Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]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 Maritime Commission emergency program under which this C4-S-A1 troop transport was built in 1944 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type and naval hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel 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-general-m-m-patrick-01
-
[2]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USNS General M. M. Patrick (T-AP-150) - specifications block (plant data); class design per U.S. Maritime Commission C4-S-A1 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page, 'Specifications' block (propulsion, boilers, steam conditions); Wayback capture 2025-01-14
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The ship's documented propulsion plant is a superheated-steam system - two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers at 465 psi / 765 deg F driving a single Westinghouse geared turbine of 9,000 shp - of the type WWII-era marine specifications insulated with asbestos-containing boiler and steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, and machinery packing. The C4-S-A1 was a Maritime Commission design built under emergency wartime specifications at Kaiser Yard No. 3, Richmond.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1988
- Population
- Construction trades (Kaiser Richmond Yard 3, 1944); engineering and boiler-room crews (1944-1988)
- Limitations
- The plant data is ship-specific, but the asbestos inference is era/design level - the source documents machinery, not insulation content. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-02
-
[3]Western Institute for Occupational/Environmental Sciences, Inc. (Berkeley, CA), 'Bay Area Asbestos Surveillance Project (BAASP),' December 1980 (NIOSH document, CDC Stacks) [other_primary]
- Locator
- CDC Stacks abstract, NIOSH publication 1980
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The NIOSH-supported Bay Area Asbestos Surveillance Project screened 2,244 workers who had worked in San Francisco Bay-area shipyards during World War II or believed they had been exposed to asbestos before 1963; 46 percent showed potentially serious radiographic abnormality and 30 percent questionable abnormality. Kaiser Richmond - this ship's builder - was the largest commercial shipbuilding complex in that wartime Bay Area workforce.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- screening c. 1980; exposure era pre-1963 incl. WWII
- Population
- WWII San Francisco Bay-area shipyard and longshore workers (including women workers)
- Limitations
- Documents asbestos disease in the regional WWII shipyard/longshore workforce - the screening pool was Bay Area-wide and the report does not name Kaiser Yard No. 3 or this hull in the inspected abstract. Establishes the era/regional exposure environment around the builder, nothing about this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-03
-
[4]DANFS, General M. M. Patrick (AP-150) - verbatim text carried by NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive page 09/22/22150 (live NHHC URL unavailable, link rot); chronology and merchant-service chain per NavSource; Army-conversion and 1988 scrapping details per Shipscribe AP-130 class page [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NavSource AP-150 page incl. DANFS text, specifications, merchant service chain, CO list; Shipscribe https://www.usnaux.shipscribe.com/AP/AP130.html fate notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Full documented chronology: laid down 1944-01-24 as MC hull 702 (C4-S-A1) at Kaiser Co. Yard No. 3, Richmond; launched 1944-06-21; acquired and commissioned USS General M. M. Patrick (AP-150) 1944-09-04 at San Francisco, CAPT George W. Stott; Asiatic-Pacific service 1944-46 including Magic Carpet runs to Calcutta, Karachi, Tuticorin, Ceylon, Singapore; decommissioned 1946-03-08, to MARCOM for Army Transportation Service; stricken 1946-03-20; USAT 1946-50 incl. Kaiser Richmond peacetime conversion ca. May-July 1946; reacquired 1950-03-01 for MSTS as USNS T-AP-150, civil-service crew, Seattle-Far East service with two Korean War campaign credits (2 battle stars); out of service 1958-10-16, to NDRF Olympia; sold for commercial service 1967-11-06 to Container Ship Chartering Service (Sea-Land), converted to container ship at Todd Shipyard, Galveston, spring 1968, renamed SS Boston June 1968; Litton Industries Leasing 1968-09-17, Reynolds Leasing 1975-02-28, sold at sea 1987-02-12 to Sealand Services, sold for scrapping May 1988.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1988
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, service, and custody chronology. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 (link rot, consistent with prior batches); NavSource carries the DANFS text and Shipscribe corroborates from MC/NVR records. Neither source contains any asbestos or insulation-material statement - this row supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-04
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL M. M. PATRICK (AP-150), Ship History Detail 1832 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1832, milestone table and status-card scans
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for General M. M. Patrick (AP-150): U.S. Official No. 511485; year built 1944; shipyard Kaiser Company; type C4-S-A1 naval auxiliary AP transport; 522.84 ft x 71.50 ft; displacement 9,950 light / 17,250 full; missions World War II and Korean War; custody milestones show entry/acquisition 1958-10-16, disposition/withdrawal 1967-11-06 recorded as 'EXCHANGE PROGRAM'; fate: scrapped. Two digitized status-card scans attached.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1988
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and the 'EXCHANGE PROGRAM' characterization of the 1967 disposal (vs 'sold' in secondary sources). Status-card scans not OCR-resolved for handwritten detail. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-05
-
[6]Martinez v. Sea-Land Service, Inc., 589 F. Supp. 841 (D.P.R. 1984), rev'd, 763 F.2d 26 (1st Cir. 1985), on remand 637 F. Supp. 503 (D.P.R. 1986) - CourtListener opinions 8896923, 453019, 2342529 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener clusters 8896923 (D.P.R. 1984), 453019 (1st Cir. 1985), 2342529 (D.P.R. 1986, Civ. No. 83-2904(PG))
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Federal litigation names the hull's merchant identity: Martinez v. Sea-Land Service, Inc. litigated a Jones Act/unseaworthiness claim by an ordinary seaman injured aboard SS BOSTON (this hull) in 1982 - district court granted summary judgment (589 F. Supp. 841, D.P.R. 1984); First Circuit reversed, holding the unseaworthiness warranty extends to packaging of ship's stores (763 F.2d 26, 1st Cir. 1985); on remand after a bifurcated liability trial the court found no unseaworthy condition and rejected the claim (637 F. Supp. 503, D.P.R. 1986). The record confirms the vessel operated under Sea-Land as SS Boston through at least late 1982.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1984-1986 (opinions); 1982 (incident)
- Population
- Sea-Land merchant crew (SS Boston), 1982
- Limitations
- Classified OTHER LITIGATION, not asbestos - a soft-drink-sleeve unseaworthiness/back-injury case. It verifies the SS Boston merchant identity and 1982 operation; it contains no asbestos allegation and establishes no exposure, product presence, or causation. Plaintiff's claim failed on credibility at the merits stage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-06
-
[7]Kaiser Permanente No. 3 production list (ShipbuildingHistory, hull 16 = MC 702); NavSource AP-150 page; Shipscribe AP-130 fate table; Martinez litigation record (1982 operation); MARAD ShipHistory 1832 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipbuildingHistory Kaiser Yard 3 table rows 16/21; NavSource merchant-service block; Shipscribe fate notes; CourtListener 2342529
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) MC hull number - NavSource, the Kaiser Yard No. 3 production list (hull 16), MARCOM C4-S-A1 contract range (MC 702-716 for later Yard 3 hulls), and the Wikipedia infobox give MC 702; some DANFS-derived texts render 'MC #707' (707 is sister General M. B. Stewart's MC number per the Kaiser list) - 702 adopted as controlling. (b) Scrapping year - ShipbuildingHistory's yard list reads 'sold private 1968, scrapped 1975,' but the vessel operated into at least 1982 (Martinez litigation) and NavSource/Shipscribe record 'sold for scrapping May 1988 / scrapped 1988' - 1988 adopted. (c) Sponsor - NavSource/DANFS-derived text gives Mrs. William E. 'Lynd'; Wikipedia infobox gives 'Lyne' - unresolved, 'Lynd' used. (d) Naval Register strike vs MSTS out-of-service - NavSource lists 'struck 16 October 1958' alongside the 1946 strike; the 1946-03-20 strike is the controlling NVR event, the 1958 listing duplicates the MSTS disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1988
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among secondary compilations; the adopted values are the ones consistent with primary records and the court-verified 1982 operation. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-07
-
[8]Batch-2078 search ledger (this record): NavSource/DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 1832; Shipscribe; ShipbuildingHistory; HAER CA-326-L; NPS Richmond Shipyard Three NRHP; CourtListener opinion+docket sweeps; DTSC EnviroStor (blocked); NARA guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-m-m-patrick-01 through sl-uss-general-m-m-patrick-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, insulation-content statement, hazmat disclosure, or asbestos litigation naming USS/USNS/USAT General M. M. Patrick, AP-150, T-AP-150, MC hull 702, or SS Boston was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener exact-name opinion and docket searches returned zero; 'AP-150' hits were all unrelated appellate docket-number collisions; the only verified litigation touching the hull (Martinez) is a non-asbestos unseaworthiness case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 Kaiser-built steam transport that saw a 1968 commercial conversion and 1988 breaking is era-consistent with asbestos-containing material aboard. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-08
-
[9]NARA research guidance: MSTS/MSC deck logs 1946-81; Guide to Federal Records RG 313.6.1 (MSTS records, San Francisco); RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission); vessel logbook guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA MSTS deck-log page; RG 313 guide (313.6.1); RG 178 guide
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA MSTS/MSC deck logs 1946-81 series for the USNS period (NARA logbook guidance); RG 313.6.1 MSTS Pacific Area subject files 1949-56 (San Francisco) covering her Korean War operating area; RG 24 Navy deck logs for the 1944-46 commissioned period; RG 178 Maritime Commission construction/outfitting records for MC hull 702; Army Transportation Service vessel records for the 1946-50 USAT era; the Todd Galveston 1968 container-conversion file; MARAD status-card scans behind ShipHistory 1832 (digitized but handwriting unresolved).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1988 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-09
-
[10]Shipscribe AP-130 fate notes (1946 Kaiser conversion); NavSource merchant-service block (1968 Todd Galveston conversion, leasing chain, 1988 scrapping sale); MARAD ShipHistory 1832 (NDRF custody) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AP-150 fate note; NavSource merchant service section; MARAD milestones
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Asbestos-relevant disturbance events documented on the hull (scope unknown): (a) Kaiser Richmond 'initial Army peacetime conversion' ca. May-July 1946 (Shipscribe); (b) Todd Shipyard, Galveston, TX container-ship conversion spring 1968 (NavSource) - a yard with documented asbestos product use in the Atlas yard dataset (todd-shipyards, tier 2); (c) NDRF Olympia layup 1958-1967; (d) 1988 scrapping. Each is a documented event at an asbestos-relevant phase; no work-package or materials record for any of them was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946-1988
- Population
- Kaiser Richmond conversion workforce (1946); Todd Galveston conversion workforce (1968); NDRF layup crews (1958-67)
- Limitations
- The events are documented; their asbestos scope is not - no insulation/abatement/materials statement exists for any. Yard-level asbestos documentation for Todd and Kaiser is property-level, not this hull. Does not establish that asbestos was aboard, disturbed, or removed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-10
-
[11]Wu W-T et al., 'Cancer Attributable to Asbestos Exposure in Shipbreaking Workers: A Matched-Cohort Study,' PLOS ONE 10(7):e0133128 (2015) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PLOS ONE article, cohort results
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Era context for the disposal phase: a matched-cohort study of 4,427 Taiwan shipbreaking workers (1985-2008 follow-up) documented significantly elevated asbestos-related cancer risk, including mesothelioma, among high-exposure shipbreaking workers - establishing that commercial shipbreaking of the era in which this hull was scrapped (1988) was an asbestos-disturbance trade.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1985-2008 study period; hull scrapped 1988
- Population
- Shipbreaking workers (era context)
- Limitations
- The breaking yard for this hull is NOT documented in the sources inspected - the study's Taiwan setting may or may not match where SS Boston was broken. Establishes the era hazard of the trade, not that this hull's breaking exposed anyone to asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-m-m-patrick-11