Document 7OoNGLXJJGjmBw0jGrzYOvQ3R

J is the rate at which OSIIA has been proposing occupational health standards. The record of the past is not an c^pnplnry one. and. although the matters are extremely complex. I will offer no excuse for past delay. There is and will continue to be a significant improvement in this area ns a result of the actions described in the enclosed response to issue paper number 14. I assure you that I will continue to focus the utmost attention upon the problem of workplace health hazards and the means for their elimination. "I am certain that you are aware of the milieu within which this program exists. The Act is a complex piece of legislation, virtually unprecedented when passed, which I he Department had to implement on a fullscale basis almost immediately after its enactment. There is considerable and vocal opposition to many of the policies and decisions involved in implementing the law as well as to the statute itself. Such factors as availability of qualified personnel, finite resources, court decisions and jurisdictional questions all impinge upon the manner in which we implement the Act: You can be assured, however, that consideration of these factors will not lend to any lessening in our efforts to enforce tiiis legislation." Senators Harrison Williams (D-N.j.. and Philip A. Hart tD-Mich.) have written a letter to President Ford urging that labor be consulted, along : n management and technical groups, in appointing a successor to Dr. Marcus Key as Director of NIOSH. Dr. Key retired last month and is now in the Washington office of.the American Medical Association. The committee screening a possible successor to Dr. Key has succeeded thus far only in weeding down the potential list of candidates from SO to 50. It seems unlikely that the committee's recommendation will conic before elections next mouth. Several unions have joined the American Industrial Hygiene Association in urging the promorion of lidward Daier to the post. Ih.ier. a hygienist, is currently serving as Acting Director. "As the recent headlines concerning the hazards of vinyl chloride and asbestos make clear, the safety of the working environment is a critical national problem." wrote Williams and Hart to the President. `To reassure the working men and women -f America that everything possible to reduce the incidence of occupa tional disease is being done, it is inipc - d that the new head of NIOSH be familiar with and sensitive to labor's concerns. "May we suggest therefore that you consult with labor union representatives, as well as management and technical groups, in making your selection for this post. We are entering a difficult'tinie for labor-manage ment relations. A director of NIOSH who enjoys the confidence of labor and management can do much to improve the atmosphere for amicable settlements of disputes based on safety issues." NIOSH WITHHOLDING CERTTHn \TTQ\ OF PFSP1T? \Tnr>g mg vi\YT. CHLORIDE: NIOSH is reaffirming its policy that only air-supplied respirators can be certified as safe for workers / exposed to vinyl chloride and thus tar r.o manufacturer has submitted an air-supplied respirator for testing and certification. The net effect could be to neutralize the vinyl chloride standard, or at least that part of it which requires respirators if the level exceeds 25 ppm. .It's the view of NIOSH that only an air-supplied respirator provides sufficient protection for the workers. and has reaffirmed that position in a series of meetmrs. Kcspirators~\v.ini canridg' . night he efficient bin they have the risk of leakage around the face and do not have the necessary warniiv pcrty.said Edward J. Haicr. Acting Director of NIOSH. An effective and certifiable respirator must conta'" warning device of some kind to alert the worker to the exposure level, he said. found to be subject to leakage a'..* ulamination. Baier noted that vinyl chloride generally cannot be smelled until it reaches a level of 2000 t v- ' ppm--far above the level considered to be safe. NIOSH is currently wnrki * b. two manufacturers on a timing device, but the problpm appears to he one of economic feasibility rati - technological po-vibility. OLI 5903