The USS Christopher (DE-100) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort laid down on December 7, 1942, and launched on June 19, 1943. It was commissioned on October 23, the same year under Lt. A. W. P. Trench’s command with the hull number DE-100 and served in the US Navy for one year until it was decommissioned on December 19, 1944. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 216 men on board and had its main missions in Trinidad and Montevideo. After decommissioning, the ship was transferred to Brazil where it was renamed Benevente and struck from the Naval Register on July 20, 1953. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Christopher received the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. Aboard Navy ships, asbestos was used in materials such as thermal insulation (block, felt, and blanket), sheet gaskets, and packing materials. Some of the asbestos-containing materials used included 85% amosite insulating blocks and 100% chrysotile insulating cement. Chrysotile or white asbestos was the only type of asbestos used in naval gaskets and packing.
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