Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS-derived service narrative for Sam Houston (SSBN-609), verbatim transcription hosted at navysite.de (live NHHC page 404; hazegray transcription not present for this hull) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- navysite.de/ssbn/ssbn609.htm, 'History of USS SAM HOUSTON' (DANFS text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 28 December 1959 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; launched 2 February 1961, sponsored by Mrs. John B. Connally; commissioned 6 March 1962, Capt. W. P. Willis, Jr. (Blue crew) in command; Gold crew commanded by Comdr. J. H. Hawkins. Seventh U.S. Polaris submarine; fired first missile 25 April 1962 off Cape Canaveral. First patrol: 48 days 2 hours continuously submerged, ending alongside tender Proteus (AS-19) in Holy Loch, Scotland. First fleet ballistic missile submarine to enter the Mediterranean; first Polaris submarine to make a port call during a patrol (Izmir, Turkey). 6 patrols in first year; 10 by end of 1964; 21st patrol by end of 1968. Major overhaul at the Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, N.H., beginning 10 August 1966 (sea trials 30 October 1967). Operated with SubRon 14, then SubRon 16 out of Rota, Spain; entered Charleston Naval Shipyard 27 November 1972 for an extended in-port period including regular overhaul and weapons/propulsion updates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1959-1991
- Population
- NNS construction trades (1959-62); Blue and Gold crews (1962-1991); Portsmouth NSY trades (1966-67); Charleston NSY trades (1972-74); PSNSY trades (1982-85, 1991-92)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard periods documented are exposure-relevant events, but asbestos disturbance within them is era inference, not a per-hull record. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404; navysite.de hosts a verbatim DANFS-derived transcription used here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-01
-
[2]NavSource Submarine Photo Archive, Sam Houston (SSBN/SSN-609) page - NVR-derived milestone and disposition data (volunteer archive transcribing Naval Vessel Register entries) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 08/08609 disposition block; conversion/deactivation detail via DANFS-derived narrative at navysite.de
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Reclassified SSN-609 on 10 November 1980 after her missile tubes were disabled (concrete blocks) under SALT I ceilings. From September 1982 to September 1985 she underwent conversion to an amphibious/special-forces transport at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard - additional troop berthing, removal of missile tubes. Deactivated 1 March 1991; decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 6 September 1991; disposed through the Nuclear Powered Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound NSY, completed 3 February 1992.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1980-11-10 to 1992-02-03
- Population
- PSNSY conversion trades (1982-85); PSNSY inactivation/recycling workers (1991-92)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archive transcribing NVR entries - cited as NVR-derived secondary because the live NVR carries no detail page for this pre-1987-era disposal pattern (per-ship pages not located; site shell only). No asbestos content; the 1982-85 conversion and 1991-92 recycling involved material disturbance at yard level, but no hull-specific ACM disclosure was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-02
-
[3]NHHC, Navy 250 commemoration toolkit, 'Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines' (SSBNS.pdf) - official class-level history [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Navy250 SSBNS.pdf, Ethan Allen-class paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC documents that the Ethan Allen-class and all later SSBNs were designed from the keel up to carry ballistic missiles, that the Navy built five Ethan Allen-class boats between 1961 and 1963 equipped with A-2 and later A-3 missiles, and that by 1966 the force totaled 41 boats ('41 for Freedom'). Sam Houston is the second boat of the class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1961-1966
- Limitations
- Class-level official history; documents the type, not any material content aboard this hull. No asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (S5W-era nuclear plant, secondary steam plant); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Newport News Shipbuilding, Portsmouth NSY, Charleston NSY, and Puget Sound NSY (thermal insulation, submarine steam/propulsion lagging, gaskets, packing, machinery insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json product lists for newport-news-shipbuilding, portsmouth-naval-shipyard, charleston-naval-shipyard, puget-sound-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A fleet ballistic missile submarine built 1959-61 at Newport News and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities across the 1960s-90s sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era; era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant (steam generators to turbines) and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. All four yards documented for this hull (Newport News; Portsmouth NSY 1966-67 overhaul; Charleston NSY 1972-74 overhaul; Puget Sound NSY conversion 1982-85 and recycling 1991-92) carry yard-level asbestos product documentation in the Atlas shipyards dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1959-1992
- Population
- NNS construction trades (1959-62); PNSY/CNSY/PSNSY yard trades; Blue and Gold crews (1962-1991)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SSBN-609. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear auxiliary/secondary systems, not confirmed installed materials; the S5W reactor plant establishes nothing. No quantity. Hull no longer extant (recycled 1992) - present-day material condition moot.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-04
-
[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - covering this hull's construction window (1959-62) and the 1966-67 Portsmouth overhaul; the 1972-74 Charleston overhaul and later events fall at or after the substitution transition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-05
-
[6]Batch-76 search ledger (this record): DANFS-derived transcription; NavSource/NVR-derived disposition; NHHC class PDF; CourtListener name and hull-number searches plus RECAP indexed-document sweep; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure naming USS Sam Houston (SSBN/SSN-609) was found. CourtListener direct search was throttled mid-sweep (HTTP 429/202); indexed RECAP document search surfaced one qualifying asbestos case naming this hull (Zimmerman, ev-07) and no other qualifying case. SRP hazardous-material handling records for this hull, if any exist, are not public.
- 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 litigation reference is an allegation, not a finding. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-06
-
[7]Zimmerman v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. et al., No. 3:14-cv-00176-MPS (D. Conn.): Crane Co. memorandum in support of summary judgment, ECF 65 (filed 2015-09-08), and General Electric Local Rule 56(a)(1) statement of undisputed facts, ECF 77-1 (filed 2015-09-08), via CourtListener RECAP [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 65 at 1, 5-6 (Crane SJ brief, vessel recital); ECF 77-1 at 1, 4-5 (GE LR56 undisputed facts 1-2, 15-16, 27)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- QUALIFYING asbestos litigation naming this hull: in Zimmerman v. Air & Liquid Systems (D. Conn., products-liability/mesothelioma case removed from Connecticut Superior Court February 2014), defendants' summary-judgment filings recite that plaintiff Ronald Zimmerman served in the U.S. Navy 1966-1971 as a reactor operator, was assigned to USS Sam Houston in 1968, alleges asbestos exposure during service aboard USS Sam Houston and USS Bluefish, and alleges resulting mesothelioma. GE's LR56 statement recites the Sam Houston assignment and describes between-patrol maintenance. Crane and GE moved for summary judgment on no-product-identification grounds; the final disposition was not located in the indexed record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1966-1971 (alleged exposure window); 2014-2015 (litigation)
- Population
- Ronald Zimmerman (Navy reactor operator, USS Sam Houston 1968-era assignment, per recited allegations)
- Limitations
- Allegation/discovery-stage record, classified at that stage per batch litigation discipline: the filings recite the plaintiff's claimed service and exposure; no court found that exposure occurred aboard this hull, and a defense summary-judgment win would be a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not exposure evidence. These are litigation references to the hull, not materials survey data. Plaintiff's Navy service window (1966-71) and the recited 1968 assignment are consistent with this hull's documented service era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sam-houston-ssbn609-07