Asbestosis Research Council, Recommended Code of Practice for Asbestos and Asbestos Cement Products in the Building and Construction Industries (1967)

A four-page booklet of April 1967 from the Asbestosis Research Council, the British asbestos industry's research body, giving a "Recommended Code of Practice For Handling, Working and Fixing of Asbestos and Asbestos Cement Products in the Building and Construction Industries." Like the shipbuilding code, it notes that factory regulations did not cover asbestos products used in building and that the Ministry of Labour was considering extending them. It recommends dust extraction or approved respirators for machine cutting, segregated cutting areas, nylon overalls, medical examinations, pre-cut material on site, and, for site work, damping the material and sprinkling floors "with damp sawdust immediately before sweeping up." It says "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

The building code was issued two months before the shipbuilding code and is almost word for word the same, adapted for site work. Its guidance on site cutting admits that "Few site-available power tools have dust exhaust attachments."

About this copy

This file, stamped "PRODUCED JM-83" from Johns-Manville's files, holds both booklets and a handwritten slip reading "2 different booklets." Only the building code (pages 7-11) is shown here; the shipbuilding code (pages 1-5) has its own page, and the slip (page 6) is left out.