Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 366-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: Constitution ("Old Ironsides"). Verified hull/designation:
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-constitution-ix21-pkt-366-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Constitution' (IX-21 entry) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS IX-21 entry and parenthetical specifications block; mirror at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/frigates/constitu.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies Constitution as one of the six frigates authorized by act of Congress approved 27 March 1794, designed by Joshua Humphreys, built at Hartt's Shipyard, Boston, under George Claghorn with Capt. Samuel Nicholson as inspector, launched 21 October 1797 and first put to sea 22 July 1798. The entry records her service through the Quasi-War, Barbary Wars, War of 1812 (Guerriere, Java, Cyane/Levant), Mediterranean/Pacific/African Squadron flag duty, the 1844-46 circumnavigation, Civil War training duty, the 1871 Philadelphia rebuilding, receiving-ship duty at Portsmouth (1884-1897), the return to Boston in 1897, renaming as Old Constitution (1 December 1917), name restoration (24 July 1925), recommissioning 1 July 1931, the 90-port national cruise, return to Boston 7 May 1934, and classification as IX-21 on 8 January 1941. Specifications: 2,200 tons, 175 ft between perpendiculars, 43 ft 6 in beam, 14 ft 3 in depth of hold, 13 knots, complement 450, classed 'Sailing Frigate'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1797-1958 (entry vintage)
- Population
- Crew of the era (complement 450); museum-era crew (~70 today)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, specifications, classification, and service chronology. Contains no asbestos, insulation, construction-material, or exposure information. The entry predates the 1975 withdrawal of the IX classification and modern restoration periods, and it elides the 1934-1940 commission-status gap that NavSource records (decommissioned 1934-06-08, recommissioned 1940-08-24).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-01
-
[3]Naval Historical Center / NHHC, 'The History of USS Constitution' timeline (compiled by CAPT Steven Maffeo, USNR), history.navy.mil - via Wayback capture 2009-05-23 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Timeline entries 1833, 1871-1877, 1882-1897, 1897, 1900, 1907, 1927-1930, 1931-1934, 1940, 1954, 1972-1975, 1992-1995, 2007
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's compiled USS Constitution timeline documents the chain of rebuilds and restorations at Charlestown Navy Yard and elsewhere: overhaul at Washington Navy Yard in 1811-1812; first vessel to enter the yard's new Dry Dock 1 on 24 June 1833; 1871-1877 rebuild at Philadelphia Navy Yard; receiving-ship period at Portsmouth Navy Yard 1882-1897; return to Boston Navy Yard 1897; Congress-authorized repairs 1900 (funded 1906, completed 1907); major reconstruction in Dry Dock 1 June 1927-March 1930 at a cost of approximately $987,000; recommissioning and 22,000-mile, 90-port national tour 1931-1934; permanent return to Boston 7 May 1934; assignment of the IX-21 designation in 1940-41; 1954 act of Congress directing the Secretary of the Navy to repair and maintain the ship at Boston; major restoration 1972-1975 (Boston Navy Yard closed 1974 and became part of Boston National Historical Park); Dry Dock 1 restoration September 1992-September 1995 enabling the 21 July 1997 sail under her own power; and the 3-year, $7 million waterborne restoration beginning October 2007.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1794-2008
- Population
- Boston Naval Shipyard workers (1927-31 reconstruction era); Philadelphia Navy Yard workers (1871-77)
- Limitations
- Authoritative yard-period and event chronology. It documents work events, not materials: no asbestos, insulation, or hazmat information appears. The timeline states the IX-21 designation was 'assigned' in 1940, while DANFS records classification on 8 January 1941 and the IX symbol's official adoption date is 8 January 1941 (hull numbers assigned 17 February 1941) - the small discrepancy is noted, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-02
-
[4]Historian, NHHC Detachment Boston, 'Overview of USS Constitution Re-builds & Restorations' (2014) and 'USS Constitution - Significant Rebuilding/Repair/Restoration Periods, 1801-2015' (updated March 2016) - USS Constitution Museum hosted PDFs [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full text of both documents; second document also at ussconstitutionmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/USSCRestorationTimeline.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The restoration history written by the Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston historian documents every rebuild/restoration period from 1801 through 2015 in material detail: timber species (live oak, white oak, Douglas fir, laminated laminates), copper sheathing and nails, hemp and later polypropylene rigging, oakum caulking, replica guns, and exhibit installations. Approximately 85 percent of the ship was renewed in the 1927-31 Dry Dock 1 reconstruction; the 1992-96 restoration re-created structural elements from Humphreys' original specifications; the 2007-10 work removed about 20 tons of upper-hull structure; and the 2015 drydocking began the 26-month availability. Across the entire document set, no asbestos, thermal insulation, gasket, tile, or asbestos-containing material is identified as installed, removed, or abated aboard this hull - the documented material fabric is wood, copper, steel, rope, canvas, and oakum.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1801-2015
- Population
- NHHC Detachment Boston ship restorers and riggers; USS Constitution crew; visiting public
- Limitations
- Ship-specific and authoritative for what restoration work was done and with what materials, but it is not a hazardous-materials survey: it was written to document historic fabric, not to inventory or exclude asbestos. Its silence on asbestos is a negative signal, not affirmative proof that no asbestos-containing material (e.g., in modern utility, galley, or finish items outside the structural scope) exists or existed aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-03
-
[5]Patrick Otton (Technical Writer, Naval Historical Center Detachment Boston, Bldg 24 M&R, Charlestown Navy Yard), 'Materials on USS Constitution', conference paper hosted at maritime.org (Wayback capture 2021-02-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Synopsis, Introduction, and Table of Contents (live oak; white oak; Douglas fir; laminates; copper; steel; rigging; blocks; sails)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A materials paper by the Naval Historical Center Detachment Boston technical writer summarizes the principal materials procured under federal procurement rules for the 1992-1995 rehabilitation and restoration of this specific hull: live oak timber, white oak timber, Douglas fir timber (planking and decking), white oak and Douglas fir glued laminates (untreated and ACZA-treated), copper bar and sheet, steel, standing and running rigging, blocks, and sails. No asbestos-containing product, insulation, gasket, packing, floor tile, or abatement scope appears in the materials inventory.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1992-1995
- Population
- Restoration workforce, 1992-1995
- Limitations
- By its own terms the paper covers only 'the major constituents' of the 1992-95 work; minor or commodity-level items (adhesives, sealants, floor finishes, electrical fittings) are outside its scope, so it does not exclude asbestos presence in non-structural materials. It does establish that the structural restoration program contained no thermal-insulation or asbestos product category.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-04
-
[6]U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Region 1 concluded-alliances registry (Naval Historical Center - Detachment Boston, signed 2005-05-09, concluded 2010-10-01); OSHA alliance news release (May 2005), text preserved via Claims Journal [other_primary]
- Locator
- Concluded Region 1 alliances list; release text at https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/east/2005/05/27/55517.htm
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- OSHA Region 1 recorded a safety-and-health education alliance with the Naval Historical Center Detachment Boston - the unit that repairs and restores USS Constitution - signed 9 May 2005 and concluded 1 October 2010. Per the contemporaneous OSHA release, the alliance developed training for the detachment's ship restorers and riggers focused on recognition and prevention of fall, electrical, caught-between, and struck-by hazards. Asbestos is not among the enumerated hazard topics.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2005-2010
- Population
- NHHC/NHC Detachment Boston ship restorers and riggers
- Limitations
- Establishes the ship-specific restoration workforce and the occupational-safety topics formally addressed for them. It is a training-alliance scope document, not a hazard inventory: the absence of asbestos from the enumerated topics does not establish absence of asbestos-containing material aboard, and it does not address exposure, causation, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-05
-
[7]National Park Service, NPGallery NRIS record 66000789 (U.S.S. Constitution); NPS 'USS Constitution' place page and Boston National Historical Park USS Constitution page [nps]
- Locator
- NPGallery asset 66000789 metadata; https://www.nps.gov/places/uss-constitution.htm; https://www.nps.gov/bost/learn/historyculture/ussconst.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS records USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard as a National Historic Landmark (designated 19 December 1960) and NRHP structure 66000789 (listed 15 October 1966), part of Boston National Historical Park and the Freedom Trail, managed by the U.S. Navy; the Boston NHP page states that NHHC Detachment Boston in Building 24 is responsible for the ship's maintenance, repair, and restoration, with active-duty naval officers and crew serving aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1960-present
- Population
- Active-duty crew (~70); visiting public
- Limitations
- Establishes federal designations, location, management responsibility, and the presence of an active-duty crew. Contains no asbestos, materials, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979), Enclosure I (Navy response) [gao]
- Locator
- Report digest and Enclosure I: 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos'
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- In the Navy's 1979 response enclosed in GAO report HRD-80-2, the service stated that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' citing asbestos in electrical resistors in Navy electronic equipment, floor tiling and Navy ship deck coverings, electric cabling in Navy galley ranges, piping-system gaskets and packing in Navy shipboard piping, and equipment brakes and clutches. Constitution was a commissioned Navy ship in service in 1979, so the fleet-level statement nominally includes her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy personnel and shipyard workers (fleet context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level statement, not a hull record: it names no ship other than an example (USS Paul F. Foster DD-964) and is anchored in the steam-era shipboard systems (thermal insulation, piping, machinery) this sailing frigate lacks. Its literal application to a wooden 1797 frigate with a minimal modern utility fit is undetermined; it cannot establish presence, product, quantity, location, exposure, or causation aboard this hull. gao.gov blocks direct automated fetch (HTTP 403); text verified via search-index excerpt and a locally cached full-text copy from a prior batch session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-07
-
[9]Batch-4767 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS IX-21; NHHC timeline; NHHC Detachment Boston restoration histories; Otton 1992-95 materials paper; NPS NRHP/NHL and Boston NHP pages; OSHA alliance registry; GAO HRD-80-2; official-source and general-web asbestos/survey/abatement searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-constitution-ix21-01 through sl-uss-constitution-ix21-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in the sources searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, material specification listing asbestos-containing items, or Navy/NPS documentation of asbestos aboard this hull. The documented ship material fabric across the authoritative restoration record is wood, copper, steel, rope, canvas, and oakum, and the ship has never carried a steam plant, boilers, or mechanical propulsion - removing the principal naval asbestos application category.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove asbestos was never aboard: mid-20th-century utility, galley, electrical, deck-finish, and shore-steam fittings aboard a continuously crewed Navy ship are plausible unexamined candidates, and no formal asbestos survey of the hull was located. Does not establish or defeat any exposure, causation, or eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated search via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py, query '"USS Constitution"' type=o - 6 results, all classified non-qualifying; 'IX-21' opinion and docket sweeps pacing-blocked [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-constitution-ix21-08 through sl-uss-constitution-ix21-10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated opinion search for the exact name 'USS Constitution' returned 6 hits, all non-qualifying: Campbell v. United States, 167 F. Supp. 2d 440 (D. Mass. 2001) and 337 F. Supp. 2d 219 (D. Mass. 2004) - FTCA negligent-supervision case arising from a Constitution crewman's hammer assault on a civilian contractor working on the SS Noboska at the pier (ship named as location/duty station; not asbestos); Mahon v. United States, 742 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2014) - FTCA discretionary-function ruling on a Commandant's House portico fall at Charlestown Navy Yard, mentioning the ship as background; Massachusetts Bay Lines v. Commissioner of Revenue, 72 Mass. App. Ct. 321 (2008) - harbor cruise surcharge tax case; Sasen v. Spencer, 879 F.3d 354 (1st Cir. 2018) - Navy petty officer UCMJ Article 31 case; and Dawson v. United States, 68 F.3d 886 (5th Cir. 1995) - federal sanctions case with incidental mention. No qualifying asbestos opinion naming the ship was located in opinion search. The hull-number ('IX-21') opinion search and all RECAP-docket searches could not be completed within the shared authenticated pacing window and remain owed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Partial negative finding. The exact-name opinion index was fully swept and produced no asbestos litigation naming the ship, but RECAP dockets (where vessel-list allegations most often appear) and the hull-number opinion sweep were not completed because the fleet-wide pacing limiter blocked further requests; a completed sweep could still locate pleading-stage vessel-list allegations in MDL-875 or state removals. The Campbell opinions are ship-related non-asbestos litigation accurately recorded at their disposition (subject-matter rulings, not exposure findings).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-09
-
[11]P.L. 111-84, sec. 1022 (NDAA FY2010), enacted 2009-10-28; NHHC Naval History Blog, 'USS Constitution Marks 10 Years as America's Ship of State' [other_primary]
- Locator
- P.L. 111-84 sec. 1022 (govinfo CRPT-111srpt35 TOC; statute text); navylive.dodlive.mil article text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Section 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public Law 111-84, signed 28 October 2009, designated USS Constitution as 'America's Ship of State' and expressed the sense of Congress that the President, Vice President, executive branch officials, and members of Congress should use the ship for pertinent matters of state. NHHC's official Navy history site confirms the designation and date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2009
- Limitations
- Ceremonial designation only; no asbestos, materials, or exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-10
-
[12]NHHC, 'USS Constitution - America's Ship of State' official fact sheet (Background for Media), history.navy.mil - fetched live 2026-09-29 (HTTP 200) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- General Characteristics block: builder, launch/first-sail dates, 1812 propulsion/armament/crew, 'Crew Today: 3 officers, 85+ enlisted', displacement 1,900+ tons today
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's official USS Constitution fact sheet records: oldest commissioned warship afloat; interpreted to the 1812 era; builder Col. George Claghorn, Edmund Hartt's Shipyard, Boston; launched 21 October 1797; first sail 22 July 1798; 1812 propulsion 48 sails and over 44,000 square feet of canvas; 1812 crew over 450 Sailors and Marines; crew today 3 officers and 85+ enlisted U.S. Navy men and women; homeport Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston National Historical Park; and designation as America's Ship of State in October 2009.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1797-present
- Population
- 1812-era crew (over 450); modern crew (3 officers, 85+ enlisted)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for published Navy characteristics. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or exposure information. The modern crew figure (3 officers, 85+ enlisted) differs from the ~70 stated in the NHHC Detachment Boston restoration history - a vintage discrepancy, both sources NHHC.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-11
-
[13]OPNAVINST 5100.19F (NAVEDTRA), Navy Safety and Occupational Health Program Manual for Forces Afloat, 5 May 2019 - SECNAV directives library PDF, Chapter A1 para 1c (p. A1-2) and Section B table of contents [other_primary]
- Locator
- Volume I, Chapter A1, paragraph 1c (p. A1-2): USS Constitution applicability exclusion; Section B TOC: Chapter 1 'Asbestos Management' B1-1; Chapter 10 'Lead Control' B10-1
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- OPNAVINST 5100.19F (5 May 2019), the Navy Safety and Occupational Health Program Manual for Forces Afloat, states in its Chapter A1 applicability paragraph: 'United States Ship (USS) Constitution is a unique ship with most repair and upkeep provided by the Naval History and Heritage Command Detachment Boston. These chapters do not apply to USS Constitution: B1, B2, B7, B8, B9, B10, and B11.' Chapter B1 of the manual is 'Asbestos Management' - the manual's asbestos chapter is therefore among those expressly non-applicable to this hull. (Chapter B10 is Lead Control, not asbestos.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2019
- Population
- USS Constitution crew and NHHC Detachment Boston shore work center
- Limitations
- Administrative-scope statement only: the stated basis is that NHHC Detachment Boston provides most repair and upkeep, not an asbestos survey. Non-applicability of the asbestos-management chapter neither establishes nor excludes asbestos-containing material aboard and says nothing about historical exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-constitution-ix21-12