Links for
Asbestos and the Challenger Disaster
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Feynman's Personal Observations On The Reliability Of The Space Shuttle
Another copy of Feynman's Personal Observations On The Reliability Of The Space Shuttle
Presidential Commission Report on the Challenger Accident
Presidential Commission Report on Space Shuttle Challenger Accident
House committee publishes report on Challenger disaster
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From Julian Simon: 1978: Asbestos in schools and other buildings. The ill-considered regulations on the use of asbestos not only are costly, but have had a devastating side-effect: the Challenger space shuttle disaster. The sealant used to replace the asbestos-based O-ring sealant in the rocket engine that launches space shuttles malfunctioned at the low temperature at which Challenger was launched, causing the explosion shortly after launch and deaths of the astronauts. As in many such cases, it is impossible to foresee all the consequences of an environmental regulation and as David Hume and Friedrich Hayek teach us, we should be extremely wary of altering evolved patterns of behavior lest we make such tragic blunders with our "rational" assessments of what our social interventions may bring about. For more on asbestos, see the 1992 article by Malcolm Ross - a hero in bringing to light the facts about asbestos - and Bennett's 1991 book.
Did Risk Reduction Backfire In Space? by Malcolm Ross (A couple notes: 1. According to Richard Lewis (p. 168) the August 1985 failure of The Titan rocket was due to a failure of the liquid fuel main engines, which obviously had nothing to due with the putty. 2. I'm not sure what Ross's comparison is supposed to prove. The Randolf putty had to be kept cold (and dry) or it would become too soft and tacky,)
Did risk reduction backfire in space? from the Asbestos Institute
Asbestos Scare Led To Challenger Disaster from Accuracy in Media
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EPA's ban and phaseout
Key asbestos findings since 1900
Potential Health Threat Posed By Asbestos Hair Dryers
Summary of Asbestos Legislation and Agency Actions
Safety groups mostly ignore asbestos peril
The Campaign to End the Use of Deadly Asbestos
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References
Richard S. Lewis, Challenger: The Final Voyage, Columbia University Press, 1988
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Written by Jim Norton
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