Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Historic American Engineering Record CA-338, Mispillion (AO-105) - T3-S2 type fleet oiler documentation, NPS/MARAD (historian Brian Clayton, 2006) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER CA-338, 'T3-S2-A3 Type Design' and 'Description' sections (pp. 4-5)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Type/design context: Kaskaskia was one of twelve T3-S2-A1 'national defense tankers' contracted January 3, 1938 between the U.S. Maritime Commission and Standard Oil of New Jersey, built to Navy-observed specifications with upgraded machinery (geared steam turbines, twin screws, ~18 knots). The related HAER for T3-S2-A3 sister Mispillion documents the program and machinery type. A steam-turbine plant of 1939-40 carried the era's standard insulation suite - boiler and steam-line lagging, turbine insulation, gaskets, packing, and accommodation insulation - which in this period were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1938-1946 design/construction era; report 2006
- Population
- Construction trades (Newport News, 1939-40); Navy engineering crew; yard workers at 1941/1944-45/1951 overhauls and 1961 reactivation
- Limitations
- Type/program documentation, not a hull record - the HAER names the T3 program and sister Mispillion, not Kaskaskia, and its extractable text contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement. Asbestos content aboard this hull is era inference only; establishes no quantities, locations, condition, or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-01
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[2]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and procurement environment (Maritime Commission contract with Navy-observed specifications) under which this hull was constructed in 1939-40.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-02
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[3]DANFS entry 'Kaskaskia (AO-27)', NHHC (canonical URL currently 404 - link rot noted in Batch-01; text verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-30 and HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Canonical NHHC: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kaskaskia-ao-27.html (Wayback 20251230075645); mirror https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AO/ao27.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS history: launched 1939-09-29 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., sponsored by Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy; acquired from Esso Oil Co. 1940-10-22; commissioned 1940-10-29. Pacific service 1941-45: Pearl Harbor/West Coast oil runs, Noumea, Kodiak/Aleutians, Gilberts, Marshalls, Truk/Marianas/Palau carrier raids, Saipan-Guam-Tinian, Peleliu, Leyte, Okinawa fueling area, Tokyo Bay 1945-09-10. Three Korean War deployments (Wonsan, Hungnam evacuation) 1950-53. Decommissioned 1955-04-08; MSTS service 1957; stricken 1959-01-02; reinstated 1961-09-08 and recommissioned at Hoboken 1961-12-06 for Berlin Crisis; Mayport-based Atlantic/6th Fleet service incl. Mercury recovery support (Schirra, 1962-10-03) and Cuban quarantine; decommissioned December 1969. Nine WWII battle stars and seven Korean service stars. Complement 272.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1939-1969
- Population
- Ship's complement ~272 (DANFS)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction, service history, and battle stars. DANFS text contains year typos ('21 October 1967' for the 1957 decommissioning; '1 May 19562' for 1962; '19634' for 1963) resolved against MARAD status cards and designation histories. Contains no asbestos or materials statement - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-03
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[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - KASKASKIA (AO-27), Detail 2845, incl. three digitized vessel status cards (MA-383 Reserve Fleet particulars; Vessel Status Card custody log; delivery card) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2845 milestones table; status card images /cards/2846_5289AF.jpg and two PNG card scans
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2845 and three digitized status cards document the government custody chain: built as Esso Richmond (MC hull 11, T3-S2-A1), purchased from Standard Oil Co. of N.J. at Boston 1940-10-22; NDRF custody entry Beaumont, TX 1957-12-02 1405 CST; permanent title transfer to MARAD 1958-12-10; withdrawn 1961-08-10 0940 CST 'Navy - Perm. Transfer (Berlin Emergency)'; reacquired by MARAD at Philadelphia 1970-04-17; sold to Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp., Taiwan 1970-08-03 for $282,667 on PD-X-877; physically delivered 1970-09-12 0530 EDT.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940-1970
- Limitations
- Primary federal custody record - resolves the DANFS year typos and establishes the disposal chain. The 'physically delivered 9-12-70' entry (EDT = September 12) conflicts with NavSource's 'delivered 9 December 1970' reading; the card controls. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-04
-
[5]MARAD ShipHistory 2845 status cards (both scans) vs. DANFS, Newport News Shipbuilding yard list (shipbuildinghistory.com), Schell register excerpt (aukevisser.nl), kaskaskia27reunion.com crew newsletter [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status card 'Vessel Status Card' scan ('Built by BETHLEHEM STEEL CO. At EAST BOSTON, MASS.') vs MA-383 card ('Newport News'); http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/newportnews.htm hull 370; https://www.kaskaskia27reunion.com/Blast/MAY2017.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder discrepancy documented and resolved: the MARAD database 'Shipyard' field reads 'Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division' (and 'Specific Type: LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' - an anachronism for a 1940 tanker), and one digitized MARAD status card carries 'Built by BETHLEHEM STEEL CO. At EAST BOSTON, MASS. Completed 10-22-40'. Against it: the companion MA-383 card states builder 'Newport News'; DANFS states Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; the Newport News yard hull list records hull 370 as Esso Richmond (T3-S2-A1/11, 11,316 GT) 'later Kaskaskia (AO 27)'; and the Schell register lists Esso Richmond as Newport News hull 370, official no. 239446. Newport News is adopted as builder; the card anomaly is logged, not resolved - a crew newsletter identifies Bethlehem Steel's Hoboken, N.J. yard as the 1961 reactivation site, a possible (unproven) source of the conflation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1939-1961 records
- Limitations
- Two primary MARAD cards disagree with each other on builder; the weight of record (DANFS + MA-383 card + yard hull list + registry data) supports Newport News. The 'East Boston' line may reflect the 1940 Boston delivery/completion venue or a clerical carryover - not resolvable from public sources. No asbestos content in any source cited here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-05
-
[6]MARAD status card withdrawal entry (Berlin Emergency); DANFS recommissioning entry; USS Kaskaskia reunion association newsletter (crew first-person account), May 2017 'Blast' PDF [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD card: 'REASON: Navy - Perm. Transfer (Berlin Emergency)', withdrawn Aug. 10, 1961; newsletter: 'brought out of mothballs at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Hoboken NJ prior to her recommissioning 6 December 1961'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- 1961 reactivation event: withdrawn from NDRF Beaumont 1961-08-10 for 'Berlin Emergency' reactivation (MARAD card), reinstated on the Naval Register 1961-09-08, and recommissioned at Hoboken, N.J. 1961-12-06 after 'overhaul and alterations' (DANFS). A pre-commissioning crew member's published account identifies the work site as Bethlehem Steel's Hoboken shipyard. Reactivation of a mothballed 1940 steam plant is an asbestos-relevant maintenance pathway (insulation disturbance/replacement), but no work package, specification, or abatement record for the job was located.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1961
- Population
- 1961 reactivation yard workers (Bethlehem Hoboken); recommissioning crew
- Limitations
- Reactivation event and venue are documented (federal card + DANFS + crew account); the Bethlehem Hoboken yard identification rests on a crew newsletter rather than a contract record. Asbestos scope of the 1961 work is inference - no specification, work package, or abatement record located. Establishes a disturbance pathway, not presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-06
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[7]Batch-1876 search ledger (this record): DANFS/Wayback; MARAD ShipHistory 2845 + status cards; CourtListener API v4 name/hull/merchant-name and docket searches; reunion association and cover-museum records; HAER CA-338 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-01 through sl-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Kaskaskia, AO-27, or Esso Richmond was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-24): 'Kaskaskia' opinions = 292 hits, all Illinois geographic name collisions (river, island, college, school/levee/sanitary districts, insurers); 'Kaskaskia' + asbestos = 3 Illinois workers'-comp collisions; '"USS Kaskaskia"' = 0; 'Esso Richmond' + asbestos/ship/vessel = 0; 'Kaskaskia' dockets = 297 collisions. The hull does appear on commercial law-firm asbestos vessel lists, which carry no primary documentation and are excluded as sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1940 steam tanker retained in service through 1969 and broken in 1970-71 is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-07
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[8]Lin et al., 'Cancer Attributable to Asbestos Exposure in Shipbreaking Workers: A Matched-Cohort Study,' PLOS One 10(7):e0133128 (2015); Liu et al., 'Mortality among Former Shipbreaking Workers - A 13-Year Retrospective Follow-up Study in Taiwan,' Journal of Occupational Health 45:36-42 (2003); Wu et al., AJIM cohort (1985-2008 follow-up) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PLOS One 10(7):e0133128; JOH 45:36-42 (doi:10.1539/joh.45.36); AJIM doi:10.1002/ajim.22135
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Disposal-endpoint context: the hull was sold to Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp. and delivered September 1970 for breaking at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Peer-reviewed epidemiology on the Kaohsiung shipbreaking workforce documents elevated asbestos-related disease: a matched-cohort study of 4,427 Taiwan shipbreaking workers found dose-dependent cancer risk by asbestos exposure potential (mesothelioma cases occurred in the high-exposure group), and the union-cohort mortality study (4,962 workers) recorded mesothelioma and asbestosis cases alongside elevated lung-cancer mortality.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- breaking 1970-71; cohorts 1985-2008
- Population
- Kaohsiung shipbreaking workers (industry-level, later cohort)
- Limitations
- Documents the asbestos hazard of the Kaohsiung shipbreaking industry generally - the endpoint environment for this hull - not this ship's materials. Cohorts are drawn from 1985 union records; the 1970-71 breaking predates the cohort frame. No asbestos survey accompanied the sale in the located record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-08
-
[9]NARA record-group guidance (RG 24 deck logs, RG 38 war diaries, RG 19 Bureau of Ships); MARAD ShipHistory disposal milestone PD-X-877 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group pages; MARAD Detail 2845 sale milestone
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs and muster rolls for AO-27; RG 38 WWII war diaries/action reports; MARAD disposal file for sale PD-X-877 (Philadelphia, 1970) which may carry pre-sale condition/hazmat notes; Bureau of Ships records (RG 19) for the 1961 reactivation work package; Newport News Shipbuilding hull 370 construction records (Huntington Ingalls corporate archive / Newport News library).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1939-1970 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaskaskia-ao27-09