Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 843-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-millard-county-lst987-pkt-843-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Millard County' (LST-987) - Naval History and Heritage Command, live page verified 2026-10-03 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text; spec block (dp. 1,625; l. 328'; cpl. 226; cl. LST-511)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-987 was laid down by Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass., 2 February 1944; launched 5 March 1944; and commissioned at Boston 19 April 1944, Lt. William H. Pennington in command. After shakedown she served under Commander, Amphibious Training Command, Atlantic Fleet (LST Group 25, Little Creek, Va.) as an underway training ship in Chesapeake Bay, completing three officer and 23 crew training cruises. She entered Portsmouth Navy Yard 19 April 1945 for a 2-week overhaul, then sailed 16 May for the Pacific: Pearl Harbor 13 June; Leyte Gulf 15 July (SerRon 10); Subic Bay 26-29 July; Okinawa (Hagushi 6 August; Ie Shima 12-16 August); occupation operations - Panay (40th Infantry embarkation), Inchon, Pusan, and 1,000 Japanese POWs lifted to Japan in October 1945. She lost her port propeller 18 October and reached Subic 23 October with LST-841 assistance. Far East occupation support continued into early 1946. She received no battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Service history only - the DANFS entry contains no asbestos or materials statement and supports no exposure claim. The entry's final sentence ('sold for scrap and scrapped in Germany in November 1968') is contradicted by the BGSU archival record (see ev-03): the hull was not scrapped in 1968 and served commercially until 2022-2023. DANFS class/spec line ('cl. LST-511', 'cpl. 226') conflicts with the LST-542-class and complement figures used elsewhere - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Millard County (LST-987) page 160987 - designation timeline, medal periods, merchant-service chain, commanding officers, specifications (navsource.net verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Timeline bullet list; 'Merchant Service' paragraph; commanding-officer table; specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-war timeline and specifications: LST-987 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East (8-20 October 1945 and 19 November 1945-16 April 1946 medal periods); decommissioned 3 September 1946 and placed in service as a Naval Reserve training ship under the Potomac Naval River Command; laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs, FL, in May 1950; renamed Millard County (LST-987) on 1 July 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 June 1960; sold August 1960 to the Federal German Navy; struck from the German naval list in early 1968. Merchant chain: sold 1973 to Zanzuig & Transportbedrijf H.G. & G.D. Blomberg B.V. (Panama), renamed MV Esperance III and converted to a hopper dredge; resold 1978 to Cdeco Maritime Construction Inc. (Wilmington, DE); 1980 to American International Dredge Corp.; 1986 to B & B Dredging Corp. (Chicago, IL), renamed MV Columbus; renamed MV Columbia in 2002; still in service August 2003. Commanding officers: LT William H. Pennington (19 Apr 1944-19 Jan 1946); LTjg William B. Henline (19 Jan-19 Jun 1946); ENS John W. Gray (19 Jun-3 Sep 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-2003
- Population
- Wartime and postwar crew; Naval Reserve trainees (1946-1950)
- Limitations
- Canonical per-hull compilation, not a primary archive - its dates are carried where consistent with DANFS/BGSU. Conflicts logged in gaps: 'sold August 1960' to Germany vs DANFS 'August 1961'; 'renamed MV Columbia in 2002' vs BGSU registry '2000'. Contains no asbestos or materials statement; supports no exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-02
-
[4]Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University University Libraries - vessel item LST-0987 (HCGL registry, rebuilds, history narrative, name and owner tables) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Item page: Registry and Rig Information; 'Rebuilds' field; 'History' field; Vessel Names and Vessel Owners tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival registry record correcting the ship's end-state: the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (BGSU University Libraries) vessel file documents that LST-987 was 'sold in November, 1968, for scrapping in Germany. This failed to happen and vessel was converted to hopper dredge under Panamanian registry.' The file records the 1973 hopper-dredge conversion (3,156 gross / 1,976 net tons), U.S. re-measurement November 1978 (official no. 590658), Great Lakes service beginning 1978 for Cleveland harbor, and 1979 lay-up at Sandusky, OH - correcting DANFS's 'scrapped in Germany in November 1968' ending. Name registry: MILLARD COUNTY (LST-987) 1955-1973; ESPERANCE III (Panama) 1973-1978; ESPERANCE III (U.S. 590658) 1978-1986; COLUMBUS 1986-2000; COLUMBIA 2000-.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1987 (record compilation); commercial era 1973-
- Limitations
- Corrects the DANFS disposition (sold for scrapping November 1968, but the scrapping 'failed to happen'). The HCGL narrative's compression ('served largely on East Coast during World War II') is looser than DANFS's detailed Pacific chronology - DANFS controls for service history. Registry dates the COLUMBIA rename 2000 vs NavSource/dredgepoint 2002 - conflict in gaps. Contains no asbestos statement; the survival of a 1944 hull to 2022-2023 commercial service is a materials-history fact, not an exposure finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-03
-
[5]The Dutra Group v. National Labor Relations Board et al., No. 1:25-cv-00090 (E.D. Tex., filed 26 Feb 2025; Memorandum and Order signed 27 Aug 2025; voluntarily dismissed without prejudice 22 Jan 2026) - PACER docket 57018722 [court_record]
- Locator
- PacerMonitor public case page (docket verified live); opinion text reviewed via aggregator mirrors (exa.ai, syfert.com); CourtListener verification pending - API quota blocked this session
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Other (non-asbestos) litigation naming the hull in commercial service: The Dutra Group v. National Labor Relations Board et al., No. 1:25-cv-00090 (E.D. Tex., Judge Marcia A. Crone) - a constitutional challenge to NLRB structure arising from an unfair-labor-practice charge and an MM&P representation election aboard Dutra's hopper-dredge fleet. The court's 27 August 2025 Memorandum and Order (denying transfer to N.D. Cal.) recites that 'Dutra owned and operated a hopper dredge, the Columbia, from approximately October 2009 until it was decommissioned in approximately January 2023,' that the Columbia worked in the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas with crew boats Cape Anne and Gracie Jean, and that on 17 January 2023 Dutra informed MM&P the Columbia 'was being retired because it was no longer feasible to operate safely.' Dutra voluntarily dismissed the action 21 January 2026; dismissed without prejudice 22 January 2026. This is the hull built as LST-987 (same IMO 7428263 registry chain).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2009-2026
- Population
- Dutra Group dredge crews (2009-2023)
- Limitations
- Classified 'other litigation,' not asbestos litigation - a labor-law case whose fact recital incidentally documents the vessel's last years of service. The Columbia facts are background recital, not trial findings on the vessel; nothing in the case concerns asbestos or exposure. Citation URL is the verified docket mirror; the opinion PDF is paywalled and the canonical CourtListener URL could not be verified this session (daily quota blocked) - replace with the CL opinion URL once verified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-04
-
[6]U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ADAMS accession ML120400521 - deficiency fax to B & B Dredging Company re license no. 12-32244-02 (vessels Columbia and Atachafalaya) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- NRC ADAMS PDF, deficiency items confirming possession of two cesium-137 sealed sources and transfer of vessel Columbia and TN Model 5176 gauge to the Dutra Group
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Federal licensing record naming the hull in commercial service: NRC ADAMS document ML120400521 (2012 deficiency correspondence) shows B & B Dredging Company held NRC materials license 12-32244-02 for two cesium-137 sealed sources in fixed gauges, including a TN Model 5176 gauge 'on the vessel Columbia'; the license file records that 'the vessel Columbia and the nuclear gauge TN Model 5176 was transferred to the DUTRA Group.' Density gauges of this type are standard trailing-suction-hopper-dredge equipment for slurry measurement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- ~1986-2012 (license period)
- Population
- Dredge crew working around the licensed gauge
- Limitations
- Radiation-source licensing record - contains no asbestos or materials statement. Documents that a federal regulatory file exists for the hull's commercial era and corroborates the B&B-to-Dutra ownership chain; supports no exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan); consolidated era construction practice per class profile lst-1-class (ev-lst-1-class-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB-1945 v2 LST design-group table (machinery data); class-profile inference row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: LST-987 is a diesel-powered LST-542-group tank landing ship (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers), built at a Navy yard during the WWII peak of asbestos use in U.S. shipbuilding. For the design, asbestos-relevant applications concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings, bulkhead/accommodation insulation, valve packing, and winch/crane brake friction materials - rather than the boiler/steam-line lagging dominant in steam vessels. The 1973-74 trailing-suction-hopper-dredge conversion at the de Merwede yard and later refits are undocumented for materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-2023
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); Navy crew (1944-1950); conversion/repair yard workers (1972-73 NL; subsequent U.S. refits); dredge crews (1973-2023)
- Limitations
- Class/design inference only - no hull-specific document names or dates asbestos aboard LST-987. The diesel plant narrows the pathway relative to steam ships; conversion history (Germany 1961-68 lay-up, 1973 NL rebuild, multiple owner refits) could have removed or added asbestos - undocumented. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-06
-
[8]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (18 Oct 1979) - product-page description [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page; gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated full-text fetches (standing access defect)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (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 on vessels retained in U.S. Navy service. Program context only for this hull: LST-987 left Navy custody in 1961 and spent 1961-1968 in German hands and 1973-2023 in commercial service, outside the Navy program's reach.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979 program period
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not a hull record - and inapplicable to this hull after its 1961 foreign sale. Does not establish asbestos presence, absence, or handling aboard this vessel at any period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-07
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[9]Batch-7530 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, BGSU HCGL, NHHC photo NH-79717, PacerMonitor docket, NRC ADAMS, dredgepoint/Visser industry directories, general-web asbestos sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-millard-county-lst987-01 through sl-uss-millard-county-lst987-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum or regulator materials statement, or qualifying asbestos case naming LST-987, Millard County, Esperance III, Columbus, or Columbia was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only asbestos content naming this hull is law-firm marketing material (e.g., asbestos-ships.com), which asserts exposure pathways without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. CourtListener name/hull-number searches could not be executed this session (authenticated daily quota exhausted, ~6.4-hour reset) - litigation status is open, not negative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 naval build with a 1973 hopper-dredge rebuild is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials at both dates. The CourtListener gap means litigation status is unresolved, not negative; the class-level sweep documented in profile lst-1-class (Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton incidental mention) is the only LST docket signal known. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-08
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records - RG 24 (deck logs), RG 181 (naval shipyard records); Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv finding aids; USCG NVDC vessel-documentation process [other_primary]
- Locator
- Record-group mapping only; no box-level retrieval performed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for LST-987 (1944-46) and RG 181 Boston Navy Yard records (wartime construction/outfitting records for yard hull 987); Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv (Freiburg) custody records for the 1961-68 Federal German Navy holding period (vessel never commissioned - likely thin); U.S. Coast Guard merchant-vessel documentation file for official no. 590658 (1978-2023, would document refits and tonnage re-measurement); USACE dredging-contract records naming the hull as Columbus/Columbia.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-2023 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-millard-county-lst987-09