Evidence
16 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-16).
-
[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS James K. Polk' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS James K. Polk' returned 2 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-james-k-polk-ssbn645-cl-name-opinion
-
[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS James K. Polk' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS James K. Polk' returned 367 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-james-k-polk-ssbn645-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'SSBN-645' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'SSBN-645' returned 0 results (2026-10-07)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- zero-hit search; absence of hits is not proof of no litigation
- Evidence ID
- uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'SSBN-645' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'SSBN-645' returned 21 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-james-k-polk-ssbn645-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, James K. Polk (SSB(N)-645) - construction, commissioning, and spec block (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'James K. Polk' (SSB(N)-645), narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 23 November 1963; launched 22 May 1965 by Electric Boat Div., General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT; sponsored by Mrs. Horacio Rivero, Jr., wife of the VCNO; commissioned 16 April 1966 with Comdr. R. M. Douglass (Blue crew) and Comdr. F. D. McMullen, Jr. (Gold crew) in command; assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Spec block: 7,250 t surfaced / 8,250 t submerged; 425 ft; 33 ft beam; >20 kts; complement 140; 16 Polaris missile tubes; 'cl. Lafayette'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1963-1966
- Population
- EB construction trades (1963-66); Blue and Gold crews (1966-1999), 140 per crew per DANFS
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The entry is the original in-service-era DANFS text and ends at commissioning - all post-1966 events come from other sources. Spec block lists class as Lafayette (Benjamin Franklin boats are an improved Lafayette design carried as their own class in later references); boundary noted in gaps. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404; verbatim transcription used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-01
-
[6]Strategic Systems Programs (U.S. Navy), official chronology 1966-1975 (Wayback capture of ssp.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SSP chronology entries 14 Oct 1966, 16 Jul 1971, 17 Nov 1972, 13 Jan 1973, 29 May 1973, 18 Apr 1975, 29 Aug 1975
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy program chronology names this hull at seven dated points: departed Charleston SC 14 Oct 1966 on operational patrol with 16 Polaris A3; commenced overhaul and Poseidon conversion at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. 16 Jul 1971 (16th SSBN converted); completed conversion 17 Nov 1972; Blue crew launched one Poseidon C3 for DASO 13 Jan 1973; deployed for operational patrol 29 May 1973; launched two Poseidon C3s on operational tests 18 Apr 1975 and 29 Aug 1975.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1966-1975
- Population
- NNS&DCo yard trades (1971-72 overhaul/conversion); Blue and Gold crews
- Limitations
- Ship-specific program chronology; documents yard and weapons-system events, not materials content. Establishes the 1971-72 Newport News availability as a matter of official record - asbestos disturbance during that yard period is era inference, not stated. Does not cover post-1975 events.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-02
-
[7]NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 83-376-1556, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, April 1985 (investigators D.G. Tharr, M. Singal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HETA 83-376-1556, Summary and Sections IV-VII (medical interviews, evaluation criteria, discussion)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific occupational-health record: a federal industrial-hygiene investigation of 'system testing' during submarine overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard documents shipyard workers aboard USS James K. Polk (SSBN 645) in September 1982 - confirming the hull's second-overhaul presence at PNSY. Workers reported headache, nausea, and eye/skin/mucous-membrane irritation; two aboard James K. Polk sought medical attention; all six symptomatic workers who had tested on JKP and other submarines said symptoms were worse on JKP. NIOSH attributed effects to acrolein and aldehydes released by heating of overhaul materials; sampling was done aboard USS Jack (SSN-605) in Dec 1983 as the hull then in the same process.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1982-1985
- Population
- PNSY overhaul trades aboard JKP during system testing (Sept 1982); comparison hull USS Billfish (SSN-676, May 1983); sampling aboard USS Jack (SSN-605, Dec 1983)
- Limitations
- NOT an asbestos record: the report evaluates thermal-decomposition products (acrolein, aldehydes, solvents, acids, phthalates) and contains no asbestos finding - the word does not appear in the document. It is carried as ship-specific documentation of the 1982 PNSY overhaul and of shipboard worker exposure events aboard this hull; it establishes nothing about ACM content, exposure, causation, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-03
-
[8]U.S. Department of the Navy, 'U.S. Naval Nuclear Powered Ship Inactivation, Disposal, and Recycling' (Green Book), 2019 edition, Appendix D [other_primary]
- Locator
- Green Book 2019, Appendix D disposal table, row 90
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific disposal record: the Navy's official SRP program history lists 'Ex-James K. Polk, SSBN 645' as reactor compartment shipment no. 90, with reactor-compartment disposal and ship recycling both completed in 2000 under the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (reactor compartments shipped to the DOE Hanford Site). NavSource gives the recycling completion date as 26 April 2000.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1999-2000
- Population
- PSNSY recycling/dismantlement trades (1999-2000); Hanford disposal-site workers
- Limitations
- Confirms this hull was dismantled under the documented SRP hazmat-control regime (see ev-05) but assigns no asbestos quantity or itemization to this specific hull. The Appendix D table gives years only; the 26 April 2000 completion date is NavSource (secondary). Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-04
-
[9]U.S. Department of the Navy, 'U.S. Naval Nuclear Powered Ship Inactivation, Disposal, and Recycling' (Green Book), 2019 edition - program process description [other_primary]
- Locator
- Green Book 2019, Summary; Appendix C sections on shipboard dismantlement and processing-facility operations
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Official program documentation of the asbestos-control regime applied to every SRP dismantling: shipboard sampling to 'identify insulating materials (both on piping systems and on ship's structure), paint, and other products that may contain asbestos or PCBs'; asbestos insulation 'removed by personnel specially trained in asbestos work under stringent work controls' using containments, HEPA-filtered vacuums, and wetting agents, bagged and shipped to an approved landfill; reactor compartments 'constructed before the mid-1970s also contain asbestos in insulation on pipes and other components' which remains sealed inside the buried reactor-compartment package.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1990-2019
- Population
- PSNSY recycling trades; asbestos-removal specialists (program-wide)
- Limitations
- Program-level description, not a hull-specific finding: it documents the standard process under which SSBN-645 was recycled (ev-04) but does not state what asbestos was found aboard her. Establishes asbestos handling at disposal, not crew or overhaul exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-05
-
[10]Zaebst, Seel, Yiin, Nowlin & Chen, 'Summary of Retrospective Asbestos and Welding Fume Exposure Estimates for a Nuclear Naval Shipyard,' Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 6:7, 404-414 (2009), DOI 10.1080/15459620902922573 (NIOSH-authored, via CDC Stacks) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Zaebst et al. 2009, 'Description of Hazards and Monitoring Data' and exposure-reconstruction sections
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed NIOSH exposure reconstruction for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - the yard of James K. Polk's second (1981-83) and third (1986-88) overhauls: 'Asbestos was ubiquitously used as pipe and boiler insulation on submarines; therefore, additional jobs that were primarily conducted shipboard were also exposed to asbestos. Until the 1960s, the U.S. Navy used chrysotile and amosite asbestos insulation on naval vessels to insulate pipes, boilers, and machinery.' The study also documents that 'in the mid-1970s the process of removing asbestos insulation from ships began and was ongoing until the 1990s' - spanning both of this hull's PNSY availabilities.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1952-2002 (study window)
- Population
- PNSY civilian workforce incl. shipboard trades, 1952-1977 cohort window; covers JKP's 1981-83 and 1986-88 overhauls
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not hull-specific: it establishes asbestos exposure conditions for PNSY trades including shipboard work during the years JKP was in the yard, but does not measure or name exposure aboard SSBN-645. No causation, individual exposure, quantity, or eligibility finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-06
-
[11]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 - covering James K. Polk's 1963-66 construction and her 1971-72 Poseidon-conversion overhaul in full, and overlapping the early part of her service era.
- 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, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-07
-
[12]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinions 4324658, 4332654) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, specification-history discussion (CourtListener 4324658/4332654)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Court-documented era regime: the Navy's submarine insulation procurement specifications (SUBSAFE's MIL-I-24244 post-1963; predecessor BuShips practice before) covered asbestos-containing insulation for submarine construction and overhaul. James K. Polk's keel was laid 23 November 1963 - inside the SUBSAFE era (program created June 1963 after the Thresher loss) - so the MIL-I-24244 spec regime applies to her construction and service-era availabilities.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2021 (opinion); regime described 1950s-forward
- Population
- Navy submarine construction/maintenance trades
- Limitations
- James K. Polk is not named in the opinion; it documents the submarine asbestos-insulation spec regime only. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility. Opinion citation carried from the verified batch-08/QA-02 record; CourtListener API was rate-limited (125/day cap) during this batch and the URL could not be re-fetched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-08
-
[13]Federation of American Scientists, 'SSN 640 Benjamin Franklin class' (fas.org military analysis archive, secondary institutional reference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- man.fas.org/dod-101/sys/ship/ssn-640.htm, James K. Polk paragraph and class table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents the attack-submarine conversion for this hull: a 19-month conversion at Newport News Shipbuilding completed March 1994, removing ballistic-missile capability and fitting two Dry Deck Shelters for special-warfare support; homeport changed to Norfolk (Submarine Squadron SIX); the only dual-DDS submarine in the Atlantic Fleet; three Mediterranean deployments; inactivation ceremony 8 January 1999 at Naval Station Norfolk. Class spec block: complement 143 (approx.).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1992-1999
- Population
- NNS conversion trades (1992-94); crews (1994-1999)
- Limitations
- Secondary institutional source (FAS), not an official record - used for the conversion yard, scope, and dates not covered by DANFS (which ends at commissioning). The inactivation ceremony date (8 Jan) conflicts with other secondary sources (9 Jan); discrepancy in gaps. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-09
-
[14]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 'Ships/Craft Reclassified' status board (May 1994 issue) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Proceedings May 1994, 'Ship's Status Changes' table row for James K. Polk
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official-status-board record of this hull's reclassification: '1 Oct 1993 James K. Polk - SSBN-645 to SSN-645 - For use in Special Operations.' The effective redesignation date (1 Oct 1993) precedes the documented conversion completion (March 1994, FAS).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1993
- Limitations
- USNI status boards reproduce official Navy status changes; page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch and the row text is carried from the indexed snippet - verbatim row quoted, marked partial. No materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-10
-
[15]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (S5W plant, one shaft); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Electric Boat/Groton, Newport News Shipbuilding, Portsmouth NSY, and Puget Sound NSY (thermal insulation, submarine steam/propulsion lagging, gaskets, packing, block insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json product lists for electric-boat-groton, newport-news-shipbuilding, portsmouth-naval-shipyard, puget-sound-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A fleet ballistic missile submarine built 1963-66 at Electric Boat and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities at Newport News (1971-72, 1992-94) and Portsmouth NSY (1981-83, 1986-88) sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era and its removal-transition period; era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant (steam generators to turbines) and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. All four yards' asbestos product use in this period is independently documented at the yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1963-2000
- Population
- EB construction trades (1963-66); NNS and PNSY yard trades (1971-94); Blue and Gold crews (1966-1999); PSNSY recycling trades (1999-2000)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SSBN-645/SSN-645. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear secondary/aux systems, not confirmed installed materials; the S5W reactor plant establishes nothing. No quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-11
-
[16]Batch-394 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; SSP chronology; NIOSH HETA PDF; DOE/Navy Green Book; NIOSH/CDC Stacks exposure study; GAO product page; USNI status board; FAS class page; indexed CourtListener content via web search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat itemization, or qualifying asbestos case naming USS James K. Polk / SSBN-645 / SSN-645 was found. CourtListener could not be searched directly - API at 125/day cap (HTTP 429, retry-after ~12h, 2026-09-19); indexed CourtListener content surfaced only name collisions (a bankruptcy creditor named James K. Polk; Polk v. Integrity Media Group; 1845 land-patent litigation citing the President). A law-firm marketing page (mesolawcenter.com) lists the hull on a generic submarine-asbestos roster - excluded per source rules, logged in ledger.
- 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 - the hull is scrapped and cannot be surveyed; the only surviving structure is the sealed reactor compartment at Hanford. The direct CourtListener sweep is an OPEN GAP (rate-limited, not completed) - flagged for re-run, not treated as a cleared search. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-k-polk-ssbn645-12