Document 7O3ER3BBen3wwj8byjrDOwZj6

FILE NAME Manville JMA DATE 1959 DOC JMA267 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Report with Health Data Sheet - Long Beach Naval Shipyard ee erro ee OP eae oe bee Ce ee tre we STE mee AR eee - oe. LENSY JANUARY 1959 0159520 | 7 The working conditions lack of protective asbestos material by our pipecoverers equipment and method of handling ial health hazard A study was made oafndtheiinrsulators appeared to be a potentworking environment and sixty T( he60) employees wera given a periodic vital capacity test and chest results of these tests are found in the ray detailed detailed dedtailedetailed report was published by Drinker enclosures A Very excellent Hygiene and et al in the Journal of Industrial Toxicology Vol 28 No. 1 January 1946 on this subject . Compensation Casea One former _ compensation for asbestoses employee from this shop has been collecting nine since 1954. He was employed in this trade for years claim his only exposure to asbestos being at the shipyard Another was paid for about a year but is now made and rejected An unrehearsed rejected Other claims have been with the former employee now interview was conducted andrecorded on tape on disability retirement This tape was played and a discussion conducted with small groups of pipecoverers and insulators to encourage the use of protective equipment while A written copy of this tape is found in the working with asbestos material enclosures Dust Studies In our study of dust particle size particles above 10 microns and dust counts we find that settle so rapidly that even dust fail to catch them in significant numbers sampling devices trus for practically all dust According to Dallavalla this is of this dust except asbestos dust He states that particles exceeding 100 microns in length have been recovered from sections of deceased asbestos workers Asbestos lung nuch as a micron in fibers are thin often not as much longer than thickness and it is possible they remain floating in air an equivalent spherical particle of the same sore their sliver like form mASS Further- of the lungs and set permits them to work down into the small alveoli up a sort of foreign body reaction there Lonxa gives us some interesting information from his 1 animals breathing asbest dust He experimental work with ? the lungs of guina pigs after about developed typical asbestosis bodies in 70 days exposure to 43,000,000 particles per cubic foot of air By removing a group of animals from the demonstrated that the reaction to inhaled asbestos dust was not a exposure he cne He states that these experimental observations progressive asbestos fibers cause fibrosis in the seem to be indicating irritants in lungs because they act mechanical an organ whose function involves considerable fibers cannot effectively be removed by phagocytes and the movement The long they penetrate the walls of the broncioles and with each relsypmiprhaattoircy sefyfsotretm they continue to injure adjacent cells The development of a about them must materially reduce the friction but protective coating new uncoated fibers as the inhalation continues is inferred from the ar le ackcoonfstapnrtolgyresascicounmualfatteirngthteo keep up irritation This Pipecoverers working environment on board exposure has ceased naval vessels is constantly changing and it is difficult to get an average dust exposure Drinker states In view of the varied character of the that environmental dust exposure in the pipe . . . . - shaped shipboard are pads are shaped for for shipboard shipboard ch gre ch spoten spoten spoten is is availablo availablo availablo operated constantly pr constantly pr employees felt the exhaust tuscead baston haug macorial be drawn by their breathing zone Dust studies with the system off revealed 10-20 mppof Nith the xhaust system in operation the saximum allowable concentration of 5 Hopef was not exxteceded Dust counts rais of the to 200 very duty conditions during the ,, pofThis operation was being renoml of old insulation revealed performed by t^<m employees without up dust reagizators A wide variety of dust counts both above and below the 5 upper mas were found in other shipboard operations ae . . Vital Capacity of LungLungss As sholm sholm in the enclosures an attempt was made to and value of lung vital capacity test Health Health jackets were chocked to compare compare recent vital past The vital capacity in the smae person capacity test from one year with thosien the to the nt varie considembly sometimes it increases sometimes it decreases With this inconsistent results e consider the vital capacity test as only a crude Malisator Scze graphs of vital capacity results are found the enclosures In each case of consistently low vital findings capacity however he did have sign- ith the ago and were sent on Vital Capacity of the wintrich found a clight do- the ; while of fifty and sixty years he observed great variation in vital capacities In well developed people even at sixty years and over he found that the vital cafacity did not differ greatly from that of people between the ages of forty to fifty- five In people after seventy years old Hintrion observed a focline in vital capacity to that of childhood aag ges es " capacity Clinical Ray of 46.7 years Study and an The sixty average of 60 13.6 laggers from shop have an average aga years working in asbestos Out of the nixby 70mm more found rays to have nine largers were recalled for a 14x07 ray Six of increased density A partial nealth history of these found in the enclosures the six is Conclusion Our pipecoverers and insulators are now accumulating a considerabl number number number of and lung years at trade We have found some consistently los vital capacity several employees with over 18 years experience The work habits personnel protection protection and working environment of these men are not of desirable standarda and the medical study These conditions plus their increasing years indicates the need for corrective action of exposure t a Rk La, SR SO Ye " Correctivo Action : . bet ra 2 toe * shaew, FE Ee Ty a Se ie ee er she . : cere: : we eset on 1 The six employees with lung markings were interviewed individually in the dical departwort There was a discussion at this time of their working en- vironment physical condition and the potential health hazard of their occupation pipecoverers 2. An educational program was conducted with the potential the healthy hazard of asbestos material and insulators on wearing dust respirators 3 Shop supervisor issued orders and will enforce the of by personal performing shipyard lagging % 4. Filson furnidsuhsetd comfort personnel later respirators were first tested for a | by the 1 and k one semiannual medical department 5 A decision was made by a 14x17 and one a 70ram to make cheat ray 6 ^ system is under study which would moisten the cloth before in the asbestos rocm :- 1 2 is it fabricated cleaning arrangements 7. The asbestos work room was given a thorough for a periodic cleaning . and made - t continual y 3 aon a. during 8. The hours exhaust system in the asbestos room operates |continually continuallyduring during working ae 2 . -- - ve Lg - wh . feos 4 ea 7 : .. oe e f . * - , , if it c 3 24 1%,. . . . 4 a i foto a R . . ? - 2 > 9 s 1 y ^' ey . ye * 41 : - oo t as? | nra a te se y MH rotor, Ne, v PARTIAL HEALTH HISTORY OF SIX 6 PIPECOVERERS & INSULATORS TOTAL YEARS TOTAL YEARS IN ASBESTOS . IN SHIPYARD ASBESTOS RAY 14 x 17 VITAL CAPACITY Apr 57 Apr 58 Jan 59 Feb 18 . 63 30 BD. 38 : 4. 38 { x 50 23 e. 49 13 Bees 56.6 18.6 18 Has history since 1952. Latest 68 46 41 73 4 Imp 1 Pulm fibrosis ~ 2 Bronchostosis occ silicosis asbestosis Hist since 1957 - 11 Imp 1 Early fibrosis of the lung 64 50 55 _ ; 2 Mild emphysema . Hist since 52 77 Imp 1 Fibrosis rt lung lower 71 68 55 : 2 Thickened pleura 13 No history Latest Asbestosis of the left lung or silicosis 1 Picked up on employment . Latest Imp Fibrosis of the lungs due to asbestos or silica | 75 20 7 Hist since 56 84 70 Imp Early fibrosis of lung iH 7 57.5 10.8