Asbestosis Research Council, Recommended Code of Practice for Cutting Asbestos Cement and Boards in the Shipbuilding Industry (1967)

A four-page booklet of June 1967 from the Asbestosis Research Council, the British asbestos industry's research body (secretary Dr. S. Holmes, Rochdale), giving a "Recommended Code of Practice on Precautions to be taken when Cutting, Drilling or Machining Asbestos Cement and Asbestos-based Boards in the Shipbuilding Industry." It explains that British factory regulations did not yet cover asbestos products used in shipbuilding and that the Ministry of Labour was considering extending them. It recommends dust extraction or approved respirators for machine cutting, damping and prompt removal of waste, vacuum cleaning instead of brushing, nylon overalls, routine medical examination of regular workers, and pre-cut material on ships where possible. It also says that "there is no hazard in the handling, working and fixing of these products, provided that the simple precautions outlined below are followed."

What it shows

By 1967 the British industry expected regulation of asbestos work outside factories and issued its own guidance first. A companion code for building work appears in the Council's April 1967 code for the building trades. This copy, stamped "PRODUCED JM-83," came from Johns-Manville's files.