Document 2RE9p0maDMkRwmBrRkXVkZGyR

`SAFETY & HEALTH ilfra inissd fer aofoselos s^ibsSlMea Asbestos is a wondrous mineral fiber with the strength of steel, the durability of marble, and insulating qualities with out equal. But asbestos also poses a seri ous and widespread health hazard. Health officials predict that within the next 50 years, *100,000 people, mostly former workers, will die of cancer be cause of their exposure to asbestos. Now the federal government has taken the first step toward a ban on the substance, and manufacturers and users alike are scrambling to find substitutes. Despite extensive evidence of the ad verse health effects of asbestos, especial ly among shipyard workers, the federal government until recently had taken steps only to minimize occupational ex . .V. .. :) V V k;\V /V?>` '"711 Ttd. The U.S. parent is working closely for now with the epa, but company officials warn that if the agency's actions are unrea sonable, they may test the Toxic .V ' *'** V '. */. - Substances Control Act in court ' -V .V . i Many U. S. companies that manufacture products containing ? -1 asbestos are worried, too. The single largest use of asbestos is . ^*. in asbestos cement pipe. The as bestos serves as a reinforcing A . V<. 4 agent, resulting in pipes that are highly resistant to deterioration when used in sewers and. water distribution systems. Roofing, sheathing materials, and vinyl floor tiles often contain asbestos posures (page 9-lH). But the Environ because, in addition to its. rein mental Protection Agency, citing its au thority under the Toxic Substances C-on- '5- forcement qualities, it Is"Tffe-^ resistant. The substance's heat resistance also makes it impor tant to auto and truck manufac turers for brake linings. "In my opinion, there is no substitute" for asbestos in heavy-duty truck brakes, argues Edward J. Sydor, general manager of Ifeisey- Hayes Co.'s National Friction and a challenge to devel Products Div. - . :'J i'e ) if. op substitutes." Yet the epa intends to target brake Until asbestos is linings, along with asbestos paper prod - ' ;. .-7; .; : ^ mined, the mineral is as ucts used in sheathing and roofing, in dense as the rock in the agency's first regulation, epa offi which it is encased. As cials point out that there are more than soon as it is released, 100 million motor vehicles in the U. S. however, it becomes a today. Because most cars and trucks need a new set of brake linings every three or four years, agency officials be lieve that a considerable amount of ma terial may be released into the environ ment during normal use, as well as asbestos fibers have been during repairs, threatening both con Automotive bratce lining: Target of the EPA's asbestos regulation. During repairs, sanding releases harmful fibers. used in the U. S.--an av sumers and mechanics/ erage yearly use of Phaseout. U. S. auto makers are phasing 750,000 tons. in disk brake linings in which the asbes trol Act, announced in Octoher its inten While asbestos is found in Arizona, tos content has been cut from 1 lb. to tion to study and regulate all aspects of Vermont, arid California, the major de about 1 oz. cm decided last January to asbestos--from mining and milling to posits are in Quebec. As a result, 95% of move away from asbestos brake linings the manufacture and sale of consumer the asbestos used in the U. S. is mined in aftqr company officials discovered that products. While the lta's plans still are Canada. The largest domestic producer the average repair person's response to a in a preliminary stage, officials predict of asbestos-related products is Johns- brake complaint is to sand the linings. that the. near-term regulation will in- ' Manville Corp., which also has subsid "This puts all sorts of harmful fibers in elude a quota on imports and bans on all iaries in Canada and West Germany. the air," says Stanley B. Fowler, a staff ``nonesscntial" uses. The suggestion of a ban sends shivers engineer for Gifs Buick Div., which Plans for a ban. EPA officials also have. through Canadian producers. The U. S. spearheads brake design for the corpora ~heade3 is far and away Canada's biggest cus tion. Both CM and Ford say that their tomer. In 1978 American companies pur suppliers now arc seeking ways to elimi chased 40% of the asbestos produced in nate asbestos totally in brakes. Canada, business worth more than $200 In disk brake linings, asbestos is re million. "We're greatly concerned alcut placed by a semimetallic friction materi lant administrator for chemical control. it, and we'll make every representation al built around steel fiber and iron pow-/ "This is a signal to industry' to make that we can," states J. Robert Hutche der. However, this surface must be ate-, long-range plans to phase out asbestos son, chairman of Johns-Manville Canada tachcd to the brake shoe with an asly S3 D 5USINESS WEEK: December 3. 1379 ETY & HEALTH CAP CO JEN 0010771 -.* OJ ^ A ? ' Mf - - ... *.r */ a. . *> i-i .... ^.^wy Si cossiy iffi^tion. past exposures were high. A 197$ study" of 17,.'-'(0 n-k.-stus iosu'etion -.votkics I cVr.e by Sdikotf and E. Curi.-r Il.-.n- mood, special research conssKa;-'. for ] The public health pic'-'cm of asbestosrehtcd disease is >. .i; .-c-cedented. It is citi ..atc-3 that 13% of all cancer'cases expected for the .v .ct 25 years in the U. S. will 1-e linked io .-sbestos exposure. the American Cancer Society, shows'-; that 20% died of lung cancer, Obi to i':i ? of pleural or peritonea! mesothelioma, and a significant parcentcge from s'.o- mach and colon-rectum rancor -all j "No -ralVr what we do now, .we .have ih:s ire-a. i veversibla legacy," says Dr. l.-.lrg J. i'dikoff, d:r-.etor of Mt. Sinai higher than would .be ejected in a normal population sample..' In addition, there are disturbing early cMr.oi of Medicine's Environmental , results from a study being conducted by ' Sc.v->.-s5 L. boratory in New York. r.-rr-tr workers and their families the University of Texas Hs&Iih Center.'; .. at Tyler, Tex., among 64 people 'who -iid r rubbers who are diseased, or who may b; ;>m& so, are filing lawsuits by the ,:%k- XY-thuusa: .is. Johns-Manrille Corp., the . formerly worked 3t a Pittsburgh-Corn- ing insulation manufacturing operation'] which operated near Tyler from 1954 to 1 nation's largest manufacturer of asbes tos products, has been the target of Vi-Sf"v":*.:'3 1972. Jerry W..$IcLarty, chief of cpide-^' '.iniology and bioriiathematics at the cen-' 1 about 2,500 legal actions fowl ring more . ter, reports that 19 lung cancer deaths ] than -1,000 people. Some 420 cases al- have already occurred instead of the 5 he I ready have been processed, many being says would have been expected in a j. settled by payments to workers. Other control group. Of the participants still 1' companies involved in litigation include. `jiving, 12-are known to have cancer and >. Pittsburgh-Coming, Owens-Corning Fi-..: 37 are suspected of haring the disease.--..?.. terghis, Unarto industries, c.af, and .. Raybestos-Manhatlan. But the workers hold the - .. 1 governmerit Dr. SalikoK: "No matter what we do now. ' ' we have this iron, irreversible legacy." The findings about asbestos-related" V disease are qualified by the lack of infor- j mation on workers' smoking habits. Soli- j equally responsible. More than 400 ' koif and Hanunond even suggest that i workers or former workers in asbestos hazards from appearing in the press or lung cancer is uncommon among non- manufacturing plants have filed suits professional journals.' ' ".:-:V smoking workers, although, there is still .; against the Health, Education & Wei-' Johns-Manville's Markussori dentes'" ' a risk of death from asbestosis. Johns- ) fare Dept, and Ore Navy, which super- that there was any cover-up. The compa Manrille has.recognized .this link and 1 vised workers handling asbestos in ship- ny's position, he says, is that it warned refuses to hire smokers. ' ' yards during World War'll. workers when any hazard was '`reason Mora tcsistaiion-.By all indications, in- 5 s-.d'.'-.-incnis. A few cases have been ably foreseeable.'' Johns-Manville has dustry and the' government have not \ settled, including a $20 million payment ', progressively lowered its dust .levels for seen the last of lawsuits. The $29 million ; by nc .Industries Inc.. Coming Glass its own asbestos workers since the 1940s,. settlement in the Tyler case is being ; Works, the federal government, and oth but it did not put warning labels on its followed, by "Ti'ler II," In which nearly :\ ers to 445 former workers in Tyler, Tex. insulation p-oducts, such as those used . 3,000 people, from former workers to j The first of several cases against eight in shipyards, until Selikoff published the short-time visitors to the Tyler factory, suppliers to Newport News Shipbuilding first study of insulation workers in are filing a range of claims. The asbestos ' & Dry Dock Co. was settled for about 1234. " . ' industry has endorsed current congras- $230,000. According to Dennis J. Mar-. Asbestos may cause any of three dis sional attempts to create a workers' kusson, associate general counsel for eases, which may appear 15 to 40 years compensation fund for asbestos-exposed health, safety, and environment at.-' after a person is exposed. These include; workers. The bills, however, are moving Jchns-Manville, the few settlements in- ; asbestosis, a chronic, debilitating, lung slowly. voicing that company have averaged disease that reduces the lung's capacity While the legislation and litigation $30,000 each. to exchange carbon monoxide for oxy grind on, the government continues to The crux of the cases is who. knew gen; lung cancer, exacerbated when as try to track down the potential victims what and when about asbestos-related bestos exposure is combined with smok of past exposure, ar.d to pinpoint those hazards^ The key qucstion.is who' was" ing; and two types of mesothelioma, a' who may come down with cancer. "Over responsible for warning'workers about-, cancer that affects the membrane, lin the next three decades,'' says Dr. David "j the dangers. Attorneys for the workers. ings of the chest and abdomen.y ' P. Rail, director of the National Institute > have charged that asbestos company of-.', Hlph disease rsto. While worker exposure fpr Environmental Health Sciences,'^' ficials exchanged correspondence during to asbestos is believed to have decreased ."we're talking about hundreds of thou-.f the 1930s in an attempt to keep asbestos in recent years, researchers agree.that sands of people.". ' . \. tos backing material, which serves as a noise and heat shield while providing additional strength. "We are working very hard to come up with a material to replace" this last bit of asbestos, says Charles M. Brunliofer, director of engi neering fur Dc-ndix Corp.'s Friction Ma terials Div. On drum brakes, there is a problem finding a suitable material that will hold the curved shape that such brake linings require. But Rockwell International .Corp., which makes 60% of the brakes used in heavy trucks, says it has a major development effort under way. "We will be in a position [to market non-asbestos brakes] in a reasonable amount of time," claims Leonard C. Bucklan'd, director of engineering and product planning for Rockwell's Highway Brake Div. Asbestos still is used in shingles and in roofing felt, a component of so-called "huilt-up" roofing for fiat roofs. The National Roofing Contractors Assn. (nrca) estimates that aliout 30% of industrial and commercial fiat roofs contain asbestos. But the trade group notes that such use of asbestos is declining. In 397S asbestos felt was used as a fire- ; proofing agent in 16% of roofs, a decline 1 S3 H EUSU.'HSS WEEK: December 3.1979 SAFETY t HEALTH CAPCO JEN 0010772 from the 24% recorded the previous four attacked by the cement because of its duced Preox, a heat-resistant fabric years. There are a number of acceptable alkalinity, but there is promise in fiber made of stabilised polyacrylonitrile. The substitutes for asbestos in built-up roof glass specially formulated to be alkali fiber, called Celiox and developed by ing, including fiber glass and organic resistant One such fiber, called Cemfil Celanese Corp., has a high carbon con felt, which consists of treated rags and ar, was developed years ago under li tent that enables it to resist heat Pro newspapers. cense from Britain's National Research tective garments of this sort are worn by NP.ca's general manager, William A. & Development Corp., a self-financing firemen and by iron and steel workers to Good, admits that awareness of the envi public corporation, and has been sold protect them from the splash of molten ronmental problems that may be created commercially worldwide since 1971 by metal. Eugene Alexandroff, general by asbestos in buildings is part of the reason its use is falling. A major use of Pilkington Bros Ltd. Both fatter and longer than asbestos fibers, Cemfil AR manager of the Gentex Textile Div., is interested in other applications, too. The i i asbestos from World War II through the has proved to be a strong reinforcement company is exploring the possibility of- early 1970s, insulation, has been almost And it has not shown any of asbestos' entering the ship construction and main completely eliminated. tenance markets, where Asbestos has hcen al asbestos is still used to most completely re 'wrap pipes. placed for that use by Partial substitutes. In such substances as cal Bangor, Mich., Ameri cium silicate, cellular can Filler & Abrasives glass, mineral wool, fi Inc. has been marketing ber glass, and expanded an asbestos substitute perlite. called Kay-O-Cel since In addition, the epa April. It.is made of cel has prohibited since lulose and clay'wastes 197S the spraying of as and other materials and..* bestos on the walls or is being testcd_in brake' ceilings of buildings.. < linings. Company Presi- * The agency's original * dent Edwin Ft Necker- concern was the expo mann claims that the sure of workers and product is price-com others to the fibers dur petitive with asbestos ing the spraying pro and should pose no . cess, but the problem of health problems. "All sprayed asbestos, it the materials in Kay-O- turns out, is not that Cel themselves are rec ephemeral. The Envi ognized as being safe," ronmental Defense he says. Fund recently sued the Earlier this year, 3M epa to force it to take Steelworker wearing Preox: The high-carbon fiber is an asbestos substitute. . Co. moved to expand action to protect school marketing of its substi children attending classes in aging harmful effects, although its inventor, tute, Nextel--a cloth made of ceramic buildings where asbestos insulation was A.J. Majumdar, reports "minor skin fiber that can withstand beet up to flaking off the walls and ceilings. Tiie complaints." 2,6C0F. The company turned :ver sub EPA now intends to make mandatory its Owcns-Corning Fiberglas Corp., a stantial sales rights to equipment build existing voluntary program, which re U. S. licensee for the technology, is also er Babcock & Wilcox Co., which serves quires school districts to sen! in or working hard on glass as a substitute. "I the steel, glass, and utility industries. replace asbestos in such structures. The don't think any one material will univer "We are seeing many companies, often agency estimates that 10% to 15% of all sally replace asbestos," says Robert C. with full-time corporate'cngineers work school buildings contain asbestos. Doban, senior vice-president for science ing on the problem, coming to us asking However, other construction users of and technology. But he is optimistic if Nextel can be used as an asbestos asbestos insist that the substance is safe about glass' potential. substitute," says Arlen J. Rivard, sales in their applications. Manufacturers of Part of the problem with glass is its and marketing manager in 3.M's ceramic asbestos cement pipe, for instance, claim that their products do not pose a danger A.proposed EPA ban sends to the public because the asbestos is shivers ihrough ihe fibers project Nextel can be used as high-lemperature insulation in and around furnaces, but its relatively high emliedded in cement and the pipe is largely Canadian producers price--$25 a lb. vs. $2 a lb. for fiber glass buried 4 ft to 12 ft underground. "We and less than $2 a lb. for asbestos- think our application of asbestos ... is tendency to soften at high temperatures; makes it an unlikely replacement for safe and that the government feels basi asbestos remains rigid until it reaches asbestos In that application. cally the same way," says William A. its melting point. Therefore, glass could Despite the surge in substitute devel Krivsky, senior vice-president of piping not easily be substituted for the asbestos opment, it could be a long time before an products at CortainTeed Corp. But in that is still used to reinforce the concrete effective alternative is found for asbes fact, epa officials are worried that the sprayed on steelwork in most build tos n all uses. And Johns-Manville, the asbestos fibers may become loosened by ings--a measure taken to prevent the industry leader, is relying on that while years of rushing water. steel from buckling from heat in case of the epa begins its studies. "If the epa Trying glass. While CortainTeed, with fire. ban on asbestos goes into effect, that $100 million in asbestos cement pipe Smaller companies also are vying for a would put us out of the asbestos busi sales, appears optimistic that any epa comer of the asbestos-substitute mar ness," sal's a JM source. "But there are restrictions will not afTect its operations, ket. Centex Corp., of Carbondale, Pa., enough essential uses of asbestos, and the company is busily studying possible which manufactures mctal-coatcd fabric the scientific and medical research do substitutes. Glass fibers normally are for protective garments, recently intro not justify a ban." S3 L BUSINESS WEEK: December 3, 1979 SAFETY A HEALTH CAPCO JEN 0010773