Document 0LbLpNkOn2OZnLw4oyKmpGJ2n

Telephone (201) 043-0440 FRICTION MATERIALS STANDARDS INSTITUTE, BERGEN MALL OFFICE CENTER E. 210 ROUTE 4 PARAMUS. N. J. 07652 INC. June 30, 1975 Representative Miliicent Fenwick U. S. House of Representatives Washington, D. C. 20515 Subject: H. R. 5683 National Stockpile of Chrysotile Asbestos Dear Mrs. Fenwick: The Friction Materials Standards Institute is an association of most of the manufacturers of brake linings and clutch facings in this country. A list of our Membership is enclosed. Chrysotile asbestos is a basic material used in the manufacture of brake linings and clutch facings. As you are aware, a major asbestos processing mill was destroyed by fire in December, and there has been a prolonged strike at the Canadian mines. Several of our members have had to limit production because of the current asbestos shortage. Our Institute supports your H. R. 5683 to release the chrysotile asbestos in the national stockpile to help this industry, and the workers there employed.' When this Canadian strike is settled, market conditions should permit appropriate re-stocking of the national stockpile. Sincerely, FRICTION MATERIALS STANDARDS INSTITUTE EWD/erc E. W. Drislane Executive Director FMSI 06682 AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION ?3U IJorUi Michi<i;inJkvtTnuc. Chicago, Illinois G0C01 (312) 236-8720 m v Wa 1 1 ,---- I 1V L/ LJA- U l, ^ Washington, D.C. it . 11 . 20006 May 20, 1975 Re pro sent.-1 ti vo Millicent Fenwick U.S. Rouse; of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 1 Dear Mrs. Fenwick: ' , '- Thank you very much for your letter of May 5th requesting our Association's comments regarding HR 5683 on the disposal of asbestos chrysotile from the national ;stockpile, " 1. : The Automotive Service Industry Association is the automotive world's Is''iji's. t and most, comprehensive organization, with its mem- borsh i p < s si si; is: ,s :i ng more than 7,000 independent automotive! wholesa lore., warehouse distributors, heavy-duty parts and equipment dintribn! < j is, automotive electric service distributors, manufacturers and remnmifucturorr, of replacement parts, tools, equipment chemi cal::., paint, rof.inish.ing materials, supplies, and accessories. . - ASIA enjoys affiliation with the Automotive Booster Clubs- International, and maintains close and constant liaison with the 7vut.omot.ive Service Council; National Congress of Petroleum Retnilers; Equipment & Tool Institute; Automotive Wholesaler Association Execu tives; Production Engine Remanufacturers Association and the Auto- mo i i vc? J mi us l r i us Association of Canada, giving ASIA representa tion ai every point of the automotive service market from the manu facturer to Die ultimate consumer. '. Asbestos is used in the automotive aftermarket industry for brake lining:; and for clutch facings. In checking with a number of our member firms who manufacture these products, we are informed Dial 1 here is an increasing shortage of asbestos for their pro duction l.i nes. Unl ess action is taken immediately to relieve this shortage, some firms may be forced to severely restrict or halt production of these replacement parts. . ' ft is < mi undei l-am'liny that this shortage; will probably not be a long term problem in that within -a reasonable amount of time FMSI 06683 'tno Johns-Manvi 11c Corporation mine will be fully operational and the oilier Canadian mines which are presently on strike will be bad; to work. In other .words, if Congress does not move to relieve this shortage in the very near future, the damage will be done and the business recovery of the brake lining and clutch facing mariufactusers will have to await the resumption of imports from Canada-. 1 ; 1 ' ,, , 1 i, , ' 1 In light of the information supplied by our members, wc strongly support )JR 5683 as introduced by you to release asbestos chryso- tile from the national stockpile and the supplemental stockpile r to tide industry over this temporary shortage. . .... 1 Richard F. Turney / . Assoc.'Washington Representative RFT/ldc cc: Representative Charles E. Bennett Chairman, . _ House 7u.mod Services Subcommittee on Strategic Stockpi. bcc: John V?. Her linger, Jr. Harold T. Halfpenny ,/Tom McLennan FMSI 06684 \jrnl ASBESTOS INFORMATION ASSOCIATION 1660 L Slreel. N W Wasfvngion. D C. 20036 , (202) 223-1885 12 May 1975 Memorandum For: MEMBERS Subject: . Pending legislation concerning sale of chrysotile asbestos from the national stockpile On April 8, Representative Millicent Fenwick (R-NJ) introduced a bill (H.R. 5683) which -would authorize the General Services Administration (GSA) to dispose of about 9,900 s.t. of chryso tile asbestos from the national stockpile. This amount is in excess of the nation's current chrysotile stockpile objective of 1,100 s.t. GSA has advised that such disposal, if approved, would be by sealed bidding. The basic justification offered in support of this legislation pertains to the current unemployment situation in the United States which is expected to be further aggravated by the shortage of asbestos available from Canada in 1975. (News & Notes, 4/28/75) A copy of Congresswoman Fenwick's bill and pertinent excerpt from the Congressional Record for 8 April are attached. A detailed inventory of the chrysotile asbestos in the national stockpile that would be affected by this legislation is also attached. H.R, 5683 has been referred to the Sea Power and Critical Mater ial's subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Charles E. Bennett (D-Fla). A date for subcommittee con sideration has not yet been announced. . As may be noted in the appended copy of Rep. Fenwick's letter of 5 May, the Association has been requested to provide general comment on the pending bill and, specifically, advise as to what affect the current shortage of asbestos will have on members. Members may wish to communicate directly with Congresswoman Fen wick's office. Additionally, members may wish to express their interests in this matter to members of Congress representing those districts where company plants are located for co-sponsorship of the bill, as may be desired. Related to the b'ill is interest in rebuilding the stockpile from the points of view of. strategic and economic interests should the legislation be passed. FMS1 06685 Page -2- Contact in Representative Fenwick's office for this matter is William Canis, 1610 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515; (202) 225-9546. . Executive Director Enclosures FMSI 06686 P / I 94th COKGKESS T 1st Session I'**-: . 1 ilo IN THE HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES April 8,19/5 Sis. Fenwick introduced tlve following bill; which was referred to the Com- . ; mittee on Aimed Services ja\. To authorize the disposal of asbestos chiysotile from the national 'v - stockpile and the supplemental stockpile. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Jiepresenta2 lives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That the Administrator of General Services is hereby 4 authorized to dispose of, by negotiation or otherwise, approxi5. mately nine thousand nine hundred short tons of asbestos 6 chiysotile now held in the national stockpile established 7 pursuant to the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling 8 Act (50 U.S.C. 93-9Sh) and the supplemental stockpile 9 established pursuant to section 104(b) of the Agricultural 10 Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1054 (OS Stat. 11 450, as amended by TO Stat. COT). Such disposition may bo "I FMSI 06687 2 1 made without regard to the requirements of section 3 of (lie 2 Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act: Prodded, 3 That the time and method of disposition shall he fixed with 4 due regard to the protection of the United States against- 5 avoidable loss and the protection of producers, processors, 6 and consumers against avoidable disruption of their usual '* , , * 7 marketsi .* | : . ' . . . . 'j . - ' 1..........................* .. ' ' o I:-'. !C:;> iI -v-tnr-.YW, -'A V.- oiv.i'.W -> %{ * * .. 'H/Vi*'- _ ; ; .. . - t * t ti* *:.*..*:: . . .. .. .. P* ' o r* &er ff -I B ft O5" -CM4O p ci >- B 6 OQ * . ' <1 A. td -< S' was s R (5 0 2, 3 33 ?r s S- 5 g ~ r SI- > P 5 5 S- g g ^ h II J* r - t/) p. g-. to s- S <3 ul. P- Sr- K O0 5 zn oa ~ri Cwfl CJl O* co co '...Ur \.v '! o ,f I )i 41 FMS1 06688 ^ II 2521 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD --HOUSE April S, 11*73 .^avdcg__ Jor-.s.-Qr'- ,.n:nrn.cUL,,na' _ as nr5 re s___ci:j?^Qrnc__ THE NATIONAL L l OCiU'CI-i: The. SPEAKER pro tc:nporc. Under a previous order of the House, the gentle woman from New Jersey (Mrs. Fxx- wickj is recognized for 5 minutes. Mrs. FENWICK. Mr. Speaker, the Labor Department announced on April 4 that during March, unemployment in the United States increased substantially. Whereas in January nr.d February of this year 8.2 percent of the labor force was without a job. during March the figure jumped to 8.7 percent. This means that 8 million Americans have no jobs. Both the President and the Congress recognize the severity of the economic crisis and are searching for programs which will lead to employment without stirring inflation. Congrcs3 has passed.. and the President has signed, landmark tax legislation to stimulate ihe economy and the President has proposed an 10month extension of unemployment ben- . efits for jobless workers. i I think we 2ll agree that our goal at; this time is to get people back on the i Job. The unemployed from New Jersey : who have visited my office are rot look- : ing forward to another year or more of , unemployment payments. They want : productive jobs. - j At this time we should do all in our : power to see that these unemployment j lines do not lengthen. One way Congress : can act to save jobs is to authorize the : disposal of asbestos chrysotile from the ; ' rational stockpile. Disposal of this I asbestos would prevent the further ero- i sion of jobs and would be one Federal : employment program that would cost the taxpayers nothing. Today I am intro- : ducing disposal legislation because of the 1 sudden short supply of asbestos chryso- j tile In the United States. ; The United States imports 100 percent * . of its asbestos chrysotile. Over 95 percent comes from Quebec, Canada. The major Canadian asbestos mine--which is the; largest in the free world and is operated by the American-owned Johas-Manville Coip.--suffered a landslide in January 1975. thus effectively eliminating the ma jor U.S. source of this industrial ore. Other supplies of the asbestos ore are not presently available on the world market. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Mines, there is a world wide shortage of asbestos mining capac ity and consequently a shortage o the ore. The effects of this sudden interrup- tlon in supply are obvious. Many of the I two dozen major primary producers of t I asbestos products--who manufacture I I such articles as textiles, brake linings, , I fire-protective clothing, rooting, insula- ' 1 tlon. and other fire-retardant building 1 materials--will be forced to curb pro duction and lay off personnel. Produc tion cutbacks could affect many of the 142 factories In the asbestos products in dustry' throughout the United States. In cluding the Jehna-M.'.nvifle plant lo cated in my own congressional district at Manvlllc. N.J. which employs 2.100 people. Other States which have asbes tos products firms Include: New Hamp shire. 3; Massachusetts. 5: Connecticut. 2; Neiv York. 13: Mew Jersey. 15; Penn sylvania. 15; Ohio. 8; Indiana. 5; Illi nois. 11; Missouri. 5; Virginia. 2; North Carolina. 4; South Carolina. 2; Georgia, 2; Florida, 2; Kentucky. 2; Tennessee, 1; Alabama, 3: Mississippi, 2; Louisiana. 4; Texas. C; California. 19; and Arizona, 1. The additional unemployment that will be created is unnecessary for two reasons. First, the demand for asbestos chrysotile has not declined. Unlike in the automobile industry, where demand for new cars has dropped substantially, de mand for asbestos products has not slackened with the recession. Second--and most important to us in Congress--the Federal Government maintains a vast stockpile of asbestos chrysotile for national defense needs. It I is, of course, altogether fitting that the ' Government maintain such a stockpile. _ Yet, the present 11.030-ton stockpile is''';' far in excess of a prudent supply. : The defense requirements of asbestos chrysotile are quite limited. The major } military uses of this kind of asbestos are / in the production of certain gaskets for I tanks and for hoods of jet engines. The / Johas-Manville Corp.--the major de- i fense supplier--estimates that less than , 1 percent of its total production is mili tary related. _ The General Services Administration has recognized that otrr defense needs for this natural resource are more than met by the present stockpile.' GSA recently completed a thorough review of our re quirements for asbestos chrysotile. based on the needs of the first 3 years of a war. GSA determined that 1,100 short tons oi the asbestos would be adequate and that 9,900 short tens was in excess of stockpile needs. I think my colleagues will agree that the proximity of the Canadian mines and a 1,100 ton stockpile are sofa- cient for our defense preparedness. Mr. Speaker, under present law, our stockpiling system does not provide for disposal when domestic industries are critically in need of short-supply mate rials. This is the situation in which we now find ourselves: a major U.S. industry is deprived of its supplies of a raw mate- . rial and consequently faces the prospect of diminished output and unemployment - of many of its workers. In the case of asbestos chrysotile. there was no mali cious Canadian embargo, The mice was closed by a landslide. The only available source--until the mine can be reopened later tiiis year--is the U.S. stockpile. The only way the domestic asbestos users can net the nsbestoi they need is throiir.il a congressional grant of authority such as the one I am introducing today. Mr. Speaker. Congress passed similar, legislation in 1970 which authorized the disposal of 2.304 tons of asbestos chryso tile from the national stockpile. Tito as bestos was sold oit through an open bid process. This disposal \v.v. completed in 1974. and no further asbestos call be s-oU until Congr.r.s niulv.ui.M-i it. As a concluding note, 1 would like to point out that asbestos is used in the pro duction of home insulation. 1 have joined with many or my colleagues who have urged tax deductions and credits for homeowners who Insulate their homes find who thereby a!d our merry con. < vaiion cHort. Unless our rv.hiuiiMM.r. hnvc the row ar-bssto-i to. work with, t'r.' Will be no asbestos for Ame con home-owners to buy. Mr. Speaker, wo arc all serious :*.br putting people back^to work and fcerpi present employees on the jcb and we he here an opportunity to nirci 1*1:5 co: mitment with prompt and positive acii; I ask the support and cooperation ot my colicasiics in seeing that this lcsxsl tlon is speedily enacted into law. The text oX my bill follows: * . ` H.R. 633 A bill to authorize the disposal of ashes chrysotile Iron the national stockpile a the supplemental stockpile Be it enacted by the Senate and House Representatives of the United States of Am ica in Congress assembled. That the AcJ.-ty Istrator of General Services Is hereby z tho'rlced to dispose of, b7 necotiatlcn or o: erwise. approximately nice thousand n; hundred short tons of asbestos chryaot;i2 r. held in the national stockpile csMhJis'f pursuant to the Strategic and Critical terials Stock Piling Act (S3 U.S C. 03-Pt find the supplemental stocspUe establish pursuant to section 204(b) of the Apr:ctural Trade Development and Assistance of 1954, 63 Stafc. 456, as amended hr 73 St 607. Such disposition may te made withe regard to the requirements cf section 3 the Strategic and Critical Materials a: Piling Act: Provided, That- the time a method of disposition shall te fixed with c regard to the protection of the United Sta against avoidable loss and the protection producers, processors, and consumers acaU avoidable disruption of their usual marks FMSI 06689 CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS IN THE NATIONAL STOCKPILE AFFECTED BY H.R.5683 GRADE C & G-l C & G-l MIR TYPE 4 C & G-2 C & G-2 MIR TYPE 4 3K CRUDE 1 CRUDE 1 MIR TYPE 2 CRUDE 2 CRUDE 2 MIR TYPE 2 CRUDE 3 ASBESTOS LAP 1500 GRAIN ASBESTOS ROVING 7 CUT ASBESTOS ROVING 10 CUT o 3K MIR TYPE 2 * 3K MIR TYPE 4 ? GRADE 2 MIR TYPE 2 GRADE 3 MIR TYPE 2 3T MIR TYPE 2 QUANTITY (SHORT TONS) 1628 . 761 1258, 17 0 1200 - 898 71 154.4 550 2 .3 .2 .3 - 185 1545 429 513 TOTAL 501 9866.2 FMS1 06690 i tm Oi Nnw Jrnstv coMMirrm, : BANKING. CyrtReNCY AND H'OUSING SMALL DUSINCS3 (Eongrcss of ilie Jluitcb J?kitcs police of pcpresntfnfiucs tHasljingtuu, p.(!l. 205X5 May 5, 1975 rri'it \.jfP |<- IIUILOtNQ Washington. D C. 20315 TCLCrHONf. (202) 223-731)0 DISTRICT orncill' . 41 No*tm Oaidoc Sr*reT SomiavicLC. Nlw JtA'.fcv 09076 TiUphonc (201) 722*6200 Pott Orricc Uoiloimg 1 Momais Stwect Moaaivtown. New Jenser 07960 TclxfhomEi (201) 338-7267 Asbestos Information Association of North America 1660 L Street, N.W. Washington, D. C. . Gentlemen: ' On April 8, 1 introduced a bill to allow for the release of asbestos chrysotile from the national stockpile. A Canadian landslide has wiped out most of our supply of asbestos and the damage cannot be repaired for many months. The unemployment that could result warrants action by Congress as soon as possible. 1 thought that your association might be interested in this legislation and I would like to know your thoughts on the problem--as described in my attached statement--and in the proposed bill. Will a shortage of asbestos affect the firms you represent? I would appreciate any help you can give me on this subject. . With all good wishes. Sincerely yours. MF:ck Member of Congress i THI* STATIONERY PRINTED ON PAPER MADE WITH RECYCLED riDEXS FMSI 06691