Document 6RyVGmDObjbbL1a3ywE2r7Ov4
FILE NAME: Z,,
DATE: DOC#: ,
OCUMENT DESCRIPTION: h^^,dZ, ,,
~STOS IN HAND-HELD HAIR DRYERS
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITIEE FOR CONSUMERS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON J)OMMERCE, ~
SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES ~ENATE
~
NINETY-SIXTH\90NGRESS
FIRST SESSIOX
ON
POSSIBLE THREAT TO THE CONSUMER POSED BY 1<~MISSION OF ASBESTOS FRO:\1 CERTAIX HAXD-HELD ELECTHIC HAIR
DRYERS
APRIL 2, 1979
Serial No. 96-15
Printed for the use of the Committee 011 Commerce, Science, and Transportation
~o
Ol:IBIUJtY~ PUB'Clc Al'1"AIR. ftltVJew
,JUL 1 0 1979
c."ZPOS. DOC. .JNlVERSITY 01' CAl..II"OflNU
LOs "NQLOf
u.s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON: 1979
mCE. SCIENCE. AND TRANSPORTATION
~ CANNON. N("odo. Chairman
~n
nOD PACKWOOD, Oregon
HARRY GOLDWATER. Arizona
,n
IIARRISON " SCHMITr. New Mexico
JOliN (' DANFORTH, MIssouri
NANCY LANDON KASSEBAUM Kansas
LARRY PRr_'lSLER. South DRko~
JOliN W WARNER. Virginia
,~. Slarr D'ffClor 'I1Id C'"~f CouflSrI
K "AIJ~ (~n<,ral (',,,,n"
BoNnuRANT. S/o(( Om"..,.1
STr.RRMT. M'noTlh Slafr D'rt'f:lor ,UOWAV. Mmorlh S/arf COUIL<"
MITTF.F. FOR CONStrMF.RS
FOHD. K.. nlucky, Chairman
JOliN C DANFORTH. Missouri JOliN W WARNER, V,rginia
./1,
CONTENTS
O(>(,ning statempnt by Senator Ford ........................ . O(>(,mng statement by Senator Warner..................... .
LIST OF WITNESSES
King. lion Susan B. Chairman. Consumer Product Sarety Commission: accom
panil'd by Andrew Krulwich. g-eneral counsel: Catherine Cook. Director.
Product Defect Correction Division; Gale D. Wyer. Acting D('puty for Health
Sc,pnc('s, nnd MichaE'l Brown ................................... .
2;'
QIJE'stlOns or Spnator Ford and answers thereto. Qupstions of S('nator Warner and answers therelo.
:m,j()
Thompson. Lea, investigative reporter. WRC-TV. Washington, DC.; accompa-
lIIed bv John Sturm. senior attorney. NBC ." ... ' .. ..... .. ...... ..... . .. .
Questions of Senator Warner and answers thereto ........................... .
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES. LETTERS. AND STATEMENTS
lIairdryeTS The Hidden Danger:
Transcript of film.. .. .................... ........ ......... ..... .... ... .... .' ....
;!
Report. ............................................................................
11
LiRt of products containing /lsbestos ................................. ' ......... .
2K
J./
,nrl
. I
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
HOWARD W. CANNON, Nevada. ChaIrman
WARREN G. MAGNUSON. W8lIhington
RUSSELL n LONG. Louisiana'
BOB PACKWOOD. Oregon BARRY GOLDWATER. ArizonA
EHNEST F. HOLLINGS. South Carolina DANIEL I<. INOUYE. Hawaii
HARRISON II. SCHMITT. New Mexico JOHN C. DANFORTH. Missouri
ADLAI E. STEVENSON. Illinois WENDELL H. FORD. Kentucky
NANCY LANDON KASSEBAUM. Kansas LARRY PRESSLER. South Dakota
OONALD W. RIEGLE. JR. Michigan J JAMES EXON. Nebr8!!ka
JOliN W. WARNER. Virginia
IIOWELL HEFLIN. Alabama
AURREY L SARVIS. Staff DIrector and CIJI~fCounsf'1 EDWIN K. HAu., ~n,ral Couns,l AMY L. BoNDURANT. Staff Cnuruel
MALCOLM M. B. SnRWrn". Minority Staff D""f'ctor H STF.PHEN HALLOWAY. Minority SltirfCounsf'1
SUBCOMMTlTEE FOR CoNSUMERS
! I WENDELL H. FORD, Kentucky, Chairman
WARREN G. MAGNUSON. Washington HOWELL HEFLIN. Alabama
JOHN C. DANFORTH, Misaouri
JOHN W. WARNER. Virginia
,III
CONTENTS
Op('ninl{ slatpment by Senator Ford ... OpNllnl{ stalpnU'nt by Senalor Warner
LIST OF WITNESSES
Ki\l";lr~'o~.'!lNli:lolcnt hIS'~fuAescantndrRew. CKhariurlmwaicnh, ,Cognensuermael r cPoruondsuecl;t
Safety ~ommission ..accomCatherine Cook, DIrector,
SCll'nces;
and
Correction Division; Gale D. Wyer, Michael Brown. . . ........ " .
Actlllg .. .
Deputy for Health . .......................
QUl'stlons
q t ups
ns~
of of
Senator Senator
Ford and answers thereto... Warm'r and answers therelo
... . ............................ .............................. .
TIHlmpson1. 01~aI, ' n v. e s. t i a a t i v e nied bv John Sturm, senior
reporter, attorney,
WNBRCC-TV, Washington. D.C.; accompa......................................... ,..... .
Que~tions of Senator Warner and answers tl)('rl'lo .. ,. .... ................ ,.... .
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES, LETTERS. AND STATEMENTS
lIairdrvers: The Hidden Danger.
Transcript of lilm ................
Rpport
..........' .'
I.ist fir prodllcls containing nsbestos
fliP
(
ASBESTOS IN HAND-HELD HAIR DRYERS
MONDA Y, APRIL 2, 1979
U.S. SENATE, CO!'onllTIn: ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION,
SUBCOMMITIEE FOR CONSUMERS, Washington, D.C.
Ttl(' subcommittee met at 11:10 a.m. in room 1202, Dirksen St'nal(' Office Building, Hon. Wendell H. Ford (chairman of the
subcommitteel presiding.
OI'ENIN(; STAn~MI'~NT BY SENATOn FOHD
&onator FORD. May I have your attention, please.
\\'1' !In' rl'ady to start with this morning's hearing. I have a brief
oI)(,l1ing statement. Senator Warner is here with a brief opening
~Iat('rn('nl, and then we will proceed.
Todav's hearing will serve as a forum for information on the possibl~ threat to the consumer of asbestos in hand-held hair
cI ryers
Last week, WRC-TV brought this issue to the attention of the
public when it W!lS disclosed that private laboratory testing con-
ducled for them confirmed the emission of asbestos fiber from
ct'rtnin hnir dryers.
This information about asbestos in hair dryers is potentially
d(','astating in light of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's figures as~ociating aSjstos with 75,000 cancer deaths
('\'ery yea r.
j
Thp Consumer Product Safety om mission (CPSC) has estimated
Ihat 12.ii million hair dryers manufactured with asbestos insulation
ntnnin in use by consumers. I hope to find out today from the
Commission how long it will take to determine the certainty and
l'xl('nl of a substantial product hazard and how COIlSUIll('rS should
rp:Jrl to protect tlH'rrtselves until the Commission has further infor-
ITHI I IOn.
Sf'llalor Warner?
OI'ENIN(; STATEMENT IlY SENATOn WAHNEn
St'nator WARNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr Chairman. the issue that brings us here today is another in a long series of problems that seem to be catching the consuming puhlir off guard. It seems that we cannot go for I week without nwnkl'ning in the morning to another health scare. This is most discouraging and frustrating.
(1)
2
SuIbcaommmpliettaesee.dStehnaattotrheFodrids.tihnagsuiaschteedd
chairman quickly to
of
the
Consumer
and
have
the
record
in
this
matter
reviewed
in
hold public.
this The
hearing hearing
will give stands.
consumers
and
industry
a
clear
idea
of
where
this
issue
While 1 remain open anything. it is important
as for
to us
what the Congress to know precisely
should
do.
if
uipscrstiuaSetseafwFetehydiceChroamlI mbreeigslisueilvoaento:srhyouagldenbceieasdidnrteesnsdedtotodot.heThCweohrneastuatrmheeesraePpvpreorrond-l
Priority models on
1th: eAdmvaisreketthetodpauyb,liacnidmmwehdaitatmeloydewlsith
respect
to
what
dyeeatersrm. hinaevefoarnythaesmbessetlovse.sT, hpiesnwdiilnlgenable
sold in the past owners of such models
:\
to
mendations models.
CPSC
may
make,
whetrheesor lutotiocnonotfinwuheatuesveerofretchoemi -r
iinonWhtaohneditn-hhfeoerrldmthahetaioiCrnPdSbryCroeurrseg.shptotnodietds aintteanttiiomnelryegaanrddinagpparsobpersitaotse fifbaeshrs-
Whether significant
dtahteareavisaislaubfflieciteontj,usatcicfyuraextep,edreitleiadblCeo, mand
statistical\v
Whether
the
scope
of
appropriate
remedial
mission actiO/; action to be taken b~
Sth. eW12Ch; oeomtrh.merriesptshaioeirnCasonhmdoumnloidstsiifinoiccnlautidoen:,AorbraenfuunnddeurndSe. r8;S.in1j5u.nction under
facturers who have hazard involving
failed
should to notify
impose civil penalties on manuthe Commission of the poLentinl
In this isolate
instancea,sbitessteoesminsstuolamtioenthine
handheld hearings
hair dryers. should proceed
, within
as the which
tchheaiarpmparonphraiastesagidovveerrnymcelneatarllya, uththeotriimtieesconstrainttio'
an assessment of Mr. Chairman.
factual information and advise I should also urge that the
the
can public.
mnkr
ties
as
quickly
as
possible
list
in
some
governmental authoriofficial fashion all thp
atmhsbooedsseetlostshw.aTht ihchehanv,aerebeceunrresonltdlyinonththeepmasatrk2eot rof3thyeesaershwaihridchryceorsntaanind
iwnilwl hgiucihdethtihseifraclreteutsaptlhesecittipuvuaebtlipioecnrmscoaanknaelblueipvperisotsbpeeotrwwlyneeimsnoilnnadotewads.atnod htohwe ttihnel~(''
I have mbjecL'
several
questions
for
the
commission
to
answer
on
this
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator FORD. Thank you, Senator.
Our first md she is
wacictnoemsps atnhiiesdmboyrnJionhgnisSMtusr.mL,easeTnhioomr pson
of
WRC-TV.
Lea. I want his morning.
to compliment you at the and WRC. for your exce
attorney of NBC beginning of this hearing
\nd
without
further
ado,
if
you
llent coverage of this issue have a statement, we would bp
lelighted to have it at this time.
'See p. :19.
:~
~T".,H\nC:-mn:\..T\l\'OTf-''\(F SL)'I'I:!\!~,(T,NH!(O~fA)MTJ((P'.)SN~OA\LN(T. OIMNVPEASNTIEIGDATBIYVE.JORliENPOSTRUTHEMR..
,E:"' lOll .\
,I!' TIfO
\......
'B1WAJ)CASTIN(; CO.
Chairman Ford and Senator Warner. , goo_ d
Irl~
~'Y
l'lll'SON_
<
morn
Th n Pson and I am a consumer !eporter.
W H t - -I UI \l ..r t 1I(l jlI'S
NI:eBCa ',-own'ed
and
oJJcrated
station
here
In
for Washmg-
Ion ) filII
pn ...'.'~rll
pl('nsp~1 to
1 ,,(-'rI
fb~}lei-etgCatatltvhep mves
request reports
borfoathdecassut blcaosmt mwieteteke
to by
,. PS
I
rhanrll'l I
_
Thl'
rn:u1)
hrafl'p1do-rll~p'ydo.uhaa.~ler
~arbyoeurt~at?o~ steheedmiscalrokseets
tfoodr atyhesufcihrstastimtheestehaint.
11(; ,f'rmunlt(o'~flsmseh~)!"l'l"ld,ll1caatylld~
asbestos in Iol~nrgC~hienrteo the air
the barrel lining, which when the dryer is used-
_ISC
'\' 110lNI III I )('5(' r~por 5,
g h,,n foul1d to be a hlg,hlY
n
is ero~s
question that asbestos has cancer-causing material. and
that (lxposur(' to breat 18 bIedaas es tos should be minimized, or pref-
,ra('blIl1_ra:\lt'1lllp1hl~(il'1lIl1ple.ijrl\s~'a.ItSl~,~IdOl.Ye,stfl. g~a;t~IO~n~~beergo~nt~beaCbuorurti~I)
months ago who is with
under the me today,
(1\ ,,/1'
\\
0
Jroug' t I1t o,e
attention of the investigators
f'.:~~!:. \\ prl' latN joined by Reporter Jack Cloherty who appears
1It1Wr rirlhpo\r"tOsllf
permission,
Senator,
I
W 11
now
s 11
w
you
our
III
basic
I
fppSo.'rntahloror nFdocnaos_t
last We
WweodunldesbdeaYd'eMIIga}1rcethd2~~
see
0
that
and
look
for-
":lrd 10 it.
IFdl11 I
IIAlRnRYERS: TilE IiIlJOEN DANGF:R
nll" foll"WIIlI( is n Iranscript
\\ .JIl"",I March 2~,
of II
report
by
NcwsCent('r
fs
"The
Illv('stigators
on
III.
'lwllki';lI ,h...1 hull ..l<
IRIl
Thom1p!sI7o!In.at"T[, hPeMI.nv('sl1. gators . ) ThI.S .IS
not
a
gun.
.( d '( I oesn
n,,<
IIl\f'~ligllliohnu
l s
t
wha artf'
l d
come last
s J
oul uly
.lrI h,"rrlnpr Ihnl hI' said
wcahnenheajuloscta;l15pd~"o;tlodgl.yr-aphNer
senCt uS
hl.~;;
y~nJ
"",1 dr\,.r- Whal
J I". a'/".'I,)<
\\1'
was blowing fibers all over fOllnd corning out was asbestos
hIS
prmts
ews cn ter
es e
.t.".,
front
cornes frorn the insulator used to 1111'111111( And "Thl' Investigators" have
prevrnt
til!'
. p!asl,c
found that thIS
barre~
f
0
h t e
r1t 'nlhl,".,f..1-11 "n I!OH'rnml'nt find industry figures for) _
IS not an Isolated 2" '11 h d
1".I.j hlllntn "" in ",.It! <IT "tI"l<I 1..1/
u.e around the country, us how many dryers ha
but
!171. ther(' werc .J 1111 Ion anno one in industry or government
i "f o"r '''t.1In''c-l
1I.<U'r'\'''(',f1~s
showg that insulators
out
of
ve been made using asbestos 112 new And used drYNs :OVE'
lcooomkEp'~oneant t,~s11
1,'d",trIP< WI' bought our .',. Wn<hltll!lon m"tropoli
Most of new dryers
the at 7
used dryers wE're provl.dl'd, by retail chains representlllg .100
(,oodw~ stor('s
... .:'
rhnl', Olll' oul
tnn area Twenty p('rcent of every five we look('d at.
contained
asbestos
barn"
111
IIn-
\\ ,.
"r .....
"In'nrHlrorcmk.,d,"1Ii'i!'Itpgrls'Scile'nncteisatsndarteheexepxetretnst ionfatshble' satsbestos
ha?_ard
at
E~tV
Lahom-
,. .. ",10-.-1..-1 from IhI' drv('rs in our ,,,.kl. I,-<I ..d ,,"!'lli\"(' ror asbestos
surv!'y
were
examl.lo1sedanaSlYa mSIpSl e sInfsruolmatl,2o4n d~larfmeprleenst
Th,'" "'- <,.If'ctrd
h"',n&; hlo\\ n nul
six
models
and
askl'd
EMV
to
_ deterlllllle
_ how
milch
Asbestos
WAS
- '''r'.'Io'.'.'""",l.,nW"fI,.I.Inh,,lru,ltllthgscr.-h(n'rxlmr(J'o(c'lll.In.tfin oVf Pw-eEnMr Vonastshoeciaitnl'ssuJlatlh~lOt"i olmd(a'rtl'trhl(a'l.hAIihreclryger!r'.flal(n'rd\' .
4
(Thompson) The new machines used in the test were a Penney's 1400 watt Pro Gun, a 1000 watt Sears men's dryer, and a mini dryer that goes by the name, Dandy. The used machines included older but similar Sears and Penney's models, and our Photographer's Norelco.
The oldest hairdryers, the Norelco and Penney's put out the highest concentration of asbeRtos. But in each and every case, the hairdryers discharged asbestos particles.
(Wehrung) "Asbestos particles are being discharged. They're in a respirable size range. It IS evident in our electron microecopy studies that they can be broken into many more smaller fibers after being discharged from the hairdryer."
(Thompson) The results of the discharge test are particularly ~ignificRnt h{>CAII"P the asbesto<; is being discharged near the face and usually in the confined environment of a bathroom.
To make matters worse, asbestos that settles in a room can be stirred up by many different means, including further use of a hairdryer.
(Thompson) The Environmental Defense FOnd sees itself as a watchdog, trying to get government to clean up matters EDF considers to be a danger to human health. EDF's Dr Joseph Highland says NewCenter 4's tests show the amount of asbestos coming out of hairdryers can be compared to living near an asbestos mine and inhaling its dust ... to many situations where people are actually working with asbestos ... or to the levels of asbestos being released from some school ceilings.
IJoe Highland, Environmental Defense Fund) "The levels in hairdryers that are coming out say, in an average weekly use in an average room, come forward in the !UlmE' rnngE' nnd that's what we're finding in public shools and that level in public schools has hft.n deemed a health hazard and has to be cleaned up according to the Environmental Protection Agency."
IThompson) This report, done for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, cit~ study after study done over the past thirty years which confirms the link between asbestOfl and cancer, and the fact that if enough is inhaled, it can lead to the detl'Tioration of the lungs ... or worse-lung cancer, cancer of the chest or abdominal cavitv.
The major cOllCE'rn is the nccumulative build up of asbestos in the body and there are many manmade !IOurres of asbestos already in the atmosphere. The demolition of oldl'r building!!. the Tl'lease of asbestos from brake linings in cars, gravel containinK asbestO!l on roads and driveways, talcum powder, even urban air itself carries concentrations of aJlbeat08.
Ifli!lhla!,d) "T~e .asbestos levels cominlJ oyt of hairdryers are not insignificant. Thl'Y rl' hIghly SIgnificant and they fall WIthin ranges which we've associated in the pA~t with the incidl'nce of di.sease later in life."
(Thompson) Is any amount of asbestos safe? IHighland) "No. There's no amount of exposure that can be considered ssfe. Every Il'vel of ,~l(posure Increases the incidence of possible disease so every level is a concern.
(Thompson) In 1977 the U.S. government estimated that becnuse of past el(posures to asbestcs :;8,O~0-75,OOO ca!lcer deaths a year could be expected. How many of those can ~ attributed to halrdryers? No one knows. (The younger a person is when he o~ she I~ exposed to asbestos, the greater the likelihood of cancer later in life. StudIes show thnt after a period of 30 years from the time of
F~rther, If one smokes cigarettes and is exposed to asbestos, the chances of getting cancer are greatly incrensed.
In the case of h~irdryers it would be easy to eliminate the use of asbestos. There are other .nlter!1at!ves available, such as aluminum mica, space-age plastics, none of th,;m addIng slgmficantly to the cost of a hairdryer. Indeed, in 80 percent of the halrdryers that we've looked at those alternatives are used.
Lets look at exactly where we are. There is no question that asbestos is a cancer causer. You sho~.lld not breath ssbestos. And yet, one out of every 5 new hairdryers w.e looked at stili has an asbestos lining in it. And every single one we tested for dIscharge spewed out asbestos. There is no need for asbestos insulation in hairdryers. There. are plenty of alternatives, but it's there anyway.
So, where IS the government in all of this? Well. we asked the U.S. Consumer Product SlIIfety Commission about the use of asbestos in hairdryers nine months ago. We were told then that it wasn't a problem. A report done for the CPSC by Kerney Man~g~ment ~nsultanta indicates that only one manufacturer uses asbestos and that It 18 phasmg out asbestos in favor of mica.
The manufacturers themselves were the source of information for the Kerney ~ipor~. ~".e of them were General Electric. We found three different General
ectTlC lllrdr nodels with asbestos liners on the shelves just two weeks ago. To
,
I ;"
5
show you just how pasy it is to make hairdryers without a~bestos, Ja~k Cloherty went to one of the few manufacturers of hairdryers here m the. United St;a~s.
(Speaking: Culver City,
Jack Cloherty, California This
"The firm
isInovneestiogfattohres"f)ewWlee'frte.10atthAem~emrlt.ceadn
ElectriC In States th.at
manufnctures hnirdryers. Most of them now are man~factu~ed ~n Southenst ASIa.
But here at American Electric they use mien board-like thls-mstend of nsbestos
in their product.
. d h Ith
This company took asbestos out of its hairdryers because of the recog111ze ea
hazard. American Electric President, Ron Purer: (fion Purer, president. Am!'rican EI"rtrirl "We
find
thnt
our
ow".
te~t
of other
people's dryers-and I'm not going to mention any bran~~, that droppmg It or rough
handling will cau!'!e naking depending on the compOSItIOn .of, the asbestos-so~e
times with a harder finish or a softer finish-the s?ftE'r finish s tE'od to wear WIth
the abrasion of the air and makes the fiber (Cloherty) The nation's largest producer
come off. of hnirdryers,
Gi.lIette,
took
a.~bestos
?u.t
of its product in 1973. Gillette Director of Product Integrity, ,~tohert GlOvn.celllnl.
!Robert Giovacchini, director of Product Integrity, Gillette) The conclu~lOn we
came to was t hat if therE' was an alternativE' material that could be used. whIch was
just as good why run the risk of having asbestos fibers? (Cloherty) But asbestos dryers are still on the market.
Where do
the
~sbestos
come from? Well, most of the ones we testE'd c~me ~rom ~outlteast ASIa. The
Southeast Asian factories build the dryers to specl.ficatlOns gl~E'n to ~hem by the
American compllnies. How then does asbestos get mto the halrdryers. Well. U.S
firms point the finger at Underwriters L?b, thE' tes~ing firm that sets stllndards for
electrical appliances for government and mdustry chents.
.
Even though the hazards of asbestos have been know". for years, UnderwrIters
Lab here in Santa Clllra, California still calls for asbestos m hand-held dryer~. Here
on page 17 of the standards it says: "inSUlating material and actual cont.act ,~Ith the
heating element shall be asbestos or other material resistant to combustion.
.
Apparently many manufacturers don't read pa~t the word asbestos although Its
clellr from the U.L. Standards thE'Y have other optIOns.
One company that still uses asbestos in its ~airdryers is Sellr.s.
.
(Joanne Mattiace, Sears) "We have looked 10 the area at hBlr blowers Ilnd .In fact
a laboratory engineer has tllken at least onE' hair blower, taken a look at It, and determined that based upon the amount of asbestos in ~~e product, as WE'll IlS the
nature of that asbestos it (Cloherty) So based on
pt hr easte nlot os knoa th aozna~r dhawirdhryaet~,s oS eeavr sedre.c.I~ed
to
keep
. selling
Ilsbestos-Iined dryers in its stores. Its major competItor, Penney sand .Montgomery
Wards. also use asbestos. And NewsCenter 4 has learned that some (.enernl Elec
tric. Hllmilton Beach and Conai~ mode}s still use ~sbestos as ~elli
. .
Sunbeam says it stopped making thIS nsbestos-hned dryer In 1.176. WI' found It In
<1, store two weeks ago.
.
..
.
I When we asked major retailers why they were stIll sellmg h81rdryers wl.th asbes-
tos, they either say that they didn't know it was there, or that UnderWriters Lab
l!L. recommended it. Underwriters Lab officinls refused to talk with 115 about their asbestos standards Rut interest.ingly, sinc(' we startE'd. thi~ investilfntion. thi!,gs here lit UL began t,o happen. Now thE'y're talking about IS~Ulng n rulmg removlllg t~(' word osb('stos. It s still a proposal, and they gave us thIS prepared statemen~ on It. It c01.'c1uded that "UL is in the process of prohibiting such USE' of asbestos III p~od.ucts listed by Substitute materials are aVllilable and it is felt to be the public Interest to reqUIre
their use. February 23, 1979," So in its new proposed standard, UL implies that its old standard wns not in the
public interest. The question is, why did it take the lab so long to wake to the asbestos problem, and why hasn't. the federal government donE' anything to stop ~he asbestos threat? Lea Thompson has been trying to get the answer to that questIOn
at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. (Thompson) The US. Consumer Product Safety Commission lists asbestos as one
of its top priorities, yet we have had a hard time getting it to take an interest in this issue. After we had that Norclco tE'sted we turned our findings and the Norelco over to the Commission staff for testing In Janullry we obtained a copy of this CPSC Memo which says it looks like our hairdrYE'r is .putting out asbestos but that
more testing is needed by elE'ctron microscopes. Regardless, up until last weekend-two months later-nothing further had been
done. That's whpn we turned over ollr electron microscope test data Tl.~n things
started to happen at CPSC
r 1
8
Ms. THOMPSON. Yes, sir. And it is in your packet that we gave you.
We have also added to that list a list of the manufacturers that have come forward from both Sears and Montgomery Ward. They have since been added to that list.
Senator FORD. It appears toward the end of your statement there that this could be a mushrooming- situation from hand-held hair dryers to the commercial beauty salon to dryers, laundry dryers, a lot of other things. It could mushroom.
You are apparently aware where we may go as it relates to this initial finding?
Ms. THOMPSON. Well, Senator, I really can't speak to any of those. It's only that those are the things that our viewers have asked us about. And I guess the reason we wonder about them is because they are blowing, they are hot, and they do need some sort of an insulator.
We have not looked at them at all. Senator FORD. Lea, I know you are going above and beyond the call of duty today, and I will try not to keep you on the witness stand too long. You displayed one of the hand-held hair dryers to me that you had disassembled, and I believe that is a General Electric hair dryer. Is that correct? Ms. THOMPSON. Yes, sir, it is. Senator FORD. Has that particular hair dryer or GE's hair dryers themselves been tested? Ms. THOMPSON. No, sir.
We tested in two different ways. It has been tested to find out whether it has asbestos in the barrel. It is indeed asbestos.
Senator FORD. But you have not tested it beyond that to determine whether it was emitting asbestos?
Ms. THOMPSON. Not this particular one. We tested six hair dryers for discharge. It is a very sophisticated electron microscope test that we performed on these. We tested an old and a new Penney's, an old and a new Sears, and the old Norelco which was originally ~rought tc? us, and a hair dryer called "The Dandy." It is an Import. It IS a very small hair dryer.
Th~ ~e~soll we only tested the six, to be absolutely honest with you, IS It IS a rather expensive operation.
Senator FORD. Lea, you talked to the Consumer Product Safety Commission some 9 months ago, and you were told that the Kearney study indicated that only one manufacturer used asbestos.
Why did you decide to go ahead with the test on your own? Ms.. THOMP.SON. Because it looked like asbestos, and we just had a gna~mg feelmg in the back of our minds that it just might be. It was Just something that we just couldn't quite put down. Senator FORD. Were there any other test results available at that time?
Ms. THOMPSON. No, sir. We've had a very difficult time trying to put ou.r finger on the number of hair dryers that use asbestos. It was. difficult to get information from manufacturers as well as tradmg companies. To my knowledge. other than HEW's report on asbestos overall and the dangers of it, there has never been another st ud.' 'ept the Kearney study on hair dryers.
9
Senator FORD. Well, are you convinced that the test procedure
I'esulted in accurate figures? Ms. THOMPSON. We went to some extent to try to make sure that
our test results were accurate. It was important for our story.
Because without the test results. obviou::;ly we did not have a story. We worked in conjunction with a number of scientists and were
very cnreful in the way it was set up It was a brandllew test that
had never been done. Hair dryers had never been tested for asbes-
tos discharge before. But we are convinced, and !10. one has ques-
tioned-even the Consumer Product Safety CommiSSIOn, the manu-
facturers the doctor from Mount Sinai Hospital who is all expert
on asbestos. no one has questioned the way we did our testing nor
the results of that test. Senator FORD. With the 25 million, I think your program--
Ms. THOMPSON. We said 25 million; I believe the Consumer Pro?-
uct Safety Commission believes there may be as many as 60 mil-
lion.
,
Senator FonD. Sixty million? Well. as v;e do in Congress. I~t s
split that. What do you say? Let's say there s better than 40 mJlhon
hair dryers out there.
.'
How did the asbestos emission in the new hair dryers With
asbestos compare with the old hair dryers wi~h asbestos? Was ~t
the same level of emission from your new hair dryer? Or was It
much higher from the old? Ms. THOMPSON. It was much higher from the old. We have reason
to believe, based on the testing, that the older the dryer the more
asbestos is being discharged. Senator FORD. Does the asbestos become dry and hard and flaked
and you get larger pieces. or slivers of asbestos more so than from
the new insulation? Ms. THOMPSON. I think it is just a matter of the asbestos just
breaking down over a period of time and under a period of use.
We tested basically by fiber bundles and we found that there
were just many more fiber bundles coming out of an old, dryer--
particularly that 5-year-old Norelco and the old Penney s-than
there were out of the new. Senator FORD. Would you reppat that again?
Ms. THOMPSON. We found there were many more fiber bundles
which are asbestos bundles, coming out of the older-particularly
the 5-year-old Norelco and the Pellney's, which was almost that
old-than there were out of the brandnew dryers, although in
every case. and in all six instances where we did test for discharge
in both new and old dryers. there was a discharge of asbestos that
would be considered to be dangerous. Senator FORD. Did all hair dryers tested contain asbestos, emit
asbestos during normal operation?
Ms. THOMPSON. I'm sorry? Senator FORD. Would it have to arrive at a very hot level before
it would emit the asbestos? Or. did the dryers emit asbestos in a normal situation where they were used a few moments and then
shut off? Was the emission at the snme level in either case?
Ms. TlloMrsoN. I can't confirm that. The test was a 2} test. "hp rpn~nn it v.,one:: n ?hnl1r tnc::t '''''''lC'" ,Hn rJf"If""r'f'"i'H",rl .. if"', . , ... ,,...
10
of the National Bureau of Standards, the hair dryer is probably used on the average of 2 hours a week.
The way the test was run was a 2-hour test, and we cannot tell you fO.r sure at what level it starts to blow more or less. We can only gIve you our 2-hour test.
Senator FO~D. Lea, a couple of more questions. If asbestos IS accumulating in the air, would other occupants In the home be exposed as well as the user of the hair dryer?
Ms. THOMPSON. We have reason to believe that, of course, the asbestos dust settles to the floor. And if you have a small child, a baby who. c~awls ~n the floor, it will push that dust up again, and of course .It I~ respIrable, so the baby could get it.
Our SCIentIsts tell us-the scientists that we worked with that were co.nsultants to our show, tell us that it could very well be much h!gher-the levels could be much higher than what we indicated :-"Ith our test, because there is a cumulative buildup particularly If you use your hair dryer in the same room every day.
Sen~tor FOR.D.. In your investigation, did you find that the price of um~ contaInll~g asbestos differs significantly from the models that dId not contaIn the asbestos liner?
Ms. THOMPSON. No, sir.
Senator FORD. It is basically the same price? Ms. THOMPSON. Yes, sir.
From what we are told, the alternatives to the use of asbestosthose being f!1ica, aluminum, and space-age plastics-are really no more expensIve than the ones with asbestos, and indeed may last longer.
Senator ~ORD. Did the Consumer Product Safety Commission c?Operate wIth you when you brought your concern to their attenbon?
Ms..THOMPSON. I think they were cooperative. It just took quite a long tIme to get them to be interested in the issue.
Se~ator fORD. What was the reaction of the manufacturers to your investIgation, or the distributors of hair dryers?
Ms. THOMPSON. Basically they fall, I think, into a couple of categones.
.No.1, many manufacturers and also importers, trading compa-
mes who .buy overs,:as and then supply manufacturers and retail-
ers here asbestos
In
was
tbheeinU~ musteedd
States, many were in the hair dryers.
surprised
to
find
that
T~e ot~er reactIon was that Underwriters Laboratory has in its
sraclficatlOn.s that asbestos is all right to Use. So they pointed to
~a6K:~ saId, "Underwriters' Laboratory says it's OK, so it must
Underwri~ers L~boratory has since. as of February, proposed a
n.eSwenr~etgourlatFIOORnDw. hIInchclwosoiunlgd.
ban asbestos in hair dryers. since you have been so close
to
this
syIotuu~atIbOens
t
and adv
i
be ce
en to
an integral part the consumer to
of the investigation what is protect themselves from any
poSSIble danger?
~ooM~esd.I
THOMPSON. Well, from a down the barrel of a hair
very dryer
personal and saw
point of view if I that it has asbestos
In It, wouldn't use it.
Senato' ~")RO. You would just do without?
11
Ms. THOMPSON. Get another dryer that doesn't have asbestos in
it, maybe.
d ht
Senator FORD. In your opening statement, I und.erstoo t a sev-
eral of the major distributors have ~eased sell!ng the asbestos
hand-held hair dryers, and others, I beheve you said .Sears Roebuck and one other-Korvettes-said that they would eIther ex~ha~ge
hair dryers with the consumer, or rebate the purchase pnce. Is
that correct!
Ms. THOMPSON. That is correct.
.
Sears at this point is not pulling-or at least as of Friday afte~
noon was not pulling its hair dryers ?ff the sh~lves. Ho,:"ever, It
will give a refund to an.yone wh~ brIngs. a ~aJr dryer 111. They
explained that to us as belllg the kInd of sItuatIOn that ~hey would
do for anybody with anything that th~y were unhap~y WIth.
So they are not making an exceptIOn for the halr .dr~er~. They
are just saying-if you brought in a dress and you dl~n t hke the
dress, they would give you the money back for that, Just as they
would for a hair dryer, as well. Senator FORD. Usually a dress has not been us~d for you to get a
credit for it. This is a used product and I thmk they may be
stretching it just a little bit further than the normal exchange.
Ms. THOMPSON. Oh, sure. Senator FORD. Lea we may have some additional questions that
we'd like to have fo; the record. If we do, we will submit th?se to
you in writing and ask that you answer those at your convenience, but as soon as possible, if that would be suitable~
Ms. THOMPSON. Yes, sir, I would be glad to do It.
Senator FORD. You have been a very fine witness, and I hope
that we can only carry out what you intend here.
.
I think your intent is to eliminate the cancer-c~usll1g problems
that might be in everybody's home today, and It may go even
further than the hand-held hair dryer. So we are grateful to you
and to WRC, and look forward to working with you in the future.
Thank you very, very much.
Ms. THOMPSON. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Chairman.
[The material referred to follows:]
HAIR DRYF:RS: TIlF: HmOEN DANGF:R
"The Investigators," the investigative unit of WRC-TV, the NBC-o~ned statio.n in Washington. 0 C today disclosed th:!t tpst rpsults show hand-held haIr dryers !tnI'd with asbestos can pose a serious health hazard
Lah tests commissioned by NewsCentpr 4 dl'tE'rminE'd that the asbl'stos fibl'rs can he dischargE'd whl'n the hair dryer is in USl' Asbestos has been found to be a powerful cancer-causing suhstance by five U,S government agencies,
NewsCenter 4 investigative rE'portl'rs Lea Thompson and .Jack Cloherty found that of the blowdrvers on the markl't in the Washington area that were tested, 20 percent contained -asbestos And the .!J,S, .C~msumer rrodu~t Safety ~omt;lission estimates Umt 20 to 2:' percent of the ,,0 mllhon blow dryers 111 tlSl' natIonWIde use the heatresistant material
The investigation began nine months ago whl'n a local photographer told .Bob Currie. the producer of "The Investigators" that he noticed small, fiber-I.ike partt~les clinging to photos he dried with a handheld dryer, Tl'sts at EMV labs In RockVIlle. Maryland not only showed those particles to bp a&bestos. but also revealed that they were in the size rant;E' that would allow thl'n~ to be easily inhaled into the I.un.ga.
"The InvestigAtors tJ1E'n alerted thl' U S Con~lImE'r Product Safptv C'AJmmlsslon
to thp potential hA7.8rd. Nine months E'Arlier. the epsc had 10' I' unit Ihat
asrn.stos in hair dryers was "no problem .. Ilut because of th!' lest r. availahle to
12
them .by News<;:en~er 4, the CPSC has indicated it now plans to announce a fullscale Invest}gatlOn mto the hidden danger of hair dryers.
U,:!derwnters Laboratories, th'e firm that sets standards for personal grooming npphance5, als?, told NewsCenter 4 it plans to take action. Many hair dryers manufncturers told The Investigators" that they used asbestos in their dryers because the U.L. Standards allowed it. After being informed of the NewsCenter 4 findings U L. Issued a new, proposed standard that would ban the use of asbestos in hair dryers
For further information contact David Nuell, Director of News for WRC-TV at fif{6-41l I.
HAIR DRYERS: THE HIDDEN DANGER
In ~ report broadcast by WRC-TV, the NBC owned and operated station in WI' aedsh1l1~hon, bD.C., on March 28, 1979, it was disclosed that hand-held hair dryers 111 Wit as estos can pose a serious health hazard.
Laboratory tests commissioned' by NewsCenter 4's "The Investigators" determined that !~e as~stos fibe:s can ~ discharged when the hair dryer is in use. There is no
p.C. dl'fimt.lve Its,t, of which halrdryers contain the asbestos linings. However, "The
Inves~lgators s~rveyed re~ail outlets representing more than 300 stores in the
Wash tngt,?n ,
met!,opo1ttan area. A total of 24 different models tested by EMV
Laboratortes In R.ockville, Maryland were found to contain an asbestos lining. This
does not necessartlr mean these models discharge asbestos particles. It does suggest though, that there IS a potential for such discharge.
Conoir 1200 Model 065
Dandy, FS-:!H (mini! Davar (mini)
General Electric Power Turbo 1200 Pro 10/5115-013 General Electric Super Pro 1400 P~o 6/5112-005
General Electric Super Turbo 14'00, Pro 11/5116-005
Ham!lton Beach 1200, Model 480
HamIlton Beach Groomer II Model 423
Nobel (mini)
,
Norelco 1000, Model HB 1700
Penney;s Professional Type 1000, Model 1050A Penney,s 1000 Watt Rotary, Model 1121 Penneys 1200, Retail No 064-1190 Pennel's 1400, Retail No: 064-1180 Sanyel Mi~hty 1000, Model E-2095 Sears ~en s 1000, Model 253-6314 Sears Men's 1000, Model 253-6385 Sears Women's 1000 Model 253-8714 Sears Women's 1000: Model 253-8736 Sears Women's 1000, Model 253-8754 Sunbeam Professionaire 1000, No. 52-9K Vornado, Modl"l E42813
Wards 1050, Model 52-6 196368 Wards 1250, Model 52-6 19367
Wards Variable Power 1400, Model 52-6 19361
r 11n .March 30. 19?9 several retailers called NewsCenter 4 to inform us of the .0 oW1l1g models whIch also contain asbestos.
87;~2s!_878~Sa~~'!5r~8~.numbers: 253-6323; 253-6369; 253-8700; 253-8715; 253-
19rs3~tgomery Wards al80 found another model that we had not identified: 52-
WTRhC-eseTV~Iodedenlt~tfiIced.ntain asbestos and are listed here in addition to the models that
CoNSUI.TANT REPORT TO CoNTACT 4 (WRCJ, ASBESTOS DISCHARGE FROM SIX HAIR-
IDNRCY.E, RDS .
IN A Two-HOUR KENT SHAFFER,
TEST, STAFF
CMHAE.RMCIHST1A9,ND19J7O9H-SNUBMM. IWTIE'EHDRUBNYGEMEXVECAUTSSIOVC~IAVTIECS~
P RESIDENT.
'
SUMMARY
Six each
.hairdryers were investigated for discharge of asbestos 1I18tance the. emuent .was bubbled into water which
in R then
WtwRolI-hfoiluter retedst~nIdn
examined in a r "Ctron mlcrO!lCope at magnifications of 1500X and lfi,OOOX. The
hairdryers tested included three new units (Senrs 1000, Penney's 1400 and Dandy
mini) and three used units fNorelco \000, Penney s \000 and Sears lOOOl
.
Fiher bundles of asbestos were discharged from ench unit tested :rhese ra!lg~d III
din meter fmm one to seven microns and in length from 20 to 150 microns. Flbnls of
asbestos from ultimate size to one micron in dinmeter were not detected. In th~ new
hairdryers and in one used unit, fiber bundlp dischnrge ra}E' was. 30 to 8.' per
minute. while two of thE' IIspd units hml discharge rates of !)'O to RhR per .mlnute.
TIll' basic conclusions thnt mav l){' drawn from the study nn' ]I that halrdryers
utilizing asbestos ns an insulation mnterinl are point SOUlces of asbestos fiber bundles in the environment nnd ~) that the rate of asbestos dlschnrge lIIcreases With
the age of the hnirdryer.
BACKGROUND
In conjunction with Mr. RobNt Currie of Contact 1 tWRC), .EMV Associates carried our a preliminary investigation as to the nnture o~ dust (>mltted from a ~sed
hairdryl'r. Analysis of the dust revealpd it to be asl)(>stos; l.tS source. was determmed
to b(> nsbestos insulation used around thl" hl"atmg elpment tn the halrdryer. Thl'se f('sults promptl"d furtl1l"r nnalysis of insulntion in hairdryel's. obtained by
Contact 4 In most instances, the insulat ion was found to be the chrysotill' vanety of
asbestos
.. .
A contract was subsequently initiated by Contact 4 with EMV A~socH:t!es 111 which
six hairdryers known to contain ashestos IIls';llntlOn ';Vere to bl' IIlvestlgat~d as to
quantity and fiber dimensions of asbl'stos pnrtlcles emitted Three of the umts Wl're new an'd thl' other thrl'l' WNl' uSl'd Th.. hrnnds nnd types :tTl' listl'd in Table 1.
MATEIIIAI$ ANn ME:I'II0DS
SO as to mnintain the speed of air now in the hairdryer and to collect ns many of the small pnrticulates as possible, it was decided to bubhle the enuent through prefiltered distilll'd watl'r. This was accomplished by taping a six-inch extension to the hnirdryer nozzle and placing the extension mouth nt the surface of the water h~ld 111 a cleaned two-gallon container. A plastic shr~ud at the end of the extens!on prevented loss of water during opl'ration of the h~lrdrrl'r and prOVided a sheathmg effect to minimize loss of particulatl"s in the escaplllg ntr.
Each hairdryer was opl'rated continuously for a period of two hours at maximum speed and cool tl"mpl'rature. Thl' trst wntrr containing particulates was thl'n fi,ltered through a 47-micron diameter, () 2 micron pore SI7.(> Nuclepore filter. ThiS filter was examined in a scanning electron microscope ISEM) coupled to an energy dispersivl' xrny analyzer fEDXA). Thl' ('xnmination was conductl'd at 15()()X (\00 fields) and at 15,Il00X f:lOO fields) After compll'tion of th(' examinntion, another portion of the same filter was examined at 1:,()()X fI()O fields). puri~g 1".xl1minati.on, when a fibrous particle was detl"cted thl' EDXA was used to Identify Its chl'mlcal make-up. Thl" chemical constituents, coupl('d with morphological information provided by SEM, was the means of identifying asbestos by type.
Quality control Wn!" provided by conduction of t('sts undl'r a liltl'red Inminnr-now hood In addition, control samples for thl' water and for the laboratory air were obtained. (In all instances these were negative.)
To confirm the presence of asbl'stos in the insulation a small 14111m7) portion of this material was rl'movl'd from the hnirdrYl'r and l"xamined with SEM/EDXA for nsbestos presl'nce In soml' instancl's. this hnd heen p('rforrt1(>d on tl'st hnirdryers prior to t('sting thPrl'fore, in thl'sl' hllirdrYf'rs thl' ('ut edgl's wl'rl' sraled with glue fprior to testingl.
IlESULTS
Asbestos fibl'r bundles of the chrysotile variety wl'rl' dl'tectrd in all six hairdryer
samples. The sizl's ranged in diameter from onl' to seven microns and 111 length
from 20 to I!)O microns The number of bundles dl:tected from each umt is listed in
Table I. Representative SEM micrographs and EDXA spl'ctm arE' shown in Figures
I to 9.
Because of thl' splayed ends of most of the bundl('s. it was difficult to obtain
dimensional data from which an accurate estimate of mass could be made Never-
theless, on estimate of mass discharge was made basNI on an average particle size of
two microns in width. :1() microns in Il'nglh and a specific gravity of 26. The
calculatl'd r('sults arl' listed in Tahle I
The examination at 1ii.""OX did not rl"\'l'a1 thl' prl'scnce of asbpstos fibt'rs bplow
one micron in diameter
For thl' pllrposl' of reproducihilitv of nnalysis. a s('cnnd Sl't of data IVa' 150()X. and this i~ lislpd in Tnhlp I n< Analvsis B fthl' initial h... inr,
1I1ed lit ,\'5i< AI