Document gaa2eNRM4pOm8y3mERzowQB5q

S* .32 (RE /. 5*7fl) Shell Oil Company Interoffice Memorandum JUNE 17, 1980 FROM: MANAGER - MATERIALS & CORROSION, ENGINEERING SERVICES, ENGINEERING-PRODUCTS TO: MANAGER - ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING-PRODUCTS MANAGER - DESIGN & ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERINGPRODUCTS SUBJECT: MARKING OF ASBESTOS FREE CALCIUM SILICATE INSULATION Since the early 1970's, when the manufacturers of calcium silicate insulation removed asbestos from their formulations, Shell has pushed the manufacturers to conspicuously mark their new products so that rapid and positive identification of asbtstos free insulation could be made in the field by the average craftsman. Currently, the only means of positive identification is by trained technicians using a microscopic process which hampers maintenance significantly. The first break-through came when one of the major manufacturers conceded to market his material with a green stripe painted on each piece. The other two majors followed somewhat reluctantly, one with a red stripe and the other with a green stripe. The manufacturers were advised by Shell that this striping system was not really adequate and that something more positive was needed to be done. In 1979, Johns-Manville came up with a program to identify their product by dispersing mica flakes throughout the product making identification of even small pieces practical. Their total production is now being manufactured with the mica flakes. Because we are the forerunners in pushing this concept of marking (Others, including the Federal government are now requiring marked insulation), we need to support in the market place, those manufacturers who have shown a willingness to meet our needs. Until the other manufacturers come up with a better system than stripes, we have a strong preference for using the fully marked J-M insulation and request that you consider this when awarding insulation subcontracts. E. de Cardenas JWJ:kep LAM 002840 DPMC-08963