Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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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
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant (the design of this vessel) 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. 2, Richmond, 1942); Navy engine-room and repair personnel
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual does not name 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-celeno-ak76-01
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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-celeno-ak76-02
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[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Celeno' entry - transcription via hazegray DANFS mirror (live NHHC URL 404 on 2026-09-21; standing link-rot per BATCH-01-REPORT.md) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text (hazegray mirror). NHHC canonical URLs https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/celeno.html and legacy /danfs/c5/celeno.htm both returned 404
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Celeno (AK-76): launched 1942-12-12 as Redfield Proctor by Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. G. G. Sherwood; transferred to the Navy 1942-12-19; commissioned 1943-01-02, LCDR Niles E. Lanphere, USNR. Cleared San Francisco 1943-01-10 for Noumea; supported Guadalcanal/Solomons operations. Attacked 1943-06-16 while unloading off Guadalcanal: three near misses, two direct hits (stern 5-inch gun disabled, rudder jammed, two holds afire), deck cargo of diesel oil and gasoline ignited; beached on Lunga Point; towed to Port Purvis; 15 killed, 19 wounded; at least three enemy planes downed. Repairs at Espiritu Santo and San Francisco; returned to South Pacific January 1944; troop and cargo runs to Manus during the Admiralty Islands operation spring 1944; operated Solomons, Bismarcks, Marianas; voyages to Australia, New Zealand, Iwo Jima; rear-area support for Okinawa via Eniwetok and Ulithi, arriving Okinawa 1945-06-18; Ulithi 1945-07-03. November 1945 embarked troops at Iwo Jima for Saipan, then troops for the west coast. Decommissioned San Francisco 1946-03-01 and transferred to the Maritime Commission. Three battle stars. Stat line: dp. 4,672; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 214; a. 1 x 5", 1 x 3"; cl. Crater. Namesake: a star in the constellation Pleiades.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1946 (complement 214 per DANFS stat line); embarked troops on transport runs
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, wartime service, casualties, repair events, awards, and disposition to MARCOM. DANFS is an official Navy history but is a compiled narrative, not a materials record - it contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement and supports no asbestos claim. Battle-damage repair periods are documented as events only; any insulation disturbance during repairs is inference, not documented fact. Mirror transcription used because the live NHHC page is unreachable; transcription checked for internal consistency, not against the NHHC original.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celeno-ak76-03
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[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CELENO (AK-76) detail 5751 and REDFIELD PROCTOR detail 4081, including digitized vessel status cards (5Y2_01, 7518AF/AB) and MA-20 Record of Ship Sales (4081_AF) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory detail 5751 and 4081; status card images at /cards/5Y2_01.png, /cards/4081_7518AF.jpg, /cards/4081_7518AB.jpg, /cards/4081_AF.jpg (handwritten entries OCR-read)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory records and digitized status cards: CELENO (AK-76) detail (ShipHistory 5751) - year built 1942, official number 243513, shipyard Permanente Metals Corporation, type AK Cargo Ship, MARAD type EC2-S-C1, length 441.5 ft, beam 56.9 ft, displacement 14,350 t (summer)/4,023 t (light), fate 'Sold - Scrap.' REDFIELD PROCTOR detail (ShipHistory 4081) - milestones: entry/acquisition 1946-03-01 ('ex-CELENO'), disposition/withdrawal 1961-06-06. Vessel status card: MCE Hull No. 439, built by Richmond Shipyard #2 at Richmond, Cal., completed 1942-12-19; WSA ownership; allocated Navy Dept. under BB (bareboat) agreement 1942-12-19 1:45 PM at Richmond; laid-up fleet Suisun Bay 1946-03-01 12:30 PM PST; card lists type 'Trooper EC2 (U),' passenger capacity 1,050, reason for lay-up 'suffered damage due to enemy action - requires disarming and reconversion from a transport to cargo carrier, repairs required $232,400'; fuel oil aboard 1,864 bbls Bunker C; tonnage 7,181 gr/4,384 net/14,100 disp; IHP 2500; 2 WTB. Record of Ship Sales (form MA-20): official no. 242657; advertised PD-X-595 opened 1961-01-31, no bids; readvertised PD-X-599 opened 1961-03-10; awarded 1961-03-14 to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., 45 Nassau St., New York, for $65,159.89; withdrawn/delivered Suisun Bay 1961-06-06 10:30 AM PDST.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1961
- Population
- NDRF custodial staff and 1961 scrap-sale handling (no exposure data recorded)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody, lay-up reason, and sale chain. Cards document the SALE to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. - a scrap broker - but do not state where the hull was physically dismantled. Internal figure variances across cards/detail pages (official no. 243513 vs 242657; IHP 2,500 vs compilations' 1,950; displacement 14,350/14,100/4,023/4,672) are carried in gaps, not merged. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celeno-ak76-04
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[5]MARAD ShipHistory detail 4081 status cards / MA-20 Record of Ship Sales (controlling) vs NavSource USS Celeno (AK-76) archive page (secondary, lead-only per batch-05 exclusion policy) and HyperWar compilation [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status card /cards/4081_AF.jpg (sale award block) and /cards/4081_7518AF.jpg (withdrawal/delivery block); NavSource page navsource.org/archives/09/13/130076.htm (not cited as evidence)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged against the controlling MARAD record: (a) Dismantler - secondary compilations (NavSource) report the ship 'sold for scrapping 14 March 1961, National Steel and Shipbuilding, San Diego; removed 6 June 1961; scrapping completed 4 August 1961.' The MARAD MA-20 sale record and status cards document award and delivery to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. of New York - a scrap brokerage - and are silent on the physical dismantling site; National Steel & Shipbuilding may have performed the breaking as a downstream purchaser but is not corroborated by a located official record. (b) Complement - DANFS stat line gives 214; HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' compilation lists 198. DANFS carried. (c) Official number - MARAD detail 5751 lists 243513; the MARAD MA-20 sale card lists 242657; both carried, unresolved.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1961
- Limitations
- Corrects attribution only: the documented buyer of record is Union Minerals & Alloys Corp.; the physical dismantling yard remains undocumented in official sources (see gaps). No asbestos content in any source cited or corrected here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celeno-ak76-05
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[6]Batch-951 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror full text; MARAD ShipHistory 5751/4081 + status card images; CourtListener API (throttled) + site: fallback checks; NARA guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-celeno-ak76-01 through sl-uss-celeno-ak76-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the Celeno (AK-76)/Redfield Proctor hull was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; MARAD detail pages and all four digitized status cards contain custody/milestone data only; CourtListener API searches were blocked by daily throttle, with indexed site: checks returning only name collisions (Celeno Communications patent docket; Redfield surname/reporter hits) - see search_ledger.
- 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 EC2-S-C1 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull was broken up in the pre-OSHA era (1961) without located materials documentation. The CourtListener check is incomplete (API throttle; fallback indexing showed only non-qualifying collisions) - a re-run is flagged in the ledger, so 'no litigation' is a provisional negative, not a verified one. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celeno-ak76-06
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[7]NARA research guidance: 'Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives' and '1941-1959 Deck Logs'; Guide to Federal Records RG 38; Guide to Federal Records RG 178 [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-deck-logs-1941-1959 ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/038.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room work or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (1) NARA RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs, Entry 118 (NAID 581208), College Park - the 1941-1959 series covers Celeno's commissioned period; deck logs record daily events incl. personnel, injuries, and operations. (2) NARA RG 38, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations WWII action and operational reports / war diaries - the expected repository for a ship's action report on the 1943-06-16 Guadalcanal air attack and subsequent repair reporting. (3) NARA RG 178, U.S. Maritime Commission Construction Division records and West Coast (San Francisco) Director for Construction files - contract/outfitting records for MCE hull 439 at Permanente Metals Yard No. 2.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1961 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Celeno does not appear on NARA's published digitized deck-log list (WWII-era logs largely undigitized; catalog is script-driven, spot check inconclusive). Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celeno-ak76-07