Document 4JOaGeVvOxqbjM5zZ5QOrVQd1

\IY r A/C Pipe ^ rnol Correspondence iternational Affairs Committee J.F. Welch, Vice President i ' <&5~" August 17,1984 from. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Conncsii/d^Aehraattiionnn to Ban A/C Pipe SUBJECT; ACTION REQUIRED: Review for information Current Status. The enclosed news article appeared in the August 16, 1984 issue of The Washington Post. The advocacy roles taken by the U.S. Geological Survey's Malcolm Ross and Bureau of Mines asbestos specialist Bob Clifton have prompted the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee to investigate their actions. According to Kirkland & Ellis, the Office of Management and Budget. (OMB) is "dug in" on the EPA's regulatory proposal for asbestos, that is, does not appear to have any interest in commenting on, much less approving, it. It is also believed that the Office of Toxic Substances staff is frustrated by OMB's inaction and may have prompted the Energy & Commerce Committee investigation and this news article as well. There are opinions that if the proposal can remain bottled up in OMB until early October, at which time Congress will recess for elections, there may be a quiet period until early next year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call. JFW/lk cc: A.H. Kahn, Esq. copies to: Board of Directors International Affairs Committee L. Ambler L. Cejudo J. M. Couture B. Layton L. Taylor R. Dorner A. Junes G. Zaviezo M. A. Elola A. Lluch R. Hobbs R. Jalan H. Hudson S. Al-Tarkait M. Delcourt B. Dubois E. van der Rest E. Costa J. Schmaus F. Mansour P. Hart A. Saoulis V. Pattabhi C. Barton C. Saeng-Xuto B. Giboin J. Bryant 0172081701 Chrono i CAPCO JEN 0032483 t INSIDE: EPA Asbestos Curbs Disputed The Environmental Pro tection Agency, still plugging ' away on a rule aimed at control ling .exposure to-asbestos in' commercial,-products, has en countered:* resistance- from - a new and unexpected source: the U.S. Geological Survey. ' In a recent series of briefings ' for-' officials from the White House -1" down1- to--EPA regwriters/USGS officials have ar gued-'that the -most, common form of asbestos--chrysotile or "white" asbestos--is really not " very dangerous at all. . The briefings represent an unusual lobbying effort by an , agency that is-not directly in volved in health regulation. *. Moreover, the USGS conclu sions, based on a study by min eralogist Malcolm Ross, run directly counter to the findings . of virtually every federal healthresearch agency, not to mention a host of medical specialists who have been tracking mounting, cases of asbestosis and cancer among.asbestos workers. According to Ross, "brown" and "blue" asbestos, two less common forms of the heat-re- \ sistant mineral, are the real cul- - prits in asbestos-related, dis- 1 ease. Studies on miners of white asbestos, he contends, don't show any evidence that the sub stance causes unusual or uncon trollable health problems. If well-founded, the theory could have broad implications, for the EPA's regulatory ef forts. About 95 percent of com mercial asbestos products, from floor tile to water pipes, are manufactured from the White variety. . The Ross study, however, has been flatly rejected by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Tox icology Program. All of those- agencies have -declared that asbestos is . a cause of cancer and*a serious human health hazard, and in' recent .letters to interested members of Congress they took turns shooting holes in Ross' conclusions. , - The CDC, for example, noted that Ross interpreted an Italian study as showing that asbestos miners .had fewer lung cancers than the general population. While that was initially true, the CDC said, followup studies on the same group of miners found elevated rates of both lung can cer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the chest lining. "It is not. uncommon for per sons who do not understand the concept of latency to make such a mistake ...." the CDC said of Ross' conclusion. "Asbestosinduced diseases are diseases of - long latent periods ranging any where from 15 to over 30 years from first exposure." Ross was on vacation this week and unavailable for com ment, but USGS spokesman Donovan Kelly said the study was based on "a search of the literature." ."Asbestos is one of several hundred minerals we've been studying for years," Kelly said. "We don't do health studies. He's a mineralogist." Nonetheless, Ross' foray into medical research apparently has been well-received by the Of fice of Management and Budget. EPA's asbestos pro posal,' which would ban about half of the asbestos products on . the market, went to the-OMB ' for review-more than two ": months ago ` and- hasn't been __ ' heard from since. ` LOW-KEY ON TfflS ONE \ j... The pending asbestos rule. meanwhile, has wedged Cana dian officials , into a-somewhat uncomfortable position. Canada, a major supplier of asbestos to U.S. manufacturers, is opposing ' the EPA's efforts to ban lor phase out the mineral in com- ' mercial products. That means Canada, where about half of the asbestos-min ing industry is nationalized, is playing the heavy on a sensitive environmental-health issue at the same time that it is trying to cultivate a national image of pu rity over another' such issue,' acid rain. " "As far as Canada is con cerned, it's a trade issue,"' said Bruce Jutzi, an environmental affairs official at' the embassy,- who promptly referred calls to trade expert Paul LeFleur. LeFleur confirmed that Can ada was opposed to additional asbestos regulation "to the ex tent. of it possibly harming trade." Canadian mines ship about $50 million worth of as bestos--the "white" variety-- to the United States each year. ' CAPCO JEN 0032484