Primary Sources: New York Navy Yard (RG 181)

A citation-ready locator index for the NARA Philadelphia finding-aid packet received under research request 26-71389. This page records what archival descriptions say exists; it does not substitute for review of the underlying records.

Archival boundary

The supplied finding aids and box lists establish that listed folders, projects, and photograph captions exist in NARA custody. They do not establish installation, use, disturbance, worker exposure, disease, or liability. The underlying laboratory files, correspondence, and positive images have not been reviewed. No claim-level record is added to the U.S. Shipyard Asbestos Exposure Dataset, and Brooklyn remains Tier 3.

Recent corrections — August 31, 2026

A full review of the 23-file finding-aid packet corrected the 3962-series electrical-board locator from NY-6528 to NY-5175, accession 181-59A-0253. The updated index separates context-only manufacturer-name listings from entries that expressly name asbestos, adds NY-753 negative-box retrieval ranges, and records that 282 scanned accession-paperwork pages contain no asbestos naming. This corrects source location and interpretation only: it does not alter the U.S. Shipyard Asbestos Exposure Dataset, Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Tier 3 classification, or the rule that listed records have not been reviewed.

Audited finding-aid workbooks

New York Navy Yard photograph and series finding aid provides the NY-2687 photo captions, NY-3449 correspondence listing, and related series locators. Third Naval District / New York Navy Yard Material Laboratory box list provides every NY-5175 and NY-6537 laboratory-project locator. Each locator is linked in the rendered table to the workbook that contains it; the available workbooks are finding aids, not the underlying test files or photograph images.

Asbestos-relevant locator index

NY-5175, accession 181-59A-0253: box 8 folder 23 test 3940-39-A, “Raybestos-Manhattan Inc. Asbestos Web”; box 8 folder 55 test 3940-85, “St. Regis Paper Co. Carded Asbestos”; box 9 folders 59–60 tests 3940-H-1/H-1A, “Length of Asbestos Fibre”; and box 16 folder 37 test 4861-T-1, “Watertown Mfg. Co., Flourothene-A, Asbestos Molding Compound, Flexural Strength.” NY-6537, accession 181-61A-0277: box 7 folder 19 project 4598-84 Part I, “Yard Stock Gasket Material Asbestos.” NY-2687, accession NN-366-67: F659 C1043 (1936-09-02), “WPA — ASBESTOS COVERING AND PAINTING OF STEAM LINES — BOILER ROOM POWER PLANT”; and F18 C128 (1940-07-01), “BLDG#18 — TURRET AND ERECTION SHOPS — ASBESTOS COVERED METAL SIDING IN PLACE.” Each is a finding-aid entry or caption only; underlying records remain unreviewed.

Context-only locators

NY-2687 F659 C1014 identifies pipe covering of steam lines but does not name asbestos. NY-3449, “Insulation and Lagging — Submarines,” and the NY-5175 box 7 electrical-board listings (Keasbey + Mattison tests 3962-119/122, folders 27–28) are research locators only; neither identifies asbestos composition or use. Additional full-packet context-only groups are NY-2687 F41 C325 and F659 C973–C974 (insulation-related captions that do not name asbestos); NY-5175 box 2 folder 1 project 4861-A and box 14 folder 11 project 4860-A (generic insulation-resistance or notes projects); and NY-6537 box 7 projects 4598-88 and 4598-84 (other gasket-material titles that do not expressly name asbestos). Further NY-5175 manufacturer-name locators, all context-only: box 7 folders 9–11, tests 3962-11 (“Johns Manville Switchboard Material”) and 3962-16/24 (Keasby + Mattison “HIS” Switchboard Material), and box 8 folder 22, test 3940-39 (“Raybestos Manhattan,” parent listing of the asbestos-web test 3940-39-A). NY-753 photograph negatives (accession 181-59A-0422) are boxed by test-number range — box 50 (tests 3936–3979), box 65 (4594–4627), and box 71 (4853–4895) cover the material-test series above — and are viewable onsite by light box only. A page-level text-recognition review of all 282 scanned accession-paperwork pages found no asbestos naming in the scanned PDFs. The packet catalogue also identifies record series NY-747, NY-2394, NY-768, NY-844, NY-2743, NY-797, NY-6528, NY-6537, NY-6539, NY-5175, NY-753, NY-2685, NY-2687, NY-6810, NY-6806, and NY-2554, with accessions and extents; no SF-135 or finding aid was located for NY-6524 (181-64A/B-0395) or PH-6361.

Research access

The packet was supplied by the National Archives at Philadelphia under request 26-71389. Use the NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 181, the NARA Catalog RG 181 search, Navy filing manuals, and National Archives at Philadelphia for record context and access procedures.