Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet hh-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Elliot
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-elliot-dd967-pkt-hh-packet-md
-
[2]GAO HRD-80-2 (B-163375), 'Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979), Enclosure I: Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations letter Ser 4542/318054 of 5 Jan. 1979, Attachment #1 'List of U.S. Navy Ships Delivered Since 1973 or Under Construction (Ship Class, Name and Hull Number and Status of Thermal Insulation)' [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2, Enclosure I, Attachment #1, 'DESTROYER - DD' section, row 'ELLIOT 967 7/73 12/76' (enclosure p.8, PDF p.18); narrative confirmation at enclosure pp.2-3 ('the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships'); Note 1 at enclosure p.12
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Attachment #1 lists 'ELLIOT', hull number 967, construction start 7/73, delivery 12/76, inside the destroyer block annotated 'Asbestos thermal insulation' spanning DD-963 SPRUANCE through DD-973 JOHN YOUNG (eleven hulls; the annotation is vertically centered on that ruled block, DD-974 through DD-992 are annotated 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation'). The letter's narrative independently confirms the block: 'For other ships, such as the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships, the change was not accomplished until later. Consequently, ships well under construction and already insulated at that time continued through to delivery as late as May 1978 with asbestos insulation.' ELLIOT (DD-967), fifth of the class, delivered December 1976, is within those eleven hulls - the Navy's own 1979 submission to GAO documents asbestos thermal insulation aboard this hull as delivered.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1976 (construction/delivery); listing dated 1979-01-05
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades (Pascagoula, 1973-1976); commissioning crew and later crews (1977-2003); shipyard workers at documented availabilities
- Limitations
- The annotation is a block annotation across eleven hulls rather than a per-hull survey; 'thermal insulation' is defined in Note 1 as insulation for machinery, equipment and piping - other shipboard asbestos applications (gaskets, pipe hanger liners, deck tile, electrical resistor bodies, galley-range cabling, brake/clutch linings) are separately acknowledged by the letter as present on all in-service ships but are not inventoried per hull. Reflects as-delivered status as of January 1979; does not quantify ACM aboard this hull, does not document later removal during availabilities or pre-sinking preparation, and does not establish exposure of any individual or legal eligibility. Live gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the official PDF was read via a 2020 Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-01
-
[3]Webb v. Baldor Electric Company, No. 1:22-cv-00145-KHJ-MTP (S.D. Miss., filed 2022-06-10, terminated 2025-02-07), 'P.I.: Asbestos'; ECF No. 1-1 (Notice of Removal, Exhibit 1 - Lower Court Summons and Complaint, 147 pp.), complaint factual allegations at printed pp. 79-83 [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 1-1, complaint factual section for plaintiff Allan Watson: Ingalls employment at printed p.80 (PDF p.84); vessel table at printed p.82 (PDF p.86); injury allegation at para. 123 (printed p.85, PDF p.89)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury complaint names this hull: plaintiff Allan Watson alleges exposure 'during his employment as an electrician, technician, foreman and supervisor at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, from approximately 1966 to 2001 during the new construction and overhaul of naval vessels,' working 'in the control rooms and engineering spaces of naval vessels' splicing, cutting and installing insulated wire and cable and repairing radios, radar, sonar, switchboards, electrical panels and electronics systems, in close proximity to pipefitters, insulators and mechanics insulating engineering equipment; the complaint's vessel table ('NAVAL SHIPS/SUBMARINES - LAID DOWN - COMMISSIONED') lists 'USS ELLIOT - DD-967 1973 1977' - the hull's Ingalls construction window - among the vessels worked on, with the alleged injury being mesothelioma. All vessels in the list (LHA-1 through -5, LHD-1 through -5, DD-967 through DD-982, CG-47 through -57, SSN-621 through -652) are Ingalls-built hulls, consistent with the stated Ingalls employment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1977 (alleged exposure window aboard this hull); 2022-2025 (litigation)
- Population
- Allan Watson (shipboard electronics/electrical installer; mesothelioma plaintiff); Ingalls new-construction trades, 1973-1977
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation in a multi-plaintiff, ~100-defendant complaint - it alleges, but does not adjudicate, exposure aboard this hull; names the hull explicitly (DD-967) but identifies no specific asbestos product aboard, quantifies nothing, and the case terminated 2025-02-07 without a merits finding on this hull. The complaint's vessel-table dates are the ships' build milestones, not a verified work-interval for the plaintiff on this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-02
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register ship detail page, ELLIOT (DD 967), NAVSEA/NAVSHIPSO (Wayback capture 2021-02-24; live NVR detail URLs render a navigation shell only to automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR DD-967 vessel status + milestone dates + physical characteristics blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NVR record for this hull: Class DD 963 (Spruance-class); UIC 20587; builder Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.; award date 01/01/1971; keel 10/15/1973; launch 12/19/1974; delivery 12/01/1976; commission 01/22/1977; decommission 12/02/2003; stricken 04/06/2004; status 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' with date status changed 07/23/2005; propulsion type 'Gas Turbines'; accommodations 25 officers + 273 enlisted; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; overall length 563 ft, waterline 529 ft, beam 55 ft; light displacement 7,028 tons / full 9,435 tons; 2 propellers; record last updated 10/07/2005.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1971-2005
- Limitations
- NVR 'date status changed' (07/23/2005) is the administrative recording date of the disposal entry, not necessarily the sinking date - contemporaneous accounts place the Talisman Saber sinking in June 2005 (see gaps). NVR documents milestones and physical characteristics only; it contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-03
-
[5]USS Elliot (DD-967) Annual Command Histories, OPNAV Report 5750-1 series (official ship submissions to Director of Naval History), years 1977, 1982, 1986 - verbatim transcriptions hosted on the ship's veterans' association mirror (usselliot.org); 1977 report signed CDR D. L. Gurke; 1982 report dated 15 Mar. 1983 (CDR Douglas M. Norton); 1986 report dated 20 Feb. 1987 [other_primary]
- Locator
- usselliot.org command-history file pages ch1977.htm (items a-g: PSA at contractor's yard; LBNSY restricted availability from 24 Sep 1977), ch1982.htm (items a,e,m: nine-month ROH at Todd Shipyard ending 30 Apr 1982; LBNSY drydock 19 Aug 1982), ch1986.htm (item e: SRA at Southwest Marine from 5 May 1986; item h: ROH prep for Sep. 1987)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-documented yard/availability periods relevant to material disturbance aboard this hull: commissioned 22 Jan. 1977 at Pascagoula; Post Shakedown Availability at the contractor's shipyard (Ingalls, Pascagoula) 16 Jul.-20 Aug. 1977; six-month restricted availability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard commencing 24 Sep. 1977 (NATO Sea Sparrow, Harpoon, SATCOM, flight-deck modifications); nine-month regular overhaul ending 30 Apr. 1982 at Todd Shipyard (Seattle division inferred from the ship's immediate post-overhaul operations at the Coast Guard Pier, Seattle, and Carr Inlet, Puget Sound; drydock; topside and magazine armor plating, AN/SLQ-32 EW suite, passive sonar equipment); drydock at Long Beach Naval Shipyard 19 Aug. 1982 (sonar dome rubber window); Selected Repair Availability at Southwest Marine Shipyard, San Diego, 5 May-9 Jul. 1986 (drydocked 8 May; sonar dome replacement, gun-mount and ammunition-elevator repairs, LAMPS Mk III flight-deck modifications); Regular Overhaul preparations underway Aug. 1986 for ROH commencing Sep. 1987; end-1996 drydock and major availability per the decommissioning pamphlet narrative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1977-1996
- Population
- Shipyard workers at Ingalls (1977 PSA), Long Beach NSY (1977-78, 1982), Todd Seattle (1981-82 ROH), Southwest Marine San Diego (1986 SRA); ship's force during availabilities
- Limitations
- The command histories are official Navy reports but read on a private veterans' mirror (usselliot.org); NHHC's digitized Command Operations Report archive does not list DD-967 at the standard path, so the mirror transcriptions are the accessible text. The reports name yards, dates and scopes but never mention asbestos - any insulation disturbance within these availabilities is inference only, carried in ev-05; under the contemporaneous Navy policy documented in ev-01's record, asbestos insulation was replaced only when damaged or removed for repairs. The 1987 ROH yard and the 1996-97 drydock yard are not identified in the accessible reports - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-04
-
[6]GAO HRD-80-2 Enclosure II: CNO letter Ser 4542/318571 of 8 Feb. 1979 (per-class thermal-insulation estimates) + Enclosure I narrative (remaining ACM categories; replacement policy) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Ingalls Shipbuilding record [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 Enclosure II letter text (8 Feb. 1979) DD-class estimate table; Enclosure I pp.1-2 (other ACM categories), p.12 (Note 1), pp.4-5 (rip-out policy and cost estimates); shipyards.json record 'ingalls-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era product context for the ev-01 finding: (a) the Navy's 8 Feb. 1979 estimate of thermal insulation per Destroyer-class ship is 87,634 lbs (the actual measured figure for sister ship USS PAUL F. FOSTER DD-964, applied as the DD-class estimate); (b) the CNO letter notes 'each ship has several types of asbestos containing materials installed' beyond thermal insulation - electrical resistor bodies, deck/floor tiling, galley-range cabling, piping gaskets and packing, brakes and clutches - and that applications lacking designated substitutes (Note 1: gaskets and pipe hanger liners) remained asbestos even on 'asbestos-free' hulls; (c) builder Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2) with 1970s insulator fiber measurements of 4-20 f/cc and product names incl. Thermobestos, Superex, Kaylo, pipe covering, block insulation, gaskets, packing and fireproofing; (d) Navy policy NAVSEAINST 5100.2 (24 Oct. 1975) ended new asbestos use, with replace-on-repair plus selective rip-out in high-maintenance areas - leaving 30-50 percent of shipboard thermal asbestos untouched for the life of the ship.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1979
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades 1970s; crews and repair workers on asbestos-insulated DD-963-class hulls
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard context only - the ship-specific documentation for this hull is ev-01 (GAO/CNO listing) and ev-02 (Webb pleading). The 87,634-lb figure is the Navy's class estimate derived from DD-964's actual insulation weight, not a measurement of DD-967. Ingalls yard findings are facility-level and do not identify this hull's material. The '30-50 percent untouched' figure is the Navy's own programmatic claim to GAO, not a hull measurement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-05
-
[7]USS Elliot (DD-967) decommissioning ceremony pamphlet, 'Command History' narrative (Dec. 2003), transcription at navysite.de [other_primary]
- Locator
- navysite.de DD-967 decommissioning pamphlet 'history.htm' full page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-produced decommissioning pamphlet narrative: commissioned 22 Jan. 1977 at Pascagoula by 18 officers, 17 chiefs and 220 crewmembers; fifth of 31 Spruance-class destroyers; first Navy ship named for a Vietnam War hero (LCDR Arthur J. Elliot II, CO River Squadron 57, KIA 29 Dec. 1968 on the Vam Co Dong River); homeport San Diego; twelve deployments; milestones incl. first U.S. ship on scene of the KAL 007 shootdown (1983), 68-refugee rescue (1983), VLS refit replacing the foredeck ASROC launcher (post-1987 deployment), PACEX-89, 1991 Arabian Gulf post-Gulf-War operations, 1993 COMUSNAVCENT flagship and first boarding of an Iraq-bound cargo vessel since the Iran-Iraq war (28 Nov. 1993), Feb. 1995 CNO Project 251 Tomahawk test firing, 1998 Tomahawk strike participation against terrorist targets in Afghanistan/Sudan (Operation Infinite Reach), Operation Noble Eagle homeland-defense tasking (2001), final Arabian Gulf VBSS deployment, and Sea Swap crew training for USS Fletcher (DD-992) in her final 18 months.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1977-2003
- Population
- Crew, 1977-2003 (commissioning complement stated as 18 officers/17 chiefs/220 enlisted)
- Limitations
- A ship-produced commemorative document transcribed on a private mirror - it documents service narrative, not materials or asbestos. The separate navysite.de page text 'sunk as a target on June 24, 2005' is site-editor annotation, not pamphlet text. No asbestos-relevant content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-06
-
[8]EPA, 'SINKEX 2014 Determination and Agreement between Navy and EPA' - Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels,' 40 C.F.R. 229.2, and the EPA-Navy letter framework of 2 Aug. 1999 governing target-vessel preparation (PCB survey and removal requirements) [federal_register]
- Locator
- EPA 2014 SINKEX Determination, introductory recitals and permit-citation sections; Stars and Stripes, 'U.S., Aussie forces kick off exercise' (12 June 2005)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- This hull was sunk as a target in the Coral Sea during Exercise Talisman Saber 2005 (June 2005), one of two 'specially prepared decommissioned Navy ships brought in from Hawaii' per contemporaneous reporting. SINKEX disposals occur under the MPRSA general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2 as interpreted by the 2 Aug. 1999 EPA-Navy letter (in force for the 2005 sinking), which requires pre-sinking hazardous-material preparation of target hulks - notably PCB survey, removal of PCB-containing shipboard materials, and documentation. Stars and Stripes (12 June 2005) confirms the exercise plan and the two prepared hulks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2005 (sinking); regulatory framework 1999-2014
- Limitations
- Program-level context only: the cited framework concerns PCBs and other contaminants, not asbestos specifically, and no hull-specific hazmat-preparation manifest for ex-Elliot was located. Whether asbestos-containing material remained aboard at sinking is undocumented. The 2014 agreement postdates the sinking - the applicable 2005 instrument is the 1999 letter under the same 40 C.F.R. 229.2 permit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (type=o opinions and type=r dockets), 2026-09-28, queries '"USS Elliot"' and '"DD-967"' [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-elliot-dd967-04 through sl-uss-elliot-dd967-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results for this hull: (1) '"USS Elliot"' type=o - 2 hits, both non-asbestos military criminal appeals: United States v. Gatlin, 60 M.J. 804 (N.M.C.C.A. 2004) and United States v. Hock (consolidated, N.M.C.C.A.) - appellants were junior Navy/Marine personnel; the ship name appears as a duty-station reference (DD-967 was the only commissioned USS Elliot in that era). (2) '"USS Elliot"' type=r - 1 hit: Webb v. Baldor Electric Co., 1:22-cv-00145 (S.D. Miss.) - QUALIFYING asbestos litigation naming this hull; see ev-02. (3) '"DD-967"' type=o - 1 hit: Gatlin again (opinion text recites the hull number). (4) '"DD-967"' type=r - 5 hits: Webb plus four name collisions (Winn-Dixie Stores bankruptcy, M.D. Fla.; John Hancock Life Insurance v. Abbott Laboratories, D. Mass.; Wai Ola Alliance v. U.S. Dep't of the Navy, D. Haw. - Red Hill fuel-facility environmental litigation, the 'DD-967' string match shows no hull nexus; In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation, M.D. Fla.). No adjudicated asbestos opinion naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Coverage is limited to CourtListener-indexed opinions and federal/RECAP dockets; unindexed state-court filings, settled MDL-875 claimant records, and non-digitized dockets are not covered. Webb is qualifying at pleading stage only. The four 'DD-967' collisions were resolved by case-nature inspection rather than full-text review of every document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-08
-
[10]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index DD-967 (operational/building data block and 'History is unavailable at this time - this ship was built too late to be covered by the DANFS project' note) + NHHC DANFS checked directly [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-967 page header note; NHHC DANFS index (E-section returns no DD-967 entry; live NHHC ship-history URL 404s)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific post-delivery asbestos documentation was located for this hull: no ACM survey, abatement contract, hull sampling study, or NIOSH/industrial-hygiene record naming DD-967 exists in the repositories searched, and no DANFS entry exists (NHHC's Dictionary coverage ends before this ship's era; NavSource confirms the hull is 'built too late to be covered by the DANFS project'). The ship-specific asbestos record for this hull therefore rests on the 1979 GAO/CNO listing (ev-01) and the Webb pleading (ev-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof of absence - NARA RG 19 ship files and Ingalls yard records could hold hull-specific material documentation not digitized. The negative finding covers searched repositories only (see search_ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elliot-dd967-09