Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]U.S. House of Representatives, Disposition of Useless Papers in Navy Department, H. Rep. 69-2275 (1927) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Printed p. 29, Package No. 59, James Wooley (YT45) entry; PDF p. 29
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A 1927 congressional report lists 'James Wooley (YT45)' and correspondence plus two copies of a report concerning a material inspection held 1 July 1920. The listed papers were proposed for disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1920 inspection; 1927 report
- Limitations
- The congressional list establishes that an inspection report was listed for disposal, not its contents or present survival. It gives no material composition, asbestos finding, crew information, or exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-wooley-yt45-01
-
[2]U.S. Navy, Navy Filing Manual (1941), vessel and alphabetical indexes [other_primary]
- Locator
- YT district tugs list, YT45; alphabetical JAMES WOOLEY and WOOLEY, JAMES entries
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's 1941 filing manual identifies YT-45 as 'Wooley, James' and marks the district tug stricken.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941 manual
- Limitations
- Confirms hull designation and stricken status by 1941, but not the exact strike date, decommissioning date, spelling painted on the tug, machinery, asbestos content, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-wooley-yt45-02
-
[3]Johns-Manville Corp. v. United States, 13 Cl. Ct. 72, 123-25 (Cl. Ct. 1987) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, sections on 85-percent magnesia and Superex pipe covering, pp. 123-25
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- In a published trial opinion reviewing Navy insulation specifications, the court found that Navy magnesia insulation covering specifications required at least 10 percent asbestos from 1908 through revisions including 1918, and that a February 1927 Navy diatomaceous-earth pipe-covering specification required 4 percent asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1908-1927 specifications; 1987 opinion
- Population
- Navy procurement and shipyard work generally
- Limitations
- Trial-stage finding about Navy specifications generally, not a finding about YT-45. The Federal Circuit vacated the trial judgment for lack of jurisdiction, without deciding its merits: Johns-Manville Corp. v. United States, 855 F.2d 1571 (Fed. Cir. 1988), https://openjurist.org/855/f2d/1571/johns-manville-corporation-v-united-states. The underlying claims concerned WWII shipyard workers, after this tug's Navy service. The trial record does not establish that either product was purchased, installed, retained, disturbed, or encountered aboard this hull; it supplies no ship-specific exposure or causation finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-wooley-yt45-03
-
[4]Batch 9380 search ledger: H. Rep. 69-2275, Navy Filing Manual (1941), NARA asbestos research guide, and authenticated CourtListener searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-james-wooley-yt45-01 through sl-uss-james-wooley-yt45-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying public ship-specific asbestos record was located in the official and court sources searched: the 1927 inspection-list entry gives no inspection findings, the 1941 filing manual gives no materials, and the CourtListener search completed for the exact 'James Wooley' opinion query produced only name collisions.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24 search
- Limitations
- This is a bounded search result, not proof that asbestos was absent. Other exact-name and hull-number CourtListener searches were interrupted by the fleet-wide pacing limiter and remain open gaps. No conclusion about individual exposure, disease causation, or legal eligibility follows.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-wooley-yt45-04
-
[5]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; S39 Insulation and Lagging; Other Records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Navy-asbestos research guide points researchers toward Bureau of Ships insulation and lagging files and cautions that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly document asbestos content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- Research guide, not vessel period
- Limitations
- NARA frames the guide chiefly around 1941-1961, after YT-45's stated service; its record-path advice may help locate earlier material but is not evidence that any such file exists for this tug or that she contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-james-wooley-yt45-05