Shipyard Table of Asbestos Materials, Specifications, Exposed Workers and Annual Use (c. 1971)

An undated eight-page typed table from an unnamed shipyard listing, for each kind of work, the asbestos material used, its specification, any alternative material, whether the work was wet or dry, the usual number of men exposed and the annual quantity. Entries include Johns-Manville marine veneer ceiling panels and Marinite bulkhead panels to Coast Guard specifications ("90% of all panels are cut and pre-drilled in the shop," with 5 men cutting and drilling full time and 45 working aboard ship); calcium silicate pipe covering and block, "12% asbestos," sold as Calsilite, Thermobestos and Kaylo by Johns-Manville, GAF and Owens-Corning (150,000 pounds a year); Pittsburgh Corning's Unibestos amosite pipe covering; amosite felt; and asbestos cloth by American Asbestos and Raybestos-Manhattan for removable valve and flange covers.

What it shows

Almost every entry lists "None" under alternative material and "Dry" for the process, with about 50 men usually exposed for each kind of work. The table shows the range of asbestos products, from Navy and Coast Guard specification insulation to packing, gaskets and tape, that one shipyard was using in a year. It refers to "Electric Boat lead yd. dwgs." for one material, suggesting submarine work built to Electric Boat's drawings as lead yard.