Document 6Rj4yr5Qx4XQLVE7yxmVR2bQd

psissf. khleask Iii COAXHCTIOM KATIOhAL GOAF Dr., t rp t ,,*> o:; : HorouivAPL:: c :yivr.ic:: of v.: w.-;OCO.\ .. Ws j. b '96v- U"P** I><I'4,.. J | V14 TI. i'l1^', * HP.,:,V ) J '' I> I >I/JT. r1 <1 VI J* * t + .4 i 1% C. J4 + ttJj. O O U;' i j 1 * x i - "* In April of last year tiro Mines Department held an Interna tional Conference on Pnucr.o-rosis in Johannesburg. This was done in collaboration with the :::: ring -industry and also the trade union:; and associations which represent r.hc various branches of the industry. Apart from the large contingent of South African scientists, some 60 specially selected expex-ts from 15 other countries were invited to ati and to participate in the conference:. . Papers read nu;:jbored 120 a large variety of subjec *U. O 1 ^ j : l*.ly to the scientific and other of pneumoconiosis a nd, by (<<u .tU . ^ the conference is acclaimed being or.c of the best ever held on this subject. The proceedings cf the conference have now been bound is: n very handsome volume which is now ready for publication. The public: tion contains the papers read as well as edited'summaries of .all' the discussions which they elicited at the conference. . . This afternoon, the President of the conference, Prof. S.F. Ooethuizen presented the first copy of this publication to Dr. the Honourable Carel de V.'et. during a cocktail party held at the house of the Minister and Mrs. de \!et. I sis PLAINTIFF'S /EXHIBIT . . lias . Accepting the book the Minister said:- "It is a pleasure and a signal honour to^lccept the first copy of this important publication. The appearance of this publica tion signifies an achievement of which South Africa can be justifiabl; proud and I wisix to express my sincere appreciation to the President, Prof. 5^F. Oosthuizen, and his organising committee who were respor.si: for arranging the conference and also to. the trade unions and the mirk industry for the unselfish co-operation which they gave. my department to make this conference possible. I also wish to thank Prof. li.A. Shapiro and the members of his publication committee for their contri bution towards the completion of this outstanding publication. I 4 believe that this is the most comprehensive scientific manual on pneu moconiosis which exists in the world today. It is a complete record of the latest world wide knowledge on the vexed and important subject .. . Hi 2/......... . ... HER 0001522 of dust-disease'*nd I a.-.: convinced that it v.'iii servo ` i ndur; trial physicians, medical insti.it:t` ous centres, professors and lcclasers at universities and medicr.' training centre:; as a useful guide and text-book for.many year;.; Lo coe. . ` The conference convened to afford us an opportunity to compare our own knowledge wi : t. teat of other countries and to measr.ro it against theirs; to ova junto the status and quality of our research and to ascertain whether any shortcomings existed- Amongst others, a particular objective of the conference was to have a close look and to sort out the relationship between asbestos and carcinoma, i.e. a rare typo of lung cancer which is alleged to he caused by the .inha lation of microscopic fibriij.es of asbestos. Considerable attention was devoted to this question at the conference' and, in view of the .. fact that the proceedings cf the conference will now be distributed freely, I consider it necessary to infer:?, the public properly .about this matter and to place the- health hazards connected with exposure to asbestos in proper perspective. ' - Much has been 'written in scientific publications and in the daily press during the past few years about the dangers of inhaling asbestos. A lot of these reports were written for their sensation value and were designed to promote a public fear for asbestos in any form. Some authors named asbestos the "deadly dust" and others fore cast tremendously increased incidences of cancer in the employees of the asbestos industry and even in the population living n e a r an asben to industry. Ever, the use of garden furniture and domestic equipment cor; taining some asbestos was `sold to bo dangerous.. The use of asbestos .as a binder in tarmac and in brake li rings, of cars :ind trucks was said to be dangerous and unacceptable. Even asbestos cement piping was held to be a health hazard if used in domestic water supply systems. A thickening of the walls of the more sensitive tissues of the lung can be brought about by. the inhalation of asbestos dust and, in an advanced stage, it can cause a disturbance of the oxygen supply to the rod.blood corpuscles. This thickening is known as asbecuosis as distinct from the dust-disease known as silicosis, which is caused, by silica dust and is manifest as a nodular scar in the lung-tissue. This effect of silica or asbestos dust on the lungs is known as the fibrogonotic characteristic of the di^t and research has shown that ' ' . ` 3/..... HER 0001523 silica dust is considerably more .Ti urogeueti c than asbestos dust. . Exposure to small concon Lrations of asbestos dust can there fore only cause sufficient fibrosis to disturb lher normal lung functions after many years. It has boor. koid, however, that such slight exposure to asbestos dust can cause cancer of ino lower respiratory syston, _t but recent research has cast doubt or. the validity of.this theory. There are two types of career of the lower respiratory system, viz. the well-known broncho-genetic cancer which is more common in males and malignant growths or. tr.e pleura which is known as mesiot hello::.; of the pleura. The latter i:a u i.a;C l1 + ';<> major cause lor concorr. oecausc it is extremely rare a ad there were indications of`a greater in.ci-dor.ee amongst people exposed to relatively low concentrations of asbestos duct. i.e. amongst' the population living in who vicinity of asbestos mines or factories. ' Although the total incidence of mosiothelioma of the pleura could not be ascertained for all countries and although reliable data on the number of people exposed to asbestos dust in their living environ ment is not available the r, la tint: or- below will give some indication of the incidence of this typo of can-"/. In South Africa nearly all cases of mesiothelioma recognised duriii.; ..i.e past 15 years were noted, the diagnosis having been controlled .by a panel of leading pathologists. Jn thin way approximately 2p0 cases of this disease have been discovered, in a similar'study in the United Kingdom between >C0 ana ?00 cases wore discovered. .These figure**, are very low when compared with the annual incidence of ordinary living cancer in Britain'.. While all varieties of asbestos have been held to cause cancer, available reports indicate that blue asbestos is more dangerous. Most of South Africa's blue asbestos is mined and milled in the Northwestern Cape Province, but a percentage comes .nonetheless, from, the Northern Transvaal. No case .of mesiotheiioma has, however, been reported amongst people exposed to asbestos dust in Northern Transvaal only as yet. If blue asbestos had been the cause of the cancer at least 10 occurences of rnesiothclioma would have been expected in the Northern Transvaal. This line of research indicates that asbestos might be a factor in the genesis of iiscsiothcTioma by importing another carcinogenic clement ` HER 0001524 M/ into the1 lungs or by keep: eg '.in.: longs in contact, vuih 'cucii an element 'j'iiis other c'l oment could pixs-sibly bo tobacco smoko or a minox'.il or a virus. I'koi't- is roancr. .icv; to k>;ht tt. asbestos is solely respousi. fox' mesoti.ultima. It o<.a;::;s 1`.n - :u: addi lional factor ox* element must bo present before asbestos vi 1V ;.-ei a.*> a carcinogen. ' Unfounded and ur.jusvi/ ; uMo allegations about the dangers attached to exposure to ."Lib::: !':-; dust have affected the asbestos minis industry and other asbestos : d-.st-'j es and' di tri mc.-i tally has caused unnecessary panic about asbestos amongst members of the public. I v/i therefore, .to emphasise that. sou:'... 1 a so of equipment and products con taining asbestos, that is, garden furniture, asbestos-cement piping, heaters and ether kitchen equip:;..-a t, holds no hungers. 'fixe use of r ease,-.a ble amou nts of ashe fi elcs ct n Ci the use o i a s c e no risk to the hum an life. Before the conference I assured the- mining trade unions that if matters should emerge from the conference r.ecessi eating .action, or oven legislation, on the part of my department I'.would take the neeess r.t-eps to ensure that these matters are put right. After the confer-;:.: I 'reiterated this undertaking. I wish, therefore, to mention a few matters which emerged from the conference:- . .' 1. From the papers r-Tad at the conference and . particui ai'ly from the discussions which . followed it is obvious that the Republic is ' ' a irrefu table leader i/n the field of re search into dust disease-:: and, especially in respect of research connected with ashestosis and ' mesiotheiioma it lags behind no other counti'y; . It was also evident chat our facilities for research anu for medical control over our '. mine workers are uno-ciisled in the world; . In respect of di .agnosia certi fication and . compensation for dust diseases in the mining industry the Republic is more sympathetic and 4 lenient, towards the worker than any other * . * hi- country, and its legislation is universally ' HER 0001525 r. 5- resarocci as bei U-..OI the and progressive a.-.yv: no re cii'.phasj so that J. an no t . Ul 1 lii iu . HIV seal c s of compensation a or o but to the adir.inistrali vc and the medical approach to certification for the purpose of cccpcr.sati on; 4. Since the birth of the- mining industry research in South Africa has beer, focussed, in the main, on oust dj.senses and, y#emaps too little atten tion has beer, si von to other diseases coir,icon amongst ciir.ovoriMrs and to other factors which . night affect their health adversely," There is cLearly a case for research ir. those diseases and other harmful fc;ctors; 5..- Finally, it became abundantly clear from the . . conference that the phenomenal industrial development in the Tec-public during the pass two decades has brought with it, industrial Jiealth problems which require study and research. It is in the public interest that this matter be attended to, and I have already taken the necessary steps to-'discuss this outcome of the conference with a view to action. \' RELEASED BY THE DEPAETnZR? 0? IKFCkMATIOi'! AT .THE REQUEST OF THE DEPARTHZ.TT OF KIJ533. '" . CHV.'/JS '<7/o/70 HER 0001526