Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet gb-packet.md (11 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced DANFS text)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced DANFS text)
- Evidence ID
- uss-picking-dd685-pkt-gb-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Picking (DD-685) (builder, dates, full WWII/Korea/Vietnam service narrative; verbatim HazeGray transcription via Wayback capture 2024-05-25 - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (hazegray.org dd685txt.htm via Wayback)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 24 November 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Inc., Staten Island, N.Y.; launched 1 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Sherwood Picking; commissioned 21 September 1943, Comdr. Raymond S. Lamb in command. North Pacific Fleet / DesRon 49 Aleutian-Kuriles service 1944 (Paramushiro, Matsuwa bombardments); Leyte, Lingayen, Mariveles/Corregidor, Okinawa 1944-45; decommissioned 20 December 1945 into Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego; recommissioned 26 January 1951; Korea 1953 (TF 77/95 shore bombardment); 1955 Londonderry convoy-escort study and 6th Fleet; Pacific Fleet, Long Beach from April 1956; repeated WestPac tours incl. ASW hunter-killer ops with Yorktown (CVS-10) 1958-59; Cuban crisis escort of Ranger (CVA-61) 1962; Vietnam duty 1964-68 (Gulf of Tonkin response, Dixie Station, naval gunfire support, Yankee Station); decommissioned 6 September 1969 at Long Beach and entered the Reserve Fleet. Five WWII battle stars; one Korean battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Bethlehem Staten Island construction trades 1942-43; wartime and postwar crews (design complement 329 wartime per DANFS)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Spec block lists cpl. 329 (wartime); NavSource as-built figure is 273. Final decommissioning date conflicts with the 4 December 1969 given by the ship's association and implied by the NavSource commanding-officer list - carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-01
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, PICKING (DD 685) detail page (Wayback capture 2017-02-01; NVR maintained by NAVSEA for CNO) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL_DD_685 (Wayback 2017-02-01): status line, date-status-changed, stricken date
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NVR record for this hull: UIC 04285; status 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' with date status changed 02/27/1997; stricken date 03/01/1975. Confirms the vessel was retained ~21 years after decommissioning (target custody) before disposal by sinking in a fleet training exercise in February 1997.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1969-1997
- Population
- Target-preparation and exercise personnel, 1997 (unquantified)
- Limitations
- NVR documents the disposition type and dates only - it contains no asbestos, hazmat-removal, or target-preparation detail. Pre-1987-disposal NVR entries are backfilled and sparse (builder, milestone, and characteristics fields are blank on this page). The 1997 sinking location is not given by NVR (association-reported coordinates carried in the location field).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-02
-
[4]NavSource DD-685 page, photo-caption data incl. official photo provenance: U.S. Navy photo NY2-1619-10/51, Boston National Historical Park Charlestown Navy Yard Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13964; Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum collections; NHHC NH 107185 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-685 page, operational/building data block and photo captions (Wayback capture 2024-05-04)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Photo-caption record for this hull: (1) in overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard 14 July - 7 September 1945; (2) selected as the PROTOTYPE SCB-74A Fletcher modernization, entering Boston Naval Shipyard June 1951 (NPS-cataloged official photo, Oct. 1951); (3) two decommissioning-related ceremonies - Long Beach 6 September 1969 and Reserve Fleet, Mare Island, 1 June 1970; (4) photographed as an inactive hulk at Mare Island Naval Shipyard July 1992 and circa 1993-94 (alongside ex-Richard S. Edwards DD-950 and ex-Falgout DER-324); (5) operating data: decommissioned at Long Beach 6 September 1969, stricken 1 March 1975, designated as a target June 1976, sunk 27 February 1997.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945; 1951; 1969-1997
- Population
- Mare Island NY overhaul workforce 1945; Boston NSY SCB-74A modernization workforce 1951; reserve-fleet caretakers and target-tow/prep crews 1970-97
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled photo archive; entries are captioned photographs, several with official-provenance cataloging (NPS BOSTS-13964, NHHC NH 107185). The SCB-74A-prototype and 1945 Mare Island overhaul statements are caption claims not independently confirmed against a yard schedule. June 1970 Mare Island event is described as a second decommissioning ceremony, not a separate decommissioning. The reserve-fleet presence at Mare Island circa 1969-71 is independently corroborated by the Ramsey complaint exhibit (ev-08), which places a Navy boiler technician aboard the mothballed hull in that window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-03
-
[5]Fletcher-class profile background (fletcher-class.class.json, batch class-C): navypedia class table + BuShips Ships Data 1945 machinery block + GAO HRD-80-2 program finding + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' [other_primary]
- Locator
- fletcher-class.class.json technical block and evidence rows; shipyards.json 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942-43 with the standard 4-Babcock-&-Wilcox-boiler / 60,000-shp geared-steam-turbine plant falls inside the Navy's documented peak asbestos-insulation era (GAO HRD-80-2: substitution not begun until early 1970s, after this hull decommissioned); period-standard applications are boiler and steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The builder's corporate yard record (Bethlehem Shipbuilding, Atlas tier 3) documents asbestos products across Bethlehem yards - the specific Staten Island (Port Richmond) yard is not a distinct dataset entry.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1997
- Population
- Bethlehem Staten Island construction trades 1942-43; Mare Island and Boston NSY yard periods; crews 1943-69; target-prep crews 1997
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific findings for this hull are the litigation rows (ev-07, ev-08). This row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. No BuShips material schedule or insulation spec was retrieved for DD-685 (NARA RG 19 remains an archival lead). Does not quantify material aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-04
-
[6]EPA, 'SINKEX Determination and Agreement' (signed determination reviewing Navy sinking-exercise program under MPRSA general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels,' 40 C.F.R. 229.2; includes EPA-Navy 1999 PCB letter history) [federal_register]
- Locator
- EPA SINKEX Determination and Agreement (EPA snapshot site, signed PDF), permit description and 1999-letter sections
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Regulatory context for this hull's 1997 disposal: Navy SINKEX operations ran under the MPRSA general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2 requiring sinkings in at least 1,000 fathoms and at least 50 nm from land; EPA's formal agreement with the Navy on shipboard PCBs dates to an August 2, 1999 letter - over two years AFTER Picking's sinking - and addresses PCBs, not asbestos. The hull was sunk ~1,030 fathoms off Southern California (association-reported position), consistent with the permit's depth requirement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1997 (sinking); 1999 (EPA-Navy PCB letter)
- Population
- SINKEX program personnel; marine environment
- Limitations
- Program-level context only. Documents the regulatory regime under which this hull was sunk; contains no hull-specific preparation, survey, or materials record. Asbestos is not addressed by the cited determination (its focus is PCBs). No target-prep hazmat record for DD-685 was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-05
-
[7]Batch-3660 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS, NVR, NavSource, EPA SINKEX documentation, NARA RG 19 lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-picking-dd685-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-685: no hull survey, abatement record, museum NHL nomination, hazmat disclosure, or product-level material identification exists in any located source - the hull's disposition (sunk as target 1997) forecloses the museum-documentation pathway that produced ship-specific records for sister hulls (e.g., USS The Sullivans DD-537 NHL nomination). Ship-specific documentation rests entirely on pleading-stage litigation records (ev-07, ev-08).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of survey/abatement documentation does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level (ev-04), the pleading exhibits allege exposure aboard, and the hull was sunk with residual material undocumented. BuShips/NARA RG 19 hull-level specifications are unretrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-06
-
[8]Spilmon et al v. General Electric Company, complaint Exhibit A (in MDL-875 tag-along notices: JPML Doc. 8174-3 filed 2011-12-08 for N.D. Cal. 3:11-cv-05289-MEJ, and JPML Doc. 8001-1 filed 2011-11-01 for N.D. Cal. 4:11-cv-05256-SBA; underlying action removed from San Francisco Superior CGC-11-275897) [court_record]
- Locator
- JPML MDL-875 Doc. 8174-3 pp.15-18 (Exhibit A exposure table) and Doc. 8001-1 pp.16-18 (same exhibit in the 4:11-cv-05256 removal)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage asbestos complaint names this hull: Exhibit A to the Spilmon complaint (survival/wrongful-death asbestos action for decedent Marion Spilmon, filed by Brayton Purcell LLP) lists 'PICKING (DD-685)' in the decedent's U.S. Navy exposure history with dates 8/1944 - 12/1945, in the machinist-mate rating sequence (adjacent rows: Fireman at Great Lakes 4/44-8/44; Machinist Mate aboard SEIVER APA-233 1/46-6/46; then Hunters Point, Brush DD-745, Laffey DD-724, Coral Sea CVA-43 and yard assignments 1950-69). Exhibit text: 'Decedent's exposure to asbestos and asbestos-containing products' at the listed locations 'caused severe and permanent injury... including... lung damage, and ultimately, death' - lung cancer diagnosed ~May 2008, asbestosis and asbestos-related pleural disease ~April 2009; decedent died October 19, 2010.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (alleged exposure aboard); 2011 litigation
- Population
- Marion Spilmon (U.S. Navy 1944-1969, machinist-mate rating; aboard PICKING alleged 8/1944-12/1945); shipmates on the same engineering spaces
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE ALLEGATION, unadjudicated - the exhibit alleges but does not adjudicate exposure aboard this hull. Read from OCR of a scanned RECAP attachment; the Picking row's job-title cell is ambiguous in OCR (machinist-mate rating inferred from adjacent rows, not asserted verbatim). Case outcome beyond the 2011 MDL tag-along not traced; names no defendant product aboard the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-07
-
[9]Ramsey et al v. United States Steel Corp. et al, complaint Exhibit A (N.D. Cal. 4:12-cv-02040-CW, complaint filed 2012-04-24; attached to JPML MDL-875 Doc. 8650-2 tag-along notice filed 2012-04-27; Brayton Purcell LLP) [court_record]
- Locator
- JPML MDL-875 Doc. 8650-2 pp.19-20 (Exhibit A exposure table, Mare Island rows)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage asbestos complaint names this hull: Exhibit A to the Ramsey complaint (asbestos personal-injury/products-liability action of William and Diana Ramsey) lists the plaintiff's U.S. Navy exposure history as a Boiler Technician (Chief), including a Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo CA sequence grouping 'PORTERFIELD (DD-682) / STODDARD (DD-566) / PICKING (DD-685)' with adjacent dates 6/14/1970 - 11/30/1971 - the window when all three hulls lay in the Mare Island reserve fleet (DD-685's reserve-fleet period independently corroborated by the NavSource photo record, ev-03). The exhibit alleges asbestos exposure aboard/in connection with the listed vessels including this mothballed hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1970-1971 (alleged exposure aboard); 2012 litigation
- Population
- William Ramsey (Navy Boiler Technician, Chief; reserve-fleet maintenance at Mare Island ~1969-71); reserve-fleet/mothball maintenance crews
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE ALLEGATION, unadjudicated - alleges exposure aboard this hull, does not adjudicate it. The exhibit groups three reserve-fleet hulks in one row; per-hull task detail is not itemized (the allegation is boiler-technician work across the listed hulks, not a statement that asbestos was disturbed on DD-685 specifically). Case outcome beyond the 2012 MDL tag-along not traced; names no defendant product aboard the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep, 2026-09-27: "USS Picking" (type=o) = 0 hits; "USS Picking" (type=r) = 1 docket; "DD-685" (type=o) = 0 hits; "DD-685" (type=r) = 2 dockets / 6 matching documents [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results; JPML docket 1245688 docs 8001-1, 8174-3, 8650-2; C.D. Cal. docket 4152218
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep classification for this hull: (1) "USS Picking" opinion search = zero hits. (2) "USS Picking" docket search = U.S. ex rel. Vatan v. QTC Medical Services, 2:14-cv-08961 (C.D. Cal.) - a False Claims Act qui tam over QTC's VA disability-claims review for Vietnam veterans' Agent Orange claims (SJ for defendants, aff'd 9th Cir. 2020 non-precedential); the name match sits in a 332-page amended complaint (ECF 18) consistent with a veteran's service-record excerpt - NAME REFERENCE, not asbestos litigation. (3) "DD-685" opinion search = zero hits. (4) "DD-685" docket search = MDL-875 (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), JPML, 6 matching documents - 3 fetched and OCR-verified, resolving to the two qualifying complaints at ev-07/ev-08; remaining matches unenumerated, likely further tag-along notices for the same underlying cases) + the same QTC docket. Net: two qualifying pleading-stage asbestos complaints name this hull; no adjudicated opinion located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2011-2020 litigation window
- Population
- asbestos-litigation plaintiffs naming DD-685 (Spilmon decedent; Ramsey)
- Limitations
- MDL-875's 'document_count: 6' exceeds the three attachments fetched; unreviewed matches may be additional notices or schedules for the same cases and are not assumed to be new plaintiffs. Search results reflect CourtListener's RECAP/opinion index coverage only - state-court dockets and asbestos trust claims are outside it. No published opinion names this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-picking-dd685-09