USS Holland (AS-32) — Equipment Manifest & Asbestos Exposure Record

USS Holland (AS-32) is a Holland-class submarine tender with a documented asbestos-exposure record drawn from multiple publicly filed U.S. asbestos cases. The equipment manifest and exposure evidence below are grounded in deposition testimony from two separately filed civil actions and a full-text search across 499 matching chunks from the public asbestos litigation corpus.

Equipment Manifest

Manifest derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records (depositions, product identification exhibits, manufacturer interrogatory responses). Entries reflect what has been documented or alleged in publicly filed legal proceedings.

Documented Exposure Record

Propulsion and power plant

USS Holland (AS-32) was a diesel-propelled tender — her main propulsion came from four Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, not steam turbines. Her engineering plant also included two 150-psi auxiliary steam boilers (“donkey boilers” or “soot boilers”), documented in deposition testimony as Babcock & Wilcox units approximately 14 feet in length. These auxiliary boilers supplied steam to the forced draft blowers, feed pumps, fuel oil heaters, and distilling plants throughout the tender.

Deposition testimony describes the exterior of Holland’s auxiliary boilers as covered in asbestos insulation — removed by hammering and chipping during maintenance — producing significant dust throughout the fireroom.

Forced draft blowers and fuel oil heaters

Westinghouse forced draft blowers supplied combustion air to the auxiliary boilers. American Standard fuel oil heaters conditioned fuel oil before combustion. Deposition testimony in a publicly filed Dallas County, Texas case describes a Boiler Tender (BT) who regularly removed asbestos-cloth gaskets and packing from American Standard fuel oil heater connections as part of routine maintenance aboard Holland.

Distilling plants

Two distilling plants / evaporators produced fresh water for crew and submarine support operations. Publicly filed testimony identifies Griscom-Russell and Cleaver-Brooks as distilling plant manufacturers aboard Holland.

Valves

Valve maintenance was a primary source of asbestos exposure for engineroom ratings. Deposition testimony identifies the following valve manufacturers whose products were serviced aboard Holland:

• Crane Co. — steam valves, including a gear-operated stop check valve (Part No. PM 8'1007) with documented shipment records to Holland
• Atlas — steam valves
• Atwood & Morrill — steam valves
• Leslie Controls — steam control and reducing valves

Workers who removed, replaced, and cleaned valve packing and flange gaskets on these units were exposed to asbestos dust from the gasket material and packing cords.

Pumps

Holland’s engineering plant included multiple pump types serviced by Boiler Tenders, Machinist’s Mates, and Enginemen. Publicly filed product identification records and deposition testimony identify the following pump manufacturers aboard Holland:

• Ingersoll-Rand — aged lagging described as “pretty deteriorated and old”; asbestos pads removed during disassembly
• Buffalo Pumps (Air & Liquid Systems Corp.)
• Warren Pumps
• Westinghouse
• Gould Pumps
• De Laval
• Foster Wheeler
• General Electric

Pump maintenance required removing asbestos blankets from flanges, extracting hand-cut gaskets, and removing packing — each operation releasing asbestos fiber. Workers also cut replacement gaskets by hand from sheet material at the time of repair.

Gaskets and packing

Asbestos-containing gaskets and packing used aboard Holland are documented from multiple manufacturers:

• John Crane — asbestos gaskets and packing; J. Henry Holland (Norfolk, VA) functioned as a regional distributor of John Crane products; John Crane’s asbestos products were incorporated into Warren Pumps equipment across the vessel’s service life
• Garlock — compressed asbestos gaskets and packing
• Victor (Dana Corporation) — sheet asbestos gaskets
• Flexitallic — spiral-wound asbestos gaskets

Deposition testimony describes gasket work occurring “two or three times a year” per pump, with hand-punching (hand-cutting) of replacement gaskets from sheet stock — a particularly high-dust operation.

Asbestos insulation blankets

Uniroyal asbestos thermal blankets were wired onto turbines and valves throughout Holland’s engineering spaces. Testimony describes the blankets being removed and reinstalled during maintenance, releasing asbestos fiber each time they were handled.

Homeports and service history

Publicly filed deposition testimony places USS Holland AS-32 at Holy Loch, Scotland during the 1976–1979 period, operating as a support tender for nuclear submarine forces. Holland also underwent an overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNY) in 1974, with testimony noting that asbestos controls were in effect at the shipyard at that time — but that insulation removal from engineering spaces was performed by shipyard workers during that overhaul.

Ratings and work areas with documented exposure

Testimony in the public litigation record describes the following ratings performing asbestos-generating work aboard Holland:

• Boiler Tender (BT) — stationed in Forward Engine Room; maintained boilers, forced draft blowers, feed pumps, fuel oil heaters, and valves; assisted enginemen with turbine lagging removal and reinstallation
• Machinist’s Mate (MM) — maintained pumps, distilling plants, and engineering support systems; asbestos exposure during pump disassembly, packing removal, and gasket replacement
• Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2) — supervisory role in engineering plant; product identification records in Brazoria County, Texas case document pump manufacturer exposure during 1973–1975 service

The 1968 “Hazards of Asbestos” memorandum (9 December 1968, issued by the Navy) — produced in publicly filed Brazoria County, Texas litigation — identified the full range of MIL-specification asbestos products then in service aboard Navy vessels, including pipe covering (MIL-I-2781 Classes C and F), packing (MIL-P-31, MIL-P-41, MIL-P-2911, MIL-P-16635, MIL-P-17303, MIL-P-17349, MIL-P-17350), and gaskets (MIL-G-76, MIL-G-16265, MIL-G-21032). This memo establishes Navy institutional knowledge of asbestos hazards from 1968 forward.

Litigation record

USS Holland AS-32 asbestos cases include:

• Dallas County, Texas asbestos case — Boiler Tender, 1976–1979 service period at Holy Loch, Scotland; testimony covers Babcock & Wilcox boilers, American Standard fuel oil heaters, Westinghouse blowers, Griscom-Russell/Cleaver-Brooks distilling plants, Uniroyal blankets, Garlock/John Crane/Victor/Flexitallic gaskets, and IR/Buffalo/Warren pumps
• Brazoria County, Texas asbestos case (EPI Project 27490) — Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2), 1973–1975 service; product identification records for Warren, Ingersoll-Rand, Westinghouse, Gould, De Laval, Foster Wheeler, Buffalo, and General Electric pump manufacturers

Equipment and exposure documentation reflects what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation, deposition testimony, and litigation product-identification exhibits. This does not constitute a finding of fact or liability. This site does not provide legal or medical advice.

Veterans who served aboard USS Holland (AS-32): If you worked in the engineering spaces, engine room, fireroom, or distilling plant — or handled pumps, valves, gaskets, or insulation blankets — your service history may support a VA presumptive claim for asbestos-related disease, a civil lawsuit, or recovery through an asbestos trust fund.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

Source notes: equipment-manifest entries (where shown) are sourced from public-record BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation, NARA archives, and the public asbestos litigation record. Manufacturer attributions link to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Nothing on this page constitutes medical or legal advice.