Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 1979-10-18, released 1979-10-22), Enclosure I - Department of the Navy (CNO) letter, Ser 4542/318054 of 5 Jan 1979, with Attachment 1 ship list (gao.gov product page https://www.gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2; live gao.gov PDF assets return HTTP 403, Justia mirror used - same mirror as Atlas records uss-tarawa-lha1 and uss-paul-f-foster-dd964) [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 full report, Enclosure I, Attachment 1, first table page - 'AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP (GENERAL PURPOSE) - LHA' block, PELELIU row; letter text at Enclosure I pp. 1-4
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Primary government document tabulating this exact hull's as-delivered thermal-insulation status: 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') lists under 'AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP (GENERAL PURPOSE) - LHA': PELELIU, hull 5, construction start 4/74, delivery 5/80, annotated 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation.' - the only LHA row with no exception clause (TARAWA and SAIPAN carry 'except for boiler casing insulation and removalable pads'; BELLEAU WOOD and NASSAU carry 'except for boiler casing insulation'). The letter separately 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,' that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' and enumerates fleet-wide non-insulation applications: electrical resistors, deck tile, galley-range cabling, piping-system gaskets and packing, and brakes and clutches ('it is nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1974-1979 (construction window through letter date)
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades, Pascagoula 1974-80; ship's company and embarked Marines 1980-2015; shipyard workers at undocumented availabilities
- Limitations
- The annotation describes thermal-insulation status at delivery (5/80) - it does not quantify asbestos weight, does not enumerate which non-insulation applications were installed aboard this specific hull (the 'all ships' list is fleet-level), and says nothing about post-delivery additions or removals during availabilities, the 2015 inactivation, or material remaining aboard at sinking in 2026. It documents material status, not any individual's exposure, and establishes nothing about legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-01
-
[2]Siegfried v. 3M Company et al., No. 2:18-cv-01575-FMO-E (C.D. Cal.; removed from Los Angeles County Superior Court No. BC691900), Owens-Illinois, Inc.'s Joinder to Defendant Elliot Company's Notice of Removal, ECF No. 50 (filed 2018-03-02), before Judge Fernando M. Olguin [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP gov.uscourts.cacd.702384, ECF No. 50 (filed 03/02/18), Preliminary Statement para. 1 (numbered vessel list, 'USS Peleiu [sic] (LHA-5)'); complaint Exhibit A at RECAP doc. 1-1
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Docketed asbestos litigation naming this hull: the Owens-Illinois removal joinder recites the complaint's allegation that plaintiff Terry Lee Siegfried 'was injured as a result of his exposure to asbestos from Owens-Illinois while an electrician and marine electrician between approximately 1969 and 1996 on the Long Beach Naval Shipyard' and aboard a list of ~45 vessels expressly including 'USS Peleiu (LHA-5)' (numbered vessel list in the joinder's Preliminary Statement, para. 1; 'Peleiu' is a misspelling in the filing). Peleliu was commissioned in 1980 and homeported at Long Beach in her early career, so the hull's existence overlaps the last ~16 years of the alleged 1969-1996 window. Same pleading posture as the Siegfried rows carried for USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Tarawa (LHA-1), and other hulls in this corpus.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1980-1996 (this hull's overlap with the alleged exposure window); 2018 (litigation)
- Population
- Terry Lee Siegfried (electrician/marine electrician, LBNSY and listed vessels, c.1969-1996)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation only: an undifferentiated ~45-vessel list recited verbatim inside a defense removal filing (which asserts a government-contractor defense, not exposure facts). It alleges, but does not adjudicate, exposure aboard this hull; no discovery, fact-finding, or merits ruling on the allegation was located. Chronological tension worth flagging: the same filing dates Owens-Illinois Kaylo manufacture to 1948-04/30/1958 - sixteen-plus years before this hull's construction start (4/74 per the GAO table) - so the pleading does not coherently support Owens-Illinois-product exposure aboard this hull as built; the complaint does not specify dates aboard or which defendant's products are alleged for each vessel. Establishes nothing about materials aboard, dates aboard, or legal eligibility. Case history beyond the removal not traced (CourtListener API rate-limited - see search_ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-02
-
[3]Trussell v. Litton Systems, Inc. / Trussell v. Frigitemp Corp., 753 F.2d 366 (5th Cir.; decided 1984-12-03, amended 1985-02-14), No. 84-4405 [court_record]
- Locator
- 753 F.2d 366, Part I (stipulated facts: employer, accident date, completion percentage, launch interval)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Non-asbestos litigation naming this hull (classified 'other litigation' in the docket sweep): a Longshore Act sec. 905(b) 'vessel' status case on stipulated facts - Mae Trussell, employed by Frigitemp Marine Corp., a Litton subcontractor, was injured 1978-10-27 when she fell from a ladder while working on LHA-5, then under construction on a buildingway in Litton's Pascagoula shipyard, 40-60% complete and not yet launched; the vessel 'was launched twenty-eight days after the accident' (corroborating the NVR 11/25/1978 launch date). The Fifth Circuit held the incomplete hull was a 'vessel' under the LSHWA and reversed dismissal of the state tort claim. The record documents subcontractor personnel working aboard the incomplete hull during construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1978 (accident/construction); 1984-85 (opinion)
- Population
- Frigitemp Marine Corp. subcontractor personnel aboard the incomplete hull, 1978
- Limitations
- Not an asbestos case - the opinion addresses vessel status and tort liability for a fall injury; it contains no statement about materials or asbestos aboard. Its value here is documentary: a court record placing subcontractor workers aboard the hull at a fixed construction date, and independent corroboration of the late-November 1978 launch. It establishes nothing about asbestos content or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-03
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register ship detail page, PELELIU (LHA 5) '(ex - DA NANG)', Wayback capture 2024-06-24 (register last updated 06/12/2024; live SHIPSDETAIL page for this hull no longer returns rendered data after disposal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL_LHA_5 rendered page, Wayback capture 2024-06-24 (vessel status, milestone dates, physical characteristics, program characteristics blocks)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR register record for this hull: UIC 20748; class LHA 1; builder Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.; award 11/06/1970; keel 11/26/1976; launch 11/25/1978; delivery 04/03/1980; commission 05/03/1980; decommission 03/31/2015; stricken 04/30/2024 with status 'Stricken, Final Disposition Pending'; maintenance category X; berth/custodian NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Pearl Harbor, HI. Physical characteristics: 820 ft overall / 778 ft waterline, 106 ft beam, 27 ft draft, 26,255 tons light / 39,925 tons full displacement, steel hull with aluminum superstructure, propulsion type 'Steam Turbines,' 2 propellers, accommodations 82 officers + 882 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1970-2024
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked personnel 1980-2015; NISMF Pearl Harbor caretakers 2015-2026
- Limitations
- NVR documents registry milestones, characteristics, and custodial status - not materials or asbestos content. Keel date 11/26/1976 conflicts with the 11/12/1976 figure in secondary compilations (NavSource, globalsecurity, NavalCoverMuseum); NVR is carried as the register of record and the conflict is flagged in gaps. The capture predates disposal: status read 'Final Disposition Pending' on 06/12/2024; sinking documented separately (ev-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-04
-
[5]U.S. Navy press release, 'The "Iron Nickel" is Decommissioned After 34 Years of Service' (2015-03-31); corroborated by U.S. Pacific Fleet release 'Peleliu to Decommission After More Than 34 Years of Service' (cpf.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navy.mil release 2262243 (ceremony, career statistics); cpf.navy.mil release (tow to Pearl Harbor, last-of-class status)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official career and decommissioning record: Peleliu decommissioned at Naval Base San Diego 2015-03-31 after nearly 35 years of service - the last of the five Tarawa-class ships to decommission; 17 deployments, 178,051 flight operations, 57,983 personnel served, ~1,011,946 nautical miles steamed since commissioning 05/03/1980 at Pascagoula; homeported at Long Beach and later San Diego; operations included Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom (first ship to disembark Marines into Afghanistan, November 2001), and Iraqi Freedom; post-decommissioning tow to Middle Loch, Pearl Harbor, for inactive reserve alongside ex-Tarawa (LHA-1).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1980-2015
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked Marines 1980-2015
- Limitations
- Documents career summary and decommissioning only - no materials or asbestos information. Homeport dates (Long Beach vs San Diego transition) are not specified in the release; the Long Beach period is relevant to the Siegfried LBNSY allegation window but is not itself exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-05
-
[6]U.S. 3rd Fleet release via DVIDS, 'U.S. and Partner Nations conduct SINKEX during RIMPAC 26' (news ID 570552, posted 2026-07-22); corroborated by DVIDS video VIRIN 260715-N-SC393-2001 (hulk tow from Pearl Harbor, 2026-07-15) and Stars and Stripes (2026-07-24) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DVIDS 570552 (sinking date, depth, distance off Kauai, compliance paragraph); DVIDS video 1014870 (tug escort, Pearl Harbor, 07-15); DVIDS 571686 (GARC engagement)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Final disposition: ex-Peleliu was sunk as a live-fire SINKEX target on 2026-07-17 during RIMPAC 2026 (with ex-Mobile Bay CG-53 sunk 07-12), in waters 15,000 feet deep more than 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of Kauai; munitions included UGM-84 Harpoon missiles fired by USS Columbia (SSN-771), Spanish frigate Alvaro de Bazan, and Japanese destroyer JS Kongo, plus U.S. one-way attack surface drones (USVDIV-32 GARC engagement documented separately). The release states SINKEXs are 'planned in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and executed in accordance with the Navy's permits and authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026
- Limitations
- Documents disposal event, date, location, and the compliance framework only - no statement on materials remaining aboard at sinking. The 2026 SINKEX cleanup certification for this hulk is not public; published Navy descriptions of SINKEX preparation do not enumerate asbestos removal (see ev-08).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-06
-
[7]U.S. Pacific Fleet release via DVIDS, 'U.S. Pacific Fleet advances fleet resilience; conducts training to strengthen readiness and test emerging capabilities' (news ID 569084, ~2026-06-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DVIDS 569084 (exercise dates, units, at-sea and in-port phases)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-strike use of the hulk: U.S. Pacific Fleet conducted training and testing exercises 2026-04-20 through 2026-05-15 in the Pacific Ocean aboard decommissioned ex-Peleliu and in port at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam - controlled detonations by NSWC Carderock Division and EOD Mobile Unit 11 aboard the hulk at sea to simulate damage, followed by damage-control response by EODMU 11 and Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, then a tow back to JBPHH for NAVSEA-led in-port repair training with industry and academic partners. Documents Navy, civilian, and contractor personnel working inside the hulk's spaces months before sinking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026
- Population
- Navy EOD/salvage personnel, NAVSEA, government civilians, industry and university participants aboard ex-Peleliu, April-May 2026
- Limitations
- Documents personnel working aboard the hulk in April-May 2026, which implies the hull had been rendered safe for embarked training (consistent with SINKEX-prep material handling) - but the release makes no statement about hazardous-material condition, surveys, or removal aboard. No asbestos content is asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-07
-
[8]EPA, MPRSA general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels' (40 C.F.R. 229.2) + EPA-Navy 'Determination and Agreement' (January 2014) + EPA letter to petitioners Basel Action Network/Sierra Club/Center for Biological Diversity (2012-07-10) [federal_register]
- Locator
- epa.gov 'Transport of Target Vessels for Ocean Disposal' page; EPA 2014 SINKEX Determination and Agreement PDF (epa.gov 2017-03 documents); EPA 2012-07-10 letter to petitioners PDF (epa.gov 2015-10 documents)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Regulatory regime governing this hull's disposal: ex-vessels used in SINKEX are prepared under the MPRSA general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2 as interpreted by the January 2014 EPA-Navy Determination and Agreement, which requires removal to the maximum extent practicable of materials that may degrade the marine environment (the published preparation list covers liquid PCBs from transformers and large capacitors, small capacitors to the greatest extent practical, trash, floatable materials, mercury- and fluorocarbon-containing materials, readily detachable solid PCB items, and petroleum from tanks, piping, and reservoirs, followed by signed Navy environmental certification). The 1999 EPA interpretation letter requires a per-vessel PCB inventory provided to EPA in the annual report. The published SINKEX preparation requirements do not enumerate asbestos removal; EPA's 2012 response to the SINKEX petition records petitioners' request for studies of 'other potentially hazardous pollutants... including heavy metals, asbestos and radioactive substances,' and EPA's separate vessel-reefing guidance (40 C.F.R. 229.3) lists asbestos among pollutants requiring removal for ocean-disposal-to-reef conversions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1999-2026
- Population
- SINKEX preparation and inspection crews, Pearl Harbor 2026
- Limitations
- Program-level permit regime, not a hull-specific record: it establishes what preparation the rules required of ex-Peleliu, not what was actually found or removed aboard her. Absence of asbestos from the published SINKEX prep list is not evidence that asbestos was absent aboard or that it went down with the hull; the vessel-specific certification/inventory is not public (EPA annual SINKEX reports are the archival lead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-08
-
[9]GAO HRD-80-2 (1979) report body and Enclosure I letter narrative: insulation-spec revision timeline, NAVSEAINST 5100.2 (24 Oct 1975) no-asbestos policy, January 1979 removal-policy modification, approved replacement materials; GAO fieldwork yards Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 report body (policy narrative) and Enclosure I pp. 2-4 (spec-revision timeline, NAVSEAINST 5100.2, stockpile-exhaustion passage, replacement-materials list)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Policy environment for this hull's era: Navy insulation specifications were revised toward asbestos-free materials beginning as early as 1971 and called for asbestos-free materials by late 1973 - before this hull's tabulated construction start (4/74) - but pre-purchased ship-sets and stockpiles meant 'ships well under construction and already insulated at that time continued through to delivery as late as May 1978 with asbestos insulation'; the formal no-asbestos policy (NAVSEAINST 5100.2) issued 24 Oct 1975, before this hull's keel was laid (11/76). Approved thermal-insulation replacements: calcium silicate (with non-asbestos fillers), fibrous glass, refractory felt (alumina/silica), elastomeric foam, cellular glass. The October 1975 policy required removal/replacement only of damaged insulation or insulation removed for repairs; a January 1979 modification added selective replacement in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1971-1979
- Population
- Ingalls construction trades 1974-80; ship's company 1980-2015
- Limitations
- Program-level policy narrative only - not a ship-specific finding beyond what ev-01 tabulates. The letter's timeline explains why a 4/74-start, 5/80-delivery hull could plausibly be delivered asbestos-free in thermal insulation (late enough to benefit from the revised specifications and the 1975 policy), but it does not enumerate materials aboard this hull and documents nothing about post-delivery work. GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Ingalls.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-09
-
[10]Batch-309 search ledger (this record): NVR (Wayback), NHHC DANFS (no LHA-5 entry located), GAO HRD-80-2 full text (Justia mirror), DVIDS RIMPAC-26/REPTX releases, navy.mil and cpf.navy.mil decommissioning releases, EPA MPRSA permit pages, 5th Circuit reporter text; CourtListener API v4 throttled at daily quota and www.courtlistener.com 403 to automated fetch [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-peleliu-lha5-01 through sl-uss-peleliu-lha5-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Beyond the January 1979 CNO letter's delivery-time insulation annotation (ev-01), no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located: no hull asbestos survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure for the 2015-2026 reserve period or the 2026 SINKEX preparation, and no adjudicated exposure finding naming this hull. The two court records are pleading-stage (Siegfried vessel list) and non-asbestos (Trussell construction-injury case). The CourtListener docket-level sweep is incomplete due to API daily-quota throttling; the index route surfaced the Siegfried document and Trussell with no additional qualifying asbestos dockets observed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record does not prove absence of other documentation: SINKEX cleanup certifications, NISMF maintenance records, and availability work packages are not public. The record shows what the Navy reported at delivery (5/80), not the hull's 2015 or 2026 material state. CourtListener coverage gap is logged, not resolved - a re-run after quota reset may surface additional hits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peleliu-lha5-10