Document 3eBLkL1yzZKj89o4NVgm4nNX6

FILE NAME: Drywall Spackling Compounds (DWSC) DATE: 1974 Mar 27 DOC#: DWSC084 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: OSHA Press Release - OSHA Alerts Employers and Employees to New Asbestos Hazard NEWS PLAINTIFF'S EX,IIUIT UC-71J U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IfllCI II IIFIWniDI. IIIIIHTII. D. C. 1B2IB DEFENDANTS E X H IB IT UCC-97B Occupational Sty ani vtaalth AduinlAtration 1>II (101; 961-19U <K4> 354-0 .VI ' SOU UlM A.K. El)Id o is tfednejduy, March .V, 19 05A AltllTS PgUMBS ASP EKPUnES T3 UK A3BK1U6 llAZARP rfca V.S. Dcyaetaenc c i Labor alerted '-tufustry and UEct ro iiy Co Mw-fosr., route > iiacarduiiv expoaurn to osbaacoa lib era. A tilStaac sCTt*ry oi Labor John K. S under, who iuute cht O epattcsnt's Occupat :n u i 'afaty and Health A iaiinlscration (OSSA), sold hi* agency hi* Learned that many packUr* .ce taping coapcundi used to cover aaaaa in dry-wall joint* conctin eabuteea. Jap ley si lending joint* smooth before pointing nay ar.poaa themes lta to three tft l i . J 4 ch eat fib e rs pax cubic eatillRatara of A ir. OSBfi's tabascos haa1th standard Ilmira coployec pomra ca Itvo ftbacs par cubit! ;>ntxrcr, ea on 8-heur tin s uelgated average. . . ' nj)U o ff ic ia ls caution th a t many ccploysta snd anyloycea, ja rcjcu larly n Che neni - m ildiftt In J s itry , m be atsoiecl to unaccsptsbU level* of c h ry ao tl!: sibejcas. Aabaats* (o one of ttv* ts a ls tv b stsn c (the other are carbon nsnoxlda, .sad, lie and cocrer. duati th at 6vc received-epeclnl attention frwi MHA la-,pett e n u re a atjouncieont o f cha agency's `l a r i a t Jsaltn d a iv d t FronrW iu January, *>9)1. Mo OSrtA fie ld acaff in not than 100 .Ifle e t nttioxutde, >na 1, atarau v .tlt ntiU ipyiuvaJ ;<> eaiety and haaleb plane, lava kn n rti'io d o' due sv.w aourc ,f svtvur. " ta la elation. that Relays: c o v p r. unions, Sib! tv o ro a tu tlw i it- :w .tr .n lU ti `.rd w try aro butr.g antiul te t.r. :!w s;fc rc ta a U r: a ll arp.oyacj >td . -rr ley** oC the sctv .c'.al kusird and o< the need :o rcnply with OSKA*- n i t . i >i ar.-inLitt asare irpljy jro tartiu u . -siore I U'rCl tfl.t ularcsi Co .no hazard by Dr. Marcu S. Key, tra c to r of the 3 atK t.il ia iu ta c * i.ir Ducupjttonal Safety and Ibultii (KIOSK) a2 the Dapartuonr c i Merit!,, tliM lt-an, AOJ SielCara, UlOSH U OSIt** a r c h i n . , Kay la id on aasalM tlon ot 17 aubet* of local 1974 (How York C ity) <1 eke in tern et<seal - Irothstbaod of Psintars And Allied T radii, eondueced by Dr. Irving J , SellkCii , director at .the Inviraom ntul Soleocas laboratory, House ginel School oi MaiHnlna, c l the City 'JoWore ley of Sew Yack tow eled th at the lung* of Dine o f 17 workst* exattitud showed . to^iclvn X-ray evidence o f fib re tie . Although S elikoft cautioned that eeoclueiooe cannot be drew frete ouch few d ata, t\y suggest that a oerleoa hsnltb b u a rd oay axiac eaoag bate bullduiii because lung easier, v u th often follows tlb ro e la . Id a* develop in favor than 26 yaari of eayoavea. ' ,'t the 17 uorkars atunlftad, flvu out of .10 who had been in tdplng v a ri 10 to .1 yaari sb.*vei fibroale re s u lts ; lo u t of the remainlus sever wetter tbowed fibaorW site Kid an sa.-toaura history of 20 to 29 yearr. Start, asbestos fib e rs ure Mecoscoplo tr. s ire , they ear. eerily c* infcilad. bnen te rhi lungs.-cho tth o n arc eoaced with a sccretlen but ate net dissolved 01 o'lifcieased. - O jlfielanc buildup of such recteciOTU can cauw aerioct lupnltnart a! lung cevecity ant evin Heath. t Health Haeards OSHA WILL ADOPT SO PPM EXPOSURE LIMIT IN EMERGENCY VINYL CHLORIOE RULE An emergency temporary health standard for vinyl chloride lo be issued by the Occupational Safely and Health Administration will establish a ceiling exposure limit o f SO p aiti per million. The emergency rule will be issued while OSHA pro ceeds with normal rulemaking procedures for a permanent standard. The OSHA action followed disclosure by officials o f the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company plant in Louisville, K y,, o f possible connection between vinyl chloride exposure and Ihe deaths o f several employees o f angio sarcoma, a r u e form of liver cancer (Current Report, January 31, p. 1099). Union support and management opposition to an emer gency standard for vinyl chloride were registered during an OSHA public hearing on February IS (Current Report, February 21, p. 1189). The emergency standard will reduce permissible ex* posure levels o f woskess In industry from 500 ppm in air to a SO ppm celling, and at the same time require workplace monitoring and, where exposure is greater than tlie.50 ppm level, personal protective measures and equip ment. The adoption o f a SO ppm ceiling would be a .signifi cant departure from the work practices standard rcconu mended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Current Report, March 14, p. 1276). NIOSH maintained that there was Inadequate evidence tv support Ihe concept that exposure levels ofless than SO ppm were safe. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Ihe emergency temporary standard serves as a proposed per manent standard. Assistant Labor Secretary John it. Slender said the permanent standard would also be based upon the NIOSH recommendations. Proposed Standard The proposed standard (the emergency standard) would establish methods o f njoniloring work areas for vinyl chloride, set work practices to be followed, institute a medical surveillance program for employees, ami require specific personal protective equipment. Tire rule is intended to limit exposure to vinyl dtlo- ride, a substance that is used widely in the manufac ture of polyvinyl chloride, a form of plastic. Monitoring devices now available can measure exposures as low as unc.pitrl per milllun in air. `I In* m nngritcy ilmuluitl, 1 lo Ivwetl "vum ," rim remain in effect up to six months. It will be superceded, however, as soon os the permanent standard proposal ia adopted. ' Slender said that `" theoretically, the permanent stand* asd can be on the books as casly as June. Meanwhile, the- emergency standard will serve to protect workers from the grave danger we know exists." Following the OSHA hearing on February IS, Slender and other OSHA officials visited several chemical plants for on-the-spot investigations to determine possible means o f limiting worker exposure to vinyl chloride. Slender said scientific evidence presented at the Feb ruary IS hearing by Professor Cesare Maltoni, an Italian scientist, led to the emergency ceiling reduction. Malumfs studies demonstrated that reduelfun from SCO to SO ppm provides a considerable degree o f protection from lire 250 ppm concentration observed by Maltoni to be cancer- causing in animals, while those exposed only to SO ppm showed n o apparent 111effect. Stendci-s visits and meetings followed a field study by a team o f OSHA industrial hygienists and chemical engi neers a t a number o f chemical plants in Louisiana to develop technical recommendations. Although the emergency standard will become effective sh o rtly . after publication In the Federal Register, the permanent standard will not be adopted until the public has been given an opportunity to comment and, if requestejh-a public hearing is held. OSHA ALERTS INOUSTRY TO NEW SOURCE OF HAZARDOUS EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS FIBERS Industry amt labor were alerted to a new potential source o f occupational exposure lo asbestos fibers con tained in spackling and taping compounds used to cover seams In dry-wad joints, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced on March 27. The compounds are used chiefly in the home con struction industry. Workers Hiding joints sm<xih before painline mav evpme themselves to three to 13.7 asbestos lfiibbeers pcer cubic ceiitimcU.rs o f air. OSHA tim ed. The OSHA standard for asbestos limits worker exposure to five fibers per cubic centimeter fot an cight-honi timeweighted average. Trade associations, unions, employer groups, and repre sentatives o f construction industry are being asked by OSHA to join the effort to alert employers and em ployees to the potential hazard. OSHA was alerted to Ihe hazard by Or. Marcus M. Key. director, National Institute for Occupational Safely and Health. Worker Examination Cm reill awuieiiets u f ill piili'nliiil Ini/iiul h l*-,.i-l mi evniiiii.i(t"ii til 17 ilumbeir. til (In* Intriiialitimii hood o f Painters and Allied Trades, New Y m l City, conducted by Dr. Irving J . Sciikoff,.director, environ mental sciences laboratory. Mount Sinai School o f . Medicine, City University o f New York. X-rays revealed that dte lungs o f nitre o f the 17 w osken examined Cspyiiplil O 1974 by Tbo Ovimv of Notion! A l t a i , l o r . KMX 01087 1356 showed positive evidence o f' fibrosis, OSHA stated. This evidence suggests that a serious health hazard may exist among home builders because lung cancer, which often follows fibrosis, seldom develops before 20 years o f exposure. O f the 17 workers examined, five out o f 10 who had been in taping work from 10 to 19 yean showed fibrosis results. Four o f the remaining seven, who had an ex posure history o f 2 0 to 39 years, showed signs o f fibrosis, The OSHA field staff and all ssites with approved worker safety and health plans have been itotlfled of the new potential source o f exposure, OSHA stated. Health Hazards NIOSH ISSUES MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE SUPPLEMENT TO VINYL CHLORIDES DOCUMENT Recommendations for medical screening to detect liver disease and/or hepatic tumor associated with exposure to vinyl chlorides were Issued by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on March 22. - The recommendations, supplementing NIOSH*! recom mended work practices document on vinyl chlorides (Cur rent Report. March 14, p. 1276), were sent to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on the above date. The supplement, "h . Medical Surveillance" recom mends specific health screening requirements that would apply to all pertoni involved in vinyl chloride monomer production and polymerisation including those clerks and management personnel involved indirectly with these operations. ' The recommendations mutt be applied both at a pre employment requirement and as part o f periodic health followups. Screening priorities must be given to current employees with prolonged and close potential exposure to vinyl chloride monomer in present and past settings. The specific full text recommendations for routine health screening at the time of initial employment and for periodic health followup examinations (where specified) arc as follows: (i) At time o f initial employment, o upon institution o f screening, a physical examination shall be performed with specific attention to detecting enlargement o f liver or spleen by abdominal palpation. (si) At time o f initial employment, or upon Institution o f screening and annually thereafter, a medical history check-list shall be completed by the employee. This list d u ll include questions concerning: (a) alcohol intake; (b) past history o f hepatitis; - (c) past exposure to potential hepatotoxie agents, including drugs and chemicals; (d) past history o f blood transfusions; and (e) past history o f hospitalizations. Completed medical check-ibis shall be reviewed by a physician and should be acted upon as medically Indi cated fur each individual employee. (Si) At time of initial employment, or upon institution o f screening, a serum specimen shall be obtained for occupational SAFETY a health reporter screening with respect to the following five biochemical determinations o f liver function: (a) total bilirubin; .(b) alkaline phosphatase; (c) scram glutamic oxaiacctk transaminase (SCOT); (d ) scram glutamic pyruvic transamiaaie (SGPT); and (e) gamma glutamyl trarupepridsic (GG7?).' Additional tests that may optionally be considered for use in screening include lactic dehydeogenasa <HLD), serum protein determinations, serum protein electrophoresis, and platelet count. Laboratory analyses shall be performed in laboratories accredited by the .Coitega o f American Pathol ogists or licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act o f 1967. <iv) i f results o f Isboretory screening are normal, screening shall be repeated on sn annual beds. If the person being screened has betn employed directly in vinyl chloride monomer production or polymerization for 10 yean o r longer, screening shall be repealed every six (6) months. (v) Jf one or more liver function teats are abnormal, serum testing shall be repeated as soon as possible, preferably within two (2 ) to four (4) weeks. If no abnormalities are present upon rescreenmg, testing should be repeated in three (3) months. (vf) t f abnormalities persist o n screening, the em ployee shall be removed from contact with vinyl chloride monomer operations and an individualised medical work up shall be Instituted. Suggested as Initial steps in medieal workup are complete physical examination and various special procedures suds as hepatitis B antlgen detctminalion and liver scanning. ' If liver function abnormalities are determined to be unrelated to fiver disease (c { ., elevated alkaline phosphaiaea in a young, physically active man or elevated bilirubin in Gilbert's syndrome) o r to be transient (e.g.. due to recent hepatitis or recent alcohol intake), the employee may be permitted to return to vinyl chloride* related employment, subject to individual medical evalua tion. (vii) In view o f the preliminssy results o f animal toxicology studies, it is recommended that no woman who is pregnant or who expects to become pregnant should be employed directly in vinyl chloride monomer operations. ' Hazards LOUISVILLE HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER ORGANIZES RESEARCH ON LIVER ANCER A medical research program on angiosarcoma and re lated liver abnormalities is being organized by the Uni versity o f Louisville's Health Sciences Center and Cancer Center under a grant from the 8.F . Goodrich Company. An announcement by BJ*. Goodrich Company that several workers at its Louisville, Ky., plant dint from angiosarcoma o f the liver prompted concern about health hazards associated with the production o f vinyl chloride (Current Report, January 31, p. 1099). Occupation! SaUty S Holih Refer! KMX 01058