Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-490 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Live page post-decommissioning history block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records that the former LSM-490 was authorized in FY 1951 for conversion to a coastal minelayer, converted by Todd Shipyards at Hoboken, New Jersey, beginning 6 February 1952 and completed in October 1952, transferred to Turkey 6 October 1952 as TCG Meriç (N-102), and reclassified MMC-12 by the U.S. Navy on 1 October 1960. The same page records Turkish Navy decommissioning on 27 May 1988, striking in 1988, and final disposition as a cannibalized hulk with fate unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1951-1988
- Population
- Todd Shipyards conversion workers (1952); Turkish Navy crew (1952-1988)
- Limitations
- The page documents the conversion/transfer chronology and reported final disposition, but not conversion work scopes or materials. In particular, it does not establish that asbestos was removed, installed, retained, disturbed, or present during the Hoboken work or Turkish service.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-02
-
[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); vessel diesel specification in ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-01 [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373; synthesis limited by the diesel specification in ev-01
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: USS LSM-490 was a diesel-powered landing ship constructed in 1945, during the period in which asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. WWII shipbuilding. Potential applications for a diesel amphibious vessel of this era include machinery and exhaust thermal insulation/lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, and brake linings. Its documented diesel plant means no boiler or steam-line lagging pathway is asserted.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s construction era; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipbuilding trades and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- This is a class/era inference, not a ship-specific material finding. The study does not name LSM-490, Brown Shipbuilding, or an LSM vessel, and the cited archive supplies no material inventory. It does not establish installation, quantity, manufacturer, condition, present-day presence, individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-03
-
[3]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page, Highlights
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's 1979 review of Navy worker protection addressed asbestos use in Navy ships, asbestos-removal costs, and compensation programs. Its product-page highlights describe Navy policies: a 1975 policy to remove and replace only damaged insulation or insulation needing removal for repair, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. This is Navy-era asbestos-management context for a WWII Navy hull, not documentation for LSM-490.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy window
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level evidence only; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Brown Shipbuilding, Green Cove Springs, Todd Hoboken, or a Turkish facility. The product page does not name LSM-490 and does not establish asbestos aboard, removal from, or exposure on this hull. The live highlights were verified through browser retrieval; direct automated fetch returned HTTP 403, an access limitation rather than evidence of a dead source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-04
-
[4]Batch-6306 search ledger for USS LSM-490: NavSource archive; NHHC/DANFS and NVR checks; MARAD ShipHistory check; NARA deck-log availability index; authenticated CourtListener helper attempts [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos documentation was located in the completed public-source checks: no hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material list, DANFS entry, Naval Vessel Register detail, or MARAD ShipHistory record was found. The NARA online deck-log index does not list LSM-490 among digitized-availability entries. Authenticated CourtListener exact-name and hull-number searches were attempted only through the required helper, but each request exceeded the execution window after the helper began its authenticated request; those searches are incomplete and are not counted as no-result findings.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- A public-record search gap is not proof that asbestos was absent. The CourtListener sweep was not completed because helper requests timed out after authentication/pacing began, so no litigation negative is asserted. No completed source establishes presence, quantity, condition, exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-05
-
[5]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA page introductory guidance for deck logs not listed online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead: NARA's Navy deck-log guidance identifies Record Group 24 deck logs as a research path and instructs researchers to contact textual reference staff when a vessel is not listed among online logs. For this hull, unreviewed RG 24 deck logs and Navy construction/conversion records are leads for operational and work-history documentation; no box- or file-level LSM-490 material record was retrieved.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1952 records potentially relevant
- Limitations
- This is a repository-level access lead, not proof that a particular LSM-490 file exists or contains asbestos evidence. No paid reproduction or research-room retrieval was authorized, and deck logs would normally document operations rather than a material inventory.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-06
-
[6]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-490 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Live page history and LSM Specifications blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's USS LSM-490 history identifies an LSM-1-class landing ship laid down 3 March 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas; launched 24 March; and commissioned 28 April 1945 under LTjg. William D. Kerwin, USNR. It assigns the vessel to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in LSM Flotilla Fifteen, LSM Group Forty-Four, LSM Division Eighty-Seven; records U.S. Navy decommissioning at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 23 May 1946 and Atlantic Reserve Fleet layup; and lists five officers and 54 enlisted, with accommodations for two officers and 46 enlisted. The specification block identifies two GM 16-278A direct-drive diesel engines and diesel-driven generators, rather than a boiler or steam plant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); U.S. Navy crew (1945-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archive reproducing a Turner Publishing history extract, not a primary naval registry. It supports the stated chronology, organization, and specification claims only; it contains no asbestos, insulation-material, survey, abatement, or exposure finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-490-lsm490-01