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Date: | Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:18:10 -0400 |
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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.
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