Document 6RXGoE4v1q66vOB2M9k1nvGJ4

Critical points of asbestos abate ment projects and necessary input at each stage. Personal and respiratory protection, analytical methodology, toxicology, organization and leadership as part of an asbestos abatement project The current best and most practical solutions to problems of asbestos project management, supervisions, decision-making and risk assess ment. Six MiA technical committees par ticipated in the Asbestos Task Force which developed the recommenda tions, led by co-chairmen Robert E. Sheriff, CIH and Frederick W. Boelter, CIH, PE. A list of Accredited IH laboratories is available from the Accreditation Coordinator at: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 475 Wolf Ledges Parkway, Akron, OH 44311-10187. You can contact the Publications Department at the same address for buying copies of the guidelines on asbestos abatement. FACT FILE #3_______ ______ ____________________________________ COUNTER ATTACK ON NEGATIVE AIR PATENT BEGINS AS INDUSTRY CONFUSION REIGNS o say that the asbestos abatement industry is reel ing under the implications of the U.S. Patent Office's granting of a patent on negative air would be to understate the issue. Ever since Patent No. 4,604,111, "Particulate Contamination Control Method and Filtration Device," was awarded to Anthony Natale, the in dustry has been boiling. Upon receiving, notification of the patent grant, Natale's GPAC Inc. an nounced that contractors hereafter would be required to pay a $25,000 licensing fee to use his patented, pro prietary system. To many people in the industry, that smacked of mono polizing the industry. Now the counter attack--the legal end of it anyway--has gotten under way. CRS1 Environmental Systems, of Michigan City, IN, has announced that acting in conjunction with Brand Asbestos, Inc. the two companies have filed a lawsuit to stop Mr. Natale. On December 5,1986, the companies filed suit with the clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The two executives behind the legal move are A1 Eaton, of Brand Asbestos, Inc., and R.W. Marsh, president of CRS1, and they issued a press release detailing the litigation. Naming Brand Mid Atlantic Inc. as plaintiff and Anthony Natale, Microtrap, Inc., Duall Maintenance Co., and GPAC Inc. as defendants, the lawsuit has asked for a declaratory relief on the following accounts: 1. Patent invalidity 2. Attempted monopolization and monopolization 3. Conspiracy to monopolize and unreasonably restrain trade 4. Unfair competition 5. Intentional interference with contractual relations 6. New Jersey antitrust law violations. Certainly, this latest action por tends of a long and costly court battle to test the validity of the patent. Be cause the industry will be restrained in the interim, the litigants have asked the court for an injunction to halt Natale from imposing his licens ing fee/cost structure. One result of this has been quick action by the State of New Jersey. Upon notification that Natale had been granted his patent, the state re quired all abatement contractors cur- MARCH/APRIL 1987 ASBESTOS ABATEMENT 45 GLEASON-001150