Document xj3Xjb71pGLDKkQvMx3XQbx1

INTERNAL CORRESPONDENCE PETALS DIVISION Jam 2e P. 0. BOX 579 *4625 ROYAL AV, NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK 1430 to (Name) Division Location Mr. S. Hoffman UCC-Law Dept. 46th Floor 270 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017 copy to Messrs. , File G. R. Adams T. R. Alexander RR. Ec . Bv y/hrn-e-,---J-0r. W. G. Kahler H. B, Rnodes E. W. Sjnortridge F. J. shortsleeve Date Originating Dept. January 24, 1979 n Calidria" Asbestos Answering letter date DOT Docket HM-180 All of the addressees of this letter have received copies of Dr. Rhodes' letter to me dated 1/17/79. His letter describes why we did not individually respond to the DOT proposal of 3/2/78. This letter will cover items 2 and 3 of Harry's letter. I understand that Mr. Shortridge will respond concerning item 4. With regard to item 3, attached is a summary of packaging and shipping informa tion and more detailed information about export packaging. The way we package our products is largely dependent on the type and form of asbestos we produce in our processing plant in King City, CA. Our chrysotile asbestos ore is mined from a deposit located about 55 road miles east of King City. The deposit is in a remote mountainous area at an elevation of 4000 feet. The plant elevation is about 400 feet above sea level. The deposit is a very unique one in that the asbestos ore is in flakes and chunks at 50-60% fiber, not found as veins in serpentine rock at 6-10% fiber as typified by Canadian deposits. We use conven tional strip-mining techniques and screen the ore to 1" x Down prior to hauling it to the plant. The ore is also unique in that it is all short fiber asbestos, similar to Canadian Grade 7 which is a by-product or refuse from their production of higher priced longer fibers. Our products are not capable of being used in conventional applications such as insulation, cement products and brake linings. The ore deposit is mined by one other asbestos producer, Atlas Asbestos Company of Coalinga, CA. Their plant is located on the mine site and uses conventional dry processing. They produce an essentially unrefined product used almost exclusively in vinyl asbestos floor tile. Atlas, as well as Canadian producers, can make "blocks" of their "open" asbestos fibers and slip the compacted asbestos into plastic or paper bags which can be heat-sealed, sewn, or closed in some other fashion to provide "non-rigid packagings that are dust and sift-proof." UCC .00914-2 .Mr. S. Hoffman 2 January 24, 1979 At King City, we use hydraulic beneficiation to process the unique Coalinga ore into unique products, many of which are not used in typical asbestos applications. Our products vary widely in purity, price, and physical proper ties. They range from Standard Grade products in pellet form (Bulk price $100/T) to Resin Grade products, such as RG-244 in open-fiber form at $2200/1. SG-104 (Bulk pellets) is slightly more refined than Atlas products and has a bulk density of about 50 lbs./ft.3. RG-244 is a super-refined asbestos fiber with a surface coating of Si02 and a packaged bulk density of 5 lbs./ft^. Prior to pressure packing, the bulk density of RG-244 is 1-2 lbs./ft^. Based on prior plant experience (about 10 years ago), we cannot make blocks of our open fiber products. This is because the wet process gives us a product which has high purity, highly liberated fibers and associated entrainment of air. We experimented with a home-made block-maker and have not tried the commercial variety. We would anticipate a marketing problem with blocks because, in many applications, the customer would have trouble "re-fluffing" the asbestos so that it would disperse in his system. This would create a dusting problem at user locations. Dispersion of the block would be a particular problem in our "non-asbestos" type applications. I am confident that we can develop packaging for our pellets that would meet the DOT requirements of dust and sift proof. Similar packaging for open fiber products would be more difficult to achieve. As discussed in our meeting in Hew York on 1/3/79, we need relief from the new DOT regulations in several areas, or revisions, as follows: 1. Include a paragraph to specifically permit the transport of asbestos pellets in covered hopper cars and trucks. 2. We cannot presently guarantee that all of our non-rigid packages are dust and sift proof, although the amount of sifting does not cause air contamination in excess of current OSHA limits. We would need at least 12-18 months to develop and install new packaging equipment. 3. Can existing bag supplies be used after 4/30/79 even though they are not marked "Asbestos" ORM-C? What are the exact specifications for this wording? 4. The requirement for unitized pallets should not apply to closed freight containers, motor vehicles or railcars that are loaded by the consignor and unloaded by the consignee. This is especially true for ocean freight containers which can be much more securely loaded with loose bags. It is our opinion that the bags in a loose-loaded vehicle will arrive in better condition than those that are palletized. I would appreciate comments from all concerned on this letter and Harry's letter mentioned earlier. Please let me know if you require additional information before preparing a draft petition to the DOT. ' Product 5G-100(E) SG-102(E) SG-103 SG-104 SG-130 SG-130(E) SG-144 AS-200 SG-200 SO-210 SG-210(E) HPP KPP(E) HPO HPO(E) T-135-P(E) T-135--0(E) CG-135-P RG-100 RG-110 RG-llO(E) RG-144 RG-144(E) RG-244 RG-244(E) SX--24(E) SX-14(E) VISB CSV SHUR (O)pen or (P)ellets P P P P 0 0 0 p p 0 0 p p 0 0 p 0 p p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "CALIDRIA" ASBESTOS SHIPPING SUMMARY Packaqlnq 50# Paper Bag 100# Paper Bag 50 & 70# Plastic Bag -- 40# Paper Beg 40# Paper Bag 40# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 40# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 35# Paper Bag 10# Paper Bag 10# Paper Bag 11# Paper Bag 33# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag 50# Paper Bag Pall. No 2500# Yes -- 2000# No 2000# NO 2000# 1400# 1400# 2000# No 1575# No No 1600# 2000# 2000# 1400# 1400# 1400# No 400# NO No No No No No Mode of Transport Container Container Container Ral1/Truck Bulk Hopper Car Truck Container Rail Container Rail Rail TrucJT Truck Rflll TrucE Container Rail Truck Container Container Truck . . Truck Rail Rail Container Rail Truck Container Rail Container Container Container Rail Truck Rail Truck Rail HareHoused No No No NO No No fto No No Yes No Yes No Yes No No No NO Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Approx.' TPY 180Q 1100 7 500 300/2200 10000 800 100 ZOO 1300 400 500 355 100 50 33 =; 2400 1000 T55 700 200 . 100 , 200 200 400 200 200 303 300 300 353 300 400 100 300 733 2000 "333 1000 _______ Remarks For export For export For export For export For export to Canada For export For export For export . For export to Mexico For export For export For export For export For export Containers Rail-Bulk Rail-Box Truck TOTAL 10400 TPY 10000 6850 5350 32600 TPY Notes: 1. Rail shipments to warehouses would be trucked to customers. 2. Rail shipments to Distributors would be trucked to customers. 3. The last three products listed are warehoused by our Distributor. . 4. Essentially all paper bags are shrink-fiImed - some are not due to customer reouest. 5. Some palletized shipments are shrink-wrapped at customer request. /dal 1/18/79 UCC 00.9144  -M - o O i~ *=3cj n ^E *U +-> o -- +-> o QJ CM Z oo o oooooo oo o o o o o LO CM . o CO oo CM o o CO 1 i co 1 CO 1 i VO 1 IQ CM LO o o o 1 i sf 1 CO 1 i CO 1 ro CO CO r~ ro I-- oo oo LD CO r-. o co CO o ooooooooooo 1 CM o o o o o o o o o CO VO I to *3" LO in CM LO si- 1--* LO o r-- o r-. CO r^. CO OD CO LO lO LO ro r- CO CO co -- r-- -- I- c. cu c^ o sj<0 i-- 4-> CO C O LOO Crt'-' cr> -- fO o CD CS1 oo o oOoooo 1 i oo 1 CM p i 1 CM CM o o OJ CM 1i ] CT> ( i o 1 cn CT> o o cn C*J f-- r~-- r-- o o 1 to O o o o O o o o O o O LO 1 CO VO LO LO CM LO LO VO o O cn vo r-* r- to t0* r-* LO <5T sr in in sr *3- EXPORT PRODUCT/PACKAGING SUMMARY (E ffective 1/1/79) ' JIM:dal 1/19/79 I-CO vc> +j o0* 4- ouju)^ NO'a-0'twnoNcoo[i d"Lr>'3`*d'CTt'=r*a-i-- si- o cm i-- i-- o in i-- r~ .-- i-- CO r-- CO oro cn E * Id 3 +> CQ <-- 4- O > o r**" o LO o CO i-** CM LO co cn cn o LO CO a- o r*--- CM LO CM LO CO vo o CM LO 03 o r-- cn r-- O cn CO r*^ cn r-- r-- CM r*" r-- pTM r-- r-- r-- CM CM r*" r-- r-- e to at a -C r-- o a --i cr ea LO LO CO CD VO LO LO LO r-^ r^ t-* VO i*-. 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CJ ,__` r--- OOO cn CO cn CO ro LO LO LO VO VO vo --- r-- t-- r-- r-- ,-- %--, t---- r--- o O O CD o O O O o CD o vo j-- r-, CO i-- CM VO r^ CM ^3" LO i--* vo vo CM CM CO CM ro LO LO LO LO LO LO LO LO LO LO LO VO VO VO vo VD VO vo VD VO vo vo XX XX XXX UJ LU X X X UJ UJ LlI UJ LU 1 1 LU LU UJ t1 1 11 CL O t P 1 o CM CO o O X X 1 lo *d* o o O o CO O UJ UJ LO LO d" *=t *3* r*" 1--t- r-- 111 r" CM 1 1 ro ro f-- 1 1 1 Cl. o r-- r-- 1 CM r-- CM 1J1 1 CD CD CD CD CD to CL CL 1 1 CD CD CD X X LO LO to to LO c rc zn h" f--. dL CC a: to vo UCC 009145