Document 0JRRQ93jx0avbYKXEay5NJ1NO

FILE NAME: WR Grace (WRG) DATE: April 13, 1970 DOC#: WRG095 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1970 Press Release from NYC Department of Air Resources regarding regulations on airborne asbestos. /S CITY OF NEW YORK >v DEPARTMENT OF AIR RESOURCES 51 ASTOR PLACE. NEW YORK. N.Y. 10003 ROBERT N. RICKLES, Ph.D.. P.E. Communontr NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: John Lo 566-0109 Carolyn Konheim 566-8977 PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT M ***rtee*1WlVCOi FOR RELEASEsMON. APR. 13, 10 AM *he nation's first regulations for the.control of airborne | asbestos went into effect this morning at 7:00 A.M.," announced Jerome Kretchmer, Environmental Protection Administrator-designate today. "Twenty contractors throughout the metropolitan area were either handed or sent notice last-.Friday" stated new Air Resources Commissioner, Robert N. Rickies at City Hall. "These are interim regulations to abate immediately this health hazard. Hearings on the health effects of asbestos expo sure and specifically the spraying of asbestos in building con struction will be held shortly," said Neil Fabricant, General Counsel for the environmental agency. Asbestos is sprayed on steel supports during construction to_prevent weakening in case of fire. Much of the material blows into the surroundingair and can be inhaled. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral which is virtually indestructible in lung tissue. * Dr. Rickies noted that a Subcommittee on Asbestos Hazards of the Health Research Council.has reported, "Experience in industry clearly indicates that inhalation of asbestos may cause serious disease, and that asbestos related`diseases may be found after exposure to relatively low levels of asbestos.. The Committee 2011^303 therefore recommends that steps be taken immediately to eliminate contamination of the community atmosphere by asbestos " - 2- Dr. Norman Nelson, Chairman of the Air Pollution Working Group of th Health Research Council had been asked by former Commissioner, Austin N. Heller, last summer, to convene an inquiry into the problem. Diseases cited in the report are broncho-genic carcinoma, pleural calcification, pleural mesothelioma, and peri toneal mesothelioma. They found that "at the present time, .prac tical devices for monitoring the ambient urban air for asbestos are not available. " "Since then," explained Dr. Rickies, "we have developed some capability to measure atmospheric asbestos. This has resulted from our joint study with Mt. Sinai Environmental Sciences Lab oratory to define the community asbestos hazard which began last July." Eight asbestos monitors are. in operation in lower Manhattan. The Mt. Sinai group, headed by Dr. Irving Selikoff, will conduct biological air sampling with hamsters. The regulations require careful enclosure of work areas, interior open^spaces, and materials to preclude jescajpe. of ^ # visible asbestos particulates. Persons entering enclosed areas are to be warned of hazardsof entering and those spraying the material are to be supplied with protective respirators and coveralls which must be left at the site. Exacting cleanup pro cedures include removing all asbestos debris from air spaces or ducts and coating any asbestos materials in those areas with a sealant so that no fibres enter circulating air. ' ### 20 11 43 04