Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet hj-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Nicholson (DD-982) — named for the Nicholson family (James Nicholson, senior Continental Navy captain; Samuel Nicholson, first captain of USS Constitution; fourth U.S. Navy ship of the name)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-nicholson-dd982-pkt-hj-packet-md
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register, NICHOLSON (DD 982) ship-detail page (archived capture; live page is a shell without the historical data block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of nvr.navy.mil SHIPSDETAIL_DD_982.HTML (data block: Status/Builder/milestone dates/dimensions/propulsion/accommodations)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR administrative record for this hull: class DD 963; builder Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.; award date 01/15/1974; keel 02/20/1976; launch 11/11/1977; delivery 04/23/1979; commission 05/12/1979; decommission date 12/20/2002; stricken date 04/06/2004; status 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise,' status changed 07/30/2004. Characteristics: overall length 563 ft, waterline length 529 ft, extreme beam 55 ft, waterline beam 55 ft, max navigational draft 32 ft, draft limit 23 ft; light displacement 6,745 tons, full displacement 9,184 tons, dead weight 2,439 tons; 'Steel hull, aluminum superstructure'; 2 propellers; propulsion type 'Gas Turbines'; accommodations 30 officers, 315 enlisted. Page last updated 11/18/2004.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1974-2004
- Population
- Ship's company 1979-2002; inactive-ships custody 2002-2004
- Limitations
- NVR gives administrative lifecycle dates and characteristics, not materials or asbestos content. The 12/20/2002 decommission date is administrative; the public ceremony was 12/18/2002 (Navy News Service) - distinction carried in gaps. NVR launch date 11/11/1977 conflicts with secondary compilations' 11/29/1977 - carried in gaps. Live NVR page is a shell; data verified from the Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-01
-
[3]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - Enclosure I (Navy letter), Attachment 1 'List of U.S. Navy Ships Delivered Since 1973 or Under Construction (Ship Class, Name and Hull Number and Status of Thermal Insulation)' [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 PDF p.18 of 26 (Enclosure I attachment, 'DESTROYER - DD' table block); Navy letter text on 'the first eleven of our new DD 963 class'; table Note 1
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Ship-specific government record: the Navy's enclosure in GAO HRD-80-2 lists 'NICHOLSON 982' (start 8/75, delivery 6/79) under 'DESTROYER - DD' in its ship-by-ship thermal-insulation status table. The asbestos-insulation label ('Asbestos thermal insulation') is vertically centered on the DD-963..DD-973 block and a rule marks the boundary below JOHN YOUNG (DD-973, delivered 5/78); the 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation' label is vertically centered on the DD-974..DD-992 block containing NICHOLSON 982 - verified by rendered-page inspection. The accompanying Navy letter states 'the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships' were delivered with asbestos insulation, the change to asbestos-free materials not having been accomplished until later, with insulated ships delivered 'as late as May 1978.' DD-982, delivered April 1979, is in the asbestos-free thermal-insulation group.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- construction 1975-1979; report 1979
- Population
- Ship's company 1979+; Ingalls construction trades 1975-1979
- Limitations
- Establishes that the Navy's 1979 materials-status reporting classed DD-982 among ships delivered WITHOUT asbestos thermal insulation - it does not establish that the hull was asbestos-free overall. Table Note 1 states asbestos was still used shipboard 'i.e., gaskets and pipe hanger liners,' and the letter states each listed ship 'has several types of asbestos containing materials installed' and 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.' Does not state quantities, locations, or condition aboard DD-982; the 87,634-pound DD-class estimate (Enclosure II) derives from USS Paul F. Foster DD-964, an asbestos-insulated hull, and does not apply. 'START 8/75' and 'DEL 6/79' are projection-era table dates differing from NVR keel 2/76 and delivery 4/79 - carried in gaps. Full text verified from the PDF via pdftotext and rendered-page review; direct gao.gov fetch returns access-denied, so the Wayback mirror of the same official file is cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-02
-
[4]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - Navy letter text and table Note 1: asbestos applications remaining aboard asbestos-free-thermal-insulation ships [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 Enclosure I letter (application discussion) and attachment Note 1
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Bounding context for the asbestos-free listing: the Navy letter in the same enclosure states 'Each ship has several types of asbestos containing materials installed; however, thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos. Even though the use of asbestos as thermal insulation has been eliminated, there remain a few shipboard applications where technically acceptable substitute asbestos-free materials have not yet been identified. Therefore, all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.' Named applications: electrical resistors in Navy electronic equipment, deck/floor tiling, galley-range electrical cabling, piping-system gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches. Table Note 1 adds gaskets and pipe hanger liners as applications without designated asbestos-free substitutes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979 (report)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; ship crews (program scope)
- Limitations
- Program/table-level statements covering all ships in the attachment, including asbestos-free-thermal-insulation hulls like DD-982 - they establish the Navy's 1979 position that such ships still contained some asbestos, but do not identify which specific products, quantities, or locations were aboard this hull. Not an independent ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-03
-
[5]Navy News Service release, 'USS Nicholson Decommissioned,' 12/20/2002, from Commander Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Public Affairs (verbatim text archived at globalsecurity.org; original navy.mil story page no longer reachable) [other_primary]
- Locator
- globalsecurity.org news archive, mil-021220-usn01.htm (full release text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy public-affairs record for this hull: 'The Spruance-Class destroyer USS Nicholson (DD 982) was decommissioned Dec. 18 at Naval Station Norfolk.' Constructed by Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Miss., commissioned May 12, 1979; 'Originally homeported in Charleston, S.C., as part of Destroyer Squadron 6, the ship was later transferred to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., as part of Destroyer Squadron 18, and finally to Naval Station Norfolk.' Named for five Nicholson family members; 'the 21st of 31 Spruance-class destroyers, and the fourth ship to bear the Nicholson name.' Original armament NATO Sea Sparrow, CIWS, ASROC, two SVTT, two 5-inch guns; later fitted with VLS and RAM. First CO retired RADM Wesley E. Jordan, Jr. cited 'strikes against Kosovo' and Operation Enduring Freedom participation ('one of the first units to strike back'). 11 deployments, every ocean; awards: JMUA, MUC, Navy Battle Efficiency Ribbon (5), National Defense Service Medal (2), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (4), Southwest Asia Service Medal (2), Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (11), Navy Arctic Service Ribbon, Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon (2).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979-2002
- Population
- Ship's company 1979-2002; Charleston SC and Norfolk VA base personnel
- Limitations
- Official PAO release covering identity, homeport sequence, operations, and awards; says nothing about materials or asbestos. The 'transferred to Norfolk Naval Shipyard ... as part of Destroyer Squadron 18' phrasing is ambiguous between homeport/basing and a yard availability - no work packages documented; carried in gaps. '21st of 31' differs from secondary compilations' '20th' - carried in gaps. Ceremony date 12/18 vs NVR administrative 12/20 - both preserved. Verbatim release text verified on the globalsecurity.org archive; the original navy.mil story page was not reachable.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-04
-
[6]Naval History and Heritage Command, Online Library of Selected Images, Picture Data page for Photo # NH 106900 (official U.S. Navy photograph; ibiblio HyperWar transcription of the NHC page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio OnlineLibrary i06900c.htm (NH 106900 picture data); shusn-no/dd-no8.htm hull index line 'DD-982: Nicholson (1979-2004)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photographic record for this hull: 'Photo # NH 106900 - USS Nicholson (DD-982) - Underway circa the mid-1980s. Photo was received in 1987. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.' The NHHC hull-number index lists 'DD-982: Nicholson (1979-2004).' No dedicated DD-982 ship-history page exists in the Online Library (unlike DD-963, which has one), and no DANFS entry exists - NavSource notes the ship 'was built too late to be covered by the DANFS project.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979-2004
- Population
- Ship's company circa mid-1980s
- Limitations
- Confirms official photographic coverage and the 1979-2004 service span only; no specifications, materials, or asbestos content. Absence of a DANFS entry is a documented coverage gap, not evidence about the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-05
-
[7]EPA, 'Transport of Target Vessels for Ocean Disposal' - Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2 for the Navy SINKEX program (promulgated 42 FR 2489, Jan. 11, 1977) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA marine-protection-permitting page, requirements summary; 40 C.F.R. 229.2 text
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Regulatory framework for the 2004 sinking: under the MPRSA general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2, Navy target vessels must be sunk at least 50 nautical miles from land in water at least 6,000 feet deep, and qualified personnel must remove, to the maximum extent practicable, materials that may degrade the marine environment - fuel tanks and lines emptied and flushed, other pollutants and readily detachable debris removed. EPA guidance identifies asbestos among potential shipboard pollutants for SINKEX preparation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2004 sinking; permit regime 1977+
- Population
- Inactive-ships/transport personnel preparing the target vessel
- Limitations
- Regulatory context only: no hull-specific SINKEX preparation record, materials survey, or hazardous-material removal report for ex-DD-982 was located, so this row does not establish what was actually removed from or left aboard this hull. The January 2014 EPA-Navy 'Determination and Agreement' clarifying PCB-related preparation post-dates the 2004 sinking and was not applied to it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-06
-
[8]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index: USS Nicholson (DD-982) - operational-data block and photo captions (volunteer-compiled secondary source used for corroboration) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-982 page, 'CLASS - SPRUANCE As Built' block and 'Operational and Building Data' chronology
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary corroboration for this hull: NavSource records laid down 20 February 1976 by Litton Ingalls, Pascagoula; launched 29 November 1977 (conflicts with NVR 11/11/1977 - carried in gaps); commissioned 12 May 1979; decommissioned 18 December 2002; stricken 6 April 2004; sunk as a target 30 July 2004. As-built block: 7,800 tons full; 563 x 55 x 20 ft 6 in max; two 5-inch/54 guns, Sea Sparrow, ASROC, Mk 32 torpedo tubes, one helicopter; four LM2500 gas turbines, 80,000 shp, two screws; 30 knots; 6,000 nm at 20 knots; crew 296. Call sign NICK; tactical voice call sign 'BARE KNUCKLES.' Explicitly notes 'This ship was built too late to be covered by the DANFS project.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1976-2004
- Population
- Ship's company; engineering rates
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary source - corroboration only, consistent with NVR on keel/commission/strike/sinking dates but conflicting on the launch date (11/29 vs 11/11/1977) and on complement (296 vs NVR 345) - conflicts carried in gaps. Machinery/armament detail is class-typical and consistent with NVR's 'Gas Turbines' but is not verified from a primary spec sheet.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-07
-
[9]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' - U.S. Navy deck-log series (Record Group 24), digitization program description [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-logs research page; RG 24 logbook series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead: NARA holds U.S. Navy deck logs (RG 24) as the ship's contemporaneous operational record. For a 1979-2002 hull, the digitization window (which ends in the late 1970s/early 1980s) may cover only the earliest logs; later-year logs reside at Archives II, College Park. Deck logs and any associated maintenance/availability records are the likeliest primary sources for in-port periods, the ambiguous Norfolk Naval Shipyard assignment, and any shipboard material or insulation work references.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979-2002
- Population
- Ship's company 1979-2002
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - no DD-982 deck log was retrieved or reviewed; NARA catalog API was not reachable for a hull-specific listing during this sweep, so digitized coverage for DD-982 is unverified. Do not treat as a located record of asbestos work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-08
-
[10]Batch-3897 search ledger (this record): hull-specific asbestos survey / abatement / industrial-hygiene / SINKEX-preparation record search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger entries sl-uss-nicholson-dd982-* (GAO, NVR, NHHC, EPA, NARA, news, and CourtListener repositories)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding: no hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement work package, material inventory, industrial-hygiene survey, or pre-sinking hazardous-materials preparation record for DD-982 was located in public sources. The ship-specific asbestos evidence is the 1979 GAO/Navy thermal-insulation status listing (ev-02, asbestos-free group) bounded by the same document's Note 1 and letter text (ev-03); nothing located documents removal or retention of the remaining asbestos applications during availabilities, inactivation, or SINKEX preparation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 search
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record is not evidence that no such record exists; Navy work packages, IH surveys, and SINKEX preparation reports are not public in the sources searched. This negative finding bounds the record's scope - it does not negate the GAO ship-specific listing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-09
-
[11]Webb v. Baldor Electric Company, No. 1:22-cv-00145-KHJ-MTP (S.D. Miss.), Notice of Removal by Lockheed Martin Corporation, ECF No. 1-1 (Exhibit 1 - Lower Court Summons and Complaint, filed 2022-06-10); removed complaint styled Allan Watson v. 3M Company et al., Jackson County Circuit Court, Mississippi [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 1-1 (Exhibit 1), complaint para. e. and attached ship table, PDF pp. 84-87 of 147
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury pleading names this hull with explicit hull number: the removed state-court complaint (S.D. Miss. ECF No. 1-1, 147 pp., plain_text reviewed) alleges plaintiff Allan Watson was exposed to asbestos 'during his employment as an electrician, technician, foreman and supervisor at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, from approximately 1966 to 2001 during the new construction and overhaul of naval vessels,' working in control rooms and engineering spaces around pipefitters, insulators, and mechanics, and recites that 'Plaintiff worked on numerous naval vessels including... the following during the indicated time periods,' with the attached NAVAL SHIPS/SUBMARINES table (columns: name, hull number, laid down, commissioned) listing 'USS NICHOLSON - DD-982 1976 1979' among Ingalls-built vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- alleged exposure 1966-2001 at Ingalls; complaint filed 2022
- Population
- Ingalls Shipyard electrician/technician (plaintiff Allan Watson); alleged asbestos exposure 1966-2001
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation only: a complaint's vessel list is an allegation, not an adjudicated finding of exposure, asbestos content, or causation aboard this hull. The table gives build years rather than dates the plaintiff personally worked aboard DD-982, situating alleged exposure at Ingalls during the hull's 1976-79 construction window without apportioning shipboard versus yard-situs exposure. The federal docket is styled 'Webb v. Baldor Electric Company' while the removed complaint is captioned 'Allan Watson v. 3M Company et al.' - the pleading's allegations are Watson's; the docket/complaint style distinction is carried in gaps. Removed under the federal-officer statute (28 U.S.C. 1442); docket terminated 2025-02-07 - merits disposition not examined at document level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (opinion and docket types) for 'USS Nicholson', 'U.S.S. Nicholson', 'DD-982', 'Nicholson' + asbestos + navy, and 'Nicholson' + asbestos + Ingalls, 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger entries sl-uss-nicholson-dd982-cl-*; recap-documents reviewed: 380351939 (Webb ECF 1-1), 394107252 (Anderson), 6912691 (Motors Liquidation)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results: opinion-type 'USS Nicholson' returned 0 hits; 'U.S.S. Nicholson' returned 1 hit - Saunders v. Luckenbach Co., 262 F. 845 (S.D.N.Y. 1919), admiralty case predating this hull (name collision); 'DD-982' returned 0 hits; 'Nicholson' + asbestos + navy returned 52 hits, all person-name collisions (e.g., Roebuck v. R. James Nicholson, Vet. App. 2006, VA-caption). Docket-type 'USS Nicholson' returned 2 dockets - Webb v. Baldor (qualifying asbestos pleading, ev-10) and Motors Liquidation Company bankruptcy (name collision - 'USS NICHOLSON' appears in an unclaimed-insurance-benefits servicemember table, verified at recap-document level); 'DD-982' returned 3 dockets - Webb plus United States v. Anderson (D. Colo. interpleader; string sits inside OCR-garbled scanned payment tables - name collision, verified at recap-document level) and In re: Seroquel Products Liability Litigation (pharmaceutical MDL exhibit - name collision); 'Nicholson' + asbestos + Ingalls returned 65 dockets, all person-name matches (attorneys/parties) with no additional hull-qualified hits on snippet review. No adjudicated exposure finding was located; the sole qualifying record is the pleading-stage Webb/Watson complaint.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep limited to CourtListener's indexed corpus; unindexed state-court pleadings may contain additional asbestos complaints naming the hull. 'Nicholson' unqualified queries are high-collision (common surname, three earlier Navy ships); each returned hit was classified qualifying asbestos litigation / other litigation / name collision. Any query class not completed under the fleet pacing limiter is logged blocked/pending in the search ledger, not assumed negative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nicholson-dd982-11