Document 3N9by9LbL8e9d9kmxDkXgBarD

PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT GP-289 FROM THE ASBESTOS WORKER AUGUST 1971 Reducing Dust Levels is Key to The "Whole Problem (Continued from sixth page) bow seeing the result Hie young men who began smok ing cigarettes in the 20s end 30s are now coming down with lung cancer after 20, 30 or more yean; die older non-smokers do not In fact asbestos workers who smoke ran more than 90 times the risk of dying of lung cancer than men who neither smoke cigarettes nor work with asbestos do. Pete Alphano: You say one out of five died of lung cancer. Was there something special with them? The Key to the Problem You mentioned the association with smoking. Is there something else we can do to prevent disease? Dr. Setikojf: We have discussed pre vention of disease by reducing the dust levels. Thu is the key to the problem. However, this will be of most benefit to those now entering the industry. Of equal importance is the question of what can be done for those wbo have been in the industry 10 or 20 years or more. Here, too, we bave some optimism. 1. Asbestosis can be delayed or minimized by reducing dust levels; we talked about that. 2. Since smoking greatly increases the incidence of lung cancer, twitch to a pipe or cigar, ii you have to smoke at all. Only a small effect on health has been found from either. 3. With respect to dust already in the lungs, research at Mount Sinai is being conducted on How to inactivate that dust A chemical has been found that will inactivate silica dust al ready in the lungs. We hope to do the same fcr asbestos. Dr. Robert J. Schnitzer in our laboratory has discovered some chemicals that inactivate asbes tos in test tube experiments, and animal studies are now under way. 4. Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of chest or abdomen, has never been cured. Almost 10% of the deaths of insula tion workers are from this dis ease. Research now being done at Mount Sinai, and the estab Ray Ryder; "Ducts are another prob lem." Peto Alphano-. "Whet can we do to prevent disease?" lishment of a treatment center there, give rise to hope. We are testing new drugs and new treatments. Some success has already been achieved, both by Dr. William E. Smith in our animal research laboratory, and by our chemotherapy team for patients- This is now one of our research priorities. A cure must be found to help men wbo get this disease in the 1970s and 1980s, even while we control dust exposure, and prevent future cases, in tbe 1990s. Nick Lucich: Cases of mesotheli oma were so rare in the past that Tom 5ab>ch: "Are arty adhesives teas tone?*' when a pipe coverer got it, it wat something special. What ia the number of cases to day? Dr. SeUkoff: Tbe first modern re port on mesothelioma came from Mount Sinai Hospital in 1931, writ ten by two of my teachers, Dr. Paul Klemperer and Dr. Coleman B. Ra bin. In the next 30 years we sawonly three cases. That's how rare it was in the past. In the fast eight years, however, we have had more than 23 cases, many from Locals 12 and 32. Be cause of its association with asbestos, mesothelioma is now compensable as an industrial disease. But this is small consolation. Compensation is no substitute for a man's life! Studies Being Continued Ray Ryder: If a man comes down with cancer of the lung, is there any chance of similar problems develop ing in his wife or children? Dr. SeUkoff: This is a worry to us. Dr. Muriel L. Newhouse in Lon don found cases of mesothelioma in family members of asbestos work ers. Presumably, this was from tbe dust brought borne by the worker on his clothes. We have been looking at tne prob lem here in New York. So far, fortu nately, the data look reassuring. We are continuing these studies. I would advise, nevertheless, that work clothes always be changed be fore going home. Dr. Victor Baden of our st.vf has taken samples of dust from the air in the houses of (Continued on eighth page) Doctor Irving J. Selikoff recently made the following presenta tion at the AFL-CIO conference on Occupational Health held June 17, 1971 in Washington, D. C. We believe that this pres* etttadon will be of vital interest to our membership, and we are, therefore, reproducing it herewith. Twelve weeks ago, I participated had written in his Union journal this one trade, as have died in the in a remarkable meeting in Chica questioning this. war in Vietnam. go. Representatives of the Steel But Nick was reassured. He felt I now have a somber follow-up workers' Union convened to con certain that in our America, surely to give you. Nick Evelich, age 64, sider the serious problems of oc someone was seeing to it that he died on April 4, 1971, two weeks cupational safety and health now and the tens of thousands of other after the Chicago meeting. I was faced by them and by all of Ameri insulation workers, had a safe present at his death, more to ease can labor. A remarkable meeting in working place. He didn't quite his last hours, than anything else. many ways. First, that it was know who; but he had heard of Also, to give what comfort I could held--this would have been incon "state health departments," the to bis widow. It was a difficult time ceivable even five years ago. Sec public health service," "industrial for me because, as we walked away, ond, it confirmed the sensitivity and hygienists," "occupational health Mrs. Evelich asked me, through her wisdom of Mr. Abel and the leader physicians," "inspectors." He knew tears, "Doctor, what happened? ship of the Steelworkers' Union. that in New Jersey and New What went wrong?" They had hoped for a considerable York--the states in which he What went wrong? What could attendance, had arranged for the worked--there were legislaturps, I answer her? The question bothered largest ballroom in the Hilton Hotel and laws. me as I went to the nurse's desk and had prepared 1,500 delegate As I left Nick's bed that morn to sign the death certificate. In places. When the meeting opened, ing, I knew that his confidence had New York City, the death certificate 300 more chairs had to be found. been misplaced, that there had been requires the doctor to certify that That meeting, as this, demon no "someone." the death was of "natural causes." strates the determination that busi Nick didn't know, but scientists "Natural causes?" Did Nick Eve ness as usual--"the usual'' of the knew, during his years of work, that lich die of natural causes? I signed past--is no longer acceptable. the dusts he was inhaling, frequent it, because otherwise the medical Fm afraid that I was not the most popular speaker at that meet ing and I don't think I will be at this morning's. I was not in the mood. On my way to the airport, I had stopped at the hospital to see a. patient, Nick Evelich, a member of Local 12 of the International As sociation of Heat and Frost Insula tors and Asbestos Workers. AFLCIO. Nick had an advanced cancer, replacing the upper part of his right lung. May I tell you a little about him? Nick was a very decent man. In the mid-1920s, at the age of 18, he had become a building trades worker, insulating boilers, pipes, air supply ducts and such-iike in buildings as this, in oil refineries, chemical plants, powerhouses-- one of those who helped put together the struc ture and industry of our America. ly led--twenty or thirty years later--to lung cancer. No one told Nick, nor any of the members of his Union. Each day he, and tens of thousands of his brothers, went to work to add a bit more of the can cer causing dust, to his lung burden. As a result, today, in 1971, thou sands of insulation workmen are doomed to die of lung cancer and other neoplasms. The unhappy sta tistics are that one of every five in sulation workers in the United States dies of lung cancer, one in ten dies of cancer of the stomach, colon and rectum, and one in every ten dies of a tumor called mesothe lioma--afiect'.ne the lining cf the chest or the lining cf Ac abdomen, and invariably fatal. In addition, adding to this toll, one in every ten dies of scarred lungs caused by the dusts inhaled in the workplace. This disaster--what else can we examiner would have had to in vestigate whether there had been foul play. "Foul play?" You might consider that my con cern has a iarge personal basis. That's true; but it has a wider one as well, because Nick Evelich is but one of many. Let me give you a few examples. There are today, in the United States, more than 15,000 steel workers--members of Mr. Abel's Union--employed at coke ovens. These ovens emit gases and other materials containing benzpyrene and other chemicals long suspected of causing cancer. Starting in 1936 and at intervals thereafter, scientists re ported that lung cancer was much more common among men working in plants like this. Yet for the last 50 years, a period during which tens of thousands of Amer.can men were daily exposed to these can His was a somewhat dusty job, call it--is now faced by almost cer chemicals, decades in which they and this worried him a bit. because 100.000 insulation workers in our had every right to assume that their Joseph Mullaney, the President of country; one of every two men to workplace was safe, no precautions his Union, had read that doctors die of some form of cancer, or of whatever were taken to prevent their had found that some cf these dusts scarred lungs. Almost as many men inhalation of these materials. They produce serious lung disease and will die of occupational diseases in were not even told of the danger! THE ASBESTOS WORXE* GEORGSA-PACEFBC INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATION TO*. FROM! SUBJECTS Mr. E, B. Hollingsworth J. D. Rauch STATE NOISE AND DUST SURVEY ce: Mr. John DiLorenzo - Portland Mr. C. W. Lehnert - Tigard R & D datei October 27, 1972 LOCATION! Wilmington LOCATION: Akron On 8/18, 9/13, and 9/20/72 we had a New York State Inspector here for dust and noise testing in our Joint System and Plaster Packing Departments. This survey was conducted at the request of the New York State Factory Safety Inspector. I have attached a copy of their results. As you can see we have no problem with the noise level in either department or the dust level in the Plaster Packing Department. However, they have reported excessive asbestos dust in the Joint System area. The State's Recommendations appear on page 4 of the report. As you know, Mr. DiLorenzo's office is actively engaged in work to correct this problem. However, we must now submit plans to the State for approval prior to installation. At this time this is only a recommendation and not a citation, so there is no time limit or fine involved. But, the State of New York is making O.S.H.A. inspections for 1972, so this will no doubt end up in an O.S.H.A. file somewhere. I believe it would be to our best interest to file our plans to correct this matter as soon as possible. This may avoid a future problem should O.S.H.A. decide to check into this matter. att. k Eli'-129-72 2 - Goorgla Pacific Corp. The St. Regis equipment automatically fills multiwall bass with the correct weight of product tutorial. A packer operator slips a pasted-vnlve tuck-in-sleeve bag ovor u feed r~out, 0:io of tliree ffich outlets. The filled beg is dropped on a horizontal conveyor vlieh rios the bass at waist height to a stacker operator. The stacker operator, located about 15* from the loading- station, removes the lags from the conveyor and loads them on pallets. Tiie pallets, when flH53, are transported to the warehouse by a fork lift truck oporator. About 2JJ00 bags aro produced daring an hour shift. The aforementioned mixing operations are provided vith en alternate duct system which directs the material to the wet mixing area in the southwest corner of the workroom. There, a further enclosed mixing v/ith the addition of crater yields a paste product. This product is loaded into oither 5 Gallon or 1 gallon cans, the covers crimped, and the cans palletised for v.uiu housing. Four men ore usually assigned to this area. A? 10 OBldkVATIOia It '..-as noted that noise in the workroom was most evident in the mix preparation area (vibrating screen in the hopper) end at the dry mix filling station (St. Segia packer and adjucc.it auxiliary equipment). lJo3e level measurements wero obtained in thoso areas and are noted on the attached Sound Pressure Level Survey fora. II. Pdf OVtrATIOMS, BUHDIHG 212 lil: VhHHHiS. P,'lT7I?hiTT A?TD OIlglATIOHS The'plaster operations are conducted in a three story corrugated steel structure, V,ild`.v:g 212. 'flic upper floors of the building arc relegated to the storage, mixing, and v.iC of materials to produce the piaster mis, which is essentially gypsum. Tno fi.vit f-ocr is used for product bagging and chipping. flj above operations aro conducted by a four man era: about 4 hours per day, cnca or t'.rico a rook, producing about 400 tons per month of bagged material. Before the advent of dry wall vallLoard, 12,000 tons per month wero produced at th3 facility. The mixing and conveying operations on the upper floors are conducted In essentially closed t/stems. The oultl-yall bogging operations take place on the firct floor. Juice bag loafing machines automatically fill the fccg3 to the desired weight. At the ITo. 1 hates Packer, two workers peck CO pounds of molding plaster into side opening bag3. The filled bogs are manually placed on hand trucks end removed to a shipping area. At the Ho. g fates Packer, lightweight plaster is bagged by one worker. The bagged product is conveyed to the adjacent slipping area. ?/V?d A!PQ OlaflVATIOHS It was noted that dust was only evolved at the bagging operations. Air tests were taken in the breathing zone of the workers while conducting begging overaller:?. The coneontration of duet v;as found to be 35 MPPCF at the Ko. 1 Bates Pucker, 7`lg'vgp the Ho. 3 Bates Packer. Analysis of ledge dust In both pecker areas disclosed a fr'-a eiiica content of 133 then 5,i. Ho local exhaust ventilation is provided for the Bates Packers. Workers at the Ho. 1 It wore cartridge type dust respirators? the Ho. 3 unit operator did not wear any xvn.-ir ..tojy protective equipment. r