The invention comprises treating asbestos cloth and other asbestos products to reduce the dust emitted by them during handling and use. This is done by distributing a small amount of polymeric particles throughout the product to bond the fibers to one another, while leaving the properties except the dustiness essentially unchanged. The preferred method consists in impregnating asbestos cloth with an aqueous emulsion or suspension of the polymeric material and removing the water.
A substantially nonthixotropic composition capable of minimizing the amount of airborne asbestos particles released during removal of asbestos from a structural unit and encapsulating the removed asbestos to permanently prevent the release of airborne asbestos particles. The composition includes (i) a major proportion of water, (ii) a nonionic-surfactant-stabilized latex, such as a latex of styrene butyl rubber, having a viscosity of less than about 300 cps and a maximum particle size of less than about 0.4 microns, (iii) sufficient nonionic surfactant to reduce the surface tension of the composition to less than about 40 dynes per cm, and (iv) a cationic surfactant. Optionally, the composition may further include a defoamant, a corrosion inhibitor, a pH buffering agent, a freezing point depressant and/or a dye.
A binder composition for asbestos fibers comprises a latex blend in which the dispersed phase comprises (1) from about 80 to 99.5 weight percent of a synthetic rubber and (2) from about 0.5 to 20 weight percent of a highly carboxylated polymer. The highly carboxylated polymer is a copolymer or terpolymer containing (1) an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid, (2) an alkyl ester of an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid, and optionally (3) an ethylenically unsaturated organic monomer which is copolymerizable with monomers (1) and (2) to form a stable latex.
A method of preparing asbestos articles to exhibit dustproof effects in secondary processing without degradation of the inherent properties of the asbestos articles comprises the step of immersing the asbestos article in a treating agent comprising formaldehyde, a water-soluble organic compound capable of reacting with formaldehyde to form a water-insoluble compound under weakly alkaline conditions in an atmosphere maintained at a high temperature and a high humidity, a plasticizer, and a water-soluble macromolecular substance having film forming properties, and the steps of infusing the asbestos article with a weakly alkaline solution and first reacting the asbestos article in an atmosphere maintained at a high temperature and high humidity, and subsequently heat treating the resulting product to obtain the final product. The final product is impregnated in the interior substrate thereof by 0.5 to 10 wt.% of the water-insoluble compound, has a surface layer of 0.04 to 0.09 wt.% of a film of the water-soluble macromolecular substance, and has 1.5-30 wt.% of a polyhydric alcohol plasticizer.
The present invention is directed to a coating composition and a process for sealing an asbestos containing matrix. The coating composition may be a two-part, aqueous, emulsion based composition or a one-part, aqueous, emulsion based composition. The process comprises forming a continuous, permanent, protective coating comprising a polymer and an antimicrobial agent and leaving the coating and matrix in place to permanently seal the asbestos in the matrix.
