Document 657GRrEeYgk79n1Dpg5NM1E4

' ; B-i j < W! ^ :araBgji. i fj SfcMi iML ;; . ` . lUUHUi'O; ** * l . I. *o'Ju Po, nt og NiCmouho &m Ccmimmv Wilmington 00, jOcLAWAna CMPtOTCC HCLATION3 Ot.TAHTMCNT ' HASKSLL LAHOMATOHV rmn TOXJC3UOGV ANO IN^USTPIAL MCOlCW<e November 2, 19.54 C. A'. D' ALONZO, M.D. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS DEPARTMENT ij-nnoo I am cnclooing a copy of my trip report on the asbestos meeting held In New York. Thin meeting underlined the fact that di'aoaoeo due to asbestos are no longer chiefly found in workers in aabestos mines and textile mills v;here the risks have boon recognised and guarded against. The risics now are among the secondary users, such as the manufacturers-"and installers, of insulation, but the risics are highest where the environmental conditions are most difficult to control. Such jobs as the ripping out of old insulation or the mixing of the dry ingredients for asbestos cement must result in the production of a dusty, asbestos-containing atmosphere. In such situations personal, well-fitted, respiratory protective devices are the most effective means of protecting the workers. . The Du Pont Company spends between 2 to 7 per cent of the coot of new construction on insulating materials, much of which contains asbestos. Roughly 200,000 pounds of pipe insulation are used every year and approximately "O per cent of this insulation Is asbestos. 'With figures of this magnitude it is net difficult to visualize a real health hazard existing Just in this one use of asbestos. Because of the long time lag from first exposure to diagnosis (the mean period is about 'iQ years), the potential respiratory disease problem is liable to grow in sine. This is particularly true of the nylon plants which are big users of asbestos insulation on their "Dowthorm" lines, all of which have been installed in the last 26 ycarc. The compensation aspeet3 of this problem speak for themselves nr.d point to the need for adequate pulmonary function studies on all workers exposed to a definite risk of respiratory damage. aNH!3!T lATc -1^2 .-(SUAROLl. ..X, i-cT-.-T"; DUP 0930064 OCTTCn Tmcr. fon II Cl Tint IIVIMO .. .-UMOltOM CiitH'STllI' tfovombtir 2, I96!r Asbcst.os exposure only highlights a need for elooer attention to pulmonary function studies throughout the Company. Claims are being made against many companicu on the basin of an alleged exposure to toxic materials' m the air of tho work place and tho subsequent development of pulmonary emphysema or some other chrdnic pulmonary disease. At' thlo time the incidence of chronic respiratory diacaoe ie.second only to cardiovascular disease in cases receiving disability allowances through social oecurlty,. and about 7 per cent of adult males have been diagnosed as having pulmonary emphyoema. If thlo trend to malting more claims continues and the number of persona in a position to make claims continues to rise, the problem could' be a serious one for the Company. One answer to this problem la to know the pulmonary function status of all employees in the same way that the hearing statue of all employees, is documented. Without a baseline pulmonary function evaluation the Company would bo in a difficult position if chronic pulmonary disease is finally diagnosed ip an employee to state that the work environment played no part in its causation. It is my belief that for less money than would be involved, in tho loss of a single 'court suit an effective pulmonary function testing program can be sett up and operated for a trial period of five years. 'I ohall bo glad to present a concrete proposal along these lines. ORIGINAL SIGN CO DY S. J. STOMPS 0. J. Stoppo, M.B..B.S. Chief. PhysiologySection . GJS/iyb Enclosure DU? 0930065