Document 3JzY3QmXe6XVQnmpp6QRqqZv0

lOeCUSOTOWAL 'ulEALTH SAFETY LETTER Vol. 2, No.:? ' GERSHoN W; F13HBEIN, PUBLISHER ! February 8,1972 .. . ,_______________ _. y. Main Office 1097 National Press Building * Washington, D.C. .20004 (202) 347-3770 --------------- -4Published twice a month. Rato: $60.00 pe:r y: ea.r; $1- 08..0 0i in;c:om..b.in.a.t.io.n..w..it.h..E.n.vi.ro.n..m.e.nRtalsHeeaaltvh sLieotteHr V. FEB 9 .1972 ASBESTOS STANDARD OP 2 FIBERS RECOMMENDED: ; 'J. W. ARMSTRONG ; 1 Workers should be exposed to ah average of no more than 2 fibers of asbestos per eight-hour day, nor N more titan a peak concentration of ten fibers per day, both based oil a minimum sampling time of, 1,5'minutes. That recommendation came froth the National Institute of Occupational Safety and llcaItli in iLs cri- ; teria package for asbestos, submitted5 to the. Labor Department and discussed, by the five-member Advisory Committee on Asbestos Feb. 3. , ; i' 7 :7 MedieaL surveillance should be required for any exposure exceeding 1 fiber, NIOSH recommended. ;Such'surveillance should, jncluife pulmonary function stddies,medioaLhisi:oHes, physical examinations (including, x-rays, evidence of fingfer dubbing and other symptoms suggestive of early asbestosis). Many other considerations were included in the 126-page criteria document. NIOSIi rccohinichds. . standards based oit llje health data, but it is up to the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and 1 lealth Administration to decidewhether to adopt them. . Aii en1'erflicncy,,.`ji.girdard/eif 5. fibers was,issued Dec. 7ti gearings oil the! proposed permanent standards begins Marui 14 in Washington's Departmental Auditorium, ; G . , i Even before thc NlOSH; criteria package was submitted,IhoWever, an aisbestos industry spokesman warned thy ipovermnbiiClhati itcould not rely oh industry, cooperation if a Standard below 5 fibers was adopted, i ' ' ;":y. ; b .1 J L ' y :j :"\\ --... ..; ' ..* Matt Swetonic of the Asbestos: information Association told a meeting of industry lepresentatlves ' . and iiatioiiiij trade associations convened. by OSHA that' industry could not]support a level of:2 fibers and questioned-whether medical evidence really supports lower standards. Dr. John Welsh,medical director of Union Carbide, said industry is finding it difficult to meet the emergency standard of i fibenT&nd expressed the hope.(hat it Would go: no lower. 1 le also felt that fibers smaller than 1/2 micron should be considered in the standard-setting. Dr, Welsh also quoted Dr. Irving Selikoff of Mt. Sinai Medical Center. \ in New York as telling him that the originui TLVs for asbestos were unfortunately unrealistic and conse- quently were newer adhered to by the bulk of the industry. A common theme of comments by industry at Hie meeting was that they were being excluded from tile standard-set ling, process and wanted more input heroic the standards were set, not after. - , The Asbestos Advisory Committee, .which met Feb. 3 and will hold se^critl other nuetiilgs oii the pro posed permanent standiiril's before the hearings begin March 4, consists of: ( Edwin C. Hyatt, Industrial Hygiene Group Leader, Los Alamos <N.M.) Scientific Lab, chairman; lack Balilf, industrial hygienist, New York State Department of Labor; Dr. Joseph K. Wagoner, Director, Divi sion of Held Study and Clinical Ihvcsiigaiioip NIOSIl, Cincinnati.; Isaac Weaver, Director of Environmental- .Controls, Rayliestos-Manhattan Corp., Manlieim, Bay Andy Ha.is. Safety Director, Asbestos Workers Inter national Union, Washington, D.C. ' GEORGIA COMPANY CONTINUES TO MANUFACTURE CARCINOGEN: m. ; iJcta-naphthnlaniine, a demonstrable carcinogen which has been known to cause bladder caiicer in ' , ' workers who handle it, is still being produced by'the Augusta Chemical Coi,.Augusta, Ga., even though ;.;y/many states and other countries have long banned its manufacture. 7 3.?,' The plant was recently visited by representatives of UHW's National Itislii tts of Occupational Safety ,-i and Health, acting oil their own inimmlivc oil ilu: basis of information supplied to them. The company is ion-u.hiou,..the '40 of so workers having twice rejected union representation in elections. ;.iy i I: HWBUI0004214