Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, William H. Bates (SSN-680) - naming history, Ingalls construction, Norfolk refit, Pacific transfer [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (NHHC DANFS): originally projected as Redfish; renamed for Rep. William H. Bates of Massachusetts after his death 22 June 1969. Contract awarded 25 June 1968 to the Ingalls Nuclear Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries, Pascagoula, Miss.; keel laid 4 August 1969; launched 11 December 1971, sponsored by Mrs. Andrew R. Grainger (Rep. Bates's daughter); commissioned 5 May 1973, Comdr. Glenn N. Arthur in command. DANFS records a refit at Norfolk Naval Shipyard beginning April 1975; eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean deployments; and a homeport shift to San Diego May 1978 for Pacific Fleet service. DANFS spec block lists complement 108.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1968-2000
- Population
- Ingalls construction trades (1969-73); NNSY trades; crew (1973-2000)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS narrative coverage ends about 1980; post-1980 service undocumented in primary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-01
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[2]Naval Vessel Register, Redfish/SSN-680 former-name record (Internet Archive Wayback capture) + navysite.de SSN-680 compilation for disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SSN-680 (REDFISH name record, Wayback) + navysite SSN-680 header
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register carries a separate 'REDFISH (SSN 680)' record (archived capture) showing the former-name entry with date status changed 1 June 1971 - corroborating the projected-Redfish naming documented by DANFS. No archived NVR detail page for the William H. Bates name-record was located; decommissioning/disposal rest on secondary compilation: decommissioned and stricken 11 February 2000; Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard completed in 2002 (navysite).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2000-2002
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- The archived REDFISH record is a name-history entry, not the vessel's active record - it corroborates the rename but supplies no Bates milestones. Bates disposal dates rest on secondary compilation: navysite reports decommissioned/stricken 11 February 2000 and recycling finished 2002; a reported NVR figure of 19 July 2002 and a secondary 30 October 2002 could not be re-verified (discrepancy carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-02
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[3]Cooks v. General Electric Company, No. 3:07-cv-05451-EMC (N.D. Cal.), complaint Exhibit A work-history/exposure exhibit, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-10-25) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 1-2, Exhibit A vessel list and job-duties block (Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos complaint exhibit (plaintiff Alvin Cooks's Mare Island Naval Shipyard work-history/exposure exhibit, Marine Machinist 1974-1995) lists vessels and locations of alleged asbestos exposure, expressly including 'WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN-680)'. The exhibit describes machinist duties including removing and replacing gaskets and packing, cutting gaskets, and cleaning valves, pumps, and blowers around insulators and other trades.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1974-1995 (grouped ranges 1974-1991 / 1984-1995)
- Population
- Mare Island Naval Shipyard trades (plaintiff's claimed window)
- Limitations
- Complaint-exhibit vessel list; unadjudicated pleading-stage allegation - not a finding that asbestos was aboard any listed hull. The exhibit's Mare Island window is partially corroborated: DANFS documents this hull's transfer to San Diego in May 1978 for Pacific Fleet service, making Mare Island contact geographically plausible thereafter, but no specific Mare Island availability is documented in located sources. The exhibit groups its vessel entries under two date-range annotations ('1974-1991'/'1984-1995'); column-flow makes this entry's assignment uncertain. The exhibit does not fix which duties involved this hull. Establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull, exposure of any individual, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-03
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[4]Halseth v. General Electric Co., No. 3:07-cv-02543-EMC (N.D. Cal.), complaint Exhibit A work-history, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-05-14) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 1-2, Exhibit A, PSNS pipefitter (1975-2004) vessel list + job-duties block (the separate Mare Island Building 866 'ship sightings' list does not contain this hull)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos complaint exhibit (plaintiff Michael Halseth's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard work-history section, Bremerton - Pipefitter, 1975-2004) lists vessels the plaintiff claimed exposure around, expressly including 'WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN-680)' among dozens of hulls. The section's job duties describe repairing, replacing, and modifying piping systems on nuclear and non-nuclear ships in engine rooms, fire rooms, and reactor rooms; changing gaskets in steam traps; and working around laggers, machinists, electricians, and painters 'regularly blowing around asbestos dust' near ships 'insulated with JOHNS-MANVILLE insulation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1975-2004
- Population
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard trades (plaintiff's claimed window)
- Limitations
- Complaint-exhibit vessel list; unadjudicated pleading-stage allegation - not a finding that asbestos was aboard any listed hull. The exhibit's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard window (1975-2004) is partially corroborated: DANFS documents this hull's May 1978 transfer to San Diego/Pacific Fleet service, and secondary compilation records a PSNS refueling overhaul around 1989 - inside the plaintiff's window - though that overhaul is not documented in a primary source. Establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull, exposure of any individual, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-04
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[5]Era inference built on: NHHC DANFS/NVR record (S5W2 plant, single shaft); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for the associated yards; no hull-specific material record located [other_primary]
- Locator
- class/era synthesis (no ship-specific document)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarine built 1969-73 at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, and maintained through Norfolk NSY and later Pacific-yard availabilities sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant (steam generators feeding geared turbines) and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. Documented asbestos product lines at the associated yards (Ingalls Shipbuilding, Norfolk NSY) are recorded in the shipyard-exposure-map dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1969-2002
- Population
- Shipyard construction trades (1969-73); yard availability trades; crew (1973-2000)
- Limitations
- CLASS/ERA INFERENCE ONLY - no ship-specific material schedule, insulation survey, or abatement record was located for this hull. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear auxiliary systems; the S5W2 reactor plant itself establishes nothing. Does not establish asbestos aboard this hull, any exposure, or any quantity. Never infer ship-specific findings from this row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-05
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[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- 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 and the bulk of her service-era insulation events.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1969-2002
- Population
- Navy ship and shipyard population (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-06
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[7]Batch-40 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS, archived Naval Vessel Register detail pages, CourtListener docket records via RECAP archive, GAO program documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- synthesis of the ship's search-ledger rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS William H. Bates (SSN-680): no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming this hull was found. The Cooks and Halseth exhibits naming this hull are pleading-stage allegations. No adjudicated exposure finding, ACM survey, or abatement record naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Population
- Shipyard construction trades; overhaul trades; crew
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard or absence of exposure. Recycling-era hazmat/abatement records for the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program are not public. CourtListener live search was rate-limited/auth-walled during this batch (logged in the search ledger); coverage rests on the retrieved RECAP document corpus and prior-batch sweeps, which is not exhaustive. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-h-bates-ssn680-07