Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]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
- AK-75 was built to the EC2-S-C1 design (Maritime Commission hull 504). The USMC instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant 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
- 1942
- Population
- Construction trades (Permanente Metals Yard No. 1, Richmond, 1942); Navy engine-room crew (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content; 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-cassiopeia-ak75-01
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[2]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 - 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-cassiopeia-ak75-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Cassiopeia (AK-75) - specifications block and construction/disposition chronology [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/13/130075 - 'Specifications' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's specification block for this hull documents the standard EC2-S-C1 steam plant installed aboard: one Hooven-Owens-Rentschler vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine on a single screw (2,500 shp), two Babcock & Wilcox header-type oil-fired boilers (220 psi, 450 deg F), ship's-service generators (three reciprocating-drive 20 kW and one turbine-drive 60 kW, 120 V DC); armament one 5"/38, one 3"/50, two 40 mm, six 20 mm; cargo capacity 7,800 DWT / 421,627 cu ft non-refrigerated; complement listed as 15 officers and 180 enlisted (195).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Navy crew (~195 per NavSource; ~198 per DANFS), 1942-45
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation transcribing official specification data - establishes the machinery and fit aboard this hull but contains no asbestos or insulation-material information; does not establish that remaining or installed insulation contained asbestos. Complement figure (195) conflicts with DANFS (198); DANFS carried in the record header.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-03
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[4]DANFS, Cassiopeia (AK-75) (verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full text + data line; transcription mirror losthistory.net/hazegray; corroborating HyperWar page http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AK/AK-75_Cassiopeia.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents this hull's operational record: launched 15 November 1942 as Melville W. Fuller by Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Calhoun; acquired by the Navy 27 November 1942; commissioned 8 December 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. E. Carlson in command. Sailed San Francisco 21 December 1942 for Noumea (arrived 12 January 1943); supported the consolidation of the northern Solomons; Auckland reload voyages (19 June-11 July 1943 and later); Noumea-Guadalcanal runs to 9 August 1943; South Pacific operations through June 1945; cleared Auckland 6 June 1945 for San Francisco, the Canal Zone, and Norfolk (arrived 25 October); decommissioned 21 November 1945 and transferred to the Maritime Commission the same day. One battle star for World War II service. DANFS data line: dp. 4,023; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 198; a. 1 x 5", 1 x 3"; cl. Crater.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Navy crew, South Pacific service 1942-45
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, builder, sponsor, command, wartime service pattern, decommissioning, and one battle star. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or material information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC URL (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cassiopeia.html) returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-21; verbatim hazegray transcription cited, consistent with the ibiblio HyperWar AK-75 page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-04
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[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - MELVILLE W. FULLER, Ship History Detail 3316 (milestone table; companion record CASSIOPEIA (AK-75), Detail 12536) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 3316 milestone table (Entry 11/21/1945; Disposition 6/27/1961 'PERM TRANS TO NAVY'); Detail 12536 fate field
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory milestones document the government custody chain for this hull: entry/acquisition into the reserve fleet 11/21/1945 annotated 'ex-CASSIPEIA' [sic], and disposition/withdrawal 6/27/1961 annotated 'PERM TRANS TO NAVY.' The companion record for CASSIOPEIA (AK-75) (Detail 12536) carries fate 'Sunk - No Further Info.' Vessel attributes in both records: EC2-S-C1, built 1942 by Permanente Metals Corporation, 441.5 ft x 57 ft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1945-1961
- Population
- NDRF James River caretakers (1945-1961)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for custody milestones and fate classification; the milestone table does not record the sinking date, location, or agent (torpedo test by USS Cutlass rests on secondary compilations). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-05
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[6]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3316 milestone (6/27/1961 'PERM TRANS TO NAVY') vs NavSource AK-75 disposition line ('returned to US Navy, 27 June 1971'); secondary compilations: mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsM; Wikipedia synthesis [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD Detail 3316 milestones; NavSource 09/13/130075 disposition line; mariners-l.co.uk/LibShipsM.html entry 'Melville W. Fuller'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposition-date correction: NavSource's chronology prints 'returned to US Navy, 27 June 1971, disposed of as a target by USS Cutlass (SS-478), in the VACAPES area, date unknown.' The MARAD milestone table records the permanent transfer to the Navy and fleet withdrawal on 6/27/1961 - NavSource's 1971 is a decade-off typographical error. Secondary compilations report the hull was expended as a torpedo target by USS Cutlass (SS-478) in the Virginia Capes area on or about 28 June 1961 (the Navy requested the hull for testing 21 June 1961).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1961
- Limitations
- The 1961 transfer/withdrawal is primary (MARAD); the Cutlass torpedo-test detail and the 28 June 1961 sinking date rest on secondary compilations (NavSource, mariners-l, Wikipedia synthesis) - no primary ordnance/test record was located, and exact sinking coordinates are unpublished. NavSource typo noted, not propagated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-06
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[7]Batch-950 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page (404); hazegray + HyperWar transcriptions; MARAD ShipHistory 3316/12536; Kaiser Permanente No. 1 yard table (shipbuildinghistory.com); NavSource specs; CourtListener API v4 (throttled) + web-index name sweep; open-web asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-01 through sl-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government report, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Cassiopeia or AK-75 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only ship-specific asbestos claim located is a mesothelioma marketing page (asbestos-ships.com) asserting all who served aboard inhaled fibers - an unsupported competitor source, excluded per batch rules. CourtListener API v4 returned HTTP 429 (2800/day quota exhausted by prior work, reset ~2.3 h); the public web-index sweep for 'Cassiopeia' returns only Cassiopeia IP LLC patent-litigation name collisions (not this vessel), and no litigation naming the ship was located.
- 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 1942 emergency-built steam hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The litigation check is partial: CourtListener API was rate-limited at search time and the result rests on the web-index name sweep; an authenticated API re-run is the open verification step. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-07
-
[8]NARA record-group leads: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) conversion/design records for AK-75; RG 24 deck logs (USS Cassiopeia, 1942-45); RG 178 (US Maritime Commission) construction records for MC hull 504; Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo 8017-12-42 (19 Dec 1942) implies a post-commissioning SF Bay availability [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guide to federal records, RG 19/24/178 group pages; NavSource photo caption 'Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 8017-12-42, 12/19/42'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders): NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records may hold the merchant-to-AK conversion plans/scope for this hull; RG 24 holds WWII deck logs for USS Cassiopeia; RG 178 Construction Division records may hold MC contract files for hull 504; Mare Island yard records may document any December 1942 availability (the surviving Mare Island photo places her in the Bay Area before her 21 December 1942 departure).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1945 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cassiopeia-ak75-08