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Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California)

Atlas Asbestos Company mined and milled short-fiber chrysotile asbestos at its Santa Cruz mine northwest of Coalinga, California, from 1963 until about 1980, selling nearly all of it to makers of vinyl-asbestos floor tile. It competed with Union Carbide and Johns-Manville in the Coalinga field, was owned from 1974 by Wheeler Properties of Reno, Nevada, and appears to have closed its mine around 1980; the library has no record of a bankruptcy or trust for it.

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History

The Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1962 reported that Hidden Splendor Mining Co., "a subsidiary of Atlas Corporation," had begun work on a mill northwest of Coalinga with an initial capacity of 15,000 tons of fiber a year.1 For 1963 it listed Atlas Mineral Corp. as a "new producer" in Fresno County, and for 1965 it reported production from the Rover Pit and Santa Cruz mines.1 The yearbook's tables list the Santa Cruz mine under Atlas Minerals Corp. in 1968 and under Atlas Asbestos Corp. from 1969 through 1978.1

A March 1974 appraisal of the company's mineral rights, prepared by Marshall and Stevens for Vinnell Corporation, said the operation "reached its stride" in 1965 with production of 11,600 tons, that 1968 was "the big one" with 15,290 tons sold, and that 12,240 tons were sold in 1973.3 It valued the mineral rights at $1,622,000.3 A Dun & Bradstreet report of May 1977 lists Wheeler Properties Inc. of Reno, Nevada, doing business as Atlas Asbestos Co., with its president Irving F. Moore and a branch at Coalinga; it says Wheeler was incorporated in Minnesota in 1971 and bought Atlas Asbestos Co. in June 1974.5 Asbestos reported in December 1975 that Atlas was "wholly-owned by Wheeler Properties, Inc., Reno, Nevada."4

The asbestos

Atlas sold short-fiber chrysotile. Asbestos reported that it produced "some 25,000 tons" a year from its mining and milling operation "32 miles northwest of Coalinga," and in 1977 that it made Grade 7 chrysotile for vinyl-asbestos floor tile.41 The 1974 appraisal said the Coalinga field supplied "nearly half the total United States asbestos output," and that its chrysotile had "become highly desired in the tile floor covering industry" for its whiteness and its oil absorbance.3 In 1977 and 1979 the Ontario Research Foundation tested Atlas fibre for its president, Irving F. Moore, including its strength in asbestos-cement.67

Atlas and Union Carbide

Union Carbide mined asbestos on the same ridge, at its Santa Rita mine, and its files, now trial exhibits in our library, contain much of what is known about Atlas.2 The 1974 appraisal, itself one of those exhibits, said the Coalinga field had been developed by three operations: Union Carbide at the northwest end, Atlas in the middle and Johns-Manville at the southeast end.3 It described Atlas and Johns-Manville as "competing for the same type of customer," and said a Johns-Manville shut-down now allowed Atlas to consider plant additions "to increase capacity and meet OSHA and EPA requirements at the same time."3 A Union Carbide table assessing its "principal competitors" in asbestos compares Atlas with Union Carbide, Carey and Johns-Manville.8

A confidential Union Carbide note of a November 29, 1978 meeting with GAF's director of purchases records that GAF, a floor tile maker, "contributed $350,000 to Atlas."9 The note says GAF justified this by savings at its Vails Gate plant, agreed to buy 1,000 tons a month from Atlas, and expected Atlas "to last no more than one year unless they get more customers."9 It also records that Atlas's price "is apparently tied directly to ours."9

What the documents show

A handwritten memo of June 13, 1973, apparently written at Union Carbide, reports an inspection of the Joe 5-7 mine area by Ed Davies of California Industrial Safety.10 The writer recorded that when he asked how Atlas Asbestos was doing, Davies said he had closed Atlas's doors on Tuesday, June 12.10 According to the memo, Davies said the closing "was a culmination of dust pollution, both inside and outside, and inside safety hazards which have persisted for more than 12 months without adequate improvements implemented."10 The memo does not say how long the closing lasted, and the Bureau of Mines continued to list the Santa Cruz mine in later years.1

The 1974 appraisal included a section on federal health rules. It said that "asbestos mining and milling has always been considered a hazard to health due to dust and fine particles," and that OSHA and the EPA could enforce standards and levy fines.3 It also said that fiber counts could not yet be checked reliably, so that the industry could only "use their best judgment as to the probable standards" to come.3

The end of mining

The Bureau of Mines reported that Atlas worked its Santa Cruz mine in 1974 through 1979, and for 1980 that it had "apparently closed its Santa Cruz Mine."1 Asbestos wrote in January 1981 that grade 7 shorts had been mined by Atlas near Coalinga for floor tile, but that it did not believe there was "much, if any, asbestos currently being mined at that site."1 The library's case-law collection has no decision naming this company, and our documents do not say what became of it.

Other companies named Atlas

Our company page for "Atlas" also gathers records of two other firms. In 1922 Asbestos reported that J. C. Johnston planned to organize an Atlas Asbestos Company to make asbestos textiles; that company operated at North Wales, Pennsylvania.1112 Atlas Asbestos Company Limited of Montreal was described in 1955 as the Canadian subsidiary of Turner & Newall, and in 1979 as the former name of Atlas Turner Inc.131415 Labels for Limpet LW 25, one of the products listed on the company page, name Atlas Asbestos Company as a division of Bell Asbestos Mines, Ltd., the Canadian company, not the Coalinga mine.1615

References

  1. Santa Cruz mine, Joaquin Ridge near Coalinga, California
  2. Joaquin Ridge near Coalinga, California
  3. UC-1439: Marshall and Stevens Appraisal of the Mineral Rights of Atlas Asbestos Company near Coalinga, for Vinnell Corporation (March 21, 1974)
  4. Asbestos, December 1975, p. 20
  5. UC-1438: Dun & Bradstreet Credit Report on Wheeler Properties Inc / Atlas Asbestos Co, Reno, Nevada (May 13, 1977)
  6. UC-255: R. A. Kuntze (Ontario Research Foundation) to I. F. Moore, Atlas Asbestos Company, Evaluation of Atlas Fibre AZ-8 (1977)
  7. UC-252: S. J. Thorndyke (Ontario Research Foundation) for Atlas Asbestos Company: Asbestos-Cement Properties of Wet Rod-Milled Atlas Asbestos (1979)
  8. UC-5140: Assessment of Principal Competitors Relative to Key Competitive Factors, Asbestos Category
  9. UC-4920: Note to File on 11/29/78 Meeting with GAF Purchasing Officials on Atlas Investment and Calidria Supply
  10. UC-1402: Memorandum on Ed Davies' California Industrial Safety Inspection of the Joe 5-7 Mine Area (June 13, 1973), p. 2
  11. Asbestos, March 1922, p. 59
  12. Pennsylvania Asbestos Company / Atlas Asbestos Company plant at North Wales, Pennsylvania
  13. Asbestos, December 1955, p. 54: "Atlas Asbestos Company Limited Leases New Site in B. C."
  14. Asbestos, May 1979, p. 48: "Atlas Turner Inc."
  15. Atlas Asbestos Company (division of Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd., Turner & Newall) plant at Montreal, Quebec
  16. Limpet LW 25 (Atlas Asbestos): labels naming Atlas Asbestos Company as a division of Bell Asbestos Mines

People

People the documents tie to Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California), most often named first, with the titles the documents give them.

Asbestos products

1 product our documents name Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California) as making or selling. Each product's page says what the documents say about it, including its asbestos content.

Mines

Asbestos mines the documents name Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California) as running or owning.

In the Union Carbide documents

Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California) is named in 85 Union Carbide documents dated 1965 to 2001 (85 mentioned), from asbestos lawsuits over Union Carbide's Calidria asbestos. 84 of them are published in our collection.

Names in the documents

The spellings documents use for Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California), OCR misreadings included, so a search for any of them finds this page: Atlas · Atlas Asbestos Company · Atlas Asbestos · Atlas Asbestos Corp · Atlas Asbestos Co · Atlas Corporation · Atlas Corp · Atlas Co · Atlas Asbestos Co. · Atlas (California).

Where this comes from

This page brings together every document in our library that names Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California), across collections. Titles and affiliations are taken from the documents themselves, and units and subsidiaries are grouped under the company they belong to.

Cite this page

“Atlas Asbestos Company (Coalinga, California).” AsbestosClaims.Law Library. https://asbestosclaims.law/library/organizations/atlas.

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This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.