Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive (SSN-715) + navysite.de ship page (secondary compilations) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/08/08715.htm; navysite.de/ssn/ssn715.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (secondary compilations): contract awarded 23 February 1976 to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.; keel laid 25 January 1980; launched 8 May 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Joanne Kemp (wife of Rep. Jack Kemp); delivered 27 October 1983; commissioned 5 November 1983, Cmdr. G. Michael Hewitt, Submarine Squadron 8 - the third USN ship named Buffalo, the 28th Los Angeles-class unit and 24th of class commissioned. Norfolk initially, then homeported Pearl Harbor from 1984; Western Pacific deployments 1985 and 1987 (first Battle Efficiency award); western/eastern Pacific deployments 1990; mid-1990s dual drydocking with USS Los Angeles (SSN-688); reactor refueling at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in 2001; on 14 November 2005 became the first US submarine to launch an unmanned underwater glider; forward-deployed Guam 2007-2013 (Submarine Squadron 15); Pre-Inactivation Restricted Availability on return to Pearl Harbor; Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy recipient; final Western Pacific deployment ended 23 December 2016.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1976-2017
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations (navysite, NavSource, uscarriers) - no live NHHC DANFS page or transcription exists for this hull; details unverified against a primary Navy record. The 2001 refueling rests on a Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard study of nuclear work as compiled by navysite - yard event verified only at compilation level. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-01
-
[2]DVIDS releases: 'USS Buffalo (SSN 715) Arrives in Bremerton for Inactivation' (235518, 2017-05-26) and 'USS Buffalo (SSN 715) Holds Inactivation Ceremony Celebrating 35 Years of Service' (284503, 2018-07-16); uscarriers milestone compilation [reputable_press]
- Locator
- dvidshub.net/news/235518/ and /284503/; uscarriers.net/ssn715.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy-reported disposition for this hull: departed Pearl Harbor 1 May 2017 under Cmdr. Micah Maxwell for a homeport change to Bremerton, arriving Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton 26 May 2017 to begin a year-long inactivation after 33 years of service (DVIDS 235518); placed in reserve 'inactivated but in commission' status 30 September 2017; inactivation ceremony held 16 July 2018 at the Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport (DVIDS 284503); officially decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 30 January 2019 (uscarriers/Wikipedia compilations).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2017-2019
- Population
- Crew; PSNSY inactivation trades
- Limitations
- DVIDS release 235518 misstates the builder - it reads 'keel was laid by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, Conn.'; all other sources (Wikipedia compilation, NavSource, navysite) give Newport News Shipbuilding. The error is in the Navy release itself and is flagged, not propagated. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-02
-
[3]Institute for Advanced Learning and Research official release 'Decommissioned Submarine Parts Displayed on IALR Campus'; Naval Submarine League notice (2026-04-10); Chatham Star-Tribune reporting (2022 approval; 2026 installation); Navy spokesperson Alan Baribeau quoted [reputable_press]
- Locator
- ialr.org release; navalsubleague.org (2026-04-10); chathamstartribune.com (2022-10-28; 2026)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The submarine's sail (~75 tons, ~26'3" x 17') was preserved after inactivation and installed in March 2026 outside the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing Maritime Training Center on the IALR campus, Danville, Virginia - a Navy-Submarine Industrial Base workforce program display, alongside the rudder of ex-USS Providence (SSN-719).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2022-2026
- Limitations
- Post-disposal artifact documentation - the sail is the hull's only major surviving structure; it documents preservation, not material content. Sources are the institution, trade association, and local press quoting a Navy spokesperson - not Navy records proper. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: NavSource/navysite spec blocks (S6G plant, steam turbines, single shaft ~35,000 shp); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for newport-news-shipbuilding, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard, and puget-sound-naval-shipyard (thermal insulation, submarine steam/propulsion lagging, gaskets, packing, block insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource/navysite spec blocks; shipyards.json product lists for newport-news-shipbuilding, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard, puget-sound-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A first-flight Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine built 1980-1983 at Newport News Shipbuilding and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities (PHNSY availabilities and 2001 refueling; PSNSY inactivation 2017-19) sits at the tail of the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. The building and maintenance yards' asbestos product use in this period is independently documented at the yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1980-2019
- Population
- Newport News Shipbuilding construction trades (1980-83); PHNSY yard trades; crew (1983-2017); SRP workers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SSN-715. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear secondary/auxiliary systems, not confirmed installed materials; the reactor plant establishes nothing. Hull construction postdates the early-1970s start of Navy insulation substitution; residual-era ACM and maintenance-era disturbance remain inference. No quantity; SRP-era material disposition undocumented per-hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-04
-
[5]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinions 4324658, 4332654) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, specification-history discussion (SUBSAFE/MIL-I-24244)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A docketed asbestos personal-injury opinion recounts that after USS Thresher's 1963 loss the Navy created the SUBSAFE program, which issued procurement specification MIL-I-24244 covering asbestos-containing insulation for submarines - court-documented evidence that asbestos-containing insulation was specified in the submarine-construction regime in force when this hull was built (keel 1980).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2021 (opinion); regime described 1963-forward
- Population
- Navy submarine construction/maintenance trades, SUBSAFE era
- Limitations
- Documents the era procurement-spec regime, not this hull's installed materials; the case concerns a different claimant aboard different vessels. Does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-05
-
[6]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 documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - covering this hull's construction period (1980-1983) within the transition era and most service-era insulation events.
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-06
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[7]Batch-46 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror sweep; navysite + NavSource compilations; NVR; DVIDS releases; IALR/Danville preservation sources; verified RECAP exhibit PDFs (Cooks, Halseth, Cronin, Guthrie, Davis) grepped for name AND hull number; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows on this record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure case naming this hull was found. This hull does not appear in any of the five verified RECAP complaint-exhibit work histories checked (Cooks, Halseth, Cronin, Guthrie, Davis). CourtListener direct searches (exact name + hull number, opinions and RECAP) could not be run this session - API returned HTTP 429 '125/day' and site search CloudFront 403 - logged as blocked, not 'no result'.
- 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. Hull in the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program; per-hull hazmat handling records, if any exist, are not public. 'Buffalo' is a collision-prone name (city; earlier USS Buffalo hulls; pump manufacturers in exhibits) - hits were checked for hull-number corroboration. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buffalo-ssn715-07