Document 71B86qR15kg0pjRLO47Dy66bg

INTERNAL CORRESPONDENCE r$EP 1 3 MINING AND METALS DIVISION To (Ham*) B. L. Ingalls Diwiion Metals Division locafi'on Niagara Falls, NY P. 0. BOX K, KING CITY, CALIFORNIA 93930 Dai* May l4, 1982 Copy fg D. F. Kapral R. J. Klotzbach R. 0. Marsten W. C. Thurber R. G. Woolery Under separate cover, I am sending you four separate bags of material which were "extracted" from a tailings sample by Dr. Earl Flowers. He is the one who has "invented" a process to reduce the toxicity of asbestos. The samples are identified as: 1. Washed Fines, #6 2. Washed Coarse, #5 3. Product #2, Grey ppt. from 1st (NH4)2 SO4 4. Product #5, Grey ppt. from 2nd " " He has retained two gallons of liquid for lab analysis. He suggests that we analyze the "product" samples for asbestos content and metals, especially magnesium and iron. He claims that the "washed fines and coarse" are asbestos free, neutral pH, and would grow grass if you add fertilizer and seed. They could be used for landfill. After we signed a Joint secrecy agreement. Dr. Flowers visited the plant on 2/19/82 to discuss his process. The attached sketch was copied from his blackboard "rumblings". He feels our mill tails would provide some of the raw materials for his process. A copy of the secrecy agreement and a couple of letters are enclosed. He has tentative plans to be in Niagara Falls on 6/11/82 and I'd like to have him meet with Dan, Bob K., Bob W. and you. I'll be in Niagara Falls at that time also. I'll let you know when his plans are firmed up. RECEIVED FSEP 0 71982 /dm PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MAY 1 8 1982 UCC 004476 r UCC 004477 flow qeneRAl incoRpoRAte6 arI s. floweos. ph.6. cecufied indusujial hygienist ioi oene omvc peulumi.ci 707-762-581S 7*11 016 SpOirtChOUSE 06 mdein. vi mi 01 703-821-8810 Mr. John L. Meyers Operations Manager Calidria Asbestos Union Carbide Corporation Metals Division Kinq City, CA 9193C' February 2, 1982 RECEIVED FEB - 5 1532 UNION CARBIDE KING CITY, CA. Dear Mr. Meyers. I enjoyed talking with you about my visiting the Calidria Mine near King City, California. As we discussed, T have invented a process for the chemical modification of an asbestos surface to decrease the toxicity of fibers to human lung cells, and I am interested in learning more about the wet process that you use in the mining of asbestos. Since mv invention uses a wet slurrv of asbestos, 1 believe that it would be Dossible to integrate mv treatment into your mining operation. Flow General Inc. owns the exclusive rights to mv invention, and a patent on it is about to issue. We believe, based on data from Ontario Research Foundation, that the treatment will allow my chemically modi fied asbestos to substitute for untreated or native asbestos in a variety of applications. lb facilitate more detailed discussions prior to the issuance of the patent, 1 mentioned the need for an exchange of nondisclosure agreements to protect the interests of Union An agreement is enclosed for your information t I believe that the first week of March is -------------- ------------------------ visit to the mine. If you agree to an exchange of nondisclosure agree ments, we can arrange a definite date for my visit. Please call me (707/762-5818) to let me know your views on the timing of the visit, or if you have any questions. Sincerely Enclosure 1>r'Sv/^T Subwdiarici: Flow Laboratories, Inc. and General Rcwrch Corporation An Equal Opportunity Employer UCC 004478 HowGeneral Inc 7655 Old Springhouse Road McLean, Virginia 22102, USA (703) 893-5915 Earl S. Flpwer6ffrPh;rB 101 Rene Drive ' Petaluma, California 94952 March 22, 1982 John L. Meyers Operations Manager Calidria Asbestos Union Carbide Corporation P.0. Box K King City, California 93930 f 2OK -yy(ty <^4//^ Q. VV\ ^^ Dear Mr. Meyers, It was a pleasure to visit the operation in King City and to learn more about Union Carbide's process for the wet extraction of asbestos. The background information on the discovery and de velopment of the Coalinga asbestos deposit was very interesting. I have evaluated the 5 pound sample of ore tailings with some interesting results. Essentially, I added ammonium sulfate solution to the tailings and recovered ammonium hydroxide, metal sulfates and magnesium hydroxide. The various samples have been submitted for quantitative analyses. From my initial evaluation, the scheme that I outlined for ex traction of alkalinity and magnesium values form the ore tailings appears to be technologically feasible. It is possible to generate the ammonium hydroxide needed for my treatment process by use of the ore tailings. In addition there appears to be a substantial ammount of iron in the form of magnetite that could provide a source for generating the iron treatment compound. In evaluating the ore slurry as received from the mine I found that the components of the ore tailings also react with my treatment chemicals. It appears that the best stage for applying my treatment is after the asbestos has been separated from the tailings and oppened to the maximum surface area. The slurry solution is highly alkaline. I would like to have a meeting at the Metals Division in Niagara Falls for a more detailed discussion of the treatment process. I will be in McLean, Virginia for the week of March 29th and at a conference on biological effects of mineral dusts from April 25-28. A one-day trip to Niagara Falls is possible for next week, or we could schedule a meeting sometime between April 4 and April 24. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments. Sincerely, Subsidiaries: Flow Laboratories, Inc. and General Research Corporation An Equal Opportunity Employer Eari S. Flowers, Ph.D. Director of Special Projects UCC 004479