Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet zbv-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-pkt-zbv-packet-md
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), LEWIS B PULLER (FFG 23) record, last updated 2011-02-16 (Wayback capture 2019-03-23; live NVR detail page returns only the generic shell) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR vessel detail page for FFG 23 (UIC 20976), all fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official registry record for this hull: Class FFG 7; UIC 20976; Builder 'Todd Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Div.'; award 02/28/1977; keel 05/23/1979; launch 03/15/1980; delivery 03/01/1982; commission 04/17/1982; decommission 09/18/1998; stricken 09/18/1998 (16.0 years commissioned); status 'Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case number assigned,' status-changed 09/18/1998, custodian EGYPT. Physical characteristics: 445 ft overall, 408 ft waterline, 47 ft beam, 25 ft max navigational draft, 16 ft draft limit; 3,081 tons light / 3,963 tons full displacement; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; propulsion type 'Gas Turbines,' one propeller; accommodations 17 officers + 198 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1977-1998
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew, accommodations 215
- Limitations
- NVR documents lifecycle, dimensions, propulsion type, accommodations, and disposition - it contains no materials or asbestos information. 'Cash sale / FMS case' status conflicts with secondary sources' 'Grant Aid' characterization; the registry wording is carried. Live nvr.navy.mil detail pages are JS-shell only; the 2019-03-23 Wayback capture (record last updated 2011-02-16) is used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-01
-
[3]NHHC, USS McClusky (FFG-41) Command History 1986 (OPNAV 5750-1 report, CO to Director of Naval History; FOIA-release PDF; Wayback capture used - live URL 404) [other_primary]
- Locator
- McClusky 1986 command history, Enclosure (1) narrative, para. 3.a
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A sister frigate's official command history names this hull as a deploying unit: 'USS MCCLUSKY embarked on her first deployment on 15 January 1986. She was a part of Battle Group FOXTROT, headed by USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) and including: USS TRUXTUN, USS ARKANSAS, USS OIBRIEN, USS REASONER, USS LEWIS B. PULLER, and USS DAVID R. RAY. The Battle Group sailed directly for the Indian Ocean, with stops in Hawaii, Subic Bay, R.P., and Singapore.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1986
- Population
- Ship's crew (~215 accommodations)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy record confirming this hull's January 1986 Indian Ocean deployment with Battle Group FOXTROT - it documents operations, not materials or asbestos. No command history for FFG-23 itself was located online (see search_ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-02
-
[4]United States v. Guzman-Bera, 216 F.3d 1019 (11th Cir. 2000); United States v. Devila, 216 F.3d 1009 (11th Cir. 2000) (consolidated appeal entries) [court_record]
- Locator
- 216 F.3d 1009/1019, statement of facts (Marbella II interdiction, 26 May 1990)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Published federal opinion names this hull in non-asbestos litigation: 'On May 26, 1990, a United States Coast Guard Cutter, the U.S.S. Lewis B. Puller, stopped a small vessel in international waters between 30 and 70 miles south of the coast of Haiti' - the Marbella II, whose boarding produced the marijuana-conspiracy convictions affirmed on appeal. At that date the only commissioned USS Lewis B. Puller was FFG-23 (Navy frigates routinely embarked Coast Guard law-enforcement detachments for Caribbean counternarcotics patrol; the opinion's 'Coast Guard Cutter' label describes the embarked-LEDET posture).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1990 (interdiction); 1998-2000 (litigation)
- Population
- Ship's crew + embarked USCG law-enforcement detachment (1990)
- Limitations
- OTHER LITIGATION - not an asbestos case. The opinion names the hull as the interdicting unit in a maritime drug case; it recites no facts about materials or conditions aboard. Classification: published merits-stage opinion (convictions affirmed); ship named in the jurisdictional recital only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-03
-
[5]U.S. Department of Defense release, 'Navy to Commission USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3)' (August 2017) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DoD release text (third paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official DoD release distinguishing the two ships of this name: 'the second ship to bear the name of Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller... The first Lewis B. Puller (FFG 23), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate, served from 1982-1998, and was then transferred to the Egyptian Navy and renamed Toushka (F.906).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1982-2017
- Limitations
- Confirms service dates (1982-1998), the first-of-name status, transfer to the Egyptian Navy, and the Toushka (F.906) rename; contains no materials/asbestos content. Secondary sources render the Egyptian hull number as F906 and the name Toushka/Toshka/Touska inconsistently; the DoD 'Toushka (F.906)' spelling is carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-04
-
[6]DVIDS image 938013, VIRIN 130520-N-KA046-521, 'USS Gravely PASSEX with Egyptian navy' (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 James Turner, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet, 20 May 2013) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DVIDS photo asset 938013 caption block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photo caption: 'Rigid hull inflatable boats with sailors from the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) approach the Egyptian Navy Ship ENS Toushka (FFG 906) during a passing exercise (PASSEX)... in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility,' Mediterranean Sea, 20 May 2013 - documents this hull (renamed Toushka F906) in operational Egyptian Navy service fifteen years after transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2013
- Population
- Egyptian Navy crew
- Limitations
- Confirms operational status as of May 2013 only; documents no materials, refit, or asbestos information aboard the hull. Later Egyptian service status relies on secondary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-05
-
[7]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 1979), Enclosure I - Office of the Chief of Naval Operations submission (CNO Ser 4542/318054, 5 Jan 1979), Attachment #1 'LIST OF U.S. NAVY SHIPS DELIVERED SINCE 1973 OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION' [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 PDF, Enclosure I, Attachment #1, 'GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATE - FFG' block (p. 9 of enclosure; PDF p. 19) and Note 1 (enclosure p. 12); transmittal letter pp. 5-8
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The Navy's per-hull submission to GAO lists this hull: under 'GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATE - FFG' the table runs OLIVER HAZARD PERRY (7) through 'Unchristened 22/23' - the combined row for FFG-22 Fahrion and FFG-23 Lewis B. Puller, then under construction at Todd San Pedro (start 6/78, delivery 8/81 as listed). The annotation 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation' is vertically centered on the FFG block, the convention the attachment uses to scope a label over its row-range (verified against the scanned page and against the DD block, where 'Asbestos thermal insulation' centers over hulls 963-973 - the 'first eleven' DD 963-class ships the accompanying letter names). The Navy thereby recorded asbestos-free thermal insulation (machinery, equipment, and piping insulation - the dominant asbestos application) for the FFG-7-class hulls under contract as of January 1979, including this hull. Attachment Note 1 adds that beyond per-ship exceptions 'asbestos is also used in shipboard applications for which no suitable (asbestos-free) substitutes have as yet been designated, i.e., gaskets and pipe hanger liners,' and the letter states 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1974-1979
- Population
- Navy and shipyard workers, program-wide; this hull's construction crew at Todd San Pedro 1979-1982
- Limitations
- Documents absence of asbestos in machinery/equipment/piping thermal insulation for this hull as of January 1979 - the major asbestos application - while expressly NOT covering residual uses: gaskets and pipe hanger liners remained asbestos-containing per Note 1, and the letter enumerates additional Navy-shipboard applications (deck tile, electric cabling, galley ranges, brakes/clutches, resistors). Annotation scope over hulls 7-22/23 is inferred from the table's centered-label convention (visually verified); the listed row is shared '22/23,' and dates shown (start 6/78, del. 8/81) describe the FFG-22/23 program pair rather than this hull's exact milestones. Does not quantify residual ACM, address post-list alterations (delivered 3/82, later availabilities), crew-era exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-06
-
[8]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 1979), report body and Navy letter enclosures [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2, 'NAVY'S POLICY ON USE OF ASBESTOS' section; Enclosure I letter pp. 5-8
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Era boundary documentation matching this hull's construction window (keel 5/79, delivery 3/82): Navy thermal-insulation product specifications were changed to specify asbestos-free materials by late 1973 (changes began 1971); the no-asbestos policy statement NAVSEAINST 5100.2 issued 24 October 1975; because asbestos materials had already been purchased and installed, 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; in January 1979 the removal policy was modified to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas; 'recently constructed Navy ships have little or no asbestos thermal insulation'; a few shipboard applications lacked designated asbestos-free substitutes; OPNAVINST 6260.1 (April 1974, revised August 1978) governed asbestos-control programs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1971-1979
- Population
- Navy and shipyard workers, program-wide
- Limitations
- Program-level GAO findings, not a hull record - they establish the procurement/policy environment for this hull's 1979-82 construction but do not inventory materials aboard it. Fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards (naval shipyards), not the commercial Todd San Pedro yard. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches; verbatim text verified via the full-text PDF mirror at gao.justia.com.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-07
-
[9]Winer A, Holtgren WD, 'Asbestos - A Case Study of the U.S. Navy's Response to Upgraded Safety and Health Requirements,' Naval Engineers Journal 88(6):41-48 (1976) (authors: Naval Ship Engineering Center materials engineers; EPA HERO index 6862794) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 88(6):41-48; EPA HERO bibliographic record
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Contemporaneous Navy technical-journal paper from this class's design era: documents Navy asbestos controls (wet processes, ventilation, vacuuming, respirators) and that exposure was 'being further decreased by prohibiting the use of asbestos containing materials where suitable substitutes have been designated and by revising applicable documentation'; its tables list the asbestos-free end items then specified for thermal-insulation systems; exposure conditions would persist 'for the next 20 to 30 years' through rip-out of existing installations, maintenance/repair, and applications without available substitutes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1970-1976
- Population
- Navy shipboard and shipyard workers, program-wide
- Limitations
- Era technical literature, not a hull record - corroborates the transition-era specification environment in which this ship was designed (SCB 201, 1973) and built (1979-82) but names no FFG and establishes nothing about materials installed aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-08
-
[10]Chavez v. Todd Shipyards Corp., BRB Nos. 86-2456 & 86-2456A, Decision and Order on Remand (U.S. Dept. of Labor, Benefits Review Board, on remand from the Ninth Circuit) [court_record]
- Locator
- BRB Nos. 86-2456/86-2456A slip op. pp. 2-3 (employment/exposure recital)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Merits-final administrative benefits finding about the builder's yard workforce in this hull's construction era: 'Claimant worked for employer [Todd Shipyards Corporation] as a laborer and leadman from 1954 to 1980. During his employment, claimant was exposed to asbestos, dust, smoke, fumes, and high levels of noise. He developed asbestosis...' Counsel of record for claimant and employer were San Pedro, California firms - consistent with Todd's Los Angeles Division yard at San Pedro, where this hull was built 1979-1982.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1954-1980 (exposure); 1980s (adjudication)
- Population
- Todd Shipyards shipyard workers 1954-1980 (claimant-level finding)
- Limitations
- A final agency-level benefits decision (remand posture) - a merits finding of asbestos exposure at the employer's shipyard operations for that claimant. Yard/corporate-level evidence only: it does not name FFG-23 or any vessel and does not tie exposure to this hull's construction; the yard location is inferred from counsel and Todd's operations, not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-09
-
[11]Los Angeles Times, 'Harbor Cleanup Adds to Problems of Todd Shipyards' (1989-10-15); In re Todd Shipyards Corp., Bankr. D.N.J. (1988) (automatic-stay ruling; ~65 pending tort actions noted); LA Times, 'Todd, the Last Shipyard in L.A. Harbor, to Shut Down' (1989-07-08) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- LA Times archive stories 1989-07-08 and 1989-10-15; In re Todd Shipyards Corp., Ch.11, Bankr. D.N.J. 1988
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context at the end of the construction era: Todd Shipyards Corp. filed Chapter 11 on 17 August 1987 (D.N.J.) with approximately 65 pending tort actions (per the bankruptcy court's 1988 stay ruling); the Los Angeles Times reported in July 1989 that the San Pedro yard - the builder of this hull, in operation since 1917 as Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock - would close, and in October 1989 that Todd had closed the yard, was in bankruptcy, and was disputing with the Port of Los Angeles over environmental cleanup of the leased waterfront property.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1987-1989
- Population
- Todd San Pedro yard workforce; Port of Los Angeles (cleanup context)
- Limitations
- Yard-history context only - documents the builder's collapse and the San Pedro facility's closure/cleanup dispute; neither source inventories asbestos aboard any vessel nor ties yard conditions to this hull. The bankruptcy opinion is procedural (stay relief); the LA Times items are contemporaneous news accounts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 opinion search (authenticated, fleet-paced): 'Lewis B. Puller' (o); 'Lewis B. Puller' + asbestos (o); FFG-23 / docket queries - see search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-CL series
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep as of 2026-09-29 located NO qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. 'Lewis B. Puller' (opinion full text): 3 hits - United States v. Devila and United States v. Guzman-Bera, 216 F.3d 1009/1019 (11th Cir. 2000), name this hull in a non-asbestos 1990 maritime interdiction (ev-03); Williams Hicks v. PGA Tour (9th Cir.) is a name collision - 'Lewis B. Puller III' is an individual caddie plaintiff. '"Lewis B. Puller" asbestos': 0 results. Hull-number (FFG-23/FFG 23) and docket-type (type=r) queries were deferred by fleet pacing budget - see search_ledger rows for per-query status.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard or of litigation - it establishes only that no qualifying public record was found in the sources searched. Opinion-text search is complete for the ship name; RECAP docket-level search (where MDL-875 asbestos complaints typically surface) and hull-number queries remained in the pacing queue at report time - residual discovery risk is concentrated there. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lewis-b-puller-ffg23-11