Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS Vol. IV (1969), 'Lafayette II (SSBN-616)' print entry; corroborated by NHHC online DANFS entry via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2020-09-09 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. IV 'Lafayette' second entry (SSBN-616); Wayback NHHC page body
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS print Vol. IV, 1969 ed.): laid down 17 January 1961 by General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Division, Groton, Conn.; launched 8 May 1962, sponsored by Mrs. John Fitzgerald Kennedy; commissioned 23 April 1963; spec block lists complement 138. Following shakedown and Polaris missile firings in June 1963 she departed Charleston 4 January 1964 on her first deterrent patrol; completed 16 deterrent patrols from Rota, Spain (her 15th was the 400th Polaris fleet ballistic missile patrol); entered Newport News Shipbuilding for major overhaul August 1967, completed 28 December 1968.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1961-1969 (DANFS print coverage window)
- Population
- crew of USS Lafayette (DANFS complement 138; operated with two alternating Blue/Gold crews)
- Limitations
- Service-history source only. DANFS documents construction, milestones, and operations; it contains no asbestos, materials, or exposure information. Live NHHC page returned HTTP 404 in this environment; Wayback capture and 1969 print scan used instead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-01
-
[2]Cooks v. General Electric Company, No. 3:07-cv-05451-EMC (N.D. Cal.), complaint Exhibit A work-history, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-10-25); retrieved via Internet Archive RECAP mirror (gov.uscourts.cand.197119.1.1.pdf) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 1-2, Exhibit A vessel roster ('LAFAYETTE (SSBN-616)') and job-duty recitals
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos complaint Exhibit A (plaintiff Alvin Cooks's work-history/exposure exhibit) lists vessels and locations of alleged asbestos exposure, expressly including 'LAFAYETTE (SSBN-616)' in an alphabetical roster of hulls worked on or around at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The exhibit recites Cooks's duties as a Mare Island marine machinist (hired April 1974; helper, then limited, journeyman, foreman, general foreman): removing and replacing gaskets and valve/pump packing, cutting gaskets to size, cleaning valves, pumps and blowers, pipe and valve cut-outs including in reactor compartments, and removing lagging residue from piping, in proximity to insulators, pipefitters, welders and shipfitters.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1974-1980s (alleged exposure window); 2007 (filing)
- Population
- Alvin Cooks (Mare Island Naval Shipyard marine machinist, from April 1974)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation (complaint exhibit), unadjudicated. A vessel-list entry is not an individualized exposure finding and does not establish that asbestos products were aboard this hull, that any exposure occurred, causation, or legal eligibility. Duty recitals describe alleged shipyard-wide work, not a per-hull materials inventory.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-02
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, SHIPSDETAIL_SSBN_616 (live NVR redirects disposed hulls to a generic shell; record retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2016-10-26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL milestone and disposal fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NVR record: LAFAYETTE (SSBN 616), submarine (nuclear-powered); keel date 01/17/1961, launch 05/08/1962, commission 04/23/1963; status 'Disposed of by submarine recycling'; stricken 08/12/1991; disposal/recycling completion 02/25/1992.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- register snapshot 2016
- Limitations
- Milestone/disposal register only; NVR carries no asbestos or materials data. The recycling-completion date is the disposal event, not an abatement or hazmat record. Wayback-captured snapshot; live NVR page does not render for this disposed hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-03
-
[4]navysite.de USS Lafayette (SSBN-616) page (secondary compilation reproducing/extending DANFS-style narrative) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navysite SSBN-616 characteristics block and service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-DANFS service (secondary compilation): Poseidon conversion with post-conversion availability at Groton; later deterrent patrols 17-32 and beyond alternating Charleston and Holy Loch; refits at Charleston including missile offload at Charleston Weapons Station February 1987; deactivated 1 March 1991; decommissioned and stricken 12 August 1991; entered recycling, completed 25 February 1992.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1969-1992 (post-DANFS window)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary source; used only for post-1969 history where official text was unavailable. Contains an internal conflict (header stricken 25 February 1992 vs. narrative 12 August 1991) resolved in favor of NVR/NHHC (12 August 1991 stricken; 25 February 1992 recycling completion). No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-04
-
[5]Era inference anchored to DANFS/NVR-documented construction, overhaul, and conversion periods for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- construction-era inference from DANFS/NVR dates and yard periods
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a first-generation ballistic-missile submarine built 1961-63 at Electric Boat in the peak asbestos era would era-typically have carried asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing around its secondary steam and auxiliary machinery (S5W steam plant, turbines, pumps, valves); documented yard periods at Electric Boat and Newport News (1967-68 overhaul), plus Poseidon conversion work at Groton, are yard-disturbance windows of the kind in which era insulation was installed and removed. Nuclear propulsion itself establishes nothing about asbestos; the inference attaches to conventional steam-side systems only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1961-1992
- Population
- EB construction trades; Newport News overhaul trades (1967-68); Groton conversion trades
- Limitations
- CLASS/ERA INFERENCE ONLY - no ship-specific material schedule, survey, or insulation record was located for this hull. Does not establish asbestos aboard USS Lafayette, any exposure, or any quantity. Never infer ship-specific findings from this row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-05
-
[6]CourtListener/RECAP indexed-document sweeps by exact name and hull number (public search behind AWS WAF challenge; API rate-limited 429; storage.courtlistener.com indexed PDFs and archive.org RECAP mirrors used) [court_record]
- Locator
- search-engine-indexed CourtListener storage PDFs + archive.org RECAP mirrors; see search_ledger
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision and litigation screen: search-index sweeps for 'Lafayette', 'SSBN-616', and 'USS Lafayette' surfaced no asbestos opinion naming this hull. Indexed CourtListener/RECAP hits for SSBN-616 are unrelated (United States v. Toebbe espionage prosecution referencing a different assignment; False Claims Act parts cases; FOIA and other litigation). Qualifying hits are limited to the Cooks complaint-exhibit roster (ev-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Coverage limitation: CourtListener API was rate-limited and public search WAF-blocked this session; state-court pleadings and non-mirrored federal filings are outside this sweep. Absence of additional located hits is not proof none exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-06
-
[7]Negative finding across DANFS/NHHC, NVR, navysite, and indexed litigation sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- see search_ledger sl-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-01..08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, recycling-hazmat disclosure, materials schedule, or adjudicated exposure finding naming USS Lafayette (SSBN-616) was located. The sole ship-specific asbestos-adjacent record is the Cooks pleading-stage roster allegation (ev-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof no record exists; the 1992 recycling-disposal path left no retrievable hazmat-disclosure trail in located sources, and CourtListener coverage gaps (API throttle, WAF block, state-court exclusion) limit the litigation sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-ssbn616-07