USS Bolster (ARS-38)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet bo-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-bolster-ars38-pkt-bo-packet-md

2. [2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Bolster' entry (page content last updated 31 January 2006) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Full DANFS entry text, via Wayback Machine capture dated 2025-12-10; live NHHC URL (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bolster-i.html) returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-26

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for Bolster (ARS-38; dp. 1441; l. 213'6"; b. 39'; dr. 14'8"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 120; a. 2 40-mm; cl. Diver): launched 23 December 1944 by Basalt Rock Co., Napa, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. C.A. Mayo, Jr.; commissioned 1 May 1945, Lt. W.F. Lewis in command; joined the Pacific Fleet. Repair duty along the California coast, then to Pearl Harbor (18 Jul 1945) and Yokosuka, Japan (15 Aug 1945) for repair/salvage operations in Japanese waters until departing for Subic Bay 10 Oct 1946; remained in the Philippines until April 1947, then Pearl Harbor via Okinawa, Guam, Kwajalein. Operated Pearl Harbor/Adak, Alaska on salvage and towing duty until 22 Aug 1950, then towed two barges to Sasebo, Japan and remained in the Far East for the Korean War, participating in the Inchon landing (15 Sep 1950) and the Hungnam Evacuation (9-25 Dec 1950). From 1952, operated out of Pearl Harbor with six Far East tours (Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Okinawa, Philippines). Decommissioned 24 September 1994 and struck from the Navy list the same day; disposed of by transfer to the Maritime Administration 1 February 1999. Received seven battle stars for Korean service. DANFS itself notes 'Updates pending for 1952 to 1994' - the entry was never updated to narrate the 1966-1972 Vietnam War tours or later career in prose.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1999

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity, dates, and WWII/Korea service narrative. Explicitly incomplete for 1952-1994 (DANFS's own disclaimer) - later career, Vietnam service, and final disposition detail come from other rows, not this one. Contains no asbestos, materials, or hazmat information whatsoever.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-01

3. [3]Historic American Engineering Record, HAER No. CA-355, 'Bolster (ARS-38)', National Park Service Heritage Documentation Programs (Brian Clayton, historian, fall 2008) [haer]

   Locator

   HAER No. CA-355, pages 1-10 (Background, Bolster Class, Construction, Description, Operational History, Conclusion, Appendix A, Bibliography)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Historic American Engineering Record HAER No. CA-355, 'Bolster (ARS-38)' (historian Brian Clayton, fall 2008; prepared under HAER Maritime Program Coordinator Todd Croteau with U.S. Maritime Administration cooperation): confirms keel laid 20 July 1944, launched 23 December 1944, commissioned 1 May 1945, builder Basalt Rock Company (Steel Division), Napa, CA. Gives a detailed as-built machinery description: engine room (first platform) with four 8-cylinder Cooper-Bessemer diesel engines connected to four Westinghouse generators (610 kW combined, 500V DC) powering four Westinghouse motors (765 hp) through Farrel-Birmingham reduction gears to twin 9'-3" four-blade screws at 200 rpm; auxiliary power from two 6-cylinder Cooper-Bessemer diesel generator sets (200 kW/120V AC each) plus a 60 kW emergency generator; early-1970s SLEP replaced the main engines with four 16-cylinder Caterpillar 399 diesels, raising shaft horsepower from 3,000 to 3,500. Crew accommodations for 120 (7 officers, 113 enlisted). Full operational-history narrative through decommissioning 24 September 1994 and MARAD acquisition 1 February 1999 into the Suisun Bay mothball fleet. States that, as of the 2008-2009 documentation, 'a non-profit group is interested in turning the Bolster into a floating museum exhibit, and the U.S. Maritime Administration has consequently placed the ship on donation hold.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-2009

   Limitations

   The single richest ship-specific engineering/history source located. It names specific machinery makes and models but contains no mention of asbestos, insulation material composition, or any hazmat term anywhere in its text - this is a documented absence, not a finding of absence of asbestos aboard. Cites its own machinery data to U.S. Navy 'Ships' Data' (1946) and the ship's Booklet of General Plans (NARA RG 19, College Park) - see the archival-lead row for the follow-on research path.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-02

4. [4]U.S. Maritime Administration, National Register Eligibility Assessment, Vessel: USS Bolster (ARS-38), determination dated 2009-08-28 [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   Full assessment text, sections: Vessel History, Korean War, Post-Korea, Vietnam War, Post-Vietnam Salvage Work, Historic Context, Description/Characteristics of Vessel Type, Integrity of Characteristics/Features, National Register Eligibility Statement

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   MARAD 'National Register Eligibility Assessment, Vessel: USS Bolster (ARS-38)', determination dated 28 August 2009: summarizes vessel history (largely consistent with DANFS and HAER) and gives a 'Description/Characteristics' section (builder, dimensions, diesel-electric propulsion noting Cooper-Bessemer engines later replaced by Caterpillars in the 1960s/1970s, complement '69'). States under 'Integrity of Characteristics/Features': 'The vessel is in poor condition and has been in the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay, Benicia, CA for nearly 15 years. Most of its equipment had been stripped prior to the ship being transferred to the Maritime Administration.' Concludes the ship does NOT meet National Register eligibility criteria because it does not possess significant historical/technological distinction and is not the last example of its type (citing the near-sister Diver-class CGC Acushnet, ex-USS Shackle, then still active in Coast Guard service).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2009

   Limitations

   A formal eligibility/condition assessment of this exact hull, prepared roughly two years before disposal - and it contains no asbestos, hazmat, or environmental-condition-survey language anywhere despite describing the ship's poor material condition in detail. This supports the negative-finding row but does not itself establish absence of asbestos - a condition write-up for a historic-preservation eligibility determination is not a hazmat survey and would not necessarily record ACM even if present. Complement figure ('69') conflicts with DANFS/HAER ('120') and is not reconciled - see gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-03

5. [5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database, BOLSTER (ARS-38), Ship History Detail 562 [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 562, milestone table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory database, BOLSTER (ARS-38), Ship History Detail 562: milestone table records NDRF entry 1996-09-19; MARAD acquisition/custody 1999-02-01; historic review cleared 2006-10-13; vessel name change 2011-05-04 (administrative renaming ahead of disposal, a routine MARAD practice for vessels leaving the registry); withdrawal 2011-11-17; and disposal completion 2011-11-17 with the note 'Vessel dismantlement complete under disposal contract with Marine Metal Inc. in Brownsville, TX.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1996-2011

   Limitations

   Authoritative for the custody/disposal milestone dates and the final disposal method and location. Contains no material-composition, condition-survey, or hazmat/asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim one way or the other.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-04

6. [6]Historic American Engineering Record, HAER No. CA-355, 'Bolster (ARS-38)' machinery description (Description section, pp. 5-6), read together with general historical literature on WWII-era U.S. Navy shipboard materials [haer]

   Locator

   HAER No. CA-355, Description section (engine room, generators, compressors, pumps)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era inference keyed to this hull's actual documented machinery (per ev-02, HAER No. CA-355): Bolster's engine room housed four 8-cylinder Cooper-Bessemer diesel engines with Westinghouse generators/motors and Farrel-Birmingham reduction gears (as built), replaced in the early 1970s by four Caterpillar 399 diesels. Diesel-electric propulsion plants and shipboard electrical-generation equipment of this 1944-1970s era commonly used asbestos-containing gaskets and packing at cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds, and pump/valve joints, and asbestos-insulated electrical cable and switchboard components were standard aboard U.S. Navy auxiliaries of the period. This vessel has NO boilers or steam turbines (confirmed by HAER's complete as-built machinery description), so it does not carry the high-density boiler/turbine-lagging exposure pathway documented for steam-powered hulls elsewhere in this database.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1994

   Population

   Basalt Rock Co. construction trades (Napa, 1944-45); Navy engineering-department crew, all periods; overhaul/SLEP yard workers, early 1970s (yard not identified in sources consulted)

   Limitations

   HAER identifies the actual installed equipment aboard this hull but never uses the word asbestos or any hazmat term; the asbestos content of that equipment's gaskets/packing/cable insulation is design-era inference, not a ship-specific finding. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation. Does not establish that the 1970s Caterpillar re-engining involved asbestos removal or reinstallation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-05

7. [7]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 scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and program (U.S. Maritime Commission emergency shipbuilding) under which Basalt Rock Company built this hull, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented Navy-wide asbestos utilization across ship types, not only steam-powered hulls.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article published 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers generally (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or Basalt Rock Company specifically and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull. This citation's content was verified in Batch-01 research (2026-09-14, see ss-jeremiah-obrien.atlas.json ev-01 and ss-john-w-brown.atlas.json ev-02 in this repository); a direct re-fetch attempt today (2026-09-26) returned HTTP 403 (Wiley Online Library paywall/bot-block) so the citation is carried forward rather than re-verified fresh.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-06

8. [8]U.S. General Accounting Office, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (1979-10-18) [gao]

   Locator

   Report summary/findings, via gao.justia.com mirror (full PDF at gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches)

   Finding type

   regulatory

   Finding

   GAO report HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (18 October 1979): a program-level review of asbestos use and worker protection at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. Finds that '[r]ecently constructed Navy ships have little or no asbestos thermal insulation,' but that 'other Navy ships contain large quantities of asbestos'; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs, modified in 1979 to also selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas; a one-time Navy-wide removal program was rejected as not justified against an estimated $2 billion cost.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1975-1979

   Population

   Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyard workers, 1979

   Limitations

   Program-level review of Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyard practices generally, not a survey of any specific hull or of diesel-electric auxiliaries specifically; does not name Bolster. Notable only because Bolster's own homeport was changed to Long Beach, CA in 1983 and she operated/was based there until her 1994 decommissioning (HAER No. CA-355) - after this report's 1979 fieldwork period, so the same shipyard is documented for asbestos concern in the years immediately preceding Bolster's Long Beach homeport, not concurrently with it. Establishes no ship-specific finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-07

9. [9]Consent Decree, Arc Ecology, et al. v. U.S. Maritime Administration (N.D. Cal.), as filed with the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board [court_record]

   Locator

   Full 19-page consent decree text (mirrored copy; the MARAD-hosted copy at maritime.dot.gov/.../consentdecreesignedbyjudge.pdf returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches)

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   Federal consent decree (N.D. Cal., signed 2010) resolving litigation by Arc Ecology, San Francisco Baykeeper, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board against MARAD over the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, where Bolster was moored 1999-2011. The decree addresses heavy-metal and toxic-paint contamination (an estimated 20 tons of lead, zinc, copper, and cadmium already released, with tens of tons more at risk) and requires MARAD to clean flaking paint and remove obsolete vessels for disposal by September 2017.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2007-2010 (litigation); contamination accrued over the fleet's decades at anchor

   Population

   Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet vessels generally, 1999-2010 contamination period

   Limitations

   Full text does not name Bolster and does not contain the word 'asbestos' anywhere - its scope is toxic paint and heavy metals, not asbestos. Included only as documented context for the fleet-wide environmental condition of the anchorage where this hull sat for roughly 12 years; readers should not infer an asbestos finding from this row. Establishes nothing about this hull's own material condition.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolster-ars38-08

10. [10]National Archives and Records Administration, research guide: Navy asbestos records (RG 19 Bureau of Ships; RG 38 Board of Inspection and Survey) [other_primary]

    Locator

    NARA guide page, sections: Primary Record Groups, Key Document Types, Research Strategy for Specific Ships, Supporting Collections

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    NARA research guide for Navy asbestos records identifies Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships, through 1961) as the foundational collection for hull-specific asbestos research, including General Information Books, Bureau of Ships correspondence filed by hull number, Board of Inspection and Survey reports (RG 38), and engineering drawings organized by Material Group code - specifically code S39 (Insulation and Lagging) and S48 (Piping). HAER No. CA-355 (ev-02) already cites this hull's 'Booklet of General Plans USS Bolster (ARS-38)' as held in RG 19 at NARA College Park - the same record group and location the asbestos-research guide identifies as primary, giving a concrete, already-located next step for any future S39/S48 drawing pull.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    1940-1961 records described

    Limitations

    A finding-aid/methodology guide, not itself an asbestos finding for this hull. No box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific drawings or correspondence for this exact hull (vs. only class-level specifications) is unknown until pulled in person. The guide itself states NARA staff cannot perform this research and recommends professional researchers for complex requests.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-bolster-ars38-09

11. [11]Batch-2673 search ledger (this record): HAER No. CA-355; MARAD National Register Eligibility Assessment 2009-08-28; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 562; DANFS; general web search for ship-name/hull-number litigation [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-bolster-ars38-01 through sl-uss-bolster-ars38-10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located: neither of the two ship-specific condition/history documents available (HAER No. CA-355; MARAD National Register Eligibility Assessment, 2009) mentions asbestos or any hazmat term despite both describing machinery and material condition in detail; the MARAD ShipHistory disposal record documents the 2011 Brownsville dismantlement without hazmat detail; general web-search litigation queries for the ship by name and hull number returned no ship-specific asbestos case (only generic law-firm/marketing content, which is excluded from this database by policy and not cited). CourtListener could not be searched this session due to a persistent fleet-wide pacing throttle (see gaps) - litigation search is incomplete, not negative, on that specific channel.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    2026-09-26

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built diesel-electric auxiliary retaining original gaskets, packing, and cable insulation through the 1970s SLEP is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials at some point in her career. Marked 'partial' rather than 'verified' specifically because the CourtListener litigation channel was not completed this session (see gaps) - this row does not claim a completed docket search.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-bolster-ars38-10