Document 0peEaJg04p6kJp8baRKVw5vM

Cinnaminson asks asbestos aid EyMARELGUmALMCX afdncra^r WASHINGTON -- Rsposuotatlvs d tki ChHRhMi School District yoswrday urged spocial House SobtommitSoo for national iooderthip aid funding la the iihast-- problem natimnrida. fa an anprondonud appoarance, attorneys, odmbdntraton gad school hoard ntombor from Buiitagton Coun ty's Cinasmlasan School District tostlflod at the Oversight Hearing on Ashasto* Health Haiardo to School ChlMron her*. Now Jersey Rap. Edwin B. Forsy the (Jt-Cth District) arranged for the Clnnamlnsoo rspreseutattvos to par ticipate h> the federal bearing. The hearing was caliodhy tha Subcommit tee on Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Education of the Hooao Committoo on EdocatJon and Labor. A flve-page report presented at the hearing by On--mluaou Superintend nut Richard R- Helaman urged the U.S. Congrnm to Impress eommunicitioao no tihaele* hotwsso Moral tod stale opmKtan; to dovotap toohoolagy far Umlaotiag the prahtom; iM te. appraprtata suhsUatlal hands. Cinnaminson was the only school district In the nation which participat ed in the House hearings. Panels of medical experts from Mount Sinai Scbaai of Medicine in New York, representative* of the U S. Environ mental Protection Agency (EPAI tod the Environmental Defense Fund, and executives from various asbestos manufacturers such as Johns Manvllle Corporation also testified. "We an ceofrenlad with eeotrodielory recommendatiens by various state aad federal agencies." HoMun told the panel. "For stamp**, the EPA recommends complete removal of ell asbestos material as the only reliable wfy to alleviate the problem at this r^^However." he conueueJT',TO* district has learned that asbestos material in some nf (he tunnel* to the C'.S. Capital ha* recently been treated with a sealant at the recommendation of the architect of the Capilnl after Cinnaminson School District is one of many school districts nationwide that is plagued by asbestos that was sprayed onto ceilings as a fire retard ant and acoustical barrier. The Memorial and Rush schools JANUARY 9 19/9 PAGE 13 BURLINGTON COUNTY TtMl and the high school in Cinnamm>.<in have asbestos in their ceiling*. Stair health officials have urged the school hoard to tear down the ceilings in the three building* So far. two Memorial School classrooms have been dosed because of the potential danger Elsewhere in Burlington Count), the Neel a School in Medford lahrs. and four Mount l.aurei schools have asbestos considered In pose potential hazards The Nreta Srhonl and the First Baptist Churrh of Mount Hollv are awaiting the results of state tests Ui determine the intensity of their asbestos contamination Exposure to asbestos, particular!! for long periods of time, can cause lung cancer among students, teachers janitors, nr churchgoers Often, the affliction takes as many as 30 years tn manifest itself While health experts in teh Garden Slate say removing asbestos ceilings is the best precaution, opponent* claim asbestos contamination can be sufficiently remedied by using a seal ant on the ceiling at much less ex- KRC Research Curp. uf Mooresluwn. which provided a sealant for the Capitol tunnel, says it could end local asbestos problems much cheaper .some ( innanunson Si hoot hoard members are considering the sealant alternative because uf the difference in the cost to the taxpayer. "A vih at segment of our communi ty is pushing for immediate action, stressing complete removal." Hoi/ man said al the hearing. At I he same ICowtinned on Page 4. Col. I) Atbsto Exempted In the June It. IBTI Moral Rogsssw. dm U.S. Environmental Prnuciloo Agwnr (EPA) Issued tn amendment to its Asbestos Standard which exempu from enmsui all spray-on application nf mmarials In whkh mbsatos flhan am ancapaniaiad with a bituminous or mainona bindar during spraying and which arc not friable (easily cnimbtad) after drying. The Asbestos Standard it port of EPA's Notional EmMon Stan dard for Hazardous Air Pollutants. This exemption would exclude from control such products as roofina com pounds. waterproofing of insulation exposed to the weather, automobile undercoatinas and industrial main tenance coalings In their proposed amendments issued on March 2. 1977. EPA considered banning the spray-on application of any material containing more ihan one-percent asbestos This proposed amendment would have been an expan sion of the control of spray-on appli cation asbestos products which origtnallv related only to the prevention of visible emissions from the application of such coatings- Tha motor purpoat of EPA's eoecroi of tha spray on appHmdon of aahmsoi mosoloim moseriata la so prevent aahmsoa whtah atombits easily and is saparatad into disertst panicles, from becoming an air-born* contaminant end a potential health haaard NPCA filed comments on the pro posed amendments with EPA on May 2, 1977, stating that certain classes of eoothigi, i c- roof coatings, watarproofing compounds, and industrial maintenance systems which may con tain asbestos should not be subject to these Standards. Such coatings are not a potential source of friable asbestos because even if spray-applied they do not constitute a major source of as bestos emission*. The final amendments to the As bestos Standard issued on June 19th reflect industry's positions and provide the exclusion necessary to continue supplying these essential coatings. BRG 0453