.navy.mil; live detail endpoint retired in NVR redesign - data via Wayback capture 2020-10-18) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Vessel Status / Milestone Dates / Comments field; archived text: web.archive.org/web/20201018221330/https://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_SS_581.HTML
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR record for this hull (UIC 05604): award 29 June 1956; keel 15 April 1957; launch 16 May 1959; commission 15 October 1959; delivery 3 June 1960; decommission 1 October 1990; stricken 30 October 1990; status 'Donated as a Museum and Memorial' effective 10 February 1994. Builder 'INGALLS SB CORP'; propulsion 'Diesel Electric'; accommodations 8 officers + 69 enlisted; comment field: 'BLUEBACK IS LOCATED AT THE OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY, 1945 SE WATER AVENUE, PORTLAND, OR.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1956-1994
- Limitations
- Registry milestones only; no asbestos or material-content fields. Live NVR site (redesigned 2026) serves a JS shell; ship data retrieved from dated Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-02
-
[3]NPS National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS BLUEBACK (submarine), NRIS 08000947 (listed 9/18/2008; nomination dated/received Aug 2008) [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP nomination Sections 7-8: 'USS Blueback as built,' 'current condition,' significance statement
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NRHP nomination (08000947, listed 18 September 2008) documents this hull: nationally significant under Criterion C (Engineering) as 'the last surviving example of a Barbel Class submarine'; 'the last diesel-electric submarine to join the US Navy and the last to be decommissioned'; 'designed to accommodate 77 crewmembers plus 8 officers'; dive planes relocated bow to sail in 1964; three Fairbanks-Morse diesels with electric drive motor; museum modifications listed (added entry hatch, welded closures over ballast tanks and torpedo tubes, Navy removal of classified equipment, Plexiglas display panels, propeller removed to memorial display); 'retains a very high degree of physical integrity throughout.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1957-2008
- Population
- OMSI restoration staff; museum visitors (1994-present)
- Limitations
- Documents museum-era condition and modifications; 'last diesel-electric submarine' phrasing is the nomination's (research sub Dolphin AGSS-555, commissioned 1968, outlasted her - the claim holds for attack-submarine context). No asbestos statement - see ev-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-03
-
[4]NPS National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS BLUEBACK, NRIS 08000947 - full text searched for asbestos/hazmat/abatement statements [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP nomination full text (Sections 7-8 and continuation sheets)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding at nomination level: the NRHP nomination's detailed interior inventory names vinyl floors, painted bulkheads, Formica tops and wood-colored Formica paneling, stainless-steel fixtures, painted pipes in the engine room, and rubber-lined battery rooms, and describes OMSI's restoration of the 'floating pile of junk' acquisition (bulkheads removed, cleaned, painted; openings welded shut) - while containing no mention of asbestos, insulation content, abatement, or hazardous-material remediation anywhere in the document.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1994-2008
- Population
- OMSI restoration staff (1994-98); museum maintenance and visitors
- Limitations
- Absence of an asbestos statement in the nomination does not prove the hull is asbestos-free - NRHP nominations are not hazmat surveys, and restoration records (1994-98) are not public. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-04
-
[5]OMSI official exhibit page, 'USS Blueback Submarine' (omsi.edu); USNI Naval History Magazine, 'The USS Blueback (SS-581) - Portland, Oregon,' Aug 2002 [museum_official]
- Locator
- OMSI exhibit page body; usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2002/august/uss-blueback-ss-581-portland-oregon
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum status confirmed by operator: OMSI lists USS Blueback as 'the U.S. Navy's last active duty diesel-electric submarine,' berthed at 1945 SE Water Ave., Portland, offering guided 45-minute tours; OMSI describes 'a crew of 85' living aboard for months. USNI Naval History (Aug 2002) records her 1961 submerged Yokosuka-to-San Diego passage (5,340 miles), her appearance in the film The Hunt for Red October, 1994 OMSI acquisition, and a 1998 major overhaul.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1994-present
- Population
- museum visitors and staff
- Limitations
- Museum/interpretive sources - crew figure (85) conflicts with NVR (77) and DANFS (78); no asbestos or hazmat statement on the museum page. USNI is a professional naval press, not an official record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-05
-
[6]Washington Post (28 May 1989) via Naval Submarine League archive 'In The News' 1989; Los Angeles Times 11 July 1993 (conflicting 1988 date) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NSL archive, 1989 'In The News' item quoting Washington Post; latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-11-hl-11999-story.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Late-service casualty: in late May 1989 Blueback was forced to the surface by an electrical fire in her propulsion system and towed back to San Diego (Washington Post report of 28 May 1989, as quoted in the Naval Submarine League 'In The News' archive; navysite.de dates it 25 May 1989). A July 1993 Los Angeles Times feature instead dates a Blueback fire to 1988 ('a fire aboard the Blueback temporarily disabled the ship; it had to be towed into San Diego') - unresolved whether one incident is misdated or two events occurred.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1989
- Population
- crew (1989)
- Limitations
- Press-reported casualty; the underlying WaPo article is not directly retrieved and the LA Times date conflicts (1988 vs 1989). Not asbestos-related on its face. DANFS does not cover 1980-90 for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-06
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[7]BVA Citation Nr. 0702234, decision date 2008-06-19 (Docket 07-23 541) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA decision text - Introduction (USS Blueback SS 581 named as service vessel)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Non-asbestos litigation naming this hull: Board of Veterans' Appeals Citation Nr. 0702234 (19 June 2008) - a veteran's PTSD service-connection claim based on service aboard USS Blueback (SS 581); issue was psychiatric diagnosis/stressor corroboration, with no asbestos or toxic-exposure element. Classified 'other litigation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1995-2008
- Population
- individual claimant
- Limitations
- Names the hull in a non-asbestos claim; documents service aboard only. Does not bear on asbestos presence, exposure, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-07
-
[8]Siegfried v. Owens-Illinois removal papers, C.D. Cal. 2:18-cv-01575 (CourtListener recap gov.uscourts.cacd.702384, docs 50/52); Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinion 4324658) [court_record]
- Locator
- Specification-history recitals in removal brief/declaration; Kase opinion, spec-regime discussion
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Court-documented era regime applicable to this hull's construction period: Navy thermal-insulation specifications (32-I-3/MIL-I-2819 block insulation; 32-P-8/MIL-I-2781 pipe insulation) accepted asbestos-containing insulation products such as Owens-Illinois Kaylo on Navy Qualified Products Lists, and asbestos-content warnings were not required until after the 1950s; submarine-insulation specification MIL-I-24244 continued the regime into the SUBSAFE era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1940s-1970s regime; opinions 2018/2021
- Population
- Navy ship/submarine construction and maintenance trades
- Limitations
- Era/procurement regime only - Blueback is not named in these documents. Does not establish materials installed aboard this hull, exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS/NVR construction and overhaul chronology; shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json documented asbestos product lists for ingalls-shipbuilding, mare-island-naval-shipyard, puget-sound-naval-shipyard, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS yard-period chronology; shipyards.json product lists
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: built 1957-59 at Ingalls Shipbuilding (Pascagoula) and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities at Mare Island (1960 post-shakedown, 1962-63 overhaul), Puget Sound (1965-66 and 1969 overhauls), and Pearl Harbor (1967-68 restricted availability, 1972-73 and 1976 overhauls) - all inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era, before insulation substitution began in the early 1970s. All four yards carry documented asbestos product lists in the companion shipyard dataset (Thermobestos, Kaylo, Zonolite, pipe covering, gaskets, packing, amosite blankets, and similar).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1957-1994
- Population
- Ingalls construction trades (1957-59); Mare Island/PSNSY/PHNSY overhaul trades; crew (1959-1990); OMSI restoration/maintenance staff
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for SS-581. Diesel-electric propulsion means no steam-plant piping runs. NRHP interior inventory names no asbestos materials. Whether the museum hull retains any original insulation is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-09
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403; product-page description used)
- 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 - spanning Blueback's construction and most of her service life (1957-1990).
- 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. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - standing limitation carried from batch-01.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-10
-
[11]Batch-79 search ledger (this record): DANFS (archived), NVR (archived), NRHP nomination full text, OMSI official page, CourtListener (API+HTML blocked; indexed documents = name collisions only), BVA index, GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-blueback-ss581-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos case naming USS Blueback (SS-581) was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The NRHP nomination - the most detailed public description of the hull's interior - contains no asbestos statement. The one BVA decision naming the hull is a non-asbestos PTSD claim.
- 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. The preserved hull's material condition is not publicly characterized; OMSI's 1994-98 restoration/abatement records, if any exist, are not public. CourtListener coverage was throttle-limited; the sweep is partial, not exhaustive. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blueback-ss581-11