Document 2qxKBLD0qRo7mx0ekN9magw4b

FILE NAME: Shipbuilders Council of America (SHIP) DATE: 1978 Sept 13 DOC#: SHIP006 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Report to Board of Directors on Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos VvKse."( to <?/ AD HOC COMMITTEE ON ASBESTOS ' % At the meeting on June 14, 1978, the Directors a u t h o r ized the formation of a special Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos. Such a committee is considered necessary to bring this e x panding problem into focus and to exchange information on possible methods of dealing with present and past employees, Government agencies and the media. Recent events suggest a heightening of potential problems and liabilities for shipyards: (1) The Asbestosis Quentionnaire being circulated to present and former shipyard employees by the National Cancer Institute (2) The rapid increase in w o r k e r s ' compensation claims and negligence law suits in Naval shipyards (400-600) and to a lesser extent in private shipyards (3) The National Cancer Institute has hired Porter Novelli Marketing of Washington, DC to put together a public service campaign. Porter Novelli has in turn hired Bean/Kahn Films International, Inc. to produce te l e vision public service spot announcements, which are now being shown nation-wide. (4) The ABC-TV News Close-up special on July 4, 1978: "The way to Dusty Death", narrated by Jules Bergman. (5) The Department of Health, Education and Welfare announced in August 1978, that a new public informa tion project will be targeted at 16 "high p r i o r i t y " locations, mainly ports and shipbuilding facilities before and during World War II. Emphasis is to be placed on articles in military, retirement, union, and industrial publications. Information also will be sent to so,cial security beneficiaries. (6) The Navy plans to provide medical examinations for an estimated 150,000 uniformed personnel and 72,000 civilians who have been exposed to asbestos. (7) Representative Frederick Richmond (D-NY) has intro duced a bill (H R - 13461) which would provide ?55 million for medical screening of workers exposed to asbestos. The bill also provides for testing w o r k e r s ' relatives who lived in the same household during time of exposure. The newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos' first meeting on August 8, 1978. The first part c ing was devoted to a briefing by CJ.S. Navy represe ti-e1d -i.t PLAINTIFFS /EXHIBIT - __ - -ae SBCA 5053 I - -"i1 1- 1 1 11 a ' _ i 2 on the status of asbestos awareness and control programs within the naval establishment. Thi's was followed by a roundtable discussion in closed session lead by Chairman,. David R. Lavalette on problems associated with defining, controlling and compensating asbestos related diseases. The Committee decided to concentrate its initial efforts on . estimating the industry's potential liabilities from asbestos related claims. Accordingly, a survey of the membership is presently in progress to gather information on the size of the workforce since 1941, and the number of workers' compen sation claims and third party actions filed against shipyards. A worst case approximation can then be developed by applying widely published estimates of future disease incidence rates to actual employment levels over past years. Actual claims and litigation experience may prove useful in identifying trends which could indicate if a legislative remedy should be pursued. The Ad Hoc Committee intends to maintain liaison with _ the Navy, the Asbestos Information Association and other organizations having compatible interests. ` C. I