In a message dated 10/27/2006 2:15:34 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Including fragments of vinyl composite tiles with  asbestos?



I would class asbestos with radioactive materials, as both pose potentially  
deadly results.
 
My concern is there is a legal issue with announcing to the world in  a 
legally certified Environmental Impact Statement or some other document that  "a 
sample will be preserved for posterity" in order to justify demolition of  the 
remainder of the resource.... then some consultant comes along and  destroys 
the evidentiary value of the sample by tossing things  in a dumpster. In truth, 
the archaeology consultant has no legal grounds  to make that decision. Should 
some member of the public litigate  because the sample was destroyed, the 
lead agency will lose in court (and we,  the taxpaying public, will lose forever 
because some legally ignorant  archaeologist held zero interest in some part 
of the sample). 
 
If you have trouble understanding my position, try to think of the evidence  
collected on one of those C.S.I. TV shows and think what it would do to the  
criminal case if some police officer dumped evidence because he did not want to 
 bother storing it.  How could someone on appeal defend themselves if half  
the evidence were dumped?
 
Oh, for sure, there can be ways to subsample gross categories of things and  
still accomplish the long-term research value of the collection. By retaining 
a  subsample of mass-produced construction items and inserting actual counts 
in the  sample bags, little would be lost in the long run. Perhaps one piece of 
 asbestos tile could be encapsulated in a vacuum bag or  resin to meet that 
need? Just remember, one day no one will have a clue as to  how either a vinyl 
or asbestos tile looked in the 20th century. Even machine  nails may one day 
be a thing of the past. 
 
But I keep asking myself, when it comes to people defending dumping  
collections, if they are really not just saying they (personal bias) do not  have a 
research interest in the stuff they want to toss?
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.