J. C. Hatch to F. Hartfield on Options and Procedures for Asbestos in Buildings (1980)

A five-page Johns-Manville memo of September 23, 1980, from J. C. (Jim) Hatch to F. Hartfield, copied to S. T. Tilson, written after Hatch's four-day Ontario Research Foundation seminar on asbestos removal. It sets out "only four recognized methods" for owners of buildings with hazardous asbestos: a management and surveillance program where the material is in good condition, enclosure behind drywall, encapsulation with bridging or penetrating sealants, and complete removal, "by far the most expensive course of action and, from a contracting point of view, the most potential high risk."

What it shows

The second half gives eleven steps for removal: sealing the work area in 6-mil polyethylene, building an air-lock decontamination system like the one in a Bell Canada removal contract, wetting the asbestos 12 to 24 hours ahead, double-bagging the waste, and leaving the room empty for 48 hours before a final cleaning. Hatch noted that disposable protective clothing cost about $10 a set, so keeping down the number of trips out of the contaminated room would save money, and that despite disposal rules "in many cases the 'whim' of the people in charge of a dump site prevails." He closed that J-M "may find ourselves in an advisory capacity if we decide to become involved in the 'asbestos problem' business." His market report of the same day, sent around by Shawn Tilson, is Shawn T. Tilson on Jim Hatch's Report on the Market for Asbestos Removal (1980). The sketches and the Bell Canada appendix the memo mentions are not in this copy.