Document 1QNVx0zbE1nzBnaepm45mp2yo

y* 15 4x <WD Jeo. . Concedes Officer be li- rocess jd acids Of Johns-Manvilie r-Tomes tehnolo- --A vicerpresldent of Johns-Manvilie spanies Corporation admitted that a number of .pany and ae world's from ter ra secific workers at the Johns-Manvilie plant in TorontoJwere killed by cancer that could be linked with exposure to asbes tos while ihey were employed at the `ng feature plant. . . anly 1-lysine, The company Official, Dr. Paul Kotin, derived, as>, snade the coocession at a pressconference re utilized ^fterStepheh Lewis, top man itrthe Ontario ligh-purity ^ ' "New Demotrrttie Tarty, charged that ten i from dl-lys- workers in the plant died of lung cancer i causing any after 1970. Mr. Lewis also said that thirty-seven other employees at the plant were stricken Jby asbestosis or cancer--out of a total workforce of 500--and later cited a govern ment report of an inspection at the plant asr showing that over halfM the points checked there exhibited asbestos concentrations of 0to0 CooO over itwo fibers percubic centimeter of air. TThe two-fiber count is the maximum per- missable under the guidelines used in To ronto. The Johns-Manvilie unit there manu it factures asbestos pipes and insulating prod ucts. i Countering the allegations of Mr. Lewis. Dr. <Kotiri, a past director of the 14811008) Cancer Institute in the DS, said that more than~90 percent of the Toronto facility is now in compliance with the guidelines. .fie said that, inthe past, concentrations SkM of airborne asbestos fibers there were high er but that the unit is safe now because of a recent $500,900 program to clean up the op eration. The recent deaths were due to past exposure to high asbestos concentrations, he said: ' > . In another development, the company, which is based in Denver, Col., last week said a landslide on January 21 will definite ly reduce the output of its Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Que., this year. Full production will not be restored until October, the com pany believes. US Energy Industry Ph-ii-- Advertisers' If .A-1 Equipment & Chemical A.I.D. Chemical Co., Inc..... Aaron Equipment Compar American Hoechst Corpc"American Tartars Corpo Amsco Division, Union AtapahoeChemicais D> ~-iatton _......... ...... ARChem Company ... Arias international ... . Armak Chemicals Di . Arnold Mawman Co *AehlandChamicai u `'Bethlehem Steel C Stanley Blackman Boehrmger. C.H Brill Equipmen' write 'Parson.- tess'Cn____ tntarr CPS CheCenterc' Chemic. Cham-' Cham. ConeCc C t L E Es Fat Feh, Ferro Fine Fine Oi, Foster Sr. Gelb. R,, & Glidden Orga SCM Corpora. Glyco Chemicals. It H & P Equipment Cc C P. Hall Co.'.............. Harshaw Chemical Comp Kewanee Oil Company Heico Inc. --.--.......... .......... Hercules Incorporated -........ Hotfmann-La Roche. Inc. ....... Humko Chemical Division...... Hutchinson. D.W., & Co., fnc. ISIS...............................-..... -- Industrial Investors ................International.Casein Corp. -- J.B. Chemical Co. ....... ........... Joba B.V................................. Jones Chemicals, Inc..... Kuehne Chemical Co. ... Lawler Company........ . Lee Chemicals --...... Machinery A Equipme Machinery Reserve o' Mayco Oil end Chr McKesson Che' Meer CorpoMetalwo'1 Monter' Mor- >' * Great asbestos hunt It is a little difficult to understand the high dudgeon that some public officials have worked themselves into over the existence of asbestos in school buildings. ---------- -- it's puzzling because of the fact that the min eral, which is one of the known causes of cancer, has been around schools for a long, long time. Asbestos can be found in the acoustical tile ceilings, in floor tiles and, if one wants to con tinue the search long and hard enough, out in the parking lots in the brake linings of vehicles. It can also be found in tbe serpentine rock formations that many schools in California are built upon. / Nevertheless, after several schools in New Jersey were shut down because ceilings con taining high concentrations of asbestos were found, the word went out to check all California schools. .. Superintendent of Public Instruction Wilson Riles has asked the school system to check records or run tests to determine the asbestos content of their facilities. The latter request,' unless further clarified, could run into consider able needless expense. Upshot of the. flap over asbestos in schools has been the scheduled visit of a team of inves tigators from the State Department of Health to inspect all 42 schools in Cupertino Union School District. - As a result of Riles' notification, many schools have apparently gone ahead on their own to take an asbestos inventory, so to speak, to the extent of hiring outside experts. Perhaps it would be better for tbe hundreds of school districts throughout the state to cool it a bit and await tbe findings of the State Department of Public Health which will be' spot checking schools in northern and southern California. It is safe to assume that this knowledge will be shared with all parties concerned, in due time. * But, once again, overkill and overpanic seems to set in whenever the environment appears to be under the threat of another potential pollutant. That asbestos is one of the causes of cancer has been established, in 1972, by researchers affiliated with the American Cancer Society. But, its sudden "discovery" within the hal lowed walls of our schoolhouses, shouldn't touch off a wild scramble to get rid of the stuff. It would be bad enough removing it from the brake linings of all our automobiles, but get ting it out of that serpentine rock under each school building would be just too much. "* rco o o X SAN JQSE NEWS SAN JOSE, CA. JAN 2 7 1977-' Incompetence Laid to 4-Engineers Illness Wasn't Due to Asbestos HOWELL TOWNSHIP, Feb. 18 (AP)--A 13-year-old student whose illness was at-. tributed to asbestos ceilings, leading to school closings and a statewide search for the cancer-causing fiber, has been sick ' with mononucleosis, bis doctor said I today. : Dr. Michael Quatrella of Asbury Farit said that recent tests showed the cause of Ramtown School , eighth-grader Joseph Samfs' swollen glands and tore throat v.-cc the virus end not ssbestas particles. The youth, who has been at home since last November, might be allowed to re turn to school by Tuesday if another blood test shows the mononucleosis is waning. Dr. Quatrella said. After it was believed that asbestos par- tides floating in the air had caused Jo seph's illness, concerned parents here pressured the school board to close six elementary schools with an enrollment of 3,300 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 24 while the asbestos-coated ceilings were re placed at a cost of $60,000. ' Concern about asbestos in schools spread, and dozens of schools made air tests for the fibers. i Howell school officials said the board . had acted properly in talcing down the ' ceilings, but Schools Superintendent SidL ney Zaslavsky said: ' `T think we could have waited until June. That way we wouldn't have uproot ed the whole school system, upset the whole community aftd affected the educa tion of 3.300 kids." THE HI TIMES, SATURDAY. ' Who Refuseto VisitAsbestosPlant . By FRANCES CERRa I ' Charges of incompetence'and miscon them of the charges stated that they b duct' have been leveled against four air- refused repeated orders by their imr pollution-control engineers employed by diate superior, Benjamin Radzka. to ms tbe New York City Department of Air Resources, who have refused, on grounds of personal safety, to inspect plants that the inspections. Furthermore, it said tb continued to refuse-after their super manufacture products containing asbes told them that "if upon arrival at varic tos. . ... plants you encountered what you ct ~ Ttir-four engineers, each of whom has sider to be hazardous conditions, y at ieast four years of service with the were to telephone Mr. Radzka for furtt city, say they are refusing to make the inspections because the btv will not pro vide them- with disposable, protective clothing. Referring to research done by Dr. Irving Selikoff of the Mount Sinai i instructions." "How can asked George fibe--r-s---i-n the I know If it's hazardous Cecchini. "You can't see t air." .Mr. Cecchvini an. d _t AdmimstiMedical Center's Department of Environ- i other engineers pointed out that the: c menta.l .M.e.d.ic.ine, th. *ey ma.inta.in th. at as i c._u__p___a__t_i_o__n__a_ Il Safety aaanadl UHseaalaltkh bestos particles - that adhere to their tion had been steadily reducing the clothing couJd cause them, their families lowable number of fibers of asbestos and co-workers to contract lung disease, the air of such plants, and recently P' including a particular form of cancer. posed establishing a safety level of or A spokesman for Ethan C. Eldon, Air tenth of a fiber per cubic centimeter Resources Commissioner, said he had no aic. Workers in such plants are suppos comment because the charges were pend to wear disposable clothing. ing. An administrative hearing on the The engineers say further that befc charges will be betd tomorrow. If the they learned of the hazards of asbesi charges are upheld, the four engineers they did make inspections in plants usi could face dismissal, suspension without the substance and were concerned nc pay, a. reduction in rank or a simple that they had already harmed tnemselv- reprimand. They can appeal an adminis In addition to Mr. Cecenini, the oth trative ruling to the state courts. engineers involved are John Cilen' The letter to the engineers informing Henry Danziger and Abraham Reich. 11 1 lUARY IS. 1977 HE? YORK, NETT YORK TIMES -r- ~ -rrr. r iL- O !- i * School officials: Asbestos *^ present, but no clanger ..j THE JOURfo, . NYACK, H Y' ! JAN 12 Asbestos in Industry Asbestos, as just about It was that type of spray -- Industrial and-commer- every school-age child coating that was applied to dal interior siding, residen knows, is that magic doth the ceiling in the Ramtown tial siding and piping. ' that won't burn no matter1 Elementary School, Howell -- Roofing felts for how many matches are' Township, where at least om commercial and industrial applied to it physician suspects a 13-year- ' construction. It's been used by magi old student may have -- Sealants, coatings, such cians throughout history to breathed nnsale quantities, as automobile undercoatings. create sensational illusior*. 1 causing irritation of the -- Textiles, although the Charlemagne, as legend tells upper respiratory system. use of asbestos in textiles ir. it, was eves supposed to have an asbestos tablecloth that was cleaned by putting a torch to it. ; There Is ho proof the stu dent suffered from Inhaling asbestos fibers in the air, but the physician. Dr. Michael slowly being phased out -- Floor tiles. -- ResQiant sheet flooring, more commonly known as li In the reed world, asbestos .-' R. Quatrails, Asbury Park, noleum. is used in industrial and said yesterday the student Fenner said asbestos is not -commercial construction, has improved since be has used for ceiling tiles, except roofing', sealants, friction not been attending school. in ihe case of professional substances, and flooring material. At one time, asbestos posed a bealHL_hazacd to those who worked with it extensively. Long periods of inhaling unsafe quantities In the meantime, scientists are trying to determine how much, if any, asbestos-fibers are present in the school and three other schools in How- .elL soundproofing materials for radio stations. In virtually all cases, be said, the packaging makes it difficult for fibers to escape into the air. led to asbeslosis, an ailment "As I understand the How For example, he said the of the respiratory system ell problem, the coating fibers in asbestos floor tile similar to what scientists Started to flake," Fenner could not be released be; have proven smoking ciga rettes over a long period can cause. But for the homeowner, there appears tn be no dan- -ger of even mild cases of aslstosis because of the mid `This happened more than once because the people who applied it didn't know bow to seal it properly." 1 The product, which has been discontinued, reached its peak in the 1950s. Fenner cause the film are cut with a knife or a shear and not a awing action. "I would strongly recoin- : mend that anyone who cuts . asbestos material with a aw , make sure that the aw has-1 way it is.packaged. said, and was phased out by proper dust collecting equip The only real concern these days is in industiral and commercial uses where large quantities of asbestos materials might be used. the industry in the early 1970s. ' Asbestos is actually a mineral and takes its name from the Greek compound word signifying incombusti ment," he said. "The asbestos in today's products are locked into the product so that only physical energy can release any fibers." One common use is in iMv* One problem arose after ble. and drum brake linings. . World War II when manufac About. 95 per cent of the However, Fenner said turers put an asbestos spray asbestos used in the country studies have shown that the coating that served as an is of the type called chryso- amount of fiber released Into . acoustical buffer and fire tile and is imported from the air, caused by extreme preventative on the market, Canada. In its natural state, beat produced by tbe brak according to Edmund Fen asbestos is quarried because ing action, is within accept- . ner, director of Environmen It is as dense as a rock. ed government safety stand- { tal Services for Johns Man- In manufacturing, asbes ards. ville, Denver, a major tos is formed by crushing the As far as tbe local case Is | supplier of asbestos products rock-like substance into a concerned, Quatrella said ? in the country. .. mass of tiny fibers. ihe negative chest X-ray of | "The problem was that It Fenner said asbestos is the student indicates there was being improperly install used in at least 3,000 prod are no lethal doses of fiber in ' ed," said Fenner.' "It was ucts nationally, but they can tbe schools. improperly applied- and be lumped into seven basic fibers were released into the categories.^They are: air." JAN d 1977 A3BUi;r PARK EVENING PRESS ASBURY PARK N J Asbestos publicity ends trial A federal -judge, Con cerned over publicity generated by the shutdown of Howell Township schools because of asbestos-related health dangers. Sectored amistri- al mtfie case of a wrecking company accused of asbes tos pollution. U.S. District Court Judge Frederick B. Lacey ' ruled that news stories about the asbestos prob lems could- have unfairly influenced the outcome of ' the trial. . The trial involved the D and V Wrecking Co. of Sayreville. which allegedly violated federal air pollu tion laws by allowing asbestos dust to rater, airjduring the der of industrial buildings in Kearny last year. * "This Howell Township situation couldn't have occurred at a worse time from the point of view of the parties to this case," Lacey said. "And given the headlines that this Howell Township situation has re ceived, and only after a lot of balancing in my own mind, I decided that 1 would grant the motion for mistrial." A new trial is slated to begin on March 1 in U.S. District Court in Newark^ > ' STAR LEDGER . NEWARK. N i JAN 8 1977 KMX 00371 /Mother challenged Illness Laid to Asbestos, $20 Million Is Sought over asbestos claim By SUE EPSTEIN of the schools and in the boiler room ceilings in the other two. The president of the Howell Board "1 don't bold anybody responsible of Education said yesterday he "wasn't for the asbestos coating or anyone who surprised" that someone filed a com became ill possibly as a result from it," plaint against the board because of board president Clark said. "When it aghpdns railings in the township's was installed, and until about a year schools. ago, everyone was under the belief it But Harold Clark called Mn. Irene was safe." Sarrafs claim for $20 million in punitive Clark said he believes the school and compensatory damages "absurd" board should devise a program to moni and challenged her to "prove in court" tor the students and examine them to that her two sons have contracted asbes see if in the future any types of asbestos- tos adenitis and poisoning as she related illnesses occur. charges. "The number is completely ab surd," he said. "I believe she is entitled "We're working with our school to payment of her medical bills if, upon physician right now to come up with a examination by several doctors, it is program for those who may have al determined her children had the ill ready been affected,'' he revealed. "We nesses, but this is no one's fault" - . won't know what effect, if any, the Mrs. Sarrafs 13-year-old son Jo asbestos has had and won't know for seph has been home with aqjjppeuespL. about eight or nine years." ratorv infection and what was recently The complaint, which will be turned i^ignoseS as mononucleosis since over to the school s insurance carriers, November. seeks $10 million in compensatory dam * ages and $10 million in punitive dam- She charges in her complaint filed late Friday with the school board as the first step in filing a lawsuit that Joseph and Ronald, 10, were "exposed to an environment deleterious to their health" while enrolled in Howell's Ramtown Ele mentary School. She blamed "defects in construc tion" with possibly a "shortening of their lives" due to the asbestos coating on the ceilings which flaked. Ramtown and five other elementary schools were closed for three weeks in January so that workmen could remove the asbestos ceilings in corridors of f^ur Officials Plan Asbesfos Survey Mrs. Sarrafs pediatrician. Dr. Michael Quatrella, nad notified the school board last December, after the board had decided to remove the asbes tos ceilings, that Joseph's upper respira tory condition "might possibly" lave been caused by the flaking asbestos. Tests taken on the boy for the presence of asbestos have proven negative. Howell Township is the state's larg est elementary school district, with over 4,000 students in eight elementary schools. High school students attend Freehold Regional High School district schools. _. ---------- ~ STAR LEDGER NEWARK, N J MAR 8 1977 Special to The News Leader BIG STONE GAP--Officials in the State Division of Mines and Quarries are working to get under way a program to survey rock quarries in Virginia for possible health hazards from asbestos. . Frank A. Linkous, chief technical assistant in the mines and quarries division here, said the state's concern stems in part from the asbestos findings at a Rockville. Md., quarry Linkous said after the state perfects its sampling techni que. it will sample eventually all the quarry operations in the stare. Asbestos is a possibiecancercausing agent. Ss RICHMOND NEWS LEADER RICHMOND, VA- MAR 1 4 1977 HOWELL, TOWNSHIP. NJ,, March 7 (AP>--A mother has filed a $20 mil lion i,iiw with the Board of Educa tion here, charging her two boos be came 111 hecanae they Inhaled asbestos fibers from In'an ele mentary achooL Irene Sarraf filed theofficial notice, seeking $10 million in compensatory damages gio million in punitive damages, from the board, in a pre liminary step to bringing a lawsuit, attorneys for the school board said. The heard Abut six elementary schools with a total enrollment of 3,300 tram Dee. 23 to Jan. 24 while workmen replaced asbeatoa rolled ceilings at a cost of $80,000. THE WASHINGTON POST TiJay,Mwef$ HIT MTC wants EB to pay for asbestos clinic GROTON -- The Metal Trades Council would like General Dynamics-Electric Boat to pay for a perma nent clinic for the treat ment of workers with as bestos-related disuses. Such a proposal reported ly was discussed at a meet ing recently between an . MTC committee, represen ting 13,000 production workers, and Dr. Irving J. Selikoff at the Mt.- Sinai School of Medicine. An EB spokesman said today that the company has received no concrete pro posal from the union and that it would be premature to discuss it. MTC President Anthony L. DeGregory confirmed there was a meeting Satur day in New York. Individual test results from a clinic conducted last year by Selikoffs team of doctors still are being mailed to union member, who. were examined sources said. MTC leaders have saic previously that the unioi want the support and coop eration of management ii coping with occupationa diseases. A 'local clinic, whiet would be staffed by expert! in asbestos-related dis eases, reportedly is one ol several possible proposal: to the company. ^ THE DAY NEW LONDON, CONN. FEB 2 4 1977 KMX 00372