Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]NavSource Online, Metuchen (PC 781), ship history and specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- Metuchen (PC 781) page, history bullets and specifications
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship-specific record identifies PC-781 as a PC-461-class submarine chaser: laid down 11 November 1942 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon; launched 24 December 1942; commissioned 9 July 1943; decommissioned 14 August 1946 at Bay City, Michigan; placed in service as a Naval Reserve training vessel in July 1947; placed out of service 18 November 1949 and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk; named Metuchen on 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy Register 1 November 1959; and sold for scrap 14 August 1959. It gives two Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesel engines, two shafts, and a 65-person complement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1959
- Population
- Construction trades; Navy crew and Naval Reserve trainees
- Limitations
- NavSource is a specialist naval-history archive rather than a Navy archival record; the page documents identity, dates, specifications, and disposition, not asbestos content, individual exposure, or legal eligibility. The page's 1959 sale date precedes its stated November 1959 strike date; both dates are carried as reported.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metuchen-pc781-01
-
[2]National Archives, Special List #44, by Ship Numbers [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF table entry PC-781
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives ship-number list identifies PC-781 with a commission date of 9 July 1943 and a deck-log coverage end date of 30 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Navy crew and deck-log record custodians
- Limitations
- The list is an archival finding aid, not a full service history and not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metuchen-pc781-02
-
[3]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO report highlights and full-report discussion of shipboard thermal insulation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO reports that the Navy used asbestos thermal insulation aboard naval vessels and describes a policy to replace asbestos insulation when insulated equipment and machinery were repaired, with selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This supports period naval-vessel context for insulation and lagging, not a finding about PC-781.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy period
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and naval-vessel maintenance personnel
- Limitations
- Fleet/program-level evidence from 1979; it does not name PC-781, identify its materials, quantify asbestos, establish present-day material, or establish exposure or legal eligibility for any person.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metuchen-pc781-03
-
[4]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Research guide sections on S-codes, insulation/lagging records, and same-class ships
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives research guide identifies Navy technical records for documenting asbestos aboard a particular ship, including S103 general-plan booklets and S39 insulation-and-lagging records, and explains that same-class ships built at different yards may differ. For PC-781, these records are an archival lead rather than a ship-specific finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- World War II through 1961 records
- Population
- Researchers seeking ship-specific Navy material records
- Limitations
- The guide does not state that PC-781 contained asbestos and no PC-781 S39 or S103 record was retrieved in this batch. It cannot establish products, quantities, remaining material, exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metuchen-pc781-04
-
[5]Batch-8154 source sweep and CourtListener helper log [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-metuchen-pc781-01 through sl-uss-metuchen-pc781-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in the public authoritative sources searched: no PC-781 or Metuchen asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation record was verified. The CourtListener sweep was incomplete after the authenticated helper reported that the fleet pacing budget was spent: only the exact-name opinion base query was attempted; the exact-name docket and both hull-number base queries were not run.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03 research session
- Limitations
- This is a record-search result, not proof that asbestos was absent aboard the vessel and not proof that no litigation exists. The incomplete CourtListener sweep materially limits the negative litigation finding. No asbestos-qualified variants were run because the base sweep did not complete and no overflow was established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metuchen-pc781-05