Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Jason' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Jason' returned 63 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-jason-ac12-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Jason' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Jason' returned 2492 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-jason-ac12-cl-name-docket
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[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'AC-12' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'AC-12' returned 40721 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-jason-ac12-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'AC-12' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'AC-12' returned 254891 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-jason-ac12-cl-hull-docket
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[5]DANFS, Jason I (AC-12), NHHC (Wayback capture 2025-02-01; live page 404 on 2026-09-19) + Shipscribe Orion class machinery data (usnaux.shipscribe.com/AC/AC11.html) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS spec line (AC-12: dp. 19,250; l. 536'; b. 65'; dr. 27'8"; s. 14.32 k.; cpl. 82; a. 4 4") + Shipscribe class data (Machinery: Vert. 3-exp., 2 screws; 24 Lidgerwood coaling winches)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- As built, Jason's coal-fired boiler plant, vertical triple-expansion steam engines (2 screws, 6,943 hp per Shipscribe-compiled official data), steam piping, and coaling-winch machinery were systems that pre-WWI naval and marine practice insulated with asbestos-bearing products (magnesia-asbestos block insulation, asbestos pipe lagging, sheet packing, gaskets, friction brake linings).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1912-1913 (construction); 1913-1932 (service)
- Population
- Construction trades (Maryland Steel, Sparrows Point, 1912-13); engineering crew, coal heavers, and maintenance personnel (1913-1932)
- Limitations
- Era/design-level inference, not a hull record - no construction specification sheet, insulation survey, abatement contract, or adjudicated exposure record naming this hull was located. Does not establish asbestos aboard, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-01
-
[6]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program and the service-wide scale of asbestos insulation use aboard Navy ships - fleet-program context for the steam-plant insulation inference carried for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews (program-level context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation centered on the post-WWII fleet and naval shipyards; the report postdates this hull's Navy service (1913-1932) and merchant career (1936-1948) by decades and does not name it. Supports era context only - not ship-proven asbestos aboard. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-02
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[7]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 0829964 (decided 2008-09-04, docket 06-13 244) [court_record]
- Locator
- va.gov BVA decision text - service dates March 1951-July 1952, boilerman rating, 'repair other ships'
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos claims naming 'USS Jason' exist in the adjudicated record but pertain to a different hull: a VA BVA decision granted service connection for COPD secondary to asbestos for a boilerman second class who served aboard 'the USS Jason, which was there to repair other ships' from March 1951 to July 1952 - the Vulcan-class repair ship USS Jason (AR-8, in commission 1944-1995). This hull (AC-12/AV-2) was then the merchant freighter Jason and was scrapped in 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1951-1952 (service at issue); 2008 (decision)
- Population
- AR-8-era boilermen/repair-ship crews (different hull)
- Limitations
- Name-collision control row: the decision documents asbestos aboard AR-8, not this hull; it is recorded here so that 'USS Jason' asbestos hits (BVA claims, plaintiff-firm vessel lists, the McMann/Southerland pleading reported by law-firm media) are not misattributed to AC-12/AV-2. Does not establish anything about this hull's materials. CourtListener direct search was rate-limited on 2026-09-19; additional unlocated dockets naming 'USS Jason' may exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-03
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[8]DANFS, Jason I (AC-12), Naval History and Heritage Command (Wayback capture 2025-02-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Jason I entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS establishes this hull's identity and career: laid down 26 March 1912, launched 16 November 1912 by Maryland Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md.; commissioned 26 June 1913 (Capt. A. M. Whitton). Fueling/service in Mexican waters, the Mediterranean, and Caribbean (1913-15, incl. the 1914 'Christmas Ship' voyage); Atlantic Train and NOTS coal/freight service in WWI incl. April-July 1918 aviation materiel to Inverness, Scotland; postwar European cruises; aircraft and artillery to Guam (departed Philadelphia 24 Jan 1921); Nicaragua Marine lift (1923); Asiatic Fleet air-squadron depot ship 1925-1932; reclassified AV-2 on 21 January 1930; returned San Diego 13 May 1932; decommissioned Bremerton Navy Yard 30 June 1932; struck from the Navy List 19 May 1936; sold 29 July 1936. Spec line: dp. 19,250; l. 536'; b. 65'; dr. 27'8"; s. 14.32 k.; cpl. 82; a. 4 4".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1912-1936
- Population
- Crew and embarked personnel, 1913-1932
- Limitations
- Official Navy history entry - no asbestos, insulation-material, or survey content. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-19; verbatim text verified via Wayback capture dated 2025-02-01. DANFS does not record the March 1913 fitting-out explosion damage (documented by court record and contemporary press).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-04
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[9]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'ORION (Fleet Collier No. 11)' class compilation, usnaux.shipscribe.com - collated from Navy contract and official records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AC-11/Orion class page - class header, construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled official data places this hull in the ORION class (Fleet Colliers Nos. 11-12; sister Orion AC-11): ordered under FY1912 program authorized by Congress 4 March 1911 (two 14-knot colliers, not exceeding $1,000,000 each); Maryland Steel awarded contract 18 July 1911 at $951,000 each, signed 22 August 1911; hull built on the Isherwood longitudinal framing system - per Shipscribe the first Navy ships so built. Jason: keel 26 March 1912, launched 16 November 1912, commissioned 26 June 1913. Machinery: vertical triple-expansion engines, 2 screws, 6,943 hp; 14.47 kt trial speed. Cargo capacity 11,500 t coal + 2,575 t oil + 2,300 t bunker coal; 24 Lidgerwood coaling winches. Civilian Naval Auxiliary Service crews until naval manning directed 7 May 1917. Jason underwent NO conversion for the Asiatic Fleet depot-ship role - she lifted aircraft with her coaling booms onto coal-hold hatch covers; the AV-2 designation (21 Jan 1930) was a reclassification, not a rebuild. Sold to American S.S. Co., Buffalo, N.Y.; merchant Jason; scrapped Baltimore 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1911-1948
- Population
- Maryland Steel construction trades (1912-13); civilian and naval crews
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official records (not a scan of primary documents); resolves several secondary-source errors (see correction row). No asbestos or insulation-material content. 'Recomm. 7 Oct 14' note implies a brief 1914 out-of-commission period not described by DANFS - unverified detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-05
-
[10]NHHC (Naval Historical Center) Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Jason (Collier # 12, later AC-12 and AV-2), 1913-1936' (verbatim HyperWar mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Online Library page + photo caption 80-G-68138
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC photo-archive page documents the post-Navy career: sold late July 1936, employed as the commercial bulk freighter Jason, scrapped 1948; wartime photo 80-G-68138 (26 May 1943, off U.S. East Coast) shows the former Navy hull in merchant service with coaling towers removed and a self-unloading boom arrangement fitted 'rather like a Great Lakes bulk carrier.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1936-1948
- Population
- Merchant marine crew (1936-1948)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific photographic/historical documentation - no asbestos content. Establishes that the hull survived to 1948 in merchant service (i.e., any era insulation aboard remained in service through WWII) but does not address materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-06
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[11]Maryland ex rel. Goralski v. General Stevedoring Co., 213 F. 51 (D. Md. 1914), affirmed sub nom. Joseph R. Foard Co. v. Maryland ex rel. Goralski, 219 F. 827 (4th Cir. 1914) - Federal Reporter vols. 213, 219 [court_record]
- Locator
- 213 F. 51 (D. Md. 1914) opinion text; 219 F. 827 (4th Cir. Nov. 5, 1914)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Federal admiralty litigation documents the 7 March 1913 Alum Chine dynamite explosion in Baltimore harbor during this hull's fitting-out: the consolidated district opinion (25 libels) records that 'the explosion brought wounds or death to a number on another steamer, the Jason, lying 1,200 feet away'; more than 30 lives were lost overall. Contemporary press accounts (Evening Star, Washington Post, 8 Mar 1913) report at least three killed aboard Jason, hull plating riddled and smokestacks mashed; the ship required extensive repairs before Navy acceptance. The district court found the stevedore foreman's negligent handling of dynamite causative; the Fourth Circuit affirmed decrees against the stevedoring contractors.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1913-1914 (event and litigation)
- Population
- Builder's personnel and crew aboard during fitting-out (1913)
- Limitations
- NON-ASBESTOS litigation - a 1913-14 admiralty death/damages proceeding; classified 'other litigation' in the search ledger. Documents hull damage during construction and the fitting-out repair period, not any asbestos fact. CourtListener direct pull blocked by rate limit on 2026-09-19; district opinion verified via Federal Reporter vol. 213 scan and the appellate case via CourtListener volume index listing (courtlistener.com/c/f/219/).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-07
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[12]Source-discrepancy resolution: Shipscribe class data and DANFS entry vs. NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page 09/02/0212 and NHHC photo caption [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/02/0212 specifications block vs. Shipscribe AC-11 class page + DANFS spec line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary-source errors resolved against DANFS and Shipscribe-compiled official data: (a) propulsion - NavSource's 'coal fired steam turbine, single propeller' is contradicted by Shipscribe's compiled machinery line ('Vert. 3-exp., 2 screws') and the Wikipedia/DANFS-consistent infobox ('vertical triple-expansion steam engines, two screws'); record carries triple-expansion twin-screw. (b) Class - NavSource's 'Jason Class Collier' label is contradicted by Shipscribe's ORION class assignment (Nos. 11-12, sister Orion AC-11); record carries Orion class. (c) Keel date - NavSource's 20 March 1912 vs. DANFS/Shipscribe 26 March 1912; record carries 26 March. (d) NHHC photo caption 'later converted to AV-2' vs. Shipscribe 'JASON underwent no conversion'; record treats AV-2 as reclassification only. (e) Complement varies by source and manning status: DANFS 82; Shipscribe 104 (civilian) and designed berthing 25 officers/152 men - recorded as variant figures, not merged.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1911-1913 data
- Limitations
- Correction row documents conflicts among secondary/official-adjacent sources and the resolution chosen; it is not itself an asbestos finding. Residual uncertainty: NavSource's data are unsourced; Shipscribe is a compiler of official records rather than the records themselves.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-08
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[13]Batch-425 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Online Library; Shipscribe; NavSource; CourtListener API v4 and web UI; VA BVA decisions (va.gov); web litigation sweep; Chronicling America (LOC); GAO; NARA record-group mapping [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-jason-ac12-01 through sl-uss-jason-ac12-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull: no asbestos survey, construction specification naming insulation materials, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Jason AC-12/AV-2 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). All asbestos claims located under the name 'USS Jason' resolve to the later repair ship AR-8 (in commission 1944-1995).
- 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 - a 1913 coal-fired steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos insulation. CourtListener was rate-limited/blocked on 2026-09-19 (API 429 at daily cap; web UI 403), so RECAP/docket coverage is incomplete and indirect. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jason-ac12-09
-
[14]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Construction and Repair / Bureau of Ships - ship design and construction records) and RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): RG 19 (BuC&R) contract plans/specifications and the Jason construction file - the plausible home of any hull-specific insulation spec for a 1911-contracted Navy-built collier; RG 24 deck logs for 1913-1932 (machinery repairs, lagging work, refit periods incl. the post-explosion repairs and any AV-2-era work); NHHC photographic holdings (the Online Library notes the National Archives holds additional views of this hull).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1911-1948 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-jason-ac12-10