Document 0qLNydnzaQKRQ3pr3DKQ8XYKR

-l .fer A' PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT ^7;\ U State of New Jersey Department op Environmental Protection 0AVI0 J. BARDIN. COMMISSIONER P. O. SOX 1390 TRENTON, N. J. 06625 609-292-2885 PROPOSED REGULATION: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING DOCKET NO. DEP-001-77-01 TAKE NOTICE that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, hereafter referred to as the Department, pursuant to the authority of N.J.S.A. 13:1D-1 et^ seq. , will hold a public hearing on the proposed adoption of N.J.A.C. 7:2717.1 et seq. CONTROL AND PROHIBITION OF SPRAY-ON ASBESTOS SURFACE- COATINGS. This proposal is known within the Department as Docket No. DEP-001-77-01. Written and/or oral testimony concerning the proposed rules will be received at public hearings to be held from 9:00 a.m. to the conclusion of testimony on March 14 at: ; The Herrmann Labor Education Center Ryders Lane Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey Full text of these rules and regulations is as follows: (SEE ATTACHED) Copies of the proposal and basis therefor may be obtained from, and written testimony relating thereto will be accepted prior to March 21, 1977 by: Herbert Wortreich, Chief Bureau of Air Pollution Control Department of Environmental Protection P.0. Box 2807 %' Trenton, New Jersey 08625 Copies of this notice, of the proposed regulations and of the basis and background document are being deposited and will be available for inspection during normal office hours beginning January 31 through the closing of the hearing record at: SGP 0009043 Atlantic County Health Department 1200 Harding Highway Mays Landing, New Jersey 08330 N.J. Bureau of Air Pollution Control Room 1108, Labor Industry Bldg. John Fitch Plaza Trenton, New Jersey 08625 N.J. Bureau of Air Pollution Control Metropolitan Field Office 25 Route 22 Springfield, New Jersey 07081 N.J. Bureau of Air Pollution Control Southern Field Office 5635 Westfield Avenue Pennsauken, New Jersey 08110 Warren County Health Department 151 West Washington Avenue Washington, New Jersey 07882 This hearing is being held in accordance with the provisions of the Air Pollution Control Act (1954), as amended by Chapter 106, P.L. 1967 (N.J.S.A. 26:2C-1 et seq.) . The Department upon its own motion or at the instance of any interested party, may, as provided by law, adopt these rules substantially as proposed without further notice after the close of the hearing record.- Date of this notice: David J. Bardin Commissioner Department of Environmental Protect I *, /?77 7 SGP 0009044 nsbestos-containinq Surface Coai...q Material Basis for Proposed Regulation I. Background Asbestos is the generic name given to a class of natural fibrous sili cate minerals used, extensively ir. industry and construction. Asbestos-containing surface coating material is used in buildings for Insulation (thermal a-.d accoustic), decorating and fireproofing purposes. In many cases, this type of surface coating is sprayed on to walls and ceilings. As a result of such spraying, appreciable amounts of asbestos fibers may be released into the air during the application, again as the surface coating material -defceriep&tes with age, and, finally, when the building is demolished. Appropriate substitutes (in terms of physical properties and price) exist which do not contain asbestos. The purpose of the proposed regulation is to reduce the exposure of the public to new as bestos sources of this type. Asbestos containing materials can be found virtually everywhere Including homes, farms, factories, automobiles, ships, trains and airplanes. It has been estimated to have over 3000 uses, many of which cannot be satis fied by a substitute. Asbestos fibers In their several conmercial forms have been shown to be associated with a variety of diseases. These include: asbestosis (a scarring of the lung), bronchogenic carcinoma (a malignancy of the interior of.the lung), mesothelioma (a malignancy of the chest cavity or of the lining of the abdomen), and cancer of the stomach, colon and rectum (40, Fed. Reg. 47651, October 9, 1975). Only the free asbestos fibers constitute a danger to health. It has been estimated that a majority (85-92*) of end-product uses have effectively Immobilized the asbestos fibers by mixing them into a strong binding mate rial, e.g., cement (EPA, 1976: Asbestos, a Review of Selected Literature through 1973, EPA-560/2-76-001). The asbestos fibers resulting from the spraying operation itself, as well as those released from the coating over a period of time due to its friable nature, are of primary public health concern. II. Health Effects of Asbestos In 1938, the U. S. Public Health Service first suggested an occupational standard for exposure to asbestos fibers in the air. The standard proposed was 5 million particles per cubic foot (or 30 fibers/milliliter), a standard intended to prevent asbestosis. In 1938, asbestosis was the only disease of concern, since no data then linked asbestos exposure with cancer. In time, the scope of medical concern as to the diseases resulting from asbestos exposure expanded. In 1947, lung cancer was found in 13* of the individuals who died with asbestosis in Great Britain (Merewether, 1947: Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories); and lung cancer was fully SGP 0009045 documented as causally related to asbestos exposure In 1955 (Doll, 1955: Br. J. Ind. Med. 12:81). Mesothelioma, a rare tumor of the lining of the abdomen or chest, was"Tound in an asbestos worker and described in 1954 (Weiss, 1954: Medizlnische 3^83) and unequivocally associated with asbestos exposure In 1960 (Wagner, et al, 1960: Br. J. Ind. Med. T7:260). Gastrointestinal cancer was also found to be in excess among asbestos-insulation workers In the United States (Selikoff, et al, 1964: J. Am. Med. Assoc. 188:22). The Federal government, pursuant to the Walsh Healy Public Contracts Act adopted a standard of 12 fibers/mll1111 ter (ml) in May, 1969. A fiber was defined as being greater than 5 microns in length. When the Occupational Safety and Health Act became effective, the Secretary of Labor proposed this level as an interim standard in May, 1971. In December, 1971, a temporary emergency standard of 5 fibers/ml was promulgated. The final standard adop ted in June, 1972 was an eight-hour time-weighted average exposure of 5 -fibers/ml with a peak value of 10 fibers/ml for a 15 minute period. In July, 1976 the eight-hour standard was reduced from 5 to 2 fibers/ml. In October, 1975 a further reduction in this standard was proposed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), from 2 to 0.5 fibers/ml. At that time, OSHA's position was that "prudent policy would therefore seem to Indicate that every reasonable measure should be taken to eliminate human exposure to chemical compounds as soon as their carcinogenic nature Is iden tified." (40, Fed. Reg. 47651, October 9, 1975) Medical evidence Indicates that brief (as short as one month or less) high level exposures, as well as long-term, low level exposure to asbestos leads to an Increase in the risk of cancer (Selikoff, Nicholson and Langer, 1972: Arch. Environ. Health; 25:1). Another study (Gillam et al., 1975: Annals of New York Academy of Sciences) revealed a statistically significant excess of lung cancer amoung a group of gold miners exposed to relatively low levels of asbestos (0.36 f/ml), well below the present OSHA standard. It has also been demonstrated that people living in the same house with asbestos workers, who are exposed to the asbestos dust carried home by the workers, face an Increased cancer risk. For some type of environmentally related human cancer, it is now well established that interaction of multiple factors may significantly influence the degree of risk. Although It Is widely assumed that intensity of exposure strongly influences cancer risk, there are comparatively few direct data apart from cigarrette smoking and radiation that support this belief or establish that a linear relationship exists. (Selikoff, 1975: Multiple Risk Factors In Environmental Cancer, in Persons at High Risk of Cancer) So, for example, it has been demonstrated that the risk of dying of lung cancer is 92 times greater for an asbestos worker who smokes, than for an individual who neither smokes nor works with asbestos. (Selikoff, 1968: J. -Am. Med. Assoc. 204:106) * Because of the variability of Individual response to carcinogenic mate rials and other factors, the concept of a "level of no effect" or "threshold level" may have little significance on the basis of existing knowledge. While some level, below which exposure to a carcinogen does not cause cancer may conceivably exist for any one individual, other individuals in the pop ulation may have cancer induced by doses so low as to be effectively zero (40, Fed. Reg. 47651, October 9, 1975). At the present time, a precise "no -2 SGP 0009046 effect" level for asbestos has not been demonstrateu, and might, as a matter of fact, not exist (Shabad, 1966: Hygiene and Sanitation 31_:174-180). "At any specified level above zero, we may assume that there will be some risk associated with the exposure to asbestos and to other carcinogens." (Nicholson, 1976: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 271:152-169) III. Conclusion The regulation proposed herewith is intended to cover the situation in which asbestos fibers can become air borne and thereby jeopordize public health. Other regulations and laws may prove desirable to further reduce the dangers posed by asbestos in our environment and will be investigated. The Department invites comments on such additional asbestos control measures. The present proposal will prevent the future application of sprayed-on \ asbestos materiel in New Jersey. It is ehe Department's position that ex- / posure to asbestos fibers resulting from any more spray-on surface coatings would constitute a totally unnecessary risk. I -3- SGP 0009047