Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet zcl-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-corundum-ix164-pkt-zcl-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Corundum (IX-164) - verbatim text of official NHHC page; live URL serves 404 as of access date, retrieved via Wayback capture 2025-01-19 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body (single paragraph); Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20250119111945/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/corundum.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Corundum (IX-164), formerly Limestone, was a non-self-propelled concrete barge acquired from the Maritime Commission, converted for use as a landing craft and vehicle spare parts barge, and assigned to Service Force, Pacific Fleet. Placed in service 18 July 1944; towed to the Philippines where she rendered assistance to Commander, Service Division 101; placed out of service 8 August 1946 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration the same day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's crew 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, conversion role, assignment, in-service/out-of-service dates, and WSA delivery. Silent on construction dates, complement, strike date, and final fate; contains no asbestos or materials information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CORUNDUM (IX-164), Ship History Detail 5797, incl. digitized status card 5797_AF and document CORUNDUM.pdf [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail page specifications + Fate field; Status Cards tab (handwritten custody card, scanned; OCR-aided manual read)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record (Detail 5797): year built 1944; shipyard Barrett and Hilp; Naval Service Craft, IX Unclassified/Miscellaneous, MARAD type B7-D1; length 366.60 ft, beam 56.00 ft, gross tons 4338, immersion 10,950 t (summer) / 5,263 t (lightweight); fate 'Sunk - No Further Info'; vessel name history carries both CORUNDUM (IX-164) and LIMESTONE (IX-158). Digitized custody card: redelivered/transferred by Reserve Fleet to War Dept, 2-4-47 2 p.m., port of delivery Subic Bay.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones (War Dept transfer at Subic Bay 1947-02-04). Beam (56 ft) differs from class data (54 ft); 'Sunk - No Further Info' gives no location, manner, or date; status-card handwriting partially legible. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-02
-
[4]Maes v. Barrett & Hilp, 27 BRBS 128 (1993), BRB Nos. 90-881 and 90-881A - U.S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board published Decision and Order (affirming ALJ Alexander Karst, 89-LHC-900) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Decision pp. 2, 5-7: contract facts (Cl. Ex. 2), 1943-08-11 subcontract finding (p. 2), credited insulation-installation testimony (p. 6), 'no evidence to the contrary' (p. 7)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Adjudicated record identifies the asbestos product supplied for installation on this hull's construction program: the record establishes that in June 1942 Barrett & Hilp contracted with the U.S. Maritime Commission to build a shipyard at South San Francisco and 26 concrete barges (deliveries 1943-01-15 to 1944-01-09), and that on 1943-08-11 Barrett & Hilp subcontracted with Asbestos Company of California to supply insulation containing asbestos for installation on the barges. The ALJ credited claimant's testimony that the decedent worked installing asbestos insulation on concrete barges being built on dry docks in the shipyard; 'there is no evidence to the contrary.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943 (subcontract and employment period); decision 1993
- Population
- Construction trades at Belair Shipyard, South San Francisco, 1943-1944
- Limitations
- Merits-adjudicated federal record (published BRB decision), not an allegation - but it documents the 26-barge construction program, not this hull: neither hull 1332 nor IX-164 is named, and installation aboard this specific barge is inferred from program scope and build-window alignment (keel 1943-10-19 - launch 1943-12-31, inside the stated delivery window). It does not establish product location aboard, quantity, or individual crew exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-03
-
[5]Maes v. Barrett & Hilp, 27 BRBS 128 (1993), BRB Nos. 90-881 and 90-881A - DOL Benefits Review Board published Decision and Order; claimant also had a settled California state compensation claim (net recovery $46,750, offset under Section 3(e)) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Decision and Order, 11 pp., per curiam (Smith, Brown, McGranery, AAJ)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation tied to this hull's construction program: Joseph Maes worked a two-week period in 1943 at Barrett & Hilp (maritime employer) installing asbestos insulation on concrete barges on dry docks, after 30 years (1939-1969) of asbestos exposure at non-maritime employers (Plant Rubber and Asbestos Works / Fibreboard Corp.). He died 1986-12-22 of pulmonary asbestosis. The BRB affirmed the ALJ's award of survivor's benefits under LHWCA Section 9, affirmed Lumberman's Mutual as responsible carrier and LHWCA coverage (1972 Act situs + status via Perini; independently status as shipbuilder), affirmed the inter vivos disability claim time-barred under Section 13(b)(2), and reversed only to impose a Section 14(e) penalty on compensation due 1986-12-22 to 1988-07-26.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943 (employment); 1986-1988 (disease, claims); 1993 (decision)
- Population
- Construction trades at Belair Shipyard (class context); claimant widow of Joseph Maes
- Limitations
- Litigation stage: final administrative adjudication (affirmed/modified on review) - stronger than a pleading but still a workers'-compensation coverage and causation-routing ruling. The vessel is not named; the decedent's attributed exposure career was overwhelmingly non-maritime (two weeks at Barrett & Hilp); the decision establishes program-level asbestos-insulation use, not exposure aboard any specific hull or legal eligibility for others.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-04
-
[6]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 program under which this concrete barge was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship on WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, its yard, or its barge type, 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-corundum-ix164-05
-
[7]Shipscribe.com, USS Trefoil (IX-149) class page (S. S. Roberts compilation drawing on Navy/Maritime Commission records) and NavSource IX-164 specification block (displacement, machinery, armament, cargo capacity) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe class data block (design, machinery 'Non-self propelled', complement); NavSource archives/09/46/46164.htm specifications (generators, fuel, cargo, armament)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Design context constraining and shaping inferred product categories: the B7-D1 is a non-self-propelled concrete cargo barge - no boilers, no steam propulsion plant, and no engine room, so the propulsion-plant insulation pathway does not apply. Class data list four diesel-driven 60 kW 120V DC ship's-service generators, 610 bbl diesel fuel capacity, non-refrigerated cargo of 3,000 DWT (292,000 cu ft), and one 40 mm plus four 20 mm AA mounts. Era-consistent inferred asbestos applications aboard this type: diesel-generator exhaust lagging, gaskets and packing in auxiliary pumps and fittings, electrical panel board, winch brake linings, accommodation-space insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Crew and embarked personnel, 1944-1946 (class context)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations of class data, not hull surveys - the inferred product list is an era-consistent reconstruction, not documentation that these materials were aboard this barge; the documented item from the program record (ev-03) is asbestos-containing insulation, application unspecified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-06
-
[8]Shipscribe.com, USS Trefoil (IX-149) class page - construction/disposition tables, class notes, and per-ship notes (S. S. Roberts compilation, 2002-2022, drawn on Navy and Maritime Commission records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table (CORUNDUM row), disposition table (CORUNDUM row), class notes 'IX 158-164' paragraph, ship notes (CORUNDUM 1332 row)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Construction and designation detail from the class compilation: MC hull 1332 laid down 1943-10-19 and launched 1943-12-31 at Barrett & Hilp's Belair Shipyard; assigned Navy name/designation LIMESTONE (IX-158) on 1944-02-07; renamed/redesignated CORUNDUM (IX-164) on 1944-05-23 when CNO swapped the two designations with MC hull 1338 so the first-completing hull could become the landing craft and vehicle spare parts barge; struck from the Naval Register 1946-08-28; fate column records Maritime Commission disposal 1946-08-08.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not the underlying official records - the rename and the two-hull swap are corroborated by DANFS ('formerly Limestone') and the paired MARAD name-history records (Details 5797 and 3025), but keel/launch dates and the 1946-08-28 strike date rest on this compilation alone (NavSource states strike 'date unknown').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-07
-
[9]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 5797 fate field and status card (official); Shipscribe ship note for IX-164 and NavSource IX-164 page (secondary compilations); Wikipedia 'USS Corundum (IX-164)' for the Agat Bay location claim (secondary) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD Detail 5797 Fate/Shipwreck fields + status card; Shipscribe ship notes (CORUNDUM 1332); NavSource 46164.htm final disposition line; Wikipedia article fate paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Final-fate records conflict in detail: MARAD records 'Sunk - No Further Info'; Shipscribe's ship note ends 'Sunk about 28 Feb 48 at' with the location unstated; a secondary compilation (Wikipedia, citing the same corpus) reports scuttling in Agat Bay, Guam on 1948-02-28; NavSource records 'Final Disposition, Lost - declaration withdrawn by operations, 10 October 1948.' Reconciled reading: sunk ~1948-02-28 following the 1947-02-04 Army transfer at Subic Bay, with the Navy's loss declaration administratively settled 1948-10-10; the Agat Bay location is secondary-sourced only.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1948
- Limitations
- Only the MARAD elements are official - 'Sunk - No Further Info' and the War Dept transfer. The scuttle date, the Agat Bay location, and the 1948-10-10 'lost declaration' framing are secondary-sourced and mutually unreconciled; nothing here is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-08
-
[10]Batch-4734 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (archived); MARAD ShipHistory 5797 + status card + document; Shipscribe IX-149 class page; NavSource IX-164; DOL BRB published decisions; NARA catalog; ibiblio HyperWar compilation; CourtListener name/hull sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-corundum-ix164-01 through sl-uss-corundum-ix164-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, condition disclosure, or docketed case naming hull 1332 or Corundum (IX-164) was found in the public sources searched. DANFS, the MARAD record and custody card, and the class compilations contain no asbestos statement; the only asbestos documentation in the record is program-level (Maes subcontract finding, ev-03).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located ship-specific record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the adjudicated program record makes asbestos insulation likely within the construction program; hull-1332 installation remains inferred. Does not establish presence or absence aboard this hull, nor any individual exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-09
-
[11]NARA guidance: Logbooks of US Navy Ships/Stations RG 24 Entry 118 (NAID 581208) + Special List #44; NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 178; San Mateo County Historical Association catalog records 2018.075.007-.023 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy; archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html; historysmc.pastperfectonline.com catalog (Barrett & Hilp/Belair holdings)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 Entry 118 WWII deck logs for IX-164 (pre-1947 logs indexed in NARA Special List #44; digitized availability unverified); NARA RG 178 Maritime Commission construction records for MC hull 1332, which may hold the 1943-08-11 Asbestos Company of California subcontract referenced in the Maes record and the outfitting specifications for the landing craft and vehicle spare parts conversion; San Mateo County Historical Association holdings on Barrett & Hilp/Belair Shipyard, including the company newsletter 'The Belair Cargoman' (1943-1944 issues) and reprinted 1943 Marine News and Pacific Marine Review construction articles.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1948 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents for hull 1332 exist is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corundum-ix164-10