Document wg6pVmn0noVq9BrmoyERQ86EJ

FILE NAME: Raybestos-Manhattan (RBM) DATE: 1976 Nov 5 DOC#: RBM082 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Memo RE Asbestos Fiber Count at RBM Plant .laiCBSiBS tasien 7 i v i .'*V ',. r -- 7 -- -- r - ^ - - '- * ,..!:> jt'yV, : -v ' J** ;t-* ..L I ' " ' To: . Mr; W. Iteucke ftmia Oomm1 EvirotxcgiYtal Servirs. Location: North Charleston, S. C. Oats: November 5, 1976 Subject: Asbestos Fiber count at Brechest Fiber Conraay in Spartanburg, S. G. Attached is a copy of the report that X sent to Mari Brothers an asbestos dust generation during installation of our conven tional 1QP225 AAA untreated cloth at the construction site. I would also like to oonment that o onsideratim should be given to these counts due to m ethod s presently being used today at Boechest Fiber and in the insu.1 aticn industry compared to some of the older methods. Below is a brief description of insulating straight line pipes, valves, Langes, eta., the old method and the new way that a large proportion of insulation is being installed today. . Old methods consisted of: 1. ' Laying a piece of asbestos cloth cn the pipe or'valve 'to form the inner or first ply. 2. Then pre-fcraed insulation is attached cr filler (in mud farm) m y be applied by hand to valves and hard to get to areas. This preformed insulation and insulation filler also con rained a per cent of asbestos fiber. 3. The insulation filler is then covered with an outer ply of asbestos cloth and painted with a special cement to mafce the cuter surface brittle and rigid. New methods that are largely used today are: 1. various pipe and segm e nt insulation is fabricated in a shop and treansfsrrad to the wade place and installed. 2. Fabrication consists of covering cgroonent parts of ` pre-foamed insulation filler with asbestos cloth and paint with special cement to obtain a durable surface. The pre-faraed filler being used today contains "no asbestos" fiber. 3. 'CacEcngfit parts are then attached to lines and valves with wire car metal stoats allowing the parts to be - removed if necessary with no dust generation during recoval. C" . I * -A-- A W . *, 3, 1576 Tearing-cut old insulation could be a dusty job and under certain conditions would be the highest exposure of the insulation worker. I did not have the opportunity to sample'tear-out operations during tay visit at Boechest but this should be considered, in order to collect total representative s a m l e s of the insulation worker on the contraction site. Tear-cut monitoring should be taken during removal of insulation that 'was installed using the old method beransf this would be representative of the worker's exposure several years ago. It is my feeling that, if we are going to aollect asbestos dust counts for court testimony that represents the insulation worker a n the construction site, we should be monitoring ecplcyees working with the old method af insftal ling insulation rather than the new. Five of the seven counts taken at Hsechest Fiber were made during fabrication of insulation using the new m e thod and are sot representative of the worker's activity in past years. If you feel that there is a need to di grass- future methods of monitoring dust generation from asbestos cloth that is being used by the insulation worker on the construc tion site, please do so. Co m l e t a work sheets of the Boechest Fiber counts are on file. ______ _ Pat Cooper ch Attachment ce: J. W. Frampten, Jr. M. Q. Scowcroft C