Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 841-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-972-lst972-pkt-841-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online, USS LST-972 hull page, Amphibious Photo Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull-history bullets and awards section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's hull record identifies USS LST-972 as an LST-542-class tank landing ship built at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts: laid down 21 November 1944, launched 22 December 1944, and commissioned 22 January 1945 under Lieutenant William F. Emslie, USNR. It records Asiatic-Pacific Theater service, Far East occupation service from 15 September to 2 November 1945 and 10 November 1945 to 6 February 1946, decommissioning on 25 June 1946, striking on 15 August 1946, MARAD transfer on 29 May 1947, and sale to Texas Petro Company on 29 May 1949 with the name MV Tucupita; final disposition is unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Shipyard workers; Navy crew; embarked troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is an archival photo/history reference and reproduces a DANFS link; it documents identity and milestones but does not document asbestos, material composition, quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-972-lst972-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List #44, by Ship Numbers [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF page 105, LST-972 row (rendered text around PDF page 105)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives' Special List No. 44, by ship number, lists LST-972 deck-log coverage beginning 22 January 1945 and ending 30 June 1945. This is a ship-specific archival record lead for the commissioning and wartime period, not an asbestos finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-01-22 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Navy crew and embarked personnel
- Limitations
- The finding identifies the existence and date span of deck-log holdings; it does not establish what the logs contain about materials, repairs, asbestos, exposure, or individual claimants. The logs were not ordered or reviewed in full.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-972-lst972-02
-
[4]NavSource Online, USS LST-972 hull page, propulsion and specifications section; cross-checked against the LST-542 class profile's Bureau of Ships design data [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications, propulsion lines; class profile background cross-check
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Bureau of Ships Ships' Data 1945 design table for the LST groups documents the relevant machinery configuration: two General Motors 12-567A diesel engines producing about 1,700 shaft horsepower, two shafts, and approximately 11.6 knots. The LST-542 design group includes LST-972; this supports the diesel/no-boiler description as class/design context, not a hull-level material finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- LST-542-class construction and engineering personnel; Navy crews
- Limitations
- Design-level machinery data does not prove that every component or material aboard LST-972 matched the table, and it does not establish asbestos presence, quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-972-lst972-03
-
[5]NIOSH/CDC, 100 Years of Respiratory Protection History; National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- CDC page section on World War II Navy asbestos use; complementary NARA research guide at https://www.archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Federal sources document Navy asbestos-era ship practice at the relevant period: NIOSH states that during World War II the U.S. Navy's use of asbestos increased for insulation of pipes in naval vessels and describes Navy handling of amosite insulation; the National Archives identifies ship engineering drawings, hull-series material groups, and specifications as the records needed to determine asbestos aboard a particular naval vessel. Applied to LST-972, this supports only an era-level possibility, not a hull-specific finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- WWII Navy shipyard workers and naval personnel
- Limitations
- The federal sources discuss Navy and shipbuilding practice generally and do not name LST-972 or identify a product installed aboard it. They do not establish present-day ACM, quantity, location, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-972-lst972-04
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[6]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 [gao]
- Locator
- Highlights / Navy policy summary
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's Navy asbestos-protection review states that the Navy's 1975 policy removed and replaced with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, and that the policy was modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. This is program-level context for why original-era materials cannot be assumed absent, not evidence about LST-972.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and Navy asbestos-program personnel
- Limitations
- GAO reviewed Navy shipyards and program policy, not LST-972; the row does not establish any retained or removed material aboard this hull, or any exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-972-lst972-05
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[7]Batch-7515 search ledger: NHHC/DANFS, NavSource, NARA, GAO, CDC/NIOSH, and CourtListener searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-972-lst972-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the public sources searched: no hull survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation record naming LST-972 as an asbestos-exposure vessel was located. The located records establish history and archival leads only; they do not establish that asbestos was present or absent aboard this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- A negative public-source search is not proof of absence. CourtListener was queried through the authenticated helper but the fleet daily quota was exhausted before all required exact-name and hull-number requests could complete; litigation status is therefore an access gap, not a clean negative. Firecrawl was also unavailable because its keyless MCP quota reported a multi-hour retry interval.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-972-lst972-06