Document 32w7a4den0aqj88RwNQmEBeE

/TflSbeslos>ise faces I further restrictions million workers have been exposed since World War 11. Much of the in terest in asbestos-related disease is generated by the high incidence of 1 Although asbestos is one of the most ashestosis (a progressive lung fibro heavily regulated materials used in sis), lung cancer, and mesothelioma (a I commerce today, some federal agen- rare cancer of the lining of the chest I cics maintain that it continues to lie and abdomen) among workers ex a ha-tard and they are making a con posed to very high lextels of asbestos certed effort to restrict its use even during the 1930Vand 1940's. A par further. ticularly strong correlation is found The latest assault comes from the between lung cancer and asbestos National Institute for Occupational workers who smoke. Safely & Health. Disclosing the re Other actions were taken to reduce sults of a six-month study on work exposure to asbestos in Octolwr, when place exposure to asbestos, N10SH the Consumer Product Safety Com director Anthony Robbins has called mission and the Environmental Pro on the f,abor Department's enforce tection Agency both gave notice that ment arm, the Occupational Safety & they intended to set new, tougher Health Administration, to lower the rules for asbestos exposure to con workplace e XDosure slandard (or as - sumers and for the material's release bestos to 0.1 liber per cc oHur from into the environment. the"cufrehifitar)dard of2 fiBers'pefcc^ CPSC already has taken some ac Robbins says that many asbestos tion by proposing last month to ban producers could meet this stundard. all asbestos paper and tape from This level of exposure was chosen consumer products. EPA is still not because it was found to be a safe evaluating its data on the issue and limit--indeed, the report says there probably will not propose rules until can be no safe level of asbestos expo the end of the year. sure--but'*because it is the lowest The need for tougher controls from leveTthat can be measured accurately. CPSC, EPA, or OSHA, however, is OSHA head Eula Bingham says that hotly disputed by industry. In its agency will begin working on the new comments regarding the proposed standard right away, though it nmy rules, the Asbestos Information As take six months before a proposed sociation, a group sponsored by more rule can be presented. than 50 asbestos producers, points Other recommendations in the out that evidence of disease in work NIOSH report call for a ban on a[i ers who have inhaled high levels of 1 nonessential uses of asbestos and the asbestos provides scant insight into , use of substitutes wherever possible. the effects on a population exposed to / And "the report calls for product concentrations several orders of l manufacturers to perform sampling magnitude lower. tests on their products to determine The association also claims thut what, if any, asbestos exposure could CPSC and EPA have overstepped result from the product's use. their authority in trying to propose About 1.4 million workers currently such wide-ranging rules on asbestos. ; are being exposed to asbestos and According to the industry group, both ! nearly 750,(XX) tons of the material are the toxic substances and consumer [ being used annually. An estimated 9 product safety ucts require thut the federal agency prove an unreasonable risk is present from asbestos before that substance can be regulated. Available data, it says, do not show that there is such unreasonable risk. The industry maintains that for many of the 3000 uses of asbestos there are no acceptable substitutes, a contention challenged by both NIOSH and EPA. Asbestos, refined from the natu rally occurring mineral, has been used extensively for more than 100 years. Now, with so much confusion about how much asbestos can lead to dis ease, the widely publicized link to cancer may have given the kiss of death to many asbestos uses--rightly or wrongly. One thing is clear: With so many regulations being foisted on asbestos this year, the industry is facing u rough road ahead. Bingham: work will begin right away Duuid Hanson, Washington Federal Alert new regulation. J This listing, covers noteworthy regulations-^appearing in the' l Federal Register from March 18 April 18. Page numbers refer to - . to:' r those issues. ' >*. | PROPOSED Environmental' Protection Agency--Re-. j quests comments on petition to classify/ ammonia and sulfide as conventional pollu- tants rather than toxic pollutants; comments 4 P by June 2 (April 2, page 21655).'nr - - Proposes standards governing testing re-jf 2- qulred (or data needed to register pesticide 1' Council on'Environmental Quality--Final/ v: revision to plans'spelling out how federal,-; agencies must respond to oil and hazardous ; fe. Amends rules for disposal of PCB's, permits .; ^-disposal in landfills until March 1981. and.-1 P: treats large<and small PCB-Containing ca- t i). pacltors the-same: effective March- 28 ' (March 28/pager - f Establishes equipment standards that limit I. -- emissions'of volatile organic compounds f k from liquid-petroleum'storage tanks; effecT tlve April 4 (April 4, page.23374). 'iv.ll ? Fixes time at which Clean Air Act regulations J J'.win be considered promulgated to provide i fairness In responding (o lawsuits; effective ; vApril 17!(April .17, page 26046). f. Iv ' t. '***,* ` * '' - f t Executive 'Order--Establishes Nuclear/; y Safety Oversight Committee to advise on ., fprooress of-improving safety of nuclear power and Implement recommendations of / v, President's Commission oi>'Accident at - f; Three Mile Island (March 20, page 17939)/-' ir. Food & Drug- Administration--Revokes.; {; "man-ln-ihe-plam" policy under which a firm v. Vcan claim to be manufacturer of drug by-if X\ placing only quality control stall person In/ /plant of subcontractor; effective April 10 / i (Aprf 1.5, page^25760)^^(i^f ;; ^r, >' International Trade Administration--Policy ; /-denying licenses to export or re-export; phosphate rock, phosphoric acid, or phos- $, . >-?, \ f - .. 1; National Institutes^of ] Heallh--Physical ` ? / containment recommendations Issued for : i; large-scale use of organisms containing re-,/ v comblnant DMA (April 11, page 24988)..., y\ National Oceanic' & Atmospheric Admin- ; / Istratlon--Announces availability of post-">v doctoral grants of up to $35,000 yearly to-) t, colleges and universities lor atmospheric, /) f oceanic, and fisheries sciences; applications .' by June 10 (April 16, page 25855). P- Nuclear' Regulatory Commission--Dralt V /environmental assessment for decontami- : f nation of Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor is I available for comment (March 27. page |. 20265).;, UCC 008373 May 5. 1980 CAEN 19 t i