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 (Oct. 18, 1979), Enclosure I - Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations letter Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan. 1979), and Attachment 1, 'List of U.S. Navy Ships Delivered Since 1973 or Under Construction' [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 Enclosure I: CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan 1979) pp. 4-6 of enclosure; Attachment 1 table 'DESTROYER - DD / SPRUANCE' rows 963-973 (PDF p. 18 of 26)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Navy's own documentation names this hull and its thermal-insulation status: Attachment 1's destroyer table lists 'PETERSON 969' with construction start 1/74 and delivery 6/77 (matching NVR's keel 29 Apr 1974 / delivery 13 Jun 1977) inside the block of Spruance-class hulls 963 through 973 annotated 'Asbestos thermal insulation.' The accompanying letter explains that although thermal-insulation specifications were changed to asbestos-free materials in 1973, asbestos stock already purchased was installed in ships under construction - 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978' - and specifically that 'for other ships, such as the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships, the change was not accomplished until later.' Hull 969 is the seventh DD 963-class ship and falls inside the documented asbestos-thermal-insulation group (963-973, deliveries Aug 1975-May 1978). The letter also records sister ship USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964) as containing 87,634 pounds of thermal insulation - a class-sibling quantity, not a figure for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1979 (construction-era insulation status as documented in 1979)
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades (1974-1977); ship's crew 1977-2002
- Limitations
- Establishes that this hull was delivered with asbestos thermal insulation as built (group documentation for hulls 963-973). Does not itemize locations or quantities aboard 969, does not establish any individual's exposure or causation, and does not document whether the insulation was disturbed or removed during 1977-2002 service (Navy policy removed insulation only when damaged or repair-driven - see ev-07). Official GAO PDF returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; text verified via Wayback capture 20250211154345 of gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-01
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[2]Naval Vessel Register ship-detail page, PETERSON (DD 969), UIC 20589 - Wayback captures 2001-04-20 (active, in commission), 2004-02-21 (stricken; planned disposition SINKEX; custodian NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Philadelphia PA), and 2004-10-19 (disposed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship-detail page for DD-969 (nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/DD969.htm), all three captures
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR registry record for this hull: destroyer, class DD 963 (Spruance), Atlantic Fleet, homeport Norfolk VA; awarded 15 Jan 1971; keel 29 Apr 1974; launched 21 Jun 1975; delivered 13 Jun 1977; commissioned 9 Jul 1977; decommissioned 4 Oct 2002; stricken 6 Nov 2002; builder 'INGALLS SB CORP/MS'; planning yard 'Ingalls Shipbuilding Div., Litton Industries, Pascagoula, MS'; 563 ft overall / 529 ft waterline; 55 ft beam; 32 ft maximum navigational draft; 6,929 tons light / 9,349 tons full displacement; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; gas turbines, 2 propellers; accommodations 35 officers / 349 enlisted. Post-stricken record: status 'Stricken, to be disposed of as a target or by test,' planned disposition 'SINKEX,' then 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' effective 16 Feb 2004.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1971-2004
- Population
- Ingalls construction trades 1974-1977; crew 1977-2002; NAVSEA inactive-ship custody personnel 2002-2004
- Limitations
- NVR documents registry facts, dimensions, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. The accommodations figure (35 officers/349 enlisted) is berthing capacity, not operating complement. Sinking method and location are not stated; the live NVR site no longer serves this detail page (redirects to index), so Wayback captures carry the content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-02
-
[3]GAO, Progress of the DD(X) Destroyer Program, GAO-05-752R (Jun. 14, 2005); consistent with testimony GAO-05-924T (Jul. 19, 2005) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO-05-752R, Autonomic Fire Suppression System section and Table 20; GAO-05-924T p. ~4 (ex-Peterson passage)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- GAO records ex-Peterson as a Navy test ship for the DD(X) program's autonomic fire suppression system: 'An initial test aboard the ex-Peterson, a test ship, successfully demonstrated the system's ability to detect damage and control fires.' Table 20 (source: U.S. Navy) schedules 'January [2004]: Weapons effects testing on ex-Peterson' between the September 2003 preliminary and September 2004 critical design reviews. The sister-ship test on ex-Caron (DD-970) ran December 2002 per the DOT&E FY2003 report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2003-2004
- Population
- test article (unmanned test ship); test personnel
- Limitations
- Documents the hull's post-stricken use as a DD(X) Live Fire Test & Evaluation platform in January 2004; says nothing about asbestos or other materials aboard and does not describe pre-test preparation or the sinking mechanics. gao.gov blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403); text verified via the globalsecurity.org GAO-mirror PDF of GAO-05-752R and GAO-05-924T.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-03
-
[4]Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), FY2004 Annual Report, 'DD(X) Land Attack Destroyer' section [other_primary]
- Locator
- DOT&E FY2004 Annual Report, 'DD(X) Land Attack Destroyer' (Navy Programs; report TOC ~p. 151)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DOT&E's FY04 annual report documents the at-sea weapons-effects test aboard this hull: 'The program tested the newly developed automatic fire suppression system aboard ex-Peterson using a surrogate threat weapon at sea. During the test, the automatic fire suppression system reconfigured itself using sensors and Smart Valve technology. The shipboard fires were controlled and eventually extinguished. In a second test, testers allowed a severe fire to burn for several minutes before activating the automatic fire suppression system. The system was able to contain the fire without a manned response.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2004
- Population
- test article (unmanned test ship); DD(X) program test personnel
- Limitations
- Establishes live-fire/weapons-effects testing aboard the hull in early 2004 (the test preceded the 16 Feb 2004 sinking; whether the sinking itself was part of the same test series is not stated in the located official record - NVR calls the disposal 'in support of Fleet training exercise'). Says nothing about materials aboard or any pre-sinking removal work. dote.osd.mil returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; section text verified via published mirrors of the official report.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-04
-
[5]Webb v. Baldor Electric Co., No. 1:22-cv-00145-KHJ-MTP (S.D. Miss.; RECAP docket 63376371), removed action Watson v. 3M Co. et al., No. 2022-003-AS (Jackson County, Miss. Circuit Court) - Complaint exhibit (ECF No. 1-1, filed 2022-06-10) and Lockheed Martin's Notice of Removal under 28 U.S.C. 1442(a) (ECF No. 1) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 1-1 (complaint exhibit), stamped 'Document 1-1 ... Page 85 of 147' (Ingalls 1966-2001 allegation, para. e) and 'Page 86 of 147' (vessel list naming 'USS PETERSON - DD-969 1974 1977'); para. 123 et seq. (mesothelioma, stamped Page 90); ECF No. 1 (notice of removal) para. 1-2
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury complaint naming this hull: plaintiff Allan Watson alleges he 'was also 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 in close proximity to pipefitters, insulators, and mechanics, with a naval-vessel work list naming 'USS PETERSON - DD-969' with years 1974/1977 (matching this hull's Ingalls construction window). The complaint alleges asbestos-induced mesothelioma (para. 123 et seq.). Full text verified by OCR of the scanned 147-page complaint exhibit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1966-2001 (alleged exposure, incl. hull's 1974-77 construction); 2022-2025 (litigation)
- Population
- Ingalls Shipyard electrician/technician/foreman/supervisor 1966-2001 (plaintiff Allan Watson); mesothelioma
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation - recited, never adjudicated; no finding that any asbestos aboard DD-969 contributed to the plaintiff's disease and no product/quantity determination for this hull. Federal docket terminated 2025-02-07; manner of termination not determined from the index. Caption discrepancy: CourtListener indexes the federal docket as 'Webb v. Baldor Electric Company' while the removed complaint and the notice of removal caption plaintiff Allan Watson (Watson v. 3M Co., Jackson Cty. No. 2022-003-AS).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-05
-
[6]Bell, K., 'New frontiers in ocean exploration: The E/V Nautilus 2014 Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean field season,' Oceanography 28(1) supplement (2015) (NOAA Institutional Repository); Ocean Exploration Trust, 'Identity of Unknown Shipwreck Revealed,' nautiluslive.org, 2014-07-07 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Oceanography 28(1) supplement (Bell 2015), shipwreck-survey passage and Figure 5; nautiluslive.org blog post of 2014-07-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed expedition report documents wreck identification: 'Working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Hercules dove on a large, unidentified target from a side-scan sonar survey. The target turned out to be the wreck of the Spruance-class destroyer USS Peterson, sunk in 2004 as part of a training exercise' - during the expedition's 2014 Gulf of Mexico field season, with the hull upright at ~2,400 m per OET's contemporaneous post (7 July 2014).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2004-2014
- Population
- n/a (post-disposal wreck)
- Limitations
- Confirms wreck identity, Gulf of Mexico location, and ~2,400 m depth; does not address materials or residual asbestos aboard. Secondary compilations (e.g., Wikipedia) describe the sinking area as the 'western North Atlantic' - inconsistent with the wreck's actual Gulf of Mexico location; the expedition record controls. Exact coordinates not published in the sources reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct. 18, 1979), main text and Enclosure I letter body [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 main text (scope/summary) and Enclosure I letter body
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Era policy regime covering this hull's service life: Navy product specifications for thermal insulation changed to asbestos-free materials in 1973; October 1975 policy removed/replaced only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs; January 1979 the policy was modified to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas expected to need repair in a ship's next operating cycle; the Navy estimated that approach would still leave the 30-50 percent of shipboard thermal asbestos insulation 'normally remains untouched, except for minor maintenance, during the life of a ship'; and the Navy stated 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' in applications without asbestos-free substitutes (gaskets, packing, electrical resistors/cabling, deck tile, galley ranges, brakes and clutches).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1979
- Population
- Navy personnel and shipyard workers fleet-wide
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific: establishes the policy regime but not whether DD-969's documented as-built insulation was actually disturbed or removed during service (including the reported 1991-92 Ingalls overhaul). gao.gov blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403); text verified via Wayback capture 20250211154345.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-07
-
[8]Atlas shipyard dataset, record 'ingalls-shipbuilding' (shipyards.json, evidence_tier 2): documented products incl. Thermobestos, Superex, Kaylo, Zonolite, Monokote, pipe covering, block insulation, gaskets, packing, cement, tape, fireproofing; 1970s insulator fiber measurements of 4-20 f/cc; litigation incl. Overly v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, 74 Cal. App. 4th 164 (1999) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'ingalls-shipbuilding' (yard_id verified resolving)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: this hull was built 1974-1977 at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula (NVR; also the Navy's DD(X)-era planning yard for this class). The Atlas yard record documents asbestos products in Ingalls's production environment across the construction era, worker/family radiologic findings, fiber measurements, and litigation naming the yard - situating the documented construction-window exposure environment in which ev-01's asbestos-insulated hull was built.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1974-1977
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades 1974-1977
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation: establishes asbestos in the builder's environment, not quantities or locations aboard this hull. The ship-specific insulation finding rests on ev-01 (Navy documentation), and the construction-window worker-exposure allegation rests on ev-05 (pleading stage). Not an independent hull-level finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-08
-
[9]National Association of Destroyer Veterans (destroyers.org/Tin Can Sailors), USS Peterson DD-969 ship page; NHHC-collection photo NH 106889-KN (official U.S. Navy photograph, via ibiblio Online Library) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyers.org DD-969 page; navsource.org/archives/05/969.htm; ibiblio.org photo data NH 106889-KN
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Namesake and compilation context: association and secondary compilations identify the ship's namesake as Lieutenant Commander Carl Jerrold Peterson, USN (1936-1969), USNA Class of 1958, killed in action 2 April 1969 commanding River Patrol Boat Squadron 57 in Vietnam, and record the ship sponsored by his mother Mrs. Miriam C. Peterson; NavSource notes the hull 'was built too late to be covered by the DANFS project,' so no NHHC/DANFS namesake or service entry exists.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1977 (naming/launch era)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Association/secondary sources only - not authoritative; carried as context for the namesake claim in the prose, explicitly labeled. No DANFS entry exists for this hull to verify namesake background; the NHHC-collection photo (NH 106889-KN) confirms the hull's existence/appearance only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-09
-
[10]This record's search ledger (sl-uss-peterson-dd969-01 through -09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-peterson-dd969-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative findings and sweep classification: (1) No DANFS entry exists for this hull (postdates DANFS coverage; NHHC index and command-operations-report paths return nothing). (2) No hull-level ACM inventory, survey, abatement contract, or post-delivery removal record located; no environmental-preparation record for the January-February 2004 test/sinking sequence located. (3) CourtListener sweep (authenticated, fleet-paced): opinions 'USS Peterson' - 1 hit, Butler Cty. Bar Assn. v. Minamyer, 129 Ohio St. 3d 433, 2011-Ohio-3642 (opinion 2691092), NON-ASBESTOS attorney-discipline case mentioning the ship incidentally (respondent's Feb 2002 helicopter landing aboard off Somalia); opinions 'DD-969' - 0; dockets 'USS Peterson' - 3 (Webb/Watson qualifying asbestos docket, ev-05; United States v. Peterson, S.D. Cal. criminal - name collision; Circuit City Stores bankruptcy, E.D. Va. - exhibit-text collision); dockets 'DD-969' - 5 (Webb/Watson qualifying; Stevens v. Beard prisoner civil rights, In re Seroquel MDL, US v. Basham criminal, Circuit City bankruptcy - all docket-text collisions). No adjudicated exposure finding exists - the single qualifying docket is a pleading-stage allegation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record does not prove absence of other documentation - BuShips/NAVSEA contract specifications, per-ship work packages (incl. any 1991-92 overhaul), and pre-sinking preparation records likely sit in undigitized NARA RG 19 series and NAVSEA records not retrievable online. CourtListener coverage is index-dependent; PACER-only documents may exist beyond RECAP coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-peterson-dd969-10