Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, 'Independence V (CVA-62)' - NHHC ship histories (migrated entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS migrated HTML entry, construction/spec-block paragraph and 1962-65 narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry documents construction and career: fifth Independence (CVA-62) launched by New York Navy Yard 6 June 1958 (sponsor Mrs. Thomas Gates); commissioned 10 January 1959, Capt. E. Y. McElroy in command. Spec block: displacement 56,300 lt; length 1,046'; beam 236'; extreme width 249'6"; draft 37'; speed 34 k.; complement 3,950; armament 8 5-inch; class Forrestal. Documented yard periods include Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhauls in late 1962 (post-Cuban missile crisis) and from 5 November 1964; she was the first Atlantic Fleet carrier to deploy to the South China Sea in support of Vietnam operations (1965).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1958-1965
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for milestones and the early-1960s Norfolk yard periods; the narrative's coverage of later decades is thin and contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Laid-down date (1 July 1955) comes from the class record/NavSource, not the DANFS narrative - flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Independence (CV-62) page - status/spec lines and official U.S. Navy photo captions of the 11 March 2017 tow [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NavSource CV-62 'Fate'/status block and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Later yard and disposal chain: SLEP at the Philadelphia Navy Yard April 1985 - mid-1988 (island extensively enlarged during SLEP and other modernizations); replaced Midway as the forward-deployed carrier in Japan 1991; decommissioned to reserve at Bremerton 30 September 1998; struck from the Navy list 8 March 2004; contract awarded 25 August 2016 to International Shipbreaking Ltd. to tow the hulk to Brownsville and scrap it; ex-Independence departed Bremerton under tow 11 March 2017, arrived Brownsville 1 June 2017; status 'Disposed of by recycling (scrapping/recycling), 1 February 2019.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1985-2019
- Limitations
- Disposal milestones rest on NavSource status lines and official USN photo captions (a volunteer-run archive republishing Navy material); the ISL contract award is consistent with the Navy's carrier-scrapping contract series but no standalone Navy release for this hull was retrieved in this pass.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-02
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[3]Cochran v. E.I. duPont de Nemours, 933 F.2d 1533 (11th Cir. 1991), No. 90-8113 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion facts section (deck-crew duties, claimed exposures, Navy silica statement) and holding
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published Eleventh Circuit opinion in a personal-injury/products action: ex-sailor Jerry Cochran, assigned in 1972 to the deck grinding crew of USS Independence (aircraft carrier based at Norfolk), maintained the nonskid coating on the hangar deck - patching, grinding, sweeping, and reapplying - and allegedly was exposed to silica and asbestos in the dust. After ~6 months he reported dizziness, chest pain, dyspnea, and hemoptysis and transferred to the laundry room; a 1984 Armed Forces Institute of Pathology tissue analysis found silica particles in his lymph nodes, while the Department of the Navy stated the nonskid paint contained silicon carbide and that the particles could not be related to naval occupational exposure. The Eleventh Circuit examined federal maritime jurisdiction for his claims against product manufacturers, declined to exercise it, held the state statute of limitations had run, and AFFIRMED the district court's dismissal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1972 (service); 1991 (opinion)
- Population
- Navy sailor on CV-62 hangar-deck grinding crew, from 1972; alleged silica and asbestos exposure
- Limitations
- Allegation-stage record: the court resolved jurisdiction and limitations only; no exposure, product, or causation issue was adjudicated. The asbestos claim concerns nonskid deck-coating dust and is paired with a Navy statement that the coating contained silicon carbide - read the claim narrowly. Does not establish that any specific product aboard this hull contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-03
-
[4]MacQueen v. Union Carbide Corporation, Report and Recommendation, Civ. Act. No. 13-831-SLR-CJB (D. Del.); govinfo package USCOURTS-ded-1_13-cv-00831 [court_record]
- Locator
- GovInfo PDF: service-history recital (p.2), Burger comparison passages, and recommendation
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Federal report and recommendation in a docketed asbestos wrongful-death action: the court recites that 'Mr. MacQueen was employed: (1) by the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. Randolph and the U.S.S. Independence from 1956 to 1960,' with asbestos exposure alleged from shipboard equipment. Plaintiffs' expert Captain Burger - himself a Saratoga veteran - opined the equipment on Saratoga and Independence was 'virtually identical.' The R&R recommended granting Warren Pumps' summary-judgment motion and granting in part and denying in part the Crane Co. and Buffalo Pumps motions, leaving certain claims (Count VII) pending.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1956-1960 (service); 2014-2015 (R&R)
- Population
- Decedent David MacQueen, Navy service aboard USS Randolph and USS Independence 1956-60; alleged asbestos exposure from shipboard equipment
- Limitations
- Discovery/report-and-recommendation stage, not an adjudicated exposure finding: the service recital comes from pleadings and expert reports as summarized by the magistrate, and the recommended partial grants turn on product-identification sufficiency. Does not establish that any specific component aboard this hull contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-04
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[5]Spearman v. United States, 690 F. Supp. 1435 (E.D. Pa. 1988), Civ. A. No. 88-2118 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion facts section and holding (vlex mirror of 690 F. Supp. 1435)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Other litigation (non-asbestos) naming this hull: Spearman v. United States, 690 F. Supp. 1435 (E.D. Pa. 1988). Harbor worker Glen Spearman alleged he was injured 22 March 1986 aboard USS Independence at Philadelphia under a Naval Regional Contracting Center contract; suit under the Public Vessels Act and Suits in Admiralty Act pleaded negligence and unseaworthiness. The court granted the United States summary judgment on the unseaworthiness count because a harbor worker could not maintain that claim against the government.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1986 (injury); 1988 (opinion)
- Population
- Harbor worker aboard CV-62 during 1986 Philadelphia contract work
- Limitations
- Ship-specific litigation record but NOT an asbestos case - a personal-injury/unseaworthiness action. It corroborates civilian contract work aboard CV-62 at Philadelphia in 1986 (the SLEP period) but contains no insulation or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-05
-
[6]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 171 F. Supp. 3d 254 (S.D.N.Y. 2016), No. 13 Civ. 6227 (KPF) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion discussion of Balcerzak's deposition and the post-discovery ship-records submission (hallapproved/ecases mirrors of 171 F. Supp. 3d 254)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Indirect litigation mention (not exposure evidence for this hull): Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 171 F. Supp. 3d 254 (S.D.N.Y. 2016). Electrician Raymond Balcerzak's own shipboard work was aboard USS Lake Champlain and USS Constellation (Brooklyn Navy Yard construction); after discovery closed, plaintiffs produced historical ship records for USS Constellation and USS Independence arguing Warren pumps were used in the engine rooms of both ships - Independence appearing as comparison/records evidence, not as a ship the plaintiff worked on.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2016 (opinion)
- Limitations
- Independence appears only through plaintiff-produced historical ship records offered to show Warren pumps in her engine rooms - an equipment-similarity argument supporting a Constellation exposure theory, not an allegation of exposure aboard CV-62. Also noted: Baranek v. American Optical (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) contains the string 'USS Independence' in an 83-plaintiff consolidated asbestos appeal; the specific context could not be verified from retrievable text and is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-06
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[7]Batch-16 search ledger (this record): CourtListener exact-name + hull-number sweeps; govinfo; DANFS; NavSource; Navy announcements via press [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-independence-cv62-01 through sl-uss-independence-cv62-06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No adjudicated ship-specific asbestos finding exists for this hull in the sources searched: the two qualifying litigation records (Cochran, MacQueen) sit at allegation/discovery stage; no insulation survey, abatement contract, or dismantlement hazmat disclosure naming CV-62 was located; and no opinion identifies a specific asbestos-containing product aboard this ship at fact-finding level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Negative on adjudicated/surveyed documentation only - allegations naming the ship do exist (see litigation rows). An internal Navy/ISL hazmat file for the 2017-19 dismantlement likely existed but was not found publicly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-07
-
[8]Forrestal-class profile (class-b/forrestal-class.class.json); Navy/DOE EIS-0524 era statement; DANFS construction data [other_primary]
- Locator
- class profile era-application list; EIS-0524 Section 3.2.2.1.1 generic Navy statement
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era context: all four Forrestal-class carriers were built 1952-1959 with eight-boiler, four-turbine steam plants in the peak years of Navy asbestos use; the Navy's own disposal-era EIS work states asbestos-containing material 'is found throughout Navy ships' in piping insulation, electrical cables, and structures. Era-typical applications for the class include boiler/fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets and packing, deck tile, bulkhead insulation, and cable insulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1955-1959 (construction era)
- Limitations
- Era-standard application list and the Navy's generic statement - prioritizes research only; it is NOT a ship-specific finding and does not confirm installed materials on this hull beyond what the litigation rows recite.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-independence-cv62-08