Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet hm-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-buchanan-ddg14-pkt-hm-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Buchanan III (DDG-14), NHHC (live page serves 404; verbatim 2018 Wayback capture of NHHC page cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Buchanan III (DDG-14)', specifications block + service narrative + commanding officers list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 23 April 1959 at Seattle, Wash., by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc.; launched 11 May 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Nancy H. Fisher; commissioned 7 February 1962 (Cmdr. David A. Webster); final outfitting at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton; homeported San Diego as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 15, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven, First Fleet. Specifications per DANFS: displacement 4,500 tons; length 437 ft; beam 47 ft; draft 14 ft 3 in; speed 30 kt; complement 384; armament two 5-inch guns, two RIM-24 Tartar missile rails, eight RUR-5 ASROC cells, six Mk 32 torpedo tubes. Service included repeated Vietnam deployments (naval gunfire support, plane guard, Operation Sea Dragon, Tet Offensive/Hue support); hit by a North Vietnamese shore battery 17 April 1972 off Vinh (SN Leonard R. Davis killed, six wounded); 1985 New Zealand port-visit refusal precipitating the ANZUS suspension; Operation Earnest Will Arabian Sea deployments 1987 and 1989; decommissioned 1 October 1991 alongside Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) and Robison (DDG-12); towed to Hawaii 15 October 1991; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 20 November 1992; laid up eight years; sunk during RIMPAC 2000 on 14 June 2000. Yard periods in the record: Pearl Harbor drydock 9-14 April 1963; San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) overhaul 7 May-22 September 1964 and alterations 3 November-20 December 1967; Long Beach Naval Shipyard overhauls 16 September-11 November 1965, 15 March-5 August 1967, first half of 1975 (5-inch guns and ASROC removed, electronics replaced), 1 January-26 November 1980 (Harpoon and SRBOC installed), and 5 August 1985-17 June 1986; San Francisco Naval Shipyard overhaul 22 April-3 September 1971.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959-2000
- Population
- Todd Pacific Shipyards construction trades (1959-1962); crew (1962-1991); shipyard workers at Puget Sound, Pearl Harbor, Long Beach, and San Francisco (Hunters Point) naval shipyards
- Limitations
- DANFS documents builder, dates, service history, and yard periods - not materials or asbestos content. DANFS specifications (displacement 4,500; 30 kt; complement 384) differ from secondary compilations (3,277 standard/4,526 full; 33 kt; 354) - variances carried in gaps. Live NHHC page 404s; 2018-12-31 Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-01
-
[3]Redman v. A.W. Chesterton Company, No. 3:08-cv-03013-JSW (N.D. Cal., filed 2008-06-18, terminated 2009-02-02); Rosenthal Declaration, ECF No. 11 (323 pp.), Exhibit D - Plaintiff's Responses to Defendants' Standard Interrogatories, Set Two (Wrongful Death), San Francisco Superior Court No. 274617 [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 11 (Rosenthal Declaration), Exhibit D, doc-internal p.9 of 56 (PDF page 69 of 323), 'Ships of the Charles F. Adams class' roster, line item 14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation in which this hull is named once in indexed text: 'USS Buchanan (DDG-14)' appears in a 'Ships of the Charles F. Adams class' roster embedded in the plaintiff's product-identification interrogatory responses, which assert that Adams-class destroyers operated Griscom-Russell distilling plants (Viad Corp is sued as alleged successor-in-interest to Griscom-Russell Company). Decedent Ronald D. Redman, a pipefitter/steamfitter employed by Norfolk Naval Shipyard, performed equipment inspections aboard listed vessels during overhauls; his itemized jobsite table (Exhibit A) names ~50 vessels at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Newport News, and San Diego - and does NOT list Buchanan. The case was removed to federal court on federal-officer (Boyle government-contractor) grounds by Viad; plaintiffs' remand motion (ECF 9-11) was the contested posture.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1974-1984 (decedent's documented Norfolk Naval Shipyard employment); 2008-2009 (litigation)
- Population
- Ronald D. Redman (decedent, pipefitter/steamfitter, d. 2007-10-21 mesothelioma); Jeri Redman (surviving spouse); class-level reference as to DDG-14
- Limitations
- Class-roster reference, not a ship-specific exposure allegation: the hull appears because plaintiffs assert the whole Adams class carried Griscom-Russell distilling plants, not because the decedent is claimed to have served aboard DDG-14 (he is not - his jobsite table omits it). Discovery-stage material, unadjudicated; establishes nothing about materials actually aboard this hull. Verified by full-text OCR review of the 323-page document: 'Buchanan' occurs once (document p.69, Adams-class roster). Termination 2009-02-02; remand disposition not yet read from docket (entries page 2 pending fleet pacing).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-02
-
[4]EPA, Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels,' 40 C.F.R. 229.2, as interpreted by EPA letter, Robert H. Wayland III to Elsie L. Munsell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Aug. 2, 1999) - text quoted in 78 Fed. Reg. 20640 (Apr. 5, 2013) [federal_register]
- Locator
- 78 Fed. Reg. 20640 (Apr. 5, 2013), text of 1999 Wayland letter at n.* (per-vessel inventory and removal requirements)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Ex-Buchanan was sunk as a SINKEX target on 14 June 2000 (DANFS) during RIMPAC 2000 - inside the regime created by the 1999 EPA-Navy letter, under which 'before engaging in a SINKEX, the Navy must conduct an inventory of each SINKEX vessel to ascertain the presence of PCBs,' report the inventory and items removed to EPA in the annual report, remove transformers/capacitors containing 3+ lb dielectric fluid, drain and flush hydraulic and heat-transfer equipment, and use reasonable efforts on smaller PCB items. Per-vessel preparation of this hull therefore included a documented PCB inventory and hazardous-material removal at a Navy or approved facility.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1999-2000
- Population
- SINKEX preparation workers, Pearl Harbor NISMF (1991-2000 lay-up); ordnance/EOD personnel at sinking
- Limitations
- Regulatory requirement tied to this hull's documented disposal event; the actual per-vessel inventory, the list of items removed, and any asbestos-specific findings are not public in the located sources. The 1999 letter regime addresses PCBs and marine-degrading materials - not asbestos specifically; it does not quantify or even mention ACM aboard this hull. Does not address crew-era exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-03
-
[5]EPA, Costs of Compliance With the Proposed Amendments to the PCB Regulation - Final Report (citing U.S. Department of the Navy findings, 1991) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA NEPIS document P100RFDY.TXT, Navy PCB-in-insulation findings section
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- EPA documents Navy-reported discovery of PCB-impregnated insulation and gasket materials installed on Navy vessels: during submarine deactivation work in 1989 the Navy found a wool-felt insulating material widely used aboard its vessels containing high PCB concentrations (impregnated for fire resistance); subsequent fleet material testing found PCBs above regulated levels in multiple common shipboard materials including plastics and small rubber parts - the material-inventory problem every SINKEX hull, including ex-Buchanan, carried into the 1999-2000 prep regime.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1989-1995
- Population
- Navy vessels fleet-wide (material finding)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level EPA/Navy finding about insulation and gasket materials on 'Navy vessels' generally - not a survey of this hull; documents PCB (a different contaminant), not asbestos. Contextualizes what the required pre-sinking inventory would have looked for aboard this hull; does not establish asbestos content or crew exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-04
-
[6]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Buchanan (DDG-14) - operational/building data and official U.S. Navy sinking-photo caption (photo by Nick Galante) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 05/01014.htm, 'As Built' data block and 14 June 2000 photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary archive index for this hull: machinery summary '70,000 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws; Speed 33 knots; Range 4,500 NM @ 20 kt; Crew 333-350'; armament as built: 2 x 5-inch/54, Mk 11 twin-arm Tartar launcher, 1 x 8 ASROC, 6 x Mk 32 TT; sinking detail - absorbed 3 Hellfire missiles, 3 Harpoon missiles and a 2,400-lb laser-guided bomb on 13 June 2000 and remained afloat; scuttled 14 June 2000 with 200 lb of explosive charges set by an EOD team, ~64 NM off Hawaii in 2,540 fathoms.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-2000
- Population
- SINKEX/EOD ordnance-disposal personnel, June 2000
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained photo/data index - secondary source, not official; figures used only to fill machinery/range details DANFS omits (DANFS speed reads 30 kt, complement 384 - variances in gaps). Sinking details consistent across NavSource, seaforces.org, MaritimeQuest, and the ship association site; the U.S. Navy photo caption reproduced there is official imagery.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy asbestos-protection efforts - including at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, where this hull was overhauled in 1965, 1967, 1975, 1980, and 1985-86. GAO documented the Navy's 1975 policy of removing asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning era insulation aboard operating ships typically persisted unless disturbed by a yard period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (policy period); fieldwork 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers incl. Long Beach NSY; crew during yard periods
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - Long Beach is a documented overhaul yard for this hull, which strengthens context but remains yard-level, not a hull survey. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); product-page description used, as in Batch 01.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-06
-
[8]DANFS specifications block (Charles F. Adams class; 4,500 t; Tartar/ASROC armament) + era propulsion data (geared steam turbines, 4 boilers, 70,000 shp) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; NavSource machinery data; era substitution timing per GAO HRD-80-2 product description
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer built 1959-1962 with a four-boiler, two-turbine steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing boiler-casing and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, valve gaskets and packing, fireproofing on bulkheads and overheads, deck coverings/tile, and electrical-cable insulation. The Navy did not begin substituting non-asbestos insulation until the early-to-mid 1970s (per GAO HRD-80-2 policy history), so her construction era and pre-1975 overhauls fall inside the standard-asbestos period.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959-1991
- Population
- Todd Pacific construction trades (1959-1962); crew (1962-1991); overhaul-yard workers (1963-1986)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, materials list, or asbestos test data located. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed materials aboard this hull; no quantity; does not address what remained at sinking.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-07
-
[9]National Archives, Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog - Buchanan (DDG-14) deck logs digitized for 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970; NHHC DANFS page also lists archival materials 'Buchanan III (DDG-14) 1962-1991' [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (Buchanan DDG-14 row); NHHC DANFS 'Location of Archival Materials' line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary-source leads for hull-level research: NARA's online deck-log index lists Buchanan (DDG-14) deck logs digitized for 1966-1970 (Vietnam-era Blue Water Navy scanning project); remaining logs held in RG 24 Entry 118 at College Park. The NHHC DANFS page lists archival materials for this hull spanning 1962-1991 (command histories/operations reports). Deck logs and command histories are the likeliest public route to any hull-specific material, repair, or hazmat disclosures.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-1991
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - logs and command histories were not individually reviewed for asbestos content; their existence documents availability, not any exposure fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-08
-
[10]Batch-3916 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (wayback), NVR, CourtListener opinion + docket sweeps, NARA deck-log index, GAO HRD-80-2, EPA SINKEX/MPRSA record, hazegray/ibiblio DANFS mirrors [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-buchanan-ddg14-01 through sl-uss-buchanan-ddg14-10
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos finding located: no ACM survey, no abatement or remediation record, no materials inventory, no litigation alleging exposure aboard this hull, and no published opinion naming it was found in the public sources searched. The single litigation hit (Redman, ev-02) references the hull only inside an Adams-class product-identification roster - a class-level device, not a ship-specific exposure allegation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1959-1962 steam destroyer is era-consistent for standard ACM, and her 14 pre-1975 overhaul periods are the classic disturbance pathway. This finding reports search outcome, not hull condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buchanan-ddg14-09