Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS CLEVELAND' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS CLEVELAND' returned 83 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-cleveland-cl21-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS CLEVELAND' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS CLEVELAND' returned 1665 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-cleveland-cl21-cl-name-docket
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[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CL-21' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'CL-21' returned 54563 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-cleveland-cl21-cl-hull-opinion
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[4]CourtListener docket search: 'CL-21' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'CL-21' returned 283394 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-cleveland-cl21-cl-hull-docket
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[5]Bowers, F. C., Lieutenant Commander, U.S.N., 'The U.S.S. Cleveland - General Description - Official Trial,' Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, vol. 15, no. 4 (November 1903), pp. 1110-1143 (Internet Archive Smithsonian/SIM scan; page image verified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- p. 1114 ('False Ceiling' paragraph); article pp. 1110-1143; cellulose cofferdam passage p. 1112; 'all stuffing boxes ... metallic packing' p. ~1134; uncompleted-work list incl. 'finish covering piping' p. 1140
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The official Navy acceptance-trial report for this hull documents an asbestos product installed aboard: a false ceiling under the protective deck 'extending throughout the length of the engine and fire rooms' consisting of 'two layers of 1-1/2-inch fire felt and of one layer of 1/8-inch asbestos mill board secured under deck beams where possible, thus giving an air space under the deck' (p. 1114, wording verified against the scanned page image - OCR alone renders the fractions ambiguously). The same report records that 'all stuffing boxes of the main engines were fitted with metallic packing' (i.e., not fiber packing), lists 'finish covering piping' among uncompleted work (pipe covering/lagging existed aboard; composition not described), and describes cofferdam packing of 'fire-proofed corn-pith cellulose packed in briquettes.' Also documents the machinery: six Babcock & Wilcox 'Alert'-type water-tube boilers in two watertight fire rooms; two vertical triple-expansion engines, twin screws; progressive-speed trial on the Southport course 24 August 1903 and official trial over the Cape Ann course 1 September 1903 out of Portland Harbor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1903 (construction as surveyed at acceptance trial)
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1900-1903; engine-room and fire-room crew 1903-1929
- Limitations
- As-built description by the trial officer at delivery - documents one named asbestos product (mill board) and its location, but does not itemize boiler/steam-pipe lagging, gasket, or other insulation composition aboard; does not quantify asbestos; does not establish any individual's exposure; says nothing about material condition during 26 years of subsequent service or at scrapping.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-01
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[6]DANFS, Cleveland I (C-19), Vol. 2 p. 128 (builder, launch/commission dates, full service narrative through the 1930 sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: protected cruiser launched 28 September 1901 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Miss R. Hanna; commissioned 2 November 1903, Commander W. H. H. Southerland in command. European Squadron, West Indian and Cuban waters, Hampton Roads-Boston coast, midshipmen training cruise until 17 May 1907; sailed via Gibraltar, Port Said, Aden, Colombo and Singapore to Cavite, arriving 1 August 1907; three years Asiatic station; Mare Island Navy Yard 1 August 1910; decommissioned 3 August 1910; second reserve 8 April 1912; full commission 31 August 1912; Mexico/Central America patrols alternating with Mare Island reserve periods 1912-1917; Hampton Roads 31 March 1917; Cape Hatteras-Charleston patrol 9 April-22 June; seven mid-ocean convoy-escort voyages June 1917-December 1918; Pacific Fleet from 16 February 1920; reclassified CL-21 8 August 1921; Caribbean/South American service; decommissioned at Boston 1 November 1929; sold for scrapping 7 March 1930 'in accordance with the Washington Treaty limiting naval armament.' Spec block: 3,200 t; 308 ft 10 in; 44 ft beam; 15 ft 9 in draft; 16 kt; complement 339; ten 5-in guns; DENVER class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1899-1930
- Population
- Construction trades 1900-03; crew 1903-1929
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Spec block predates the 1920-21 reclassifications (no PG-33/CL-21 mention beyond the reclassification note). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-02
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[7]U.S. Navy Department, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1929 (Washington: GPO), Light Cruisers - Second Line (OCL) table, CLEVELAND CL21 row, 'Ex-PG33' (shipscribe.com scan of the official publication; OCR-assisted read) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data Book 1929, Light Cruisers - Second Line (OCL) table (book pp. ~31-37: dimensions p. 31; trial/machinery p. 33; quarters/armor/armament pp. 35; builder/cost/dates pp. 36-37)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy register for this hull in its final year of service: CLEVELAND, official number CL21 (Ex-PG33), listed among Light Cruisers - Second Line. Dimensions 308 ft 10 in oa / 292 ft pp; 44 ft beam; 15 ft 9 in draft; 3,200 t normal, 3,514 t full load; trial displacement 3,202 t; trial speed 16.45 kt. Machinery: 2 vertical triple-expansion engines; 6 Babcock & Wilcox boilers; 4,586 ihp design / 4,685 ihp trial; coal capacity 457 t; G.E. Co. generating sets. Armament as of 1929: eight 5-in/50, one 3-in/50 AA, six 6-pdr (reduced from the original ten 5-in). Protective deck 5/16-in flat, 2-1/2-in slopes. Quarters: 16 chief petty officers + 270 petty/enlisted. Build data: Bath Iron Works; contract price hull and machinery $1,041,650; act of 3 March 1899; contract signed 14 December 1899; keel laid 1 June 1900; launched 28 September 1901; preliminary acceptance 29 October 1903; first commission 2 November 1903.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1929 (register); machinery state as built
- Population
- Engine-room and fire-room crew; complement ~270 enlisted + officers per 1929 register
- Limitations
- Register data, not a materials record - documents machinery, complement quarters, armament and designation but contains no insulation or asbestos content. OCR-assisted read of the scanned multi-page table; officer-quarter cells for this row not legible; cylinder dimensions for the engines partially legible and not carried. Launch date here (28 September 1901) conflicts with the official 1903 trial report's printed 'September 21, 1901' - conflict logged.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-03
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[8]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, USS Cleveland (Cruiser # 19, later PG-33 and CL-21), 1903-1930 (official Naval Historical Center ship page, ibiblio transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library ship page (history.navy.mil-derived), narrative paragraph + photo captions (NH 100004/100006 Dewey drydock, January 1908)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC page documents for this hull: 3,200-ton Denver-class protected cruiser built at Bath, Maine; 'commissioned in November 1903 as the first of her class to be completed'; European Squadron and U.S./Caribbean waters; Far East via Mediterranean and Suez to the Asiatic Fleet 1907; laid up at Mare Island Navy Yard mid-1910 to mid-1912; five years off Mexico and Central America; East Coast transfer March 1917; WWI shipping-protection patrols and convoy escort; Central and South American waters from 1918, Pacific from February 1920; reclassified gunboat PG-33 July 1920 and light cruiser CL-21 August 1921; 'remained active off Latin America until she was decommissioned at the beginning of November 1929. She was sold for scrapping in March 1930.' Photo captions add the January 1908 Dewey drydocking at Olongapo.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1903-1930
- Population
- Crew 1903-1929; Mare Island caretaker/yard personnel 1910-12
- Limitations
- History and disposition documentation only - no materials or asbestos content. PG-33 and CL-21 reclassification dates confirmed here (July 1920 / August 1921); day-level dates (7 July 1920 / 8 August 1921) per NavSource and Wikipedia - secondary corroboration for day values.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-04
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[9]Franke K, Paustenbach D, 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3): 1-20 (published online 26 Dec 2011) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3), historical-use section (p. 1-2 of article text)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed state-of-the-science review documents that 'beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s, amosite and chrysotile fibers, and to a much lesser extent, crocidolite, were used extensively as insulating materials on naval ships because of their incombustibility, low thermal conductivity, light weight, and strength' (citing Fleischer 1946; Harries 1968; Murphy 1971; Rushworth 2005; Hollins 2009). The documented window covers this hull's entire 1903-1929 service life; the ship-specific mill-board finding (ev-01) is consistent with it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1880s-1950s
- Population
- n/a (era-level documentation)
- Limitations
- Secondary review aggregating earlier sources, authored by defense-side asbestos experts - used for era framing only, not for ship-specific or exposure-quantification claims. No hull named; the ship-specific finding for this record is the 1903 trial report (ev-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-05
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[10]Official trial report (ev-01: coal-fired twin-screw triple-expansion plant, six B&W water-tube boilers, steam-jacketed cylinders) + Atlas shipyard dataset records for Bath Iron Works, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and Boston Naval Shipyard (documented asbestos sites) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Trial report machinery sections (ev-01); shipyards.json records 'bath-iron-works', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard', 'boston-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference beyond the documented mill board: this hull ran a coal-fired, twin-screw, triple-expansion steam plant with six Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers and steam-jacketed cylinders - the machinery type that the era's naval steam specifications lagged and gasketed with asbestos-era insulation products. The trial report itself notes pipe covering/lagging aboard whose composition it does not describe. The hull's yards are all Atlas-documented asbestos sites: builder Bath Iron Works (Kaylo pipe covering, asbestos felt, packing among documented products - WWII-era findings), Mare Island Naval Shipyard (two lay-up/reserve periods 1910-1912 and repeated 1912-17 yard availabilities; Unibestos, Kaylo, packing, gaskets among documented products), and Boston Naval Shipyard (final decommissioning 1929).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1899-1930
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1900-03; Mare Island yard/ship personnel 1910-17; engine-room and fire-room crew 1903-1929; Boston decommissioning personnel 1929
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific asbestos evidence for this hull is the trial-report mill board (ev-01); this row must not be read as an independent ship-specific finding. The yards' documented products post-date this hull's era (largely WWII-era findings); yard asbestos documentation does not establish material aboard this ship. Does not quantify material aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-06
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[11]Batch-211 search ledger (this record): DANFS + NHHC Online Library transcriptions; Navy Ships' Data Book 1929 full-table OCR read; 1914 SDB scan (no OCR text layer); ASNE Journal vol. 15 trial report page-image verification; Bureau of Steam Engineering Denver-class contract-specification hunt (archive.org BSE corpus, Online Books Page/HathiTrust index, web - no digitized copy); CourtListener name+hull queries (blocked - documented daily rate limit); open-web litigation sweep incl. site:courtlistener.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cleveland-cl21-05 through sl-uss-cleveland-cl21-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation, survey, or abatement record located for this hull: the open-web sweep returned one CourtListener-indexed asbestos docket mentioning 'USS Cleveland' - the Siegfried complaint's Long Beach Naval Shipyard ship list - but the vessel named is USS Cleveland (LPD-7), the 1967 amphibious transport dock: a documented name collision, not this hull. The WWII light cruiser USS Cleveland (CL-55) is a second distinct namesake. No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, or material characterization exists to locate: the hull was sold 7 March 1930 and broken up at Baltimore, decades before asbestos-aware documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- CourtListener API v4 name+hull verification was blocked 2026-09-19 by the documented 125/day rate limit (HTTP 429; retries deferred per batch throttle policy) and the web tier by a WAF challenge - the negative litigation finding rests on the open-web/site-index sweep plus the structural implausibility of claims (hull scrapped 1930, before the asbestos-litigation era), not on a completed docket search. Logged as blocked, not a verified no-hit. Absence of a located record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cleveland-cl21-07