ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion Asbestos Pipe

(also posted in Photos Submitted area)

IIRC, that stuff is called "Transite". Used for years for sewer piping.

Makes sense that somebody would use it for ductwork. Wish I had my 'American Electrician's Handbook' at work today!

“Transite” was Johns-Manville’s trademark for asbestos-cement pipe. Miles of smaller sizes [3-4 inch?] were made for telecomm duct. The recipe for the slurry to mold into finished pipe was kind of old and a bit secretive, like that of a sixth-generation winemaker.

There was a little old lady there that made raceway sweeps {long-radius bends} to order, and she would lay them out in one spot on the plant floor where they were least likely to be destroyed by rolling stock {forklifts.}

Another major US producer was CertainTeed.

[Aside — J-M was the first plant I worked that had 277V lighting. The plant electrical system was a phenomenally precise copy of Donald Beeman's 1955 Industrial Power Systems Handbook.]




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 05-30-2004).]

I live a few miles south of the old Johns-Mansville plant on the shores of Lake Michigan.

I remember sneaking around the fence one evening in college, and seeing this pit, (seemingly several hundred feet deep)into which the semi-trucks were off-loading asbestos.

We got the heck outta there pronto.

My stint was in NorCal. Out back was a pond shored with miles of Transite scrap. The water had a distinctive spruce-green tint, apparently from soluble magnesium(?) salts.




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 05-30-2004).]

I've put miles of that stuff in in the 4-5" size for high voltage ductbanks. We used to cut it with skilsaws .

One ugly story on myself, one day at the Pentagon, they called me and said they'd hit something, wanted me to see it and give a ruling. "We think it may be asbestos" they said. I got there to see about 8 of these transites laying there..... I stopped a second, got my bearings, and said "yup, it's asbestos" "How can you be sure" they ask...... "cause I put it in about 74 was my reply" hee, hee, that one tried to kill me twice.

I was wondering where I could get a pic of this stuff to go with my MV cable one I sent a few weeks back. One of the guys that works for me (in the plumbing shop) stopped by my office and said "Hey George, is this what I think it is?" I had my pic, any yes, that was being used as a sewer pipe. He had been doing a side job the weekend before, and had to cut that out of the way to install new PVC. Well, now he knows what transite looks like.

Thought I'd pass that along so you younger guys would know what it looks like, if you see it, go around.