E. H. Jeffords to Carl G. Richmond of Arkwright Mutual Sending the Dust Tunnel Blueprint (1935)

A copy of a one-page letter of August 12, 1935, from E. H. Jeffords, general manager of Raybestos-Manhattan's General Asbestos & Rubber Division at North Charleston, South Carolina, to Carl G. Richmond, engineer of the Arkwright Mutual Fire Insurance Company in Boston, with a copy to Sumner Simpson. Jeffords enclosed a blueprint by "our Mr. Hughes" showing how the planned dust tunnel would be built, and said construction had not started because the company first wanted to be sure "the burlap baffles which have been erected on the top floor of Building #3 will prove satisfactory." Acknowledging Richmond's letter of August 10 and E. E. Crandall's August 9 report, he asked whether the tunnel's wooden floor had to be covered with sheet metal, adding that "our understanding is that you will not require that this tunnel be equipped with sprinklers."

What it shows

The fire insurer had to approve the tunnel that would carry asbestos dust from the carding and preparation rooms to a settling chamber. Jeffords wrote this the same day he sent Sumner Simpson the insurer's test results (his letter of August 12). Arkwright's answer, that neither sprinklers nor a metal floor were needed, came the next day (enclosed with Jeffords's letter of August 15).

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's attorneys indexed the Sumner Simpson Papers. Their index describes this document as follows:

Transmittal letter for blueprint of tunnel construction prepared by Hughes. Acknowledges receipt of letter dated 8/10/35 and report on dust samples dated 8/9/35. Requests opinion on necessity of covering the wooden floor of the tunnel with sheet metal.

Related documents

• Carl G. Richmond of Arkwright Mutual to E. H. Jeffords with the Fire Test Report on the Asbestos-Cotton Dust (1935)
• E. H. Jeffords to Sumner Simpson on the Dust Settling Chamber and Arkwright Correspondence (1935)
• E. H. Jeffords to Sumner Simpson Enclosing Arkwright's Ruling That the Dust Tunnel Needs No Sprinklers (1935)
• E. H. Jeffords to Sumner Simpson on Progress of the North Charleston Dust Collecting System (1935)

About this copy

This is document 02509 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.