Document 10na55nkvojzndLDKY5BzaGDo

aSHSSTOS TEXTILE INSTITUTE M 'jT,-.S of th-j 0er.c- cz 1 y = z t' p held Thursday, 4.pril 7, 19-:o the Bisr.icrck Hotel, ChLc=.-;o I i:s' ,.s GSTOS TEXTILE CO. RnYBTS?OS-M-.NH.-.TT.-.?i , I XC . 3e rr.ger. T. Get Ice jc: u'S-U-ANVTLLE CORP. c . j-. . Bettes ^ C-. Vi. Marshall1' ,M. VfeAve^-- '.V. A. Gilbert S. V. Dillon SOUTHERN ^SBESTOS CO. KEV.S3EY a MvTTISON CO. G. S. Facel A. V/h i t f i e Id Urn Oil ..S3EST0S I RUBBER CO. ?H.I L.-i DELPHI A ASBESTOS CO. A. J. Scanlan ' E. CryorA. R. Byrnes A. F. Jerome RUTGERS .UNIVEnSl TY CADV/fJA-.DER, V; ICK ER S HE.iz T.uFT M. C. Shav; r M. I. Ruddock 1. The meeting v?es called to order by the President. The Secretary v/as directed to read the corrected section of the Minutes of the meeting held at New Brunswick, N. J. on Dec. 10, 1943. It vres moved by hr. Cryor, seconded by Mr. Dillon and unanimously voted that the Minutes as corrected be approved. 2. In the absence of the Treasurer, the Secretary read the Treasurer report. (copy attached). It was moved by Mr. Dillon, seconded by Mr* Marshall and unanimously approved that the report as pre sented be accepted and entered in the Minutes of this meeting. 3. The Secretary's quarterly report was road (copy attached) and in the discussion which followed several actions were taken. a. With regard to the supply of Primers available to the Secretary for general distribution, the members present  u r,, Dolled to c--r r. ~ i...nether cr d i any could be obtr ired from the member companies. It 3 re vea led t ::a t ~Oi. ^ <.c r<v- . r.-j.obcrs hr. v-; depleted their stock of Prim ,:rs nr.d could not therefore furnish any additional copies. Hov.evsr, L.'r. Scanlon, Philadelphia ..sb scos Co., one Hr. .-'abel, Southern .sbesto2 Co., did agree to supply sc::o adci tlpncJL copies Cor the :seds here established. b. The renerks concerning chc development of protective clothing for firefighting purposes that is being pro moted at the 7/right-Patterson ..ir Force Base, hero medical Laboratory, prompted a censideraole amount of discussion on that subject. It was pointed out that . asbestos textiles are apparently being completely dis regarded in this effort and preference seems to be dir ected to a construction composed of glass cloth, lami nated v/ith an aluminum or silver foil. It was felt that asbestos textiles should be given some considera tion in these efforts and the Secretary v/as instructed to advise the membership regarding the proper parties responsible for this development so that a fair repre sentation of asbestos textiles might be made. 4. The Air Hygiene Committee had no formal report to offer, hcr/ever, there v/as a considerable amount of discussion concerning the activities of this committee. Hr. R. E. Cryor reported his observations of the dust control problem and how it is being attacked in England. It v/as pointed out that many English manu facturers are ahead of those in this country v/ith regard to the protective measures being used end an example /r.s cited e re of j machines as spinning fr -n, etc., r re ce-- plcteiy enclosed cad cvr.cuntcd while In c-ncrntLon. It was felt that perhaps the mast important factor accounting for this con dition lies in the somewhat more strict legislative control j/.erted upon such operations in England. There was a general agreement that the activities of the 'Air~Kyglene Committee arc very important functions of the Institute and that the committee's -contributions to the industry are of inestimable value. The Secretary read excerpts from an article entitled "Cancer and Environment'* written by Graff Conklin end published in Scientific American, Vcl. 180, No. 1, Jan. 1949. It was felt that the in formation here offered unjustifiably incriminated asbestos as a carcinogenic material and it was felt that some clarification'of the subject should be extended. Hr. Marshall suggested that the matter might best be clarified through and by Dr. A. J. Lnnzo, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co,, and Mr. Marshall was therefore directed by the President to confer with Dr. Lanzo regarding the subj ect. The Fiber Committee report v/r-s given by Mr. Marshall who presented a general review of the Canadian fiber mines strike and stated that at this date there appears to be no basis for an early settlement of the tic-up. A general observation would seem to Indicate that the fibers being received from. Canada ere somewhat improved in quality over those received in past years. Mr. J. H. V/enver reported on the stockpiling activities which are being carried out under the direction of the Bureau of Federal Supply. copy of this report is herewith attached and it is SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 1 PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT, J,9.49rdT7 VOL. 180, NO. I 'j, ^ - v. ....... ' ;ancer and Environment ....' '*&.; 5? - , ' *^>*3?""i v r - . ' " vT 'r\.-. ,, .:i. .. . Scientific and technological progress have exposed man to new physical and chemical agents. Some are believed associated with the rise of cancer as a cause of death by Groff Conklin IlfF. industrial era in its full expan1 I sion is barely two generations old. yet during that short period literally liousands of entirely new chemical and lliysical constituents have been added to hr human environment. Few of these conitituents have been exhaustively analyzed their long-range toxic effects on man. now being studied, however. a ^^^ontributors to the rise of cancer, the growth in the relative importance f canrer as a cause of death V one of ie outstanding medical facts of the past I) years. The disease has moved from !ighth to second place in the IJ. S. since WO. and today only heart ailments sura it. The reasons customarily given for tii> rise--improved diagnosis and the Itin^^Mthe population--do not entirely ^^^t. They provide no satisfactory nswer to the fact that approximately fru-n and a half per cent of the known jncer deaths in 1944 occurred in age kmups under 40. There is evidence, morepwr. that the disease is not an inevitable equence of bodily degeneration due to although the changes of senescence ruler certain conditions may be conJihuling factors. It seems certain that iff is a net increase in true cancer Mths. if only because fewer people die mm other diseases than in the past. An explanation of this increase and of Jin- causes of the disease is therefore Ding sought in our environment, so much *>"f complex than it wa in 1900. The imrstigation is focused on carcinogenic Igrnts. as the substances that produce rnicer^^ called, and on the general qursii^^B the extent to wwhhiicchh tHhie in- ?ancer may he caused by agents environment that have hitherto been considered comparatively harmless. It has been established that certain agents to which people are exposed in in dustrial occupations cause cancer if the CARCINOGEN^ known to lie pres ent in human environment are classi fied. Less certain agents arc. in italics. exposure to them is sufficiently intense and prolonged. As an example, over 75 per cent of the miners in the Schneeberg cohalt-uranium mines of Germany die of lung cancer: more than 50 per cent of those in the Joachimsthal uranium mines across the border in Czechoslovakia die of the same cause. In the 18th century it was learned that among chimney sweeps exposed to intense concentrations of soot, deaths from cancer were between titree and four times as high as those in the gen eral population. It is known also that certain common substances in concen trated doses can produce cancer: for ex ample. mouth cancers are uncommonly frequent in a tribe in India which smokes cigars with the lighted end in the mouth. This causes them to sufler frequent burns and to receive a concentrated dosage of tobacco tars. Although these are special cases of intense exposure, they naturally suggest speculation as to whether the average human being's relatively mild but longcontinued expo-ure to new substance* in a contaminated atmosphere, in processed foods, in cosmetic* and in other elements of our environment may be a contributory cause of cancer. We have as vet no con clusive evidence for or against this possihilily. We have no accurate estimate of how manv of the artificial substances common In our industrial civilization mav he carcinogenic under special circum stances. nor how many seemingly harmless substances, interacting with others that appear to be equallv innocuous, may pro duce carcinogenic results. There are. of course, many theories about euncer's causes- chronic internal irritations in the hodv changes in cell f ( Of /*-Afc ^ r ORIGINAL SITES of malignant growths due to carcinogens in tlie en vironment are scattered among almost all the organs of the body. Some agents, such as the aromatic amine dye intermediates, regularly affect the same organs even though they may use any one of many routes for attack. metabolism, tissue degeneration. viru| and so on. Most of these theories. li#azo d? ever, describe mechanisms rather il hydro first causes. Indeed, with two or three volvet ccptions all of them seem to require icity < presence of a triggering agent. jpletel Possibly the most fruitful current the* On* is the one that attributes cancer to mjhowex tions in body cells. Cancer-causing nnjsome tions, it has been demonstrated by examines ments, may be produced by ullravn cance radiation. X-rays, radioactive substant defici' and a number of chemicals. While m found than 99 per cent of all cancers are 4frye of unknown origin, nearly all of th^and s for which a proved cause has been foilcan r arise as the result of external ageijprodu These seem to mutate the cells into a stjjust t which is, or can become, cancerous. The methods by which these exteriT^ v agents act upon the body vary con;!-*' ce erably. depending on the substance ll^c s volved. Some carcinogens may caijsearc* cancer directly. Examples of these are ij most the mineral oils and certain dye interior! have 1 ates known as aromatic amines. Tars suffer erally affect the skin. Mineral oils njcentr: cause cancer of the lungs through inliaj E.01!!11 tion. The aromatic amines, strangely, co Fully centrate on the bladder, no matter wl genic their route of attack. Whether they cn propo the body through the respiratory systc arises the mouth or the skin, they gravitate| Prta, the _rnitn-urinarv s_vStern and there b...uif up a concentration that eventually cau-| Th< cancer. of ca 'pi Other agent- seem to cause cancer * e 1 altering organs s<> that the organ itself p a c duces a carcinogen, resulting in a canc The mechanism of this transformation P*: little understood. It is known that soi r.ea 7, radiations and certain metallic compour. tional including the chromates, the arsenica in an; nickel carbonyl and possibly asbest even cause cancer in this relatively roundabc have t way. to be Tht RADIOACTIVE materials are less uncov cialized in their effects; they oance; produce a wide variety of cancers. tiIon a may cause skin cancer by direct atta been j on the skin, and lung cancer in peo; most. who i.nh.ale ra. dioact,ive d,ust. W, hen .exp* h, ave ,i sure is intensive and prolonged, as in t ^ave case of the women who worked in the ra/ ; urn watch and clock dial industry soi 25 years ago, they produce bone canci And a slight but very prolonged expose to penetrating radiation can result I leukemia, a cancer of the blood cells, fip latter kind of cancer is often found amw* mum, jg Ojmnt radiologists whose whole profession lives have been spent in theoretically sa1 ` and well-protected dealings with X-ra pecifi or radioactive materials. cancel far pr Most subtle of all those believed to cause carcinogens general metabo| pie, ci disturbances that produce cancers in produ roundabout way. duce carcinogens Thus the liver may p that can cause it or son m^amnuiiccdt eerdffl other tissue to turn malignant. Among li gI)c;a agents thought to have this effect are t? j^jg g zii dyes and certain chlorinated aliphatic metabolic differences were completely un men who are employed in these plants. JiydrncarLons. E-ut the mechanism in- derstood. human beings might he endowed Obviously such inve?ligutions present olved is so obscure that the carcinogen- with resistance to certain types of cancer difficult problems and demand a high or city of these substances has not been com by modifying the individual's metabolic der <>f judgment. It has often been said pletely proved. processes. Such ideas are still beyond the that statistics can he used to prove both One aspect of such indirect causation, realm of practical application in man. In sides of a question. Environmental car per. is susceptible of proof. Among experimental animals, however, cancer cinogenesis is no exception. e Negro tribes working in the gold susceptibility or resistance to certain ex An example in American experience is 'xUn`nes of Africa, an excessive incidence of ternal carcinogens, such as several of the a study which was made some time ago of vjnM-anrer of the bladder has been traced to azo dyes, may be created at will by the the incidence of lung cancer among 40.000 &ateficiencies in the workers' diet. It was omission or addition of certain vitamins in workers in an industry suspected of pro : njAound that most of the Negroes had lived the diet. ducing a carcinogenic agent. It was e Mur years on a vitamin-deficient diet of pap Without animal experimentation, scien known from studies in other countries that t^lmd sour milk. Only recently South Afri- tific proof of the carcinogenicity of various lung cancers were exceptionally frequent foBl,n research workers have succeeded in substances and radiations would be nearly in this industry, and there was no evidence tg|,roducing cancer of the liver in rats fed impossible. On the other hand, laboratory that the American manufacturing methods a ^Bust this diet. ' experiments alone cannot prove definitely differed in any major respect from those that such agents are dangerous to man. abroad. Vet this study reported no lung aer"a il N view of the relative novelty of the con cept of environmental cancer, and of Other methods must be used, and the prin cipal instruments so far available have cancers at all!. In anv group of 40.000 adult males several cases of lung cancer lie small amount of well-organized re- been statistical studies and medical rec are hound to occur, merely on the basis of catJearcli in this field, it is not surprising that ords. -- tlie incidence of the malignancy in the ire l most of the known carcinogenic agents rmtflhave been found in industry. Here workers offer exposures many times more con- In large, unselected population groups, variations in the incidence of one kind of cancer are usually not sufficiently marked population as u whole. The results of the studv surely suggest a lack of thorough ness in the collection and evaluation of rntrated than the average citizen en- to be significant. That is why environmen data. minters in a non-industrial environment, tal carcinogens are usually difficult to de y ^0 per cent of the known carcinoc agents are industrial, and a similar roportion of cancers of known cause tect. Up to half a century ago. indeed, evi dence of specific extrinsic causations of cancer was discovered largely by clinical A Cl.EAR example of tlie intelligent use of statistic? a? a tool in uncovering environmental carcinogen? is the way in rises from carcinogens of industrial im- observation. Physicians practicing in ur which cancers <>f the bladder were identi mrtance. These known agents are listed in ban, or manufacturing areas began to fied a? an occupational hazard in plants lie chart on page 11. notice a remarkably high incidence of cer u?ing the aromatic amine dye interme The difficulties in the large-scale study tain types of cancer among workers in in diates mentioned earlier. The following carcinogenic agents are formidable, dividual trades. Such was the case in the composite description, based on a number he modern environment is s<, ramified diagnosis of cancer of the scrotum in of European and American investigations hat efforts to evaluate it in terms of long chimney sweeps. Discoveries by direct ob of this problem, illustrates the method: ue carcinogenicity may appear nearly servation continue to be made, as in the The people in a certain industrial re eless. Nevertheless, the techniques al- case of radium and X-ray cancers that oc gion have a frequency "f bladder cancer eadv developed in the study of occupa- curred with alarming frequency among that is a slight fraction higher than nor ional carcir^igens may be of some value people working with these agents in the mal. The variation is well within tlie range n analyzing the environment as a whole, not so distant past. [even though more refined methods may of random probability, hut (lie fact that several cases of this not too common ma lave to be developed if such a program is >' be successful. The two principal method? now used to BUT observation lias its limitations. Un less very careful medical records are lignancy have been found in a single community leads to a further study of kept, or unless workers remain in a carthe region. It is found that the incidence uncover the more obvious occupational cinogenic job for many years, the fact that of bladder cancer jumps from .02 per cer hazards are animal experimenta- the job is carcinogenic may escape notice. cent in the province us a whole to .1 per i and statistical analysis. Cancers have Characteristic of environmental cancers is cent in the particular community under nini produced in experimental animal? by the long period between the beginning of study, an increase ol -10(1 per cent. On tost of the known physical and chemical exposure to the carcinogen and the actual further investigation it is learned that arcinogens. Hundreds of other substances appearance of a tumor. A worker who among the worker? in a particular dye have been and are being tested. Some that leaves a dangerous job before the cancer plant in the town. S per cent are -.offering ha\e been shown to be carcinogenic in appears mav later develop a malignant from ur have died from bladder cancer-- animals have not as yet been proved dan tumor without realizing its origin. nearlv a 5.000 per cent increase. Follow gerous to man. or else they do not form a The process of tracing cancer? to their ing this clue, every operation in the plant part of his normal environment. Among source through medical records and health i? studied, and one particular job is found these substances are uretlian. ergot, sele statistics has become a work of skilled de in which over 00 per cent of the worker? nium. and diethylene glycol. duction. When a given community i? found, have bladder cancer or have died front it. One aspect of the work on animals that on careful examination of its illne?s and Obviously the focal point of tlie disease important in considering human cancer mortality statistics, to have an unusual has been established. i- the phenomenon known as "species number of cases of cancer in certain site?, It is from just ?uch relatively slight specificity." Many carcinogens that cau?e the biometrician at once suspects the pres statistical anomalies that much of the cancer in some animal species have thus ence of an active environmental carcino original evidence of carcinogenesis in in fur proved harmless to others. For exam gen. Tlie chances today are very great that dustry arises. Of Course, as more carcino- ple. certain tars, when correctly applied, it will be traced to one or more factories in ens become known and are added to the produce skin cancer in mice. .rats, rabbits the area, since so few non-industrial car list, the statistical technique? change. \A ith I'd dogs, but not in monkeys. Rats and cinogens have been found. Conversely, if the cooperation of the Industrie? involved, get skin cancer from ultraviolet rays, it is known that certain plants are pro medical and public health experts go di h rabbits do not. The probability is that ducing or using known carcinogens, the rectly into the plants and study the opera penalized metabolism is at the bottom of statistician searches for evidence of an tions anil the workers. Often, however, thU species specificity for cancer. If such abnormal incidence of cancer among public medical and death records offer tin- only reliable source <f information. Many industries actually do not know of the ex istence of carcinogenic hazards in their factories. The study is so new that only plants in which the incidence of specific cancers is notoriously high are aware of the problem. A few industries do know of the existence of carcinogens in their plants, and probably some of them have developed their own methods of coping with them. The reluctance of industrial manage ments to publicize the existence of a car cinogenic hazard is understandable, for it could easily become difficult for plants mi labeled to recruit workers, or even to sell their commodities. To make factories em ploying carcinogenic materials safe to work in, furthermore, sometimes requires extensive and costly alterations. If one firm make? such alterations and others do not. the competitive position of its product is endangered. Generally speaking, however, employ ers are no more responsible lor the lack ot information about industrial cancer than are the many thousands ol physicians who have cancer patients in industrial areas m who actually are associated with factories. It is an unquestionable fact that an appre ciable number of occupational cancers slip through the hands of doctors uniden tified. This is due in a great degree to a general ignorance of the occupational as pects ol cancer. l,hy>ician> have never been adequately informed of the basic symptomatic and sociological factors in volved in identifying occupational carcino genesis. pected. The incidence of lung cancer did not diminish; in fact soon afterward can cers began to appear among workers who had been exposed for less than six years, a closed; that the community he protect^ the c by the prevention <>l the discharge ol at of d; cinogenic wastes; that factories be | const censed and inspected; that workers on tl much shorter period than had been pre viously observed. What had happened was that at the time when the protective meas ures were adopted the factory had also begun to use a more finely ground material to improve production. The finer dust, though present in a much'lower concen tration than tfie original material, pene trated farther within the bronchi of the provided with protective clothing, eqi and ment and medical supervision, includin Pi frequent and thorough physical examim their tions. inex The Environmental Cancer Section | theii the Institute, which is a part of the U. { disc' Public Health Service, is preparing ^ regu immediate, comprehensive campaign ^ clotl education and information, tire purpose j lungs. Thus despite the installation ot the which is to bring physicians to a realiri latest in protective, devices and pro tinn of the existence of the problem. Plaij cedures. the cancer hazard was actually are also under way to make exhausti'j increased. surveys of major industrial areas in tty nation. These studies are essential pri IT is obvious, therefore, that the control of occupational carcinogenesis--and liminaries to the institution of the controj that Dr. Hueper has suggested. even to a great extent of cancers stem Many of the control recommendation ming from more indefinite environmental admittedly are far-reaching in their impll THE medical profession should he bet ter educated about the need for ex haustive case histories which carry the individual's job record in detail back as far as 25 years, about the urgency of check ing medical suspicions of industrial cancer hazards against careful epidemiological studies of all the workers in a plant, and about the paramount importance of im pressing plant management witli the seri CARCINOGEN IN NATURE is sunlight. Such natural carcinogens, howevea ousness of the problem. arc few. An abnormally high concentration of arsenic in drinking watef The standard protective and hygienic has been shown to cause cancer of the skin and internal organs. Infect measures currently used in industry to tions of certain parasites have also been found to lead to malignant growth^ combat industrial poisons and other health hazards are not always adequate for the control of occupational cancer. The bil lowing case history is a compelling illus agents, if and when they arc discovered-- is a public health problem of considerable magnitude. This is made even more ap cations. Years of work will be required IV put them into practice with maximal effejj tiveness. This is particularly true of tb tration: Some 30 years ago workers in one parent by the scope of a control program recommendations for social controls.~T5 of the newer metal industries began to that lias been proposed by Dr. Wilhelm C. the technical side, some of the element develop lung cancers. At that time the Hueper, head of the new Environmental can be instituted at once and without gre; i cancers were found to remain latent from Cancer Section of the National Cancer expense, if management and labor can 1 10 to 15 years. The incidence was unusu Institute. Dr. Hueper, one of the world's persuaded to agree to them. ally high in certain operations where the leading experts on occupational cancer, For example, effective medical and san carcinogenic substance was present in par has studied the problem in the U. S. and tary supervision of exposed workers ca ticularly high concentration as an air elsewhere for many years. Several ot the be undertaken immediately. This superv j borne dust. An effort was made to safe elements of his program have already sion should include X-ray examinations a guard these operations. Up-to-date equip been put into effect in European countries. frequent intervals; careful clinical stud ment for removing dost and fun es was The program proposes that carcino-enic of suspicions lesions; preparation of ei installed, and a standard industrial hy- agents be eliminated from industrial, mili haustive and detailed job analyses an , giene program was inaugurated, including tary and civilian use as far as is possible case histories; regular quarterly or sem protective clothing. But the outcome was and practical; that manufacturing process annual physical examinations of all worl; exactly the opposite of what had been ex es which must use such materials be en ers who might possibly suffer exposure l . .- jhe carcinogenic agents: a constant review of dangerous plant operations to enforce CcOo-nstant good housekeeping and to check I on the level of carcinogenic dusts, fumes, d mists. mProtective measures for the workmen htt^e^lvves are also simple and relatively sive. although the enforcement of thl^!fKfisse is sometimes made difficult by the discomfort they cause. They include the regular wearing of respirators and sealed clothing whenever exposure to a carcino genic hazard is likely, daily showers for all persons working in or near the hazard ous operations, use of separate lockers for street and work clothes, and adoption of work techniques that will minimize the dangers of exposure. Other, and more important, technical measures are likely to involve heavy ex penditures for management. In some in stances, entire factories would have to be rebuilt. Others would require costly waste-control equipment, such as elec tronic dust precipitators, and extensive remodeling to enclose carcinogenic opera tions and keep the workers from any contaofc^ith dangerous-agents. Few plants ^^HfTord the necessary changes unless ..^^lcr plants in the same industry were required to make the same improvements at the same time. IN some instances, such changes might possibly be undertaken as a result of an industry-wide agreement. In others, legislaltive and administrative enforcement Ak1be essential. Such action would inactory licensing and inspection by M jgroov^rTr'niment. improved compensation laws recognizing occupationally acquired can cers At compensable, and revision of the health codes to make occupational cancers notifiable just as are many other diseases. These measures would require coordinated and carefully planned action on the part of management, labor, the medical profestate public health and labor departand state and Federal legislatures, precedent for such a program has al ready been set by the successful control ( communicable diseases through public health laws and through the organized eooperation in their enforcement of both private and public agencies. How effective these controls would be in diminishing the hazards of still undiscov ered environmental carcinogens is a questiirn that only time can answer. Mean while. the known causes of occupational cancers would be placed under technical and social restraint, and patterns would he established for the future control of new carcinogens as they are found in our environment. .id ------ ---------a ............. .! Grofj Conklin is a sci ence writer and a former consultant with the Na tional Cancer Institute. EXTREME CASE of environmental cancer is represented In record of aro matic amine plant in Germany. Of workers direct ly in contact with chemical, 90 to 100 per cent developed cancer of the Madder. Running from top to bottom is illustration of statistical analysis used to locate such hazards. 15