Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Comptroller General report to Reps. Anderson and Patterson, B-163375, Oct. 18, 1979), Enclosure I: Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations letter Ser 4542/318054 (Jan. 5, 1979), Attachment #1 'List of U.S. Navy Ships Delivered Since 1973 or Under Construction (Ship Class, Name and Hull Number and Status of Thermal Insulation)' [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2, Enclosure I (CNO letter Ser 4542/318054), Attachment #1, Destroyer (DD) table, row 'JOHN YOUNG 973' (last row of the 'Asbestos thermal insulation' block); letter body paragraph on DD 963 class ('first eleven... as late as May 1978')
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The Navy's own January 5, 1979 response to GAO lists this hull by name and hull number: under 'DESTROYER - DD', JOHN YOUNG, hull 973, construction start 4/74, delivery 5/78, is the final row of the DD-963-class block annotated 'Asbestos thermal insulation' - the table's horizontal rule closes the annotation directly beneath the JOHN YOUNG row (the 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation' annotation covers the DD-974-DD-992 block, centered on the JOHN RODGERS 983 row). The letter's body states that for 'the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships, the change was not accomplished until later' and that 'ships well under construction and already insulated at that time continued through to delivery as late as May 1978 with asbestos insulation' - John Young is the eleventh DD-963-class hull (DD-963 through DD-973) and its 5/78 delivery is the document's own May 1978 boundary. The letter further states 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' itemizing piping-system gaskets and packing, ship-equipment brakes and clutches, deck tiling, galley-range cabling, and electrical resistors; Note 1 defines thermal insulation as 'insulation for machinery, equipment and piping.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades 1975-78; pre-commissioning and commissioning crew
- Limitations
- Primary U.S. Navy statement of this hull's as-delivered thermal-insulation status - the strongest class of evidence in this dataset. It documents that asbestos thermal insulation was installed at delivery; it does not inventory locations or quantity aboard this hull, does not record later in-service removals, and does not establish any individual's exposure. The table's 'START' column (4/74) is construction start, not keel date (NVR: 02/17/1975). The block boundary is corroborated by both the printed bracket rule beneath the 973 row and the letter's 'first eleven' text; note that sister Briscoe (DD-977) also delivered 5/78 but sits in the asbestos-free block - the boundary is the first-eleven construction sequence. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; full text reviewed via the gao.justia.com mirror of the official PDF.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-01
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[2]Siegfried v. 3M Company, No. 2:18-cv-01575-FMO-E (C.D. Cal.), Owens-Illinois, Inc.'s Joinder to Defendant's Notice of Removal, ECF No. 50 (filed 2018-03-02); complaint's exposure list also at ECF No. 1-1; suit nature 368 P.I.: Asbestos; docket terminated 2019-01-07 (per sibling-batch verification) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 50 p. 2-3 (Preliminary Statement para. 1, vessel list, 'USS John Young (DD-973)')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury removal record (federal-officer-removal joinder by Owens-Illinois) recites the complaint's allegation that plaintiff Terry Lee Siegfried, an electrician/marine electrician, was exposed to Owens-Illinois asbestos between approximately 1969 and 1996 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and aboard a ~40-vessel list that expressly includes 'USS John Young (DD-973)' (joinder Preliminary Statement para. 1 numbered vessel list; verified verbatim against the RECAP document). Same RECAP document indexed in this dataset for Spruance-class sisters DD-964, -965, -966, -971, -972 and other hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1969-1996 (alleged exposure); 2018-2019 (litigation)
- Population
- Long Beach Naval Shipyard electrician/marine electrician, ~1969-1996 alleged exposure window
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation listing the vessel among ~40 others - the least-final stage; the alleged exposure aboard this hull is unadjudicated and no discovery, fact-finding, or merits ruling was reached in the located record. The alleged 1969-1996 window overlaps this hull's commissioned service only 1978-1996; no dates aboard this hull are stated. Establishes nothing about materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-02
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, JOHN YOUNG (DD 973) ship detail page (NAVSEA; record last updated 09/14/2009; Internet Archive capture 2016-10-26 - live NVR no longer serves disposed-hull detail) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail: Vessel Status / Milestone Dates / Physical Characteristics blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official register record for this hull: Class DD 963 (Spruance); UIC 20599; builder Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.; award 01/26/1972; keel 02/17/1975; launch 02/07/1976; delivery 05/01/1978; commission 05/20/1978; decommission 09/30/2002; stricken 11/06/2002; final status 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise,' status-change date 04/13/2004. Characteristics: 563 ft overall / 529 ft waterline, 55 ft beam, 32 ft max navigational draft; 6,722 tons light / 9,153 tons full; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; gas turbines, 2 propellers; accommodations 24 officers + 272 enlisted (296 total).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1972-2009
- Population
- Crew complement 296 (design accommodations); construction and yard workforce at Ingalls, Pascagoula
- Limitations
- NVR documents registry milestones and physical characteristics, not materials or asbestos content. 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' denotes SINKEX; the register gives no sinking location. Launch date conflicts with secondary sources reading 01/06/1976 launch + 02/07/1976 christening - documented in gaps. Captured 2016 via Internet Archive; live NVR serves only a navigation shell for this disposed hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-03
-
[4]USS John Young official ship website (john-young.navy.mil), Internet Archive capture Dec. 2001 (site live 2000-2002; ship-published, approved for release) [other_primary]
- Locator
- john-young.navy.mil index.htm ('Our Mission', 'Ship's Namesake') and welcome.htm (San Diego reporting/address), Wayback captures Dec. 2001
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official ship-published record: JOHN YOUNG (DD-973) is 'a highly versatile multi-mission destroyer' armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, five-inch guns, ship- and helicopter-launched torpedoes, and long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles; homeported at Naval Station San Diego (ship's address USS John Young (DD 973) FPO AP 96686-1211); second ship named for Captain John Young, Continental Navy (c. 1740-1781), the first being USS Young (DD-312), commissioned November 29, 1920.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2000-2002 (site coverage)
- Limitations
- Official but a public-relations product, not an audited record; statistics and narrative are self-reported. Documents mission, homeport, and namesake - not materials or asbestos content. Captures end before the ship's 2002 decommissioning.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-04
-
[5]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979) - report body and Enclosure II (CNO letter Ser 454D/318571, Feb. 8, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 report body (policy sections, reinsulation cost table); Enclosure II p. 13 (class estimate table, 'Destroyer - DD 87,634')
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level context for this hull's build/delivery window: the Navy's asbestos-elimination policy issued October 1975 (NAVSEAINST 5100.2 of 24 Oct 1975) after thermal-insulation specifications were revised (by late 1973) to call for asbestos-free materials; pre-purchased and already-installed material meant 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; the removal policy replaced only damaged insulation (later modified to add selective replacement in high-maintenance areas), with the Navy estimating all but 30-50 percent of shipboard thermal asbestos insulation would be removed within five years; a one-time total removal program (~$2 billion est.) was rejected as not cost-effective. Enclosure II supplies the follow-up class-level estimate the January letter promised: 'Destroyer - DD' at 87,634 lbs installed thermal insulation (an estimate per class - the figure derives from DD-964's weight-control report, not a per-hull measurement). GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1973-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews, fleet-wide, mid-1970s
- Limitations
- Program-level and class-level findings, not hull-specific - the ship-specific application to this hull is carried by ev-01. The 87,634-lb figure is an estimated class quantity, not a documented measurement of DD-973. Does not document what was actually removed or remained aboard this hull during its 1978-2002 service life.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-05
-
[6]NVR propulsion/characteristic fields ('Gas Turbines,' 2 propellers, steel hull/aluminum superstructure) + NavSource spec block (4 LM2500 gas turbines, 80,000 shp, 2 screws, 30 kt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR DD-973 physical-characteristics block; navsource.org/archives/05/973.htm spec block (search-index verified); HRD-80-2 Enclosure I p. 1 ('major application' sentence)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Propulsion-type note on era inference: DD-973 is a gas-turbine ship - four GE LM2500 main engines, two shafts, no boilers and no steam propulsion plant - so the classic steam-plant asbestos suite (boiler casings, steam-drum and main-steam-line lagging, turbine lagging) is absent from the machinery arrangement. However, the CNO letter's documented shipboard asbestos application - thermal insulation 'for machinery, equipment and piping systems' - does not depend on steam propulsion, and the letter's own list places this hull inside the asbestos-insulation block (ev-01). Non-insulation shipboard applications named in the letter (gaskets, packing, deck tile, brakes/clutches, electrical resistors, cabling) likewise apply to gas-turbine ships.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Limitations
- Inference and boundary analysis only. The gas-turbine plant removes one historical asbestos vector but not the documented one; the ship-specific finding stands on ev-01, not on this row. Nothing here infers the presence or absence of any material beyond what ev-01 documents.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-06
-
[7]NHHC/DANFS - no entry exists for this hull (HTTP 404 on three URL variants; NavSource index note for this hull family: 'built too late to be covered by the DANFS project') [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- history.navy.mil DANFS 'J' index (404s); navsource.org/archives/05/973.htm editorial note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No DANFS/NHHC narrative history exists for this hull: NHHC ship-histories URLs for John Young return 404 across variants (john-young.html, john-young-ii.html, john-young-dd-973.html), and NavSource notes these 1978-commissioned hulls postdate DANFS coverage. Official documentary coverage is therefore register data (NVR, ev-03) plus the ship's own published site (ev-04), not a NHHC service history; no NHHC statement on this hull's construction or materials exists.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Negative findings bound the record: absence of a DANFS entry means service-narrative details circulating on secondary sites (deployment chronologies, overhaul dates/locations) were not carried as verified beyond what official sources corroborate. NVR supplies the authoritative milestone set.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-07
-
[8]EPA 'SINKEX Determination and Agreement' under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act general permit, 40 C.F.R. 229.2 ('Transport of Target Vessels') - program framework applicable to this hull's April 2004 sinking [federal_register]
- Locator
- EPA SINKEX Determination and Agreement (signed; EPA January 2021 snapshot archive); 40 C.F.R. 229.2
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- This hull's disposal was a Navy SINKEX ('Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise,' NVR status-change 04/13/2004; sunk off Kauai during RIMPAC 04 by a Mk 48 torpedo from USS Pasadena per secondary sources). SINKEX operated under EPA's MPRSA general permit regime, which required documented vessel preparation - removal of materials of concern including PCBs and asbestos that could be released - before sinking; EPA's Determination and Agreement documents that preparation and verification framework. No hull-specific preparation report, waste manifest, or asbestos-removal record for ex-John Young was located in public sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2003-2004
- Population
- SINKEX preparation workforce, 2003-2004 (unidentified)
- Limitations
- Program/regulatory context only: establishes that environmental preparation was required for the 2004 sinking, not what was actually removed from this hull. A ship-specific SINKEX preparation record for DD-973 is an open archival lead (Navy SDR/environmental-preparation documentation).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-08
-
[9]Batch-290 search ledger (this record) - NHHC/DANFS coverage check, CourtListener API v4 (opinion + RECAP surfaces), va.gov BVA decisions, disposal-record and secondary-source sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-john-young-dd973-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No additional ship-specific asbestos record located beyond ev-01 and ev-02: no hull ACM survey, insulation-removal/abatement contract, condition report, or hazmat disclosure was found for this hull in the public sources searched. No ship-specific SINKEX preparation record located for the 2004 sinking. CourtListener was partially blocked this session: the type=o opinion index returned HTTP 429 (~17.5h reset) and HTML search HTTP 403; one type=r query for the exact phrase 'USS John Young' returned 3 dockets / 5 documents, of which only the first was enumerable before throttling - United States v. Fields, 6:03-cr-00073 (E.D. Okla.), a criminal docket and non-qualifying name collision; the remaining two hits were not enumerated (the verified Siegfried record comes via the RECAP document directly, not the search index). 'DD-973' hull-number queries never ran. The Webb v. Baldor (S.D. Miss. 1:22-cv-00145) complaint vessel list - an Ingalls-yard 1966-2001 career list verified in batch-288 to name sister DD-971 - could not be checked for this hull within rate limits. No VA BVA decision naming this hull located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- searches 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of additional located records is a search outcome, not a fact about the ship: the GAO listing (ev-01) is itself proof the hull carried asbestos thermal insulation as delivered. The incomplete CourtListener sweep means qualifying opinions or dockets could exist unlocated - logged as open tasks (search_ledger sl-03/-04). Unindexed state filings, settled matters, MDL-875 docket entries, and VA claims are largely invisible to opinion databases. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-young-dd973-09