Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 370-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: Brier (IX-307), ex-USCG Brier (WLI-299)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-brier-ix307-pkt-370-packet-md
-
[2]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Brier, 1943 (WLI 299)' cutter history page (sources: Cutter History File, USCG Historian's Office; Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II, 1982; Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990, 1990) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Cutter history page, full article text and specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG record for this hull: Brier (WAGL/WLI 299), Cosmos/Bluebell-class 100-ft inland buoy tender, built by Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa; cost $175,001; 178 tons full, 100' x 24'7" x 5'4"; two Murphy 6-cylinder diesels, 330 BHP, twin propellers; 10 kts max, 3,000 nm at 6.5 kts; complement 16; 5-ton boom, air-powered hoist; no armament. Commissioned 1943-07-02; 6th District Charleston SC; Brunswick GA from 1952-01-16 to 1965; Atlantic City NJ 1965-11-09; reserve St. George, Staten Island 1966-11-10; recommissioned 1967-04-25 at Boston; decommissioned 1967-11-09; transferred to U.S. Navy 10 March 1969 (narrative; spec block prints 1968 - typo-level discrepancy). Documented operations: 1953 USAF B-29 salvage at Rockfish Creek GA; 1955 Frederica River hurricane evacuation; 1956 MV Busy Bee escort; 1962 collision with F/V Two Brothers Second.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- USCG crew, complement 16 (1943-1967)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for Coast Guard identity, characteristics, and career; the WAGL-299/WLI-299 alias is verified here ('WAGL/WLI 299' in the heading). Internal discrepancies: page lists 'Launched: 5 August 1942' while NVR-derived data splits that date as keel-laying with launch 1943-05-06; spec block prints 'Transferred to USN on 10 March 1968' vs narrative '10 March 1969' (Navy records: custody 1969-03-10). Contains no asbestos, insulation-materials, or survey content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-01
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[3]Shipscribe USN auxiliaries compilation (Stephen S. Roberts, compiled 2021-10-19), 'USS Brier (IX 307, ex USCG WAGL)' class page - NVR-derived construction/disposition tables and class notes; companion photographs page IX307-p.html [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX307.html construction/disposition/class-notes tables; IX307-p.html photo captions (Bluebell sister views; F/V Brier 2017-08-08 photo caption)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy-side custody chain from NVR-derived compilation: one of seven Cosmos-class 100-ft inland buoy tenders built by Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works (eighth sister Bluebell built by Birchfield Boiler, Inc., Tacoma, Wash.). Keel 1942-08-05; launched 1943-05-06; USCG commissioned 1943-07-02 (ship note). Decommissioned by USCG 1967-11-09 and offered to the Navy as a target; Naval Ordnance Laboratory Test Facility Solomons, MD requested her instead as a self-propelled vessel housing recording/analysis instrumentation for explosive shock-effects work shifting from the Patuxent River to Chesapeake Bay. CNO approved transfer 1968-09-09; NOLTF Solomons took custody 1969-03-10; reclassified IX-307 by CNO notice issued 1969-08-29 effective 1969-09-01. NSWC Detachment Solomons (NOLTF successor) disestablished effective 1982-05-01; CNO recommended to SECNAV 1982-07-26 that IX-307 be declared excess and stricken effective 1982-08-15 with sale to follow. Stricken 1982-08-15; disposed by Navy sale (DRMS) 1983-06-02 - ship note: 'sold by DRMS 1983 for further use, still existed in 2017 as an oyster dredge.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1967-1983 (Navy chain); 2017 survival note
- Population
- NOLTF/NSWC Solomons operating personnel (1969-1982)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official records (NVR tables, CNO correspondence) - the compiler is the recognized authority on USN auxiliary records, but the underlying documents are not reproduced. Internal table/narrative inconsistency: construction table prints acquisition '29 Aug 1970' while the narrative gives custody 1969-03-10 and reclassification notice 1969-08-29 effective 1969-09-01 - carried in gaps. The oyster-dredge survival note traces to a 2017 shipspotting.com photograph caption (F/V Brier, Hillard Bloom Shellfish, Bridgeport CT), not a primary registry record. Contains no asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive, 'IX-307 ex USCGC Brier (WLI-299) / USCGC Brier (WAGL-299)' (page maint. Gary P. Priolo, updated 2006-09-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX-307 page, milestone list and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource milestone record: laid down Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works; launched 5 August 1942; delivered and commissioned USCGC Brier (WAGL-299) 1943-07-02; 6th CG District Charleston; Brunswick GA 1952-01-16; Atlantic City 1965-11-09; reserve St. George NY 1966-11-10; recommissioned 1967-04-25 Boston; decommissioned 1967-11-09; transferred to U.S. Navy 1969-03-10; placed in service as Miscellaneous Unclassified IX-307; out of service (date unknown); struck from Naval Register (date unknown); disposed - sold by DRMS 'for scrapping' 1983-06-02. Page states 'There is no DANFS History for IX-307.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1983
- Limitations
- Secondary archival compilation; consistent with USCG and NVR-derived data on the custody chain but leaves strike/out-of-service dates unknown where shipscribe supplies them (1982-08-15). Disposal characterization 'for scrapping' conflicts with shipscribe's 'for further use'/2017 oyster-dredge report - unresolved, carried in gaps. 'Launched 5 August 1942' matches USCG but conflicts with shipscribe's keel/launch split. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-03
-
[5]Maryland Department of the Environment, 'Naval Recreation Center Solomons (MD-058)' federal-facility site file (brownfields/VCP program) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MDE site file PDF, 'Site Location' and 'Site History' sections
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Official state site file for the operating station: the Solomons Complex was first used by the Navy in early 1941; the Naval Ordnance Laboratory was the first occupant (Solomons Annex) and established the Naval Mine Warfare Test Station there; the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory Test Facility (NOLTF) at NDW Solomons Complex was established in 1947, conducting aircraft mine drops, torpedo shots, and other explosive work; facility converted to Naval Recreation Center use in 1971. Documented environmental sites (Cove 1 disposal area, open-air sandblast area, landfill, cabin disposal area) are shore-side, not vessel-related.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-2000s (site history)
- Population
- NOLTF Solomons test and support personnel (station-level, not vessel crew)
- Limitations
- Station-level context only - the document never names Brier or IX-307 and addresses shore environmental sites, not the vessel. Confirms the mission profile (mine-warfare and explosive-effects testing) of the Navy unit that operated this hull. No asbestos statement about the vessel; the file's industrial-waste inventory (paints, solvents, PCBs, contaminated oils) pertains to the shore dump, not the craft.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-04
-
[6]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 extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the program era within which this USCG-contract cutter was built (keel 1942, in service 1943). Era-consistent asbestos applications aboard a small diesel tender would be limited to possible engine exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, and insulation felts.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and vessel crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation, not a hull record - the study does not name this vessel, and its detail centers on Navy and Maritime Commission construction. A 178-ton diesel buoy tender lacks the boiler/steam-plant surfaces that dominate documented shipboard asbestos; any inference is bounded accordingly. 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-brier-ix307-05
-
[7]Batch-4797 search ledger (this record): USCG Historian's Office cutter page; NHHC site search (no DANFS entry - only Civil War tug Sweet Brier); NavSource IX-307; shipscribe IX-307; MARAD ShipHistory keyword search; MDE Solomons file; live-web asbestos-surface searches; CourtListener sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brier-ix307-01 through sl-uss-brier-ix307-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated finding naming USS Brier, IX-307, USCGC Brier, WAGL-299, or WLI-299 was found in the public sources searched. NHHC holds no DANFS entry for IX-307; the USCG Historian's page, NavSource, and the NVR-derived compilation contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement; MARAD ShipHistory returns no record for 'Brier' (consistent with DRMS direct sale - no MARAD custody).
- 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 1943 diesel harbor craft is era-consistent with limited asbestos-containing materials (exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing). Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-06
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[8]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep, batch-4797 (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py runs 2026-09-29; per-query results in search_ledger rows sl-uss-brier-ix307-09 through sl-uss-brier-ix307-13
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result: the completed hull-number opinion query returned zero hits ('IX-307' count=0, verified); no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in completed queries. Remaining queries (aliases 'USCGC Brier'/'WLI-299'/'WAGL-299', vessel-name 'Brier' opinion surface, and RECAP docket index) stayed fleet-rate-limit blocked across ~90 minutes of spaced attempts and are logged blocked rather than retried into a ban - see search_ledger for per-query disposition.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- CourtListener opinion coverage is not the full docket; RECAP docket-type queries and any queries throttled at session cutoff leave residual surface unqueried - logged honestly, not concealed. Pleadings-only asbestos allegations outside indexed opinions would not appear here. A 'Brier' surname/case-name match is not evidence about this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-07
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[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 26 (Records of the U.S. Coast Guard) and RG 24 (Navy deck logs); USCG Historian's Office Cutter History File (cited source of ev-01); DRMS sale file (1983) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 26/RG 24 guides; USCG Historian cutter-file citation in ev-01 source list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Records that would resolve materials and disposition questions ship-specifically exist but were not retrieved (no spend authorized): (a) USCG Historian's Office Cutter History File for Brier - the named source of the official cutter page - may hold specification/maintenance sheets; (b) NARA RG 26 holds USCG cutter and contract records for the 1942-43 Dubuque build; (c) NARA RG 24 Navy deck logs for 1969-82 (if maintained for an in-service IX craft) and RG 181 naval shore-establishment records for NOLTF/NSWC Solomons service craft; (d) the 1983 DRMS sale file would resolve the scrapping-vs-further-use conflict and identify the buyer.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1983 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brier-ix307-08