Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet hf-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Manley (third US Navy ship of the name)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-manley-dd940-pkt-hf-packet-md
-
[2]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 1747367, Decision Date 10/24/17, Docket No. 10-43 105 (appeal from VA RO Montgomery, Alabama) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA decision 1747367, 'COPD' analysis section (asbestos exposure recital and concession); Findings of Fact para. 3
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Adjudicated federal benefits decision naming this hull. A veteran with active service February 1981-February 1985 and ratings of Fireman and Boiler Technician contended his COPD was related to in-service asbestos exposure; per the decision he 'was exposed to asbestos at the shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts in 1981 when he was assigned to the USS Manley (DD940) and they overhauled the ship,' testifying that on Manley the crew performed overhaul work that on USS Coral Sea was done by workers in protective suits and masks. The Board found his MOSs 'would mean it is highly probable that he was exposed to asbestos in service' and conceded in-service asbestos exposure; the COPD service-connection claim was denied because COPD was not shown to be an asbestos-related disease and the evidence pointed to smoking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1981 (alleged exposure); 2008-2017 (claim development); 2017-10-24 (decision)
- Population
- One U.S. Navy Boiler Technician/Fireman assigned to USS Manley (DD-940), service 1981-1985, including 1981 Boston-area overhaul
- Limitations
- Adjudicated exposure concession under the VA M21-1 rating-probability standard plus lay testimony - not a finding that DD-940 contained asbestos, not a hull materials survey, and not an exposure quantification. The Board denied the COPD claim (no asbestos-related disease found); the concession goes to exposure likelihood for this claimant, not to product identity aboard the hull. Boston Naval Shipyard closed in 1974; the 1981 'shipyard in Boston' was a commercial yard, unidentified by name in the decision.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-01
-
[3]Wilmington Star News, 'Million-dollar job / After five years, Sigma Recycling cleanup nears OK by state' (2001-08-30) + OSHA/DOL enforcement data for Sigma Recycling LLC, 2200 U.S. Hwy 421 N., Wilmington, NC (inspection opened 1996-02-07; 28 citations, $260,840 proposed penalties incl. 29 CFR 1915.1001 asbestos and 1915.1025 lead, with willful violations), as compiled by SVEP Navigator from DOL records [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Star News article paragraphs on site violations/fines; SVEP Navigator facility page for Sigma Recycling LLC (inspection 1996-02-07)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Documented scrapping endpoint of this hull at an asbestos-violating shipbreaking site. Disposal chain: sold for scrap 11 Dec 1992 to Fore River Shipyard and Iron Works (Quincy, MA); after Fore River's bankruptcy the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court resold the hull 30 Jun 1994 to N.R. Acquisition Inc.; dismantled by Wilmington Resources at the 26-acre Sigma Recycling site on the Northeast Cape Fear River, Wilmington, NC, which dismantled approximately 20 decommissioned Navy warships 1994-1996. Per the Star News, workers 'stripped fire-retardant asbestos from walls' and sandblasted lead paint; Sigma Recycling was fined $232,400 for violating federal asbestos standards; petroleum, lead, and asbestos contamination was left in site soil.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1994-1997 (scrapping and site operations); 1996-2001 (enforcement and cleanup)
- Population
- Shipbreaking workers at the Wilmington Resources/Sigma Recycling site, 1994-1996
- Limitations
- The asbestos and worker-safety findings are site-level - no located document ties specific ACM aboard DD-940's hull to specific citations, and no hazmat survey of DD-940 before or during dismantling was located. Scrapping-completion date is imprecise: the site operated 1994-1996 and ceased after violations, while the Bath Iron Works production record lists Manley as 'Scrapped 1997.' OSHA IMIS direct fetch blocked (HTTP 403); OSHA figures via DOL-data compiler SVEP Navigator.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-02
-
[4]DANFS, Manley III (DD-940) (builder, dates, service narrative through 1969; verbatim text verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 - live NHHC page currently serves 404; identical text mirrored at globalsecurity.org and destroyers.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Manley III (DD-940)', specifications block + service narrative (published 2016-01-12 per Wayback capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: third ship named for Continental Navy Capt. John Manley; laid down 10 February 1955 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; launched 12 April 1956, sponsor Mrs. Arleigh A. Burke; commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard 1 February 1957 (Comdr. William H. Rowan). Spec block: dp. 3,807; l. 418'4"; b. 45'1"; dr. 14'2"; s. 30+ k.; cpl. 311; cl. Forrest Sherman. Documented yard periods: Boston Naval Shipyard repairs/alterations July 1957; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard storm-damage repairs 22 January-29 April 1958 (12 December 1957 wave strike off Azores, two killed); Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhaul first half 1959; Charleston overhaul April 1960 and Charleston Naval Shipyard overhaul April 1962; Norfolk Naval Shipyard drydock repairs 17 April 1964. Service: NATO 'Strike Back' 1957; DesRon 4 flagship; Cuban Missile Crisis patrol; Zanzibar evacuation 13 January 1964; SS World Bond rescue May 1965; Gemini V recovery August 1965; Vietnam gunline tours 1966-67 (Mount 51 powder-case explosion 7 December 1966, Subic Bay repairs) and 1967-68; North Sea fall 1968; narrative ends 1969.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1955-1969
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1955-57; crew complement 311 (design); shipyard workers at Boston/Philadelphia/Norfolk/Charleston naval shipyards 1957-1969
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, specifications, and yard periods - not materials or asbestos content. Narrative ends in 1969; the 1970-71 ASW modernization, 1975-76 Philadelphia overhaul, 1980-81 Boston overhaul, decommissioning, and disposition rest on secondary compilations. Live NHHC URL returns 404; verbatim text verified against the 2025-12-09 Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History Destroyer Photo Index, USS Manley (DD-940) page (specs, dates, disposition) + Tin Can Sailors destroyers.org DD-940 page ('The Tin Can Sailor,' October 1999) + USS Manley ship-history document (losthistory.net, submitted by David A. Smith) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/940.htm (specs/fate block); destroyers.org/ships/dd-940 (Tin Can Sailor history, Oct 1999); losthistory.net/usndd/dd940/dd940his.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compilation record for this hull's post-1969 history and disposition: machinery 70,000 SHP geared turbines, 2 screws, 33 kt, crew 324 (NavSource); decommissioned January 1970 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for ASW modernization, recommissioned 17 April 1971; DesRon 12 forward homeport Athens, Greece, September 1972-July 1975; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard regular overhaul July 1975-6 December 1976; homeport Mayport December 1976; fatal forward-fireroom fuel-oil fire 8 April 1979; 'an overhaul in Boston' circa 1980-81 (corroborating the ev-01 veteran's testimony); homeport Newport June 1982; final Mediterranean deployment June-December 1982 (Beirut evacuation escort, Arabian Sea, Karachi); decommissioned 4 March 1983; stricken 1 June 1990; sold for scrap 11 December 1992 (Fore River Shipyard and Iron Works, Quincy MA); resold 30 June 1994 to N.R. Acquisitions, Baltimore MD, for $20,275 (NavSource; NVR-derived DRMS disposal entry); scrapped at Wilmington NC.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1970-1997
- Population
- Crew (post-1971 complement ~313); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard workers 1970-71 and 1975-76; Boston-area commercial yard workers 1980-81; Wilmington NC shipbreaking workers 1994-96
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations and veteran-association content, not an official register - the post-1969 timeline (1970-71 modernization, 1975-76 and 1980-81 overhauls, disposal chain) is not independently verified against NVR or DANFS. Recommissioned date conflicts (17 vs 19 April 1971); modernization decommissioning date (30 vs 31 January 1970); scrapping completion (1994-96 site operation vs BIW record '1997') carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block (Forrest Sherman class; 30+ kt) + NavSource machinery record (70,000 SHP geared turbines, 2 screws) + ship-history document ('four high pressure boilers drive two steam turbine engines') + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bath Iron Works record (1942 industrial-hygiene study; 1987 OSHA enforcement) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource machinery line; losthistory.net ship history; shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer built February 1955-February 1957 at Bath Iron Works with a four-boiler, 70,000-shp superheated steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, packing, accommodation fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including a 1942 Drinker study of pipe-covering shop dust risk and a 1987 OSHA enforcement finding asbestos dust up to 40% in areas designated asbestos-free. Five of the ship's documented maintenance yards (Boston Naval Shipyard 1957; Philadelphia NSY 1958, 1970-71, 1975-76; Norfolk NSY 1959, 1964; Charleston NSY 1960, 1962) carry their own Atlas asbestos records, and these overhaul/modernization events are the kind under which era insulation was disturbed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1955-1997
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1955-57; crew 1957-1983; Navy-yard and shipbreaking workers at documented yard periods
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no BuShips material schedule or hull-specific ACM documentation was located for DD-940. The ship-specific anchors are ev-01 (BVA conceded exposure) and ev-02 (scrapping site); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page for HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy from 1975 removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period required disturbance. Relevant to DD-940's documented modernization (1970-71 Philadelphia NSY) and overhauls (1975-76 Philadelphia; 1980-81 Boston) as insulation-disturbing events.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard and ship workers program-wide
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403) - content via product-page description (standing issue since batch-01). Does not document DD-940's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-06
-
[8]United States v. S.S. Malden, 224 F. Supp. 705 (E.D. Va. 1963); Aguilar Mortega v. Department of Defense, 520 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2007) [court_record]
- Locator
- Malden opinion column-maneuver narrative; Mortega docket exhibits (BCNR administrative record, court-martial record)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Published federal opinions naming this hull - both classified OTHER LITIGATION (non-asbestos): (1) U.S. v. S.S. Malden, an admiralty collision case arising from the 10 July 1959 USS Gearing/SS Malden collision near Norfolk, in which 'the fifth ship, the USS MANLEY (DD 940)' appears as a column member in the maneuvering narrative; (2) Aguilar Mortega v. DOD, a pro se APA/BCNR military-records suit by a former Navy seaman in whose service/court-martial record USS Manley appears. Neither touches asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959 (collision); 2006-2007 (Mortega)
- Limitations
- No asbestos content in either opinion - an admiralty adjudication naming the hull in formation context and a records-correction suit. Carried to document the CourtListener sweep dispositions, not as exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-07
-
[9]NARA Navy deck-log digitization program (Vietnam-era deck logs scanned via VA partnership under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019); NHHC command histories (OPNAV 5750 series); NARA RG19 General Information Books (per-vessel material specifications) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Navy deck-log program page; Atlas shipyard dataset archival-lead convention (RG19 GIB)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not pulled this session: (1) NARA deck logs for USS Manley (DD-940) - Vietnam-era logs within the Blue Water Navy digitization scope would document the 1966-68 combat tours and subsequent yard periods; (2) NHHC command histories/OPNAV 5750 submissions for DD-940 would document the 1970-83 period absent from DANFS; (3) NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the open lead for hull-level materials documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Leads only - existence of the record series verified (NARA program page; standing Atlas archival-lead convention), individual documents not retrieved or reviewed. Nothing in this row is a finding about asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-28 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py query log; search_ledger sl-04..sl-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results for this hull: 'USS Manley' (type=o) - 2 hits: Aguilar Mortega v. DOD (D.D.C. 2007, BCNR/APA records case - the hull appears in the plaintiff's Navy service record) = OTHER LITIGATION; United States v. S.S. Malden (E.D. Va. 1963, admiralty collision - DD-940 named as fifth ship in the destroyer column) = OTHER LITIGATION. 'USS Manley' (type=r) - 1 docket (Mortega v. DOD 1:06-cv-00426, 3 recap docs) = OTHER LITIGATION, non-asbestos. 'DD-940' (type=o) - the same 2 opinions (Mortega and Malden), no asbestos hit. 'DD-940' (type=r) - 3 dockets: Mortega v. DOD (same case); Mesrobian v. Ridge (S.D. Cal. 3:03-cv-02276, habeas corpus) = NAME COLLISION; In re: Seroquel Products Liability Litigation (M.D. Fla. 6:06-md-01769, pharmaceutical MDL) = NAME COLLISION. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located on CourtListener.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Full sweep executed (exact name + hull number, opinions + dockets) via the fleet-paced helper; several queries required retries as the shared pacing bucket drained intermittently. A bare-'Manley' sweep is impracticable (common surname). Off-CourtListener, VA BVA index search surfaced the qualifying ev-01 decision (BVA decisions are not CourtListener corpus).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-09
-
[11]Search-ledger synthesis (see search_ledger): NHHC live 404 (Wayback capture used); NVR detail page for this pre-internet-disposal hull not retrievable (DRMS 30 Jun 1994 sale per NVR-derived secondary records); no BuShips material schedule, ACM survey, abatement disclosure, or hull-attributed scrapping hazmat document located [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search-ledger synthesis, sl-01 through sl-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding recorded: beyond the BVA adjudicated exposure concession (ev-01) and the documented scrapping endpoint (ev-02), no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located for DD-940 - no BuShips material schedule or contract specification, no ACM inventory or survey, no abatement disclosure for any yard period (including the 1970-71 modernization and the 1980-81 Boston overhaul), and no CourtListener asbestos litigation naming the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of located documentation is not evidence of absence aboard - it records the limits of this session's search under a shared CourtListener pacing budget, blocked GAO full-text access (HTTP 403), and hazegray.org unavailability (DNS resolution failure). See search_ledger for repositories queried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manley-dd940-10