Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet gw-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-pkt-gw-packet-md
-
[2]Woo v. General Electric Co. (Yeanna Woo, as Personal Representative, et al. v. General Electric Co.), No. 74458-5-I, 198 Wn. App. 496, 393 P.3d 869 (Wash. Ct. App., Div. I, filed 2017-04-03) - published opinion, official courts.wa.gov PDF; also indexed as CourtListener cluster 4380294 [court_record]
- Locator
- No. 74458-5-I published opinion, pp. 1-2 (service history, GE turbine supply), pp. 8-9 (Cooper gasket testimony, Heyer/Hammar expert testimony), pp. 16-19 (causation analysis and holding)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Published appellate opinion naming this hull and identifying asbestos products aboard: decedent Yuen Wing Woo served in the U.S. Navy 1943-1946 as a machinist aboard the destroyer USS George K. MacKenzie - service records show July 1945 to May 1946, i.e., from the ship's first commissioning - then as a third assistant engineer on MSTS ships USNS Pvt. John R. Towle (1949-50) and USNS James O'Hara (1951-52); he died of mesothelioma in 2009. The opinion recites that GE 'designed, manufactured, and supplied the steam turbines ... used aboard the USS MacKenzie'; that 1940s-50s GE steam turbines required asbestos-containing thermal insulation, gaskets, and packing to function and GE knew only asbestos materials were available; and that GE 'provided extra sets of specially precut asbestos-containing gaskets along with their new turbines.' Because Woo served aboard at first commissioning, the court held there is 'a reasonable inference Woo was exposed to the original asbestos packing and gaskets that GE supplied.' Industrial-hygiene expert Dr. Heyer testified his engineering-space work 'resulted in exposures to asbestos that were substantially above ambient levels' (including from vibration releasing fibers from turbine insulation); Dr. Hammar testified the exposure was 'a substantial contributing factor' causing mesothelioma. Disposition: trial-court summary judgment for GE under Simonetta/Braaten REVERSED; remanded for trial.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (exposure window); 2009 (death); 2017 (opinion)
- Population
- Yuen Wing Woo (USN machinist aboard DD-836, July 1945-May 1946); engineering-space crew of the first-commissioning period
- Limitations
- Appellate summary-judgment-review posture: all evidence construed in favor of the plaintiff; the exposure/product findings are 'reasonable inferences' sufficient to reach a jury, NOT adjudicated findings of exposure, product identity, or causation - per litigation-stage discipline this is classified below trial-finding level. GE's position (Navy/shipyard procured and installed the thermal insulation; no GE-supplied insulation aboard) remains unresolved. Names 'USS MacKenzie'/'USS George K. MacKenzie' - during July 1945-May 1946 the only commissioned USS MacKenzie was DD-836 (DD-175 had been transferred to the RCN in 1940 and scrapped in 1945). Co-defendants included Asbestos Corp., CBS (Westinghouse successor), Foster Wheeler, Fraser's Boiler Service, Lockheed Shipbuilding, Metropolitan Life, Saberhagen Holdings, and Todd Shipyards; the published opinion addresses only the GE summary judgment. Subsequent history (whether Wash. Supreme Court review was sought or the retrial outcome) not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-01
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[3]DANFS, George K. MacKenzie (DD-836) (builder, launch/commission dates, service narrative, battle stars; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (ends 1967)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Lt. Comdr. George K. MacKenzie, USNA 1931, submarine officer, killed 15 March 1943 commanding Triton (Navy Cross). Launched 13 May 1945 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Miss Donna MacKenzie, daughter; commissioned 13 July 1945, Comdr. Alvin W. Slayden in command. Shakedown off Cuba; Navy Day 1945 at Savannah; Operational Development Force, Norfolk (homeport); January-February 1948 goodwill cruise to Buenos Aires; October 1948 U.N. Palestine Patrol/Trieste; overhaul at Boston through April 1949; Mediterranean cruise January-May 1950; transferred to Pacific, arriving Pearl Harbor 1 July 1950; Korean service - screened attack carriers and gave gunfire support 26 July 1950-30 January 1951, repair period at San Diego 15 February-17 July 1951, second tour to April 1952; Wonsan Harbor bombardments 16-17 January and 23 February-21 March 1953; fire support at Suwon Dan 15-19 April 1953 with USS Los Angeles; nine Far East tours 1953-1959 homeported San Diego and Long Beach; homeport changed to Yokosuka, Japan 15 February 1960; Laos-crisis deployment 1961 rendezvousing with Midway and Lexington; new homeport New York 11 December 1962 - entered Brooklyn Navy Yard for modernization, returning to sea October 1963; Long Beach from 28 January 1964; over two years' continuous Far East service including Vietnam carrier screening and shore bombardment; returned to Long Beach 3 August 1966 for a major overhaul; mid-1967 Far East; screened Forrestal (CVA-59) during the 29 July 1967 flight-deck fire and escorted her to Subic Bay. Six battle stars for Korean service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1967
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1944-45; crews 1945-76 (design complement 276); yard workers Boston 1949, San Diego 1951, Brooklyn 1962-63, Long Beach 1966
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative ends in 1967 - post-1967 deployments and the 1976 decommissioning/stricken/disposal rest on secondary compilations (see ev-03). The ibiblio transcription prints 'launched 13 May 1943' - impossible against the December 1944 keel-laying; the DANFS Vol. III page-77 text quoted verbatim in Woo v. GE reads 'launched 13 May 1945', so the ibiblio year is a transcription typo (corrected here, conflict logged in gaps). 'Overhaul at Boston' and 'major overhaul' at Long Beach do not name the yards - the Navy yards at Boston and Long Beach are the reasonable reads (limitations on related_shipyards).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History destroyer archive, USS George K. MacKenzie (DD-836) operational/building data block + FRAM special-feature table (navsource.net/archives/05/helpers/fram.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-836 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block; navsource.net FRAM helper table row '836 George K. MacKenzie | New York | 12/63'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/operational data for this hull: built by Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME (yard no. 256); laid down 21 December 1944; launched 13 May 1945; commissioned 13 July 1945; completed FRAM upgrade December 1963 (FRAM special-feature table lists yard 'New York', completion '12/63' - the New York Naval Shipyard/Brooklyn Navy Yard modernization DANFS dates December 1962-October 1963); machinery '60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws'; crew 336. Disposition: decommissioned 30 September 1976; stricken 1 October 1976; fate - sunk as target off California, 15 October 1976. Decommissioning/stricken/sinking dates are consistent across four independent secondary compilations (NavSource, US Naval Cover Museum, hullnumber.com, usnfleet.us).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Population
- Crews 1945-1976; New York Naval Shipyard FRAM workers 1962-63; target-sinking preparation/disposal personnel 1976
- Limitations
- NavSource and the concurring compilations are volunteer/secondary records transcribing NVR-style data; no single primary disposal record (NVR entry, sinking-exercise order) was located - the online NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals, and Wikipedia marks the sinking date 'citation needed'. Dates are carried because multiple independent compilations agree and no source contradicts them. FRAM 'New York' yard identification reconciles DANFS ('Brooklyn Navy Yard ... returning to sea in October 1963') with the NavSource completion month (December 1963) - 'returned to sea' October vs 'completed' December is a minor tension logged in gaps. NavSource does not document asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-03
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[5]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) - class-level recitals; Destroyer History Foundation Gearing-class page (FRAM program scope); Atlas shipyards.json (bath-iron-works, brooklyn-navy-yard records) [court_record]
- Locator
- Goodrich omnibus opinion ECF 171 recitals (as quoted in gearing-class.class.json ev-gearing-class-04); destroyerhistory.org/sumner-gearingclass/gearingclass/ FRAM paragraph; shipyards.json 'bath-iron-works', 'brooklyn-navy-yard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era and litigation-record context: a published federal omnibus opinion in Gearing-class litigation recites that 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes a report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' Era/yard inference: this hull is a 1944-45 Bath Iron Works Gearing-class destroyer (a 14-foot lengthening of the Sumner design) with a 60,000-shp GE geared-turbine steam plant built inside the Navy's documented peak asbestos-insulation era; its December 1962-December 1963 FRAM I modernization at New York Naval Shipyard was one of the 44 Gearing FRAM Mk I conversions - a major yard availability that disturbed machinery-space insulation under era practice. Builder BIW and the FRAM yard are documented in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1976 (hull); 2018 (Goodrich opinion)
- Population
- Gearing-class construction trades 1944-45; FRAM yard workers classwide 1958-64; crews of steam-plant engineering spaces
- Limitations
- Class/era and litigation-recital evidence only - the Goodrich recitals name a Sumner-class-family engineering drawing and a Sumner/Gearing-class tonnage estimate, not this hull; they are litigation-record recitals the opinion itself treats as partially speculative, not adjudicated classwide quantities. FRAM asbestos scope is inference; no work package documents ACM aboard DD-836. The ship-specific finding for this hull is ev-01 (Woo); this row adds context and research priority, not an independent ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-04
-
[6]Reviewed sources negative for hull-level asbestos documentation: NavSource DD-836 archive, NHHC online-library photo pages (e.g., NH 107001), destroyerhistory.org class/ship pages, museum/association sites; DANFS (ev-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Reviewed sources listed in citation_value; search_ledger rows sl-04 through sl-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No government or museum asbestos record for this hull located: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or donation/museum documentation exists for DD-836 in reviewed official and archival sources - the hull was sunk as a target in 1976 and never entered a museum-hull survey program. No documentation of pre-sinking asbestos survey or removal was located; the October 1976 target sinking pre-dates the later SINKEX-era hazmat-preparation disclosure practices.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1976
- Population
- Crews 1945-1976; 1976 disposal personnel
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof none exists - NARA ship records (deck logs, RG 19 General Information Books, yard work packages) are the un-pulled archival leads (ev-06). The Woo opinion (ev-01) supplies the only ship-specific asbestos evidence; it identifies turbine-area insulation/gaskets/packing, not a hull-wide inventory. Whether asbestos material remained aboard at sinking is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-05
-
[7]NARA archival leads not retrieved: RG 24 Navy deck logs for USS George K. MacKenzie (1945-1976); RG 19 General Information Books / ship characteristics records; New York Naval Shipyard FRAM Mk I work packages (1962-63) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov RG 24 deck-log series; RG 19 General Information Books; NYNSY/Portsmouth N.H. yard-records series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material and exposure documentation not yet pulled: (1) NARA RG 24 deck logs for DD-836 covering 1945-1976, which log underway material conditions and yard availabilities; (2) NARA RG 19 General Information Books holding per-vessel machinery/material specifications; (3) New York Naval Shipyard FRAM Mk I conversion work packages (December 1962 - December 1963) which would document insulation disturbance scope. None of these were digitized or retrieved in the reviewed sources.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Population
- Crews 1945-1976; NYNSY FRAM workers 1962-63
- Limitations
- Leads only - retrieval not performed in this batch; contents, holdings confirmation, and any asbestos content are unverified. No inference is drawn from their existence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 sweeps (authenticated, fleet-paced helper): exact-name queries "George K. MacKenzie" and "USS MacKenzie" and hull-number query "DD-836", each run as opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py authenticated v4 search endpoint; queries and counts in search_ledger rows sl-02, sl-03, sl-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep results: (1) opinion queries - exact-name "George K. MacKenzie" and "USS MacKenzie" each returned the single qualifying hit Woo v. General Electric Co., 198 Wn. App. 496 (Wash. Ct. App. 2017), a published asbestos wrongful-death opinion naming this hull (see ev-01); hull-number opinion query "DD-836" returned zero hits. (2) RECAP docket queries returned three qualifying asbestos-litigation dockets naming this hull or the name in indexed docket text: Agena v. Cleaver-Brooks, Inc. (D. Haw. No. 1:19-cv-00089) - a RICO/fraudulent-inducement action by 73 former asbestos plaintiffs over 56 underlying settlement agreements, with 'DD-836' and the name both present in indexed RECAP text (consistent with an underlying exposure/work-history recital, precise role unverified); IN RE: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (JPML master docket - name and hull number in indexed text, role unresolved); and Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co., Inc. (E.D. Pa. No. 2:07-cv-73417, an MDL-875 asbestos personal-injury docket - 'USS MacKenzie' in indexed text, role unverified; plaintiff Salvatore Gitto was a shipfitter/machinery inspector employed 1951-1996 who worked at Brooklyn Navy Yard until its closure per the published MDL-875 memorandum (paed.uscourts.gov), and this hull was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard for FRAM December 1962-December 1963 - consistent with a yard-worker exposure-site reference, unverified). (3) Non-qualifying collisions classified and excluded: United States v. Ortega (E.D. Cal. criminal, 'DD-836' as non-ship identifier), In re: Seroquel Products Liability Litigation (M.D. Fla. pharmaceutical MDL, identifier collision), SIPC v. Madoff (S.D.N.Y. bankruptcy, identifier collision). All docket hits naming the hull are classified at the allegation/recital level - below ev-01's appellate posture.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- swept 2026-09-28
- Population
- Asbestos-litigation plaintiffs naming DD-836 or USS MacKenzie
- Limitations
- The three qualifying RECAP dockets name the hull or the name inside indexed docket text; the precise role in each (which plaintiff, exposure-site vs. list reference) is unverified - none is an adjudicated exposure finding; all are classified as pleading/recital-level references per litigation-stage discipline. The 'DD-836' string is collision-prone in non-maritime dockets; each returned hit was individually classified. See search_ledger for full query log.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-k-mackenzie-dd836-07