Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Denver' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Denver' returned 34 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-denver-cl16-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Denver' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Denver' returned 1732 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-denver-cl16-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CL-16' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'CL-16' returned 59164 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-denver-cl16-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'CL-16' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'CL-16' returned 279932 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-denver-cl16-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, Denver I (C-14), Vol. 2 pp. 263-264 (1963) - 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: launched 21 June 1902 by Neafie and Levy Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia; commissioned 17 May 1904 (CDR J. B. Murdock); Caribbean and Atlantic service 1904-1907; Asiatic Fleet at Cavite 1907-1910; out of commission at Mare Island 12 March 1910; reserve commission 4 January 1912; full commission 15 July 1912; Pacific/Central American patrols 1912-1917; eight WWI convoy-escort voyages out of New York and Norfolk; reclassified PG-28 in 1920 and CL-16 on 8 August 1921; eight years based at Cristobal, Canal Zone, 1922-1930, returning periodically to Boston for overhaul; returned to Philadelphia 25 December 1930; decommissioned there 14 February 1931; sold 13 September 1933. Spec block: 3,200 t; 308 ft 10 in; 16 k; complement 339; ten 5-inch guns; Denver class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1900-1933
- Population
- Construction trades (Philadelphia, 1900-1904); crew 1904-1910, 1912-1931
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS does not give a laid-down or stricken date. 'Philadelphia' decommissioning site is not named as the Navy Yard in the text. Live NHHC page 404s; verbatim HazeGray/LostHistory transcription cited (standing NHHC link rot per Batch 01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-01
-
[6]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Denver (Cruiser # 14, later PG-28 and CL-16), 1904-1933' - official Naval Historical Center caption history (ibiblio HyperWar mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library page + photo captions NH 71601, NH 93068, NH 93077 (ibiblio mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC caption history corroborates the DANFS narrative (built at Philadelphia; commissioned May 1904; Asiatic Fleet 1907-1910; Mare Island lay-up; recommissioned July 1912; WWI patrol and convoy duty; PG-28 July 1920; CL-16 August 1921; Liberia presidential transport mid-1922; decommissioned February 1931; sold for scrapping September 1933). Captioned official photographs document: drydocked at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, 5 February 1918 (NH 71601, noting sheathed/coppered hull below the waterline); crew 'cleaning the ship, after coaling' circa 1913 (NH 93068) - ship-specific confirmation of coal-fired operation; Nicaragua landing-force duty circa 1912 (NH 93077).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1904-1933
- Population
- Crew 1904-1931; Charleston Navy Yard drydock crew Feb 1918
- Limitations
- Official caption history documents identity, operations, coal fuel, and the Charleston Navy Yard drydocking; contains no asbestos or insulation-material information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-02
-
[7]NavSource Cruiser Photo Index, USS Denver (Cruiser No. 14/PG 28/CL 16) - spec sheet and operational/building data; corroborated by Wikipedia infobox for stricken date [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource c14.htm spec block + Operational and Building Data section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/disposition data for this hull: keel laid 28 June 1900 by Neafie and Levy Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia; launched 21 June 1902; commissioned 17 May 1904; decommissioned 12 March 1910; commissioned 15 July 1912; reclassified PG-28 (July 1920; NavSource prints '07 JUL 1920', treated as typo for the 17 July 1920 General Order 541 effective date - the Navy's July 1, 1920 standard nomenclature list already carries her as PG-28, Pacific Fleet); reclassified CL-16 on 8 August 1921; decommissioned 14 February 1931; stricken 12 March 1931; sold 13 September 1933. Machinery: 4,700 ihp; 2 vertical inverted triple-expansion engines; 2 screws; 16.5 knots. Armament: 10 x 5 in/50, 8 x 6-pdr, 2 x 1-pdr.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1900-1933
- Population
- Construction trades 1900-1904; crew 1904-1931
- Limitations
- NavSource is a respected secondary compilation, not an official record - laid-down (28 Jun 1900) and stricken (12 Mar 1931) dates are carried from it because DANFS omits both; NVR primary record unavailable. NavSource gives draft 17 ft 3 in max where DANFS gives 15 ft 9 in; DANFS value used. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-03
-
[8]Bowles, Oliver, 'Asbestos,' U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 403, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1937 (mirrored scan; verified text) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bulletin 403 heat-insulation and magnesia-insulation sections (PDF pp. ~30, 90)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Bulletin 403 documents that the steam-plant insulation products of this hull's 1900-1904 construction era were asbestos products - asbestos heat insulation in use from 1866; asbestos-cement boiler covering (15 percent fiber) tried about 1870; canvas-covered sectional magnesia pipe covering from 1885 ('85-percent-magnesia' = approximately 15 percent asbestos fiber, chrysotile/amosite); asbestos paper protecting hair-felt steam-pipe insulation from about 1878; asbestos millboard used as joint packing for steam pipes and gaskets on steam machinery. A coal-fired protected cruiser with two triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a multi-boiler plant of 1900-1904 would have carried lagged boilers, steam drums, steam lines, and engine cylinders of this type.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1900-1904 (construction); 1937 (publication)
- Population
- Construction trades 1900-1904; engine-room crew 1904-1931
- Limitations
- Product-history documentation, not a hull record - the bulletin does not name this vessel, describes commercial products rather than naval installation, and does not establish that asbestos-containing versions (rather than non-asbestos hair-felt/canvas alternatives of the same era) were fitted aboard this hull. Asbestos presence aboard CL-16 is era inference, not ship-proven.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-04
-
[9]Franke, Kara, and Dennis J. Paustenbach, 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20 (2011); PMID 22200078 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20, historical-use passage
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed review of Navy asbestos knowledge and use 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' - the era covering this hull's entire 1900-1904 construction and 1904-1931 service life.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1880s-1950s (use era); 2011 (publication)
- Population
- Navy crews and shipyard workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Navy-wide historical review, not a hull record - does not name this vessel, does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard CL-16, and surveys the asbestos era the ship happened to live in. Authors' expert-witness context noted; the cited use-dates are non-controversial and consistent with GAO program-level findings (ev-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-05
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - every insulation installation aboard this hull (1900-1904 construction; periodic Boston overhauls 1922-1930) predates the substitution era by decades.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - description via product page per Batch 01 practice. The report's fieldwork centered on WWII/postwar yards, not 1900s cruisers - it does not speak to this hull directly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-06
-
[11]Siegfried v. Owens-Illinois Inc. et al., No. 2:18-cv-01575-FMO-E (C.D. Cal.) - state-court complaint Exhibit A (filed L.A. Superior Court 2018-01-26, removed 2018-02-26), asbestos exposure-location list [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP PDF gov.uscourts.cacd.702384.50.0, Exhibit A exposure-location table ('Denver (LPD-9)' entry)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- NAME COLLISION - not this hull. The most prominent web-indexed asbestos-litigation hit for 'USS Denver' is the Siegfried complaint's exposure-location list, which names 'Denver (LPD-9)' - the Austin-class amphibious transport dock commissioned 1968, not protected cruiser CL-16. The same list names Long Beach Naval Shipyard and approximately fifty 1960s-80s hulls consistent with the plaintiff's ~1969-1996 exposure window, decades after CL-16's 1931 decommissioning. Pleadings-stage allegation in any event.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2018 (litigation)
- Population
- Navy electrician/marine electrician ~1969-1996 (LPD-9 era, not CL-16)
- Limitations
- Verifies only that the common 'USS Denver' litigation reference resolves to LPD-9, not this hull; it neither proves nor disproves exposure aboard CL-16. A complaint's vessel list is an allegation, not a finding. CourtListener API confirmation of the full docket universe was blocked (HTTP 429, 125/day quota) - other collisions or a rare qualifying hit cannot be excluded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-07
-
[12]Batch-209 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC canonical URL (404); NHHC Online Library mirror; NavSource; 1920 GPO standard nomenclature; NARA catalog (API unusable); CourtListener API + web UI (blocked); web-indexed court records and ship lists [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-denver-cl16-01 through sl-uss-denver-cl16-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, specification itemization, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Denver C-14/PG-28/CL-16 was found in the public sources searched; the hull was sold 13 September 1933 and scrapped, so no present-day hull survey exists. CourtListener access was rate-limited/blocked during this pass (API HTTP 429, 125/day quota exhausted; web UI 403); web-indexed results return only name collisions (LPD-9 in the Siegfried complaint list, ev-07; CL-58 in law-firm marketing pages, a banned source type) and no qualifying litigation naming this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1900-04 coal-fired steam cruiser insulated to era practice is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery-space materials. The litigation search is incomplete by quota block, not by exhaustion of the index; a dedicated CourtListener pass remains an open item.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-08
-
[13]NARA RG 24 deck-log series (U.S. Navy and Coast Guard deck logs, 19th-20th centuries) + Navy Department, 'Standard Nomenclature and List of Vessels, U.S. Navy,' July 1, 1920 (GPO; lists DENVER PG-28, Pacific Fleet) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org scan standardnomencla00unitrich (PG section listing); NARA catalog unreachable via API
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (existence inferred at collection level, unretrieved): (a) NARA holds the deck-log series for U.S. Navy ships of this era (RG 24) - hull-specific Denver logs for 1904-1910 and 1912-1930 not verified in digitized form; (b) the July 1, 1920 GPO 'Standard Nomenclature and List of Vessels' (General Order 541 classification scheme) lists 'DENVER PG28, Pacific Fleet' - a contemporaneous official record of her first reclassification; (c) RG 19 Bureau of Ships / RG 45 Naval Establishment records may hold construction correspondence for the Neafie and Levy contract (contract price reported in secondary sources as $1,080,000).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1920 (nomenclature list); 2026-09-19 (search)
- Limitations
- Collection-level leads only; no box-level retrieval performed and no asbestos-specific documents identified - nothing in this row is an asbestos finding. Whether these records contain insulation specifications for this hull is unknown. NARA catalog API returned only the SPA shell during this pass.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-denver-cl16-09