Document 3Jo4vVd29QMVLbKM9LoDK50BJ

FILE NAME: Oil Industry and American Petroleum Institute (API) DATE: 1965 DOC#: API070 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Report - The Health of Refinerymen Applying Asbestos Insulation with Cover Letter 4M*32 ?.57| SHELL OIL COMPAN . IEFEIENCE Jrculafe - Initial PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL '^LTW^l j j g TO REFINERY MANAGERS , -i .<AS1 ANACORTES HOUSTON MARTINEZ NORCO WILMINGTON WOOD RIVER ODESSA/CINIZA date NOVEMBER 22, 1965 mom MANAGER - MANUFACTURING _ ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT HEAD CFFICE subject HEALTH HAZARDS FROM ASBESTOS AGS-- TJV_ -- There has teen considerable discussion in medics! circles in recent -- ~v-- -years concerning the possibility of harmful effects to insulators from long-term ^exposure to asbestos. This matter has been a recent subject of an investigation the API Central. Committee on Medicine and Health. Attached is a report which summarizes the current status of the study which was presented at the mid-year API meeting of the Central Committee. It includes a summary of the findings from a recent survey of workers in the petroleum industry to determine if there were any potential, problems from exposure to asbestos. We thought you should be informed concerning this matter since work in progress by the U. S. Public Health Service and the medical profession is apt to focus increased attention on the health of workmen engaged in insulation activities. You will note from the conclusions in the attached report that the data obtained to date is considered inadequate to resolve the question as to the degree of hazard posed to refinery insulators. For this reason, we see no cause for alarm at this time. However, you may wish to review the potential exposure to insulators from asbestos dust to determine if there are any situations where some additions! precautions appear desirable. Subsequent to review of this report by the Committee on Industrial Hygiene of the Central Committee on Medicine and Health it was decided that, although the data so far accumulated was insufficient to draw any conclusions, a task force should be established to continue the review and make recommendations for future action. We will keep you advised if anything significant develops. ABS-003995 / . e -6 Attachment I I I THE HEALTH OF BEFINERYKEN APPLYING ASBESTOS INSULATION (A Preliminary Audit) ' Eaccnt reports describing a high incidence of pulmonary neoplasm . among aobostoa vorkors has focused attention on the health of refinery craftsmen engaged in insulation activities. To obtain information relative to the exper iences of. potroloua companion with the health of tholr insulatoro, members of the ' Hodical and Health Committee were polled, inviting them to contribute personal information on this subject to a common pool. Assurances vere offered that the Identity of the donor and source of information would not be revealed to preserve their confidentiality. Before presenting an analysis of the available information on petroleum company experience, a brief history of asbestos ao sn industrial health hazard is appropriate. ' Historical - For $0 years or longer asbestosis has been recognized in the United States as a form of pneumonoconiosis resulting from exposure to asbestos dust. However, it -was not until Joint medical and environmental studies wore con ducted by official health agencies in the mills of Pennsylvania and North Carolina about 30 years ago that the relationship between dust concentration, particle size, years of exposure and definitive chest x-ray markings was established. The lung field markings vere also shown to correlate veil with certain subjective reactions related to pulmonary function. v Important facts concerning the physical character of the dusts associated with asbestosis vere revealed in these studies* Although asbestos fibers, ranging i n median length from 7-16 minrons, were found in the air, these long libers were relatively few In number. The bulk of suspended dust ranged from about 0.5-3 microns in length and varied in concentration from__as little as 1 or 2 million particles per cubic foot of air (mppcf) to 20 or more mppcf, depending on the mechanical operation involved. The correlations also showed that after 15 or more yoars of exposure the disease reached about the same degree of advancement, as evidenced by chest x-ray markings, regardless of dust intensity. In these studies there seemed to be no evidence of pulmonary or other thoracic neoplasms and no suggestion of such findings. Subsequently, reports of the occurrence of lung cancer and other malignancies associated with asbestos employment began to appear in the literature* Although the number of such cases appearod largo, soma investigators felt that the observations did not establish an increased incidence o f cancer and that the association was unproved. Kany A B S-003996 / - ' E-T Attachment III valid weaknesses wore shown to exist in tho roporto claiming lung cancer ns & specific industrial hazard of asbestos workers. However, in 19<$3 a report pub lished by Sdikoff, Churg and-Hammond .-(tho latter of tho cigarette ffimo) described a significant incidence o f lung cancer and other pleural tutors as viill as cancers of tho stomach, colon and rectum asxmg asbestos Insulators in the construction industry. These insulators voro exposed to a varioty of materials including fibrous glass cork and hair felto which contain no asbestos; othor insulating materials, such as magnesia, calcium silicate insulating block and insulation - cements containing 10-15 percent asbestos; No free silica va3 present and asbestos appears to bo the only biologically active material in the exposure. This report - seemod to bo fr@o of tho statistical weaknesses and othor valid criticisms of tho earlier reports. Since tho date of that report at loast 3 additional publications by other investigators confirm in part if not all tho findings of Selikoff and his associates. An important finding in theso reports is that these cancers are found coma 20-40 years after Initial exposure to asbestos frequently after retire ment from active employment. Suimarv o f F^ndinprn - i*ne response to tho poll of the Hedical and Health Committee members regarding this potential problem was nominal for this typo of inquiry. Twelve replies representing nine companies were received. Of this number about 3 companies had made what appears to bo a careful examination of their health records and at least two othor companies are engaged or are about to begin both environmental as well as medical surveys of asbestos insulators. A point of special interest is that not n insulating materials used in a refinery consist of or contain asbostos. Considerable quantities of glass wool or rock wool as well as magnesia are also used as insulation. Those materials are similar in composition to those reported by Solikoff and associates. One company reports that among a group~of about 40 insulators thoro was one case of bronchogenic carcinoma after some 1 6 years of ccqx>sure and one case of adenocarcinoma of tho rectum after some 20 years of exposure. Two other employees have lung biopsies'perfozmed; one with 25 years of exposure shov ing & single asbestos body In the specimen and the othor with 20 years of service with fibrous thickening of the aveolar septa but no asbestos bodies in the specimen . There was no significant pathology in these specimens. In another company one plant reports a suspected case of anbestosis which occurred some 10 years ago but the outcome of the case is lost to antiquity. At another plant of the same company one insulator had a lower lobectomy and it - was suspected that the fibrosis was caused by asbestos. A biopsy disproved this - `- 2 - - .. . ABS-003997 / E-8 Attachment I I I - allocation. X-ray examinations of 7 additional insulators at this plant, each of whom has had 13 or core yoars of exposure,^ rovealed no significant findings. At still another plant roentgenography of the insulators rovoalcd broncho- ` vascular Barkings vhich -was not apparent among other refinery people. No signifi cance was attached to these markings by the contributing physician. A third company reported examination of insulators at all their plants. The majority have less than 15 years service and their chest x-ray films and Other . tosts appear normal. Two employees vdth more tha# 15 years service are reported to have a bronchitis. . All other reporting companies state that their insulators appear healthy and that there have been no unusual illnossos among the group. No results of any dust surveys were reportod although ono or two companies state that the inhalation exposure to asbestos is insignificant. It is pertinent to point out that the so-called KAC for asbestos dust is 5 nppcf and that some Investigators consider this value to be too high. It is equally important to point out that dust con- ' centrations below about 5 mppcf of air are generally invisible to the naked eye even to that of the experienced observer. ' . Conclusion - The data obtained to date from the Kedical and Health Committee is inadequate to resolve the question as to the degree of hazard which - asbestos poses to refinery insulators. This is so because the total number of ' refinery insulators (about 150) covered by the contributing companies1 reports is insufficient for reliable statistical treatment and it is uncertain in every case that the morbidity and mortality records of retired refinery insulators or former refinery insulators have been included in the reports. Since the usual "diagnostic examinations are frequently inadequate to detect certain cancers in their early stages, tho disease may not be revealed until it has progressed to advanced stages late in life. - To obtain an adequate population sample of refinery insulators for statistical reliability and comparison with published data, at least 500 employees should be covered i n the survey. Since there are only a relatively few insulators of long tenure in any one 'plant, the survey would require tho full cooperation of at least 10 companies to obtain meaningful results. As a matter of interest, Selikoff reports that the expected mortality from lung and plueral cancers over a 20 year period i n a population of 500-600 persons is about 6 and for the same length of time, the expected mortality from neoplasms of the stomach, colon and * * reotum is about 9 for the same size population. 3 aBS-003998 / -9 Attachment I I I oosoa on some personal observations of insulating activities, it is jqy opinion that the inhalation expo euro to asbestos among refinery insulators * ,, _ * ** ^ * Is neither Hn^rnaT nor insignificant and I "urge the Medical and Health Committee to continue studying this potential health problem. - \ # \ ABS-003999 f '. : ^ * ' - *. _ E-10 Attachment III 1* "A Study of Asbestosis in tho Asbestos Textile Industry" - Public Health Bulletin #241, August 1938; U.S. Government Printing Office. 2. Braun, B.C. and Truan, T. D. - "An Epidemiological Study of Lung Cancer in Asbestos Minora" - AHA Archives of Industrial Health, Vol. 17 (June) 1958. 3 Selikoff, Churg and Hazraond - "Asbestos Exposure and Neoplasia" J A M A ' Vol. 188, No. 1, 1964. A* Elvjood, P.C. and Cochrane, A.L. - "A Follo-wMip Study of Workers from an Asbestos Factory" - British Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 4# 1964. ` - 5. Butra, T.H. and Carney, J.D. - "Asbestosis and Pulmonary Carcinoma" - Archives . of Environmental Health - Vol* 10, No. 3, 1965 6. Williams, W.F. - "Asbestosis and Lung Cancer" - Archives of Environmental Health - Vol. 10, No. 1, 19*5. . 7* Asbestosis Symposium - N e w York Academy of Sciences - Summer of 1964* I i. >-,r . ' . . aB S-004000