Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, 283 Va. 358, 722 S.E.2d 610 (2012), modified on rehearing (Va. Sept. 14, 2012), Record No. 101909 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion facts section (shipfitter duties aboard USS Newport News 1958-1962; 'the valves and gaskets Hardick repaired contained asbestos'); March 2, 2012 opinion and September 14, 2012 rehearing opinion, official Virginia courts PDF
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published Virginia Supreme Court opinion recites that from 1958 to 1962 Robert Eugene Hardick worked as a shipfitter and reported for duty aboard the USS Newport News, repairing and replacing valves and gaskets; 'the valves and gaskets Hardick repaired contained asbestos'; he recalled performing routine duties aboard Newport News including on a trip to Guantanamo Bay. The jury returned a $5,977,482 verdict with fault apportioned 50% to John Crane, Inc. and 50% to Garlock. On appeal the Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded, vacating nonpecuniary damages on Death on the High Seas Act grounds; on rehearing (14 September 2012) the Court reinstated the jury's $2 million pre-death pain-and-suffering award.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1958-1962 (exposure); 2012 (opinions)
- Population
- Navy shipfitter aboard USS Newport News 1958-1962; mesothelioma (deceased before trial; wrongful-death action)
- Limitations
- Trial-finding stage: a jury verdict that asbestos-containing valves and gaskets were repaired aboard this specific hull, largely upheld after rehearing. The tried evidence spanned Hardick's service on multiple ships (the opinion also recites work aboard USS Tutuila); the verdict does not isolate Newport News-only exposure or quantify material aboard, and establishes nothing for any other person or about present conditions (hull scrapped 1993).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-newport-news-ca148-01
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[2]Locke v. Johns-Manville Corp., 221 Va. 951, 275 S.E.2d 900 (1981), Record No. 790171 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion factual recital (Locke's 1948-49 work on the construction of 'the cruiser U.S.S. Newport News' at Newport News Shipbuilding)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Virginia Supreme Court opinion (a landmark asbestos limitations decision) recites that plaintiff Douglas T. Locke worked at Newport News Shipbuilding in 1948-1949 on the construction of the cruiser U.S.S. Newport News, where he was allegedly exposed to asbestos dust; he developed asbestosis diagnosed decades later. The trial court dismissed the action as time-barred; the Supreme Court reversed, holding the cause of action accrued when the injury was diagnosed and communicated - not at exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1948-1949 (alleged exposure); 1981 (opinion)
- Population
- Newport News Shipbuilding construction worker 1948-49; asbestosis
- Limitations
- Pleading/procedural stage: the opinion decides a statute-of-limitations question and recites the alleged exposure - it does not adjudicate that asbestos products were aboard this hull, makes no product or exposure finding, and says nothing about present conditions. Documents that construction-era exposure aboard this hull was alleged in litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-newport-news-ca148-02
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[3]DANFS, Newport News II (CA-148), Vol. 5 pp. 79-80 (builder, dates, Sixth Fleet and gunline service narrative, turret explosion, inactivation and sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative incl. bracketed turret-explosion and disposal paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 1 November 1945; launched 6 March 1948 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company; commissioned 29 January 1949. Annual Sixth Fleet deployments 1950-1961; Agadir earthquake relief March 1960 (1,225 miles in 40.5 hours at 31 knots); modified winter 1962 as Commander Second Fleet flagship; Cuban Quarantine flagship October-November 1962; Dominican Republic JTF-122 flagship April-May 1965. Departed Norfolk 5 September 1967 for South East Asia; arrived Da Nang 9 October 1967 as ComCruDesFlot 3 flagship and fired her 8-inch rifles in anger that night (Operation Sea Dragon). On 1 October 1972 off the DMZ she sustained an in-bore explosion in the center gun of Turret No. 2 from a defective auxiliary detonating fuze - 20 killed, 36 injured; the gun was removed and the port plated over. Decommissioned 27 June 1975, the Navy's last conventional cruiser in service; stricken 31 July 1978; sold to Southern Scrap Material Co., New Orleans, 25 February 1993.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1945-1993
- Population
- NNSB construction trades 1945-49; crew 1949-75 (20 killed, 36 injured in the 1972 turret explosion)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. Laid-down/launched dates conflict with class-profile and navypedia data (1 October 1945 / 6 March 1947) - DANFS values carried, see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-newport-news-ca148-03
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[4]DANFS specifications block (Des Moines class; 31.5 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Newport News Shipbuilding yard records (documented asbestos litigation and product use) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'newport-news-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Des Moines-class postwar construction (4 boilers, 4 geared steam turbines, ~120,000 shp) at Newport News Shipbuilding in 1945-49 falls squarely in the documented asbestos-insulation era; the builder yard is documented in the Atlas dataset with asbestos litigation and product-use records covering the same decades - and the Locke opinion (ev-02) places an alleged asbestos-exposure worker on this hull's construction there.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1945-1975
- Population
- NNSB construction trades 1945-49; crew 1949-75
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific evidence for this hull is the Hardick and Locke litigation rows (ev-01, ev-02); this row must not be read as an independent ship-specific finding. Does not quantify material aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-newport-news-ca148-04
-
[5]USS Newport News Museum and Memorial Foundation official site (ussnewportnews.org) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Foundation official site - museum/exhibit pages and officers listing
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Museum/memorial record: the hull itself was not preserved (scrapped 1993), but the USS Newport News Museum and Memorial Foundation maintains a museum exhibit and artifact collection in space aboard USS Salem (CA-139) at Quincy, Massachusetts, including a memorial associated with Turret No. 2 and the 1 October 1972 explosion; the organization lists active 2024 officers and directors.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1993-present
- Population
- Museum visitors/staff; survivors and families of the 1972 turret explosion
- Limitations
- The foundation's materials document commemoration and custody of artifacts only - they are an exhibit aboard a different hull, not preservation of CA-148, and carry no asbestos survey, abatement, or hazmat disclosure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-newport-news-ca148-05
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[6]Batch-18 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number queries; Naval Vessel Register; museum foundation site; scrapping-disclosure sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-newport-news-ca148-01 through sl-uss-newport-news-ca148-06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping hazmat disclosure (sold 1993 to Southern Scrap Material Co., New Orleans), NVR detail page (hull disposed pre-register coverage; detail pages also login-gated), or museum record with asbestos data was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The Hardick and Locke litigation (ev-01, ev-02) are the only ship-specific asbestos-related records.
- 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 tried Hardick evidence establishes asbestos-containing valves and gaskets aboard during 1958-62 without quantifying material. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-newport-news-ca148-06