Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bootes' (AK-99) - 1959-edition text via hazegray/losthistory transcription; revised entry (Raymond A. Mann, 2006) text via its public-domain incorporation in secondary compilation; live NHHC page for this entry not located [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Bootes' (AK-99), full text; Mann 2006 revision incorporated in en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bootes_(AK-99)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents: launched 16 May 1943 as Thomas Oliver Larkin by California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., under a Maritime Commission contract; transferred to the Navy 29 May 1943; commissioned 15 July 1943, LCDR H. P. Bacon, USNR, in command; reported to the Pacific Fleet. Two cargo runs from the west coast to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and Australia between 28 August 1943 and 6 February 1944; thereafter cargo from Brisbane to New Guinea, the Admiralties, and the Philippines; took part in the Aitape landings 23 April-16 May 1944; departed Brisbane 23 August 1945, reached the Philippines 3 September; departed for the United States 27 November; decommissioned 22 April 1946; returned to the Maritime Commission 11 September 1947; one battle star. Header data: dp. 4356; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4"; s. 12.5 k.; cpl. 198; a. 1 5", 1 3"; cl. Crater. The revised entry adds detail: conversion and outfitting at San Diego; Espiritu Santo arrival 2 October; Melbourne 20 October; San Francisco 24 November; off Aitape 23 April carrying cargo/equipment for the Army 127th Regiment, 32d Infantry Division; departed 29 April towing torpedo-damaged Etamin to Langemak Bay; ammunition-issue duty at Seeadler Harbor, Manus, 7 September-20 October 1944 and at Leyte from 6 December 1944 for six months; survived Japanese air attacks claiming two kills without damage; decommissioned at Pearl Harbor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Wartime Navy crew (DANFS complement 198)
- Limitations
- DANFS is a service-history publication, not a materials record - it contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazmat information and supports no asbestos claim. The two editions conflict on where the ship spent December 1945-April 1946 (Seattle vs Pearl Harbor) - logged in the correction row and gaps. Live NHHC page for this entry returned 404; transcription mirrors used per batch-01 practice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-01
-
[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - BOOTES (AK-99), Ship History Detail 568 (incl. digitized status cards) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 568, milestone table, name history, status-card scans
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record: U.S. Official No. 243471; type EC2-S-C1; general cargo (break bulk); built 1943 by California Shipbuilding Corporation; 441.5 ft x 56.8 ft, 7,176 gross tons; vessel name history Thomas Oliver Larkin (1943) / Bootes AK-99 (1943-1973); milestones show MARAD custody entry/acquisition 1947-09-11 (ex-THOMAS OLIVER LARKIN) and disposition/withdrawal 1973-05-22; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; four digitized status-card images on file.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and design/tonnage figures; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Withdrawal date 1973-05-22 conflicts with secondary compilation's 1973-05-27 - logged in correction row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The USMC operating manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant - the design this hull was built to (MCE hull 1656, a Crater-class Navy cargo-ship conversion of the Liberty type) - describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty-type hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (CalShip, Terminal Island, 1943); Navy engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (magnesia lagging of the era was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-03
-
[4]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 study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced at CalShip - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-04
-
[5]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; claims against the government were barred on discretionary-function grounds - the characteristic litigation posture for the EC2-S-C1 type's merchant-manned hulls, of which this vessel is a Navy-manned sibling design.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII merchant mariners and Navy crews (type-level context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this hull or the type, finds no asbestos conditions aboard any vessel, and describes the posture for WSA merchant-manned hulls only - Bootes was a commissioned Navy ship, so her litigation posture would run through equipment manufacturers, not the WSA path described here. Reporter citation confirmed: 891 F.2d 31. Included for type-level context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-05
-
[6]Source reconciliation across DANFS 1959 ed. (hazegray transcription), DANFS rev. Mann 2006 (public-domain text via secondary compilation), MARAD ShipHistory Detail 568, NavSource service-ship archive entry 09/13/130099, shipbuildinghistory.com CalShip production table, and en.wikipedia.org compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- Cross-source date/name comparison; see search_ledger sl-02, -03, -05, -06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies documented and resolved where possible: (a) December 1945-April 1946 location - the 1959 DANFS text records departure for Seattle 27 November and arrival 31 December 1945, while the revised DANFS and NavSource record arrival at Pearl Harbor in mid-December and decommissioning at Pearl Harbor 22 April 1946; unresolved, both carried in gaps. (b) Scrapping dates - sale to Tung Ho Steel Enterprises Corp. given as 14 March 1973 (NavSource; also in Wikipedia infobox) vs 19 March 1973 (Wikipedia body text, citing MARAD); fleet withdrawal given as 22 May 1973 (MARAD milestones) vs 27 May 1973 (NavSource); MARAD 1973-05-22 adopted for withdrawal; sale date conflict logged. (c) Launch sponsor - 'Mrs. N. Toulain' in the 1959 DANFS transcription vs 'Mrs. H. Toulmin' (Alice Larkin Toulmin, Larkin's granddaughter) in the revised DANFS/secondary compilations; Toulmin adopted. (d) Complement - 198 (DANFS header) vs 21 officers + 183 enlisted = 204 (NavSource-sourced compilation); DANFS 198 carried, conflict logged. (e) MCE hull 1656 and CalShip yard hull 189/way 5 rest on consistent secondary compilations (NavSource, CalShip production table, Wikipedia) - no primary document retrieved; flagged in gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies across official and secondary sources; none of the reconciled items is an asbestos finding. Secondary compilations (NavSource, shipbuildinghistory, Wikipedia) were used as corroborating leads, not as stand-alone authoritative evidence rows.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-06
-
[7]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), and NARA logbook guidance; NHHC photographic holdings [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html; NARA RG 24 deck-log guidance; NavSource caption for NH 89187
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 holds WWII Navy deck logs - as a commissioned naval vessel (1943-1946) her deck logs sit in RG 24, distinct from the merchant-logbook path; (b) RG 178 Construction Division records 1942-46 and West Coast Director for Construction files (San Francisco) may hold CalShip contract/MCE hull 1656 construction and outfitting records; (c) NHHC photograph NH 89187 documents the ex-ship laid up in the NDRF at Suisun Bay on 19 August 1970 (caption indexed via NavSource; live NHHC photo page not located) - corroborates 1947-1973 reserve-fleet custody.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping and photo-index lead only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-07
-
[8]Batch-971 search ledger (this record): DANFS (two editions via transcription mirrors), MARAD ShipHistory 568 + status cards, NavSource/CalShip-table corroborations, shipyards.json cross-check, NARA record-group guides, general litigation web search; CourtListener API sweep blocked by throttle [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bootes-ak99-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the sources searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government inspection, or located court record naming USS Bootes, AK-99, or SS Thomas Oliver Larkin. The only public 'asbestos' mention of the hull is inclusion in a law-firm marketing list of auxiliary ships (freeasbestostesting.com) - excluded as non-qualifying commercial content. CourtListener opinion/docket sweep was NOT completed this pass: the authenticated API returned 'Request was throttled. Rate limit exceeded: 2800/day' (shared quota); per batch rules the sweep is deferred and logged as blocked rather than retried.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2026-09-21
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 EC2-S-C1 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The docket search axis is incomplete (blocked); a future pass should run 'USS Bootes', 'AK-99', and 'Thomas Oliver Larkin' across CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket indexes. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-08
-
[9]Masterson, James R., U.S. Army Transportation in the Southwest Pacific Area 1941-1947 (Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, U.S. Army, 1949), pp. 359, 390 fn 61 - as cited in secondary compilation; monograph page text not independently retrieved [other_primary]
- Locator
- Masterson 1949 pp. 359, 390 fn 61 per secondary compilation citation
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- An official U.S. Army historical monograph is cited (pp. 359, 390 fn 61) for the statement that Bootes was one of five Navy-manned Liberty ships assigned 8 December 1943 to the Southwest Pacific Area for service under operational control of the Commander, Seventh Fleet, in meeting U.S. Army transportation requirements - consistent with her documented SWPA cargo and ammunition-issue service.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Wartime crew (assignment context)
- Limitations
- Pinpoint citation traced through a secondary compilation citing the official monograph; the monograph's page text was NOT independently verified this pass (online copies behind Scribd/Open Library). Carried as partial - plausible and consistent with DANFS service record, but page-unverified; flagged in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bootes-ak99-09