Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]Complaint Exhibit A, Turner v. General Electric Co. et al., No. 3:10-cv-05932-JSW (N.D. Cal.), filed as MDL-875 Doc. 6548-2 (Jan 4, 2011); identical ship list refiled in survival/wrongful-death action Turner et al. v. General Electric Co. et al., No. 3:12-cv-01600-EMC (N.D. Cal.), MDL-875 Doc. 8596-2 (Apr 2, 2012) (RECAP) [court_record]
- Locator
- MDL-875 Doc. 6548-2, Exhibit A pp. 16-17 of 23 (Puget Sound NSY ship list: 'MASSACHUSETTS (BB-59)', Sheetmetal Worker (Helper), Shop 17, 6/1944-9/1945) and p. 18 (job-duties narrative); MDL-875 Doc. 8596-2 ship-list continuation p. 21 of 22 - verified by OCR of both fetched PDFs
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury complaint Exhibit A lists MASSACHUSETTS (BB-59) among the vessels at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, where plaintiff George W. Turner, a sheetmetal worker (helper) out of Shop 17, alleges he worked and was exposed to asbestos June 1944-September 1945; the complaint text states he worked 'on the ships listed above' near trades tearing out asbestos-containing insulation (asbestos cloth, pipecovering, cement) and carried damaged asbestos-containing insulation off the ships and stacked it in the shipyard. Plaintiff was diagnosed with mesothelioma on or about May 2010; the identical ship list reappears in the 2012 survival/wrongful-death refiling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (alleged exposure); 2010-2012 (filings)
- Population
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard sheetmetal worker (helper), Shop 17, 1944-45; mesothelioma
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation; the vessel is named among roughly 25 ships at the yard, not an adjudicated finding of exposure aboard this hull. Does not establish which products were aboard, individual exposure, or causation. The ship's documented Puget Sound overhaul after the May 1, 1944 Ponape bombardment (departed Pearl Harbor Aug 1, 1944; museum account describes a Bremerton 'modernization' May-Sep 1944) corroborates presence inside the alleged window; the second overhaul began Sep 1, 1945, the month the window closed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-massachusetts-bb59-01
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[2]DANFS, Massachusetts V (BB-59) - builder, spec block, and service narrative (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page unavailable); machinery vendors per Bureau of Ships Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 1 (Jan 1945) and the museum's official ship profile [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + construction/service narrative; machinery vendors per BuShips Ships' Data Jan 1945 battleship table (shipscribe.com scan) and battleshipcove.org/uss-massachusetts-bb59
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- As built 1939-42 at Fore River, Massachusetts carried the South Dakota-class plant - eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers, four General Electric geared steam turbines, four shafts, 130,000 shp - with associated steam piping, valves, and auxiliaries insulated under wartime Navy specifications; boiler/fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, deck tile, and bulkhead materials were standard class-era asbestos applications.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1939-1945
- Population
- Construction trades, Fore River (1939-42); crew across WWII service
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey located. Names the era standard, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantity; does not establish what remains aboard today.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-massachusetts-bb59-02
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[3]DANFS Massachusetts V (BB-59) + Battleship Cove official ship profile and archived 1998-99 drydock log (Wayback capture 2008-09-05) + Herald News (Aug 10, 2022) and period press coverage (Chicago Tribune, May 23, 1999) [museum_official]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative; battleshipcove.org/uss-massachusetts-bb59; web.archive.org/web/20080905154607/http://www.battleshipcove.org/drydock.html; heraldnews.com Aug 10, 2022; Chicago Tribune 'Old Friends' May 23, 1999 (text verified via syndication mirror; canonical URL not retrievable)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented exposure-relevant work periods for this hull: construction at Bethlehem Steel's Fore River yard 1939-42 (award Dec 15, 1938 per NVR); flagship of the Western Naval Task Force for the Casablanca landing Nov 8, 1942 (dueled Jean Bart); Puget Sound Naval Shipyard overhauls summer 1944 (post-Ponape gun-reline/modernization, back in action by Sep 1944) and Sep 1, 1945-Jan 28, 1946; decommissioned into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk Mar 27, 1947; transferred to the Massachusetts Memorial Committee Jun 8, 1965 and enshrined at Battleship Cove, Fall River Aug 14, 1965. Museum-era work: drydocked at Boston Ship Repair Drydock No. 3 (former Boston Naval Shipyard), departed the Cove Nov 4, 1998 and returned Mar 13, 1999 - hull survey, sandblasting, ~225,000 lb doubler plating at the waterline (museum log; period press reported an ~$8.5M overhaul, 300+ workers, ~260,000 lb steel), epoxy sealing of leaking rivets, outboard propellers removed; 2022 renovation (~$1.25M: $1M state-designated ARPA + $250K museum) stripping and repainting 37,000+ sq ft of hull and replacing ~80 corroded stanchions, begun May 12, 2022.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1939-1947; 1965; 1998-1999; 2022
- Population
- Fore River construction trades; Puget Sound yard workers (1944, 1945-46); Boston Ship Repair trades (1998-99); museum maintenance workers (2022); crew
- Limitations
- The yard and maintenance periods are ship-specific and documented; the asbestos rip-out/re-insulation scope of each is inferred from era practice, not documented per-hull. No asbestos component is documented in the public record of the 1998-99 drydock or the 2022 repaint. Does not establish exposure for any individual. Steel-poundage figures differ between the museum's survey estimate (~225,000 lb doubler plating) and press reporting (~260,000 lb total) - both cited, not reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-massachusetts-bb59-03
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[4]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program and that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships, not beginning substitution until the early 1970s - postdating this hull's entire active service (1942-47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, re-confirmed 2026-09-18) - description via product page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-massachusetts-bb59-04
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[5]Batch-166 search ledger (this record): battleshipcove.org ship profile + archived drydock log; NPS NPGallery NRIS 76002269; Herald News and period press; NVR (Wayback); CourtListener API name+hull queries (partially blocked, HTTP 429) plus prior batch-06 (2026-09-15) and class-profile (2026-09-16) ledger classifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-massachusetts-bb59-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, or present-day ACM inventory for USS Massachusetts was located in the public sources searched; the ship-specific asbestos record consists of a single pleading-stage litigation artifact (see search_ledger). The published accounts of the 1998-99 drydock and 2022 repaint contain no asbestos component.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the ship retains substantial WWII-era fabric and museum restoration/maintenance records are not public. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener index-level re-verification was partially blocked by the documented 125/day rate limit - the one completed query (type=r exact name+hull) returned 0, and prior ledgers record no qualifying opinion hits; the flagship artifact was verified directly at document level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-massachusetts-bb59-05
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[6]Naval Vessel Register, ship detail record for MASSACHUSETTS (BB 59), 'Donated as a Museum and Memorial' status listing (NAVSHIPSO/NAVSEA; accessed via Internet Archive Wayback capture because the live nvr.navy.mil legacy page now redirects to a DoD SSO login - observed 2026-09-18) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL_BB_59.HTML, 'MILESTONE DATES' block + 'VESSEL STATUS' block; Wayback capture web.archive.org/web/2024/ (live URL 302-redirects to login.nslc.navy.mil)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR official milestone dates for this hull: Award 12/15/1938; Keel 07/20/1939; Launch 09/23/1941; Commission 05/12/1942; Decommission 03/27/1947; Stricken 06/01/1962; status 'Donated as a Museum and Memorial' (status change 06/04/1965). The NVR decommission date resolves the DANFS (1947-03-27) vs. NavSource (1947-03-02) conflict in favor of DANFS: 1947-03-27 stands. NVR accommodations listing: 114 officers, 2,240 enlisted (2,354 total); builder listed 'Bethlehem Steel Co., SB Div, Quincy Yard, Quincy, MA'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2002 (NVR record last update); 2024 (Wayback capture)
- Limitations
- NVR milestone record is the Navy's official register entry; it settles the decommission date but says nothing about materials or asbestos aboard. Accommodations is a berthing-capacity figure, not a wartime muster. NavSource's 03/02/1947 remains an unexplained secondary-source deviation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-massachusetts-bb59-06