Document 8NZxmJ5q7DLywrbN5Gdx4EqB

FILE NAME: Talc (TALC) DATE: 1978 or 1979 DOC#: TALC018 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Book Chapter - Impact of Govt Regs the Mineral Producing and Consuming Industries w (r. ftT$ W f t / gid controls have emoval from the moms, showers, for construction, rober trial. - data with name, ulable for inspecor.e year for imfor a period of 40 icheveris longer, sen! to an outside sty containers for ; with provisions, altar.is, and their n s for long-range theclosingof lead :ffse; by the work that with the new air) 45 51 1 fewer :s a base for normal :$ will be affected, ms that the current stay from the lead ay the arbitrary 50 ping regulations. e solubility o f lead licatesor lead frits, i silicates and frits. item" 1976. Forty-eight asteful, or questionable Impact of Governmental Regulations on the Mineral Producing and Consuming Industries Allan M. Harvey and C. S. T hompson R. T. Vanderbilt Co., Inc. 31 Winfield St., Norwalk, Conn. 06855 Suppliers and users of mineral raw materials in the ceramics industries have been unjustly subjected to economically ruinous government regulations as a result of gross errors in mineral definition. The asbestos standard through incorrect definition has already caused great economic hardship, as will tiie planned silica and talc documents unless a strong unified stand is taken by the mineral industries. Although a host o f regulator)' burdens have been heaped on the mineral industry over the last decade, this paper will be limited to the impact o f regulations concerning asbestos and proposed or impending regulations o f a similar nature limiting exposure to a number o f other mineral dusts. Ironically, the impact o f government asbestos regulation is being felt mote by the non-asbestos-producing and using segments o f the mineral industries than by those few operations in the U.S. in which asbestos fiber is actually being produced and/or consumed on a commercial scale. . For example. Reserve Mining Company in Minnesota, a producerof taconite Fe ore for the steel industry, after almost a decade o f court battle with state and federal environmental authorities has been forced to design a zero effluent land disposal system for its taconite-wastes and dust-control systems throughout all its operations with all the costly safeguards required for control o f asbestos- containing wastes. This happened despite extensive testimony by mineral experts that the material in question was not asbestos. The Gouverneur Talc Company, mining tremolitic talc in St. Lawrence County, northern New York State, has been waging a costly struggle with the U .S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for almost eight years in an attempt to introduce into asbestos regulations appropriate and correct mineral definitions and methods o f analysis-- amendments that would vindicate the com pany from scientifically unsubstantiated accusations that its talc contained asbes tos. . The quarry and crushed stone industry has more recently come under fire as an " asbestos" producer. Trace quantities o f chrysotile discovered in some serpen tine ore bodies such as the Rockville Quarry in Maryland have brought about the usual hysteria now commonly associated with the word " asbestos," resulting in Costly paving over o f gravel roads, removal o f crushed stone from playgrounds and bicycle trails, and a number of other expensive operations o f questionable value to the health o f the people supposedly affected. , It is just a matter o f time before the regulators get around to the rest o f the mining operations and the industries using their products. The Homestake Gold Mine in South Dakota, the major U.S. gold producer, hits been studied by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the research ami 79 t o f both OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. NIOSH inves tigators claim to have found asbestos in the form o f fibrous cummingtonite-grunite particles in mine atmospheres at Homcstake, and have attributed their finding o f an excessive rate o f lung cancer among the miners to this form o f the mineral. NIOSH continues to hold this position in spite o f a more recent independent study by J. C. McDonald et al. in which an excessive rate o f cancer was not found to exist among an even larger and more comprehensive cohort o f Homestake workers. In due time they will discover that amphibole minerals are common in C u, A g. and Pb-Zn bearing ores and, in fact, in almost all hard rock and many soft rock ore bodies. Because o f OSHA's simplistic definition of asbestos fibers, these operations too will become suspect and be investigated and subjected to the cost-intensive regulation specifically developed for the asbestos mining industry. At the heart o f the problems annoying the mineral industry is the federal government's definition o f what is an asbestos fiber and the methods o f detection and analysis they have adopted based on this definition. Despite expert testimony from noted mineral scientists, such as Zussman, Hurlbut, etc., the judge in the Reserve Mining trial chose to describe particles o f cummingtonite-grunite ore in Reserve's aconite wastes as " indistinguishable from amosite asbestos," therefore hazardous and subject to the same regulations designed for asbestos-containing materials. Only a clear-cut lack o f provable health problems in the Duluth area o f Minnesota saved the operation from being closed down until a land disposal system could be built and put into operation. Similar government findings and subsequent regulations o f mine wastes could conceivably take place in the vast Cu mining industries of the West, which process ores containing similar amphibole varieties of minerals in appreciable quantities. If an asbestos fiber is any mineral particle o f the amphibole group with a 3:1 aspect ratio, then it is impossible to mine, mill, and process almost any mineral ore without producing " government asbestos." If the words " mineral fiber" are substituted for the word " asbestos," as was recently proposed by the former Mine Enforcement and Safety Administration (now MSHA) in an attempt to amend its asbestos regulations, then we are faced with the impossible situation o f the complete U.S. mineral industry's being subjected to the stringent and economically burdensome rules originally developed to take care o f a serious and proved health hazard to the workplace and the environment. All crushers and grinders become " fiber producers" since even grinding ordinary' beach sand produces these " government fibers." M anysynthetic mineral fibers in ceramic applications could also fall into this category. Fortunately, time is on the side o f the regulated, and considerable progress has been made in the struggle to force the government into adopting appropriate scientific definitions and analytical methods in the almost eight years since thefirst asbestos standard was published in 1972. When OSHA's official analytical laboratory in Salt Lake City first analyzed a sample o f New York State tremolitic talc in 1974, a result o f 50-60% " fibrous tremolite'' was reported. After considerable effort on the part o f the talc producer to familiarize the laboratory with accepted methods o f asbestos analysis, the amount o f asbestos found in the same talc dropped to 10%. Following a visit by the company's mineralogist to the Salt Lake City laboratory in 1976, at which time the standard methods o f detection o f minerals by the petrographic microscope were demonstrated, the asbestos content o f the talc dropped to 27c. Subsequent court challenges o f the OSHA method o f analyzing talc for asbestos resulted in a finding by the OSHA laboratory in 1978 o f six ! asbestos par ; observed tre ; these numbe ; counted are i realm o f tra j which is no [ . mineral con j It is qi demonstrate the same co for asbestos not all regu' techniques, asbestos fib ' not " gover Furthe the regulate silicates ha' tonite, attn; ceramic ind is compose produce ek scrutiny. 2 discovery c volcanic as identified s were prono three or for crystal par1 . OSH/ \ realization j with a pos j proposed 1 | serious e ff j Cristobalit j the TLV 1 j A talc 1 developed ! tually OS1 j process, w i sible limit | maintain i 1 pure talc i I wo I mineral o i employee: | no disagre point o f c . include al little or nc commuin; 80 4 nistration. NIOSH invesus cummingtonite-grunite ttributed their finding o f an irm o f the mineral. NIOSH independent study by J. C. not found to exist among mestake workers, hcrals are common in Cu, .rd rock and many soft rock ! o f asbestos fibers, these ated and subjected to the asbestos mining industry. :ral industiy is the federal d the methods o f detection on. ientists, such as Zussman, ,-ose to describe particles of .stes as " indistinguishable act to the same regulations clear-cut lack o f provable .d the operation from being tit and put into operation, egulations o f mine wastes lustries o f the West, which o f minerals in appreciable the arnphibcle group with a process almost any mineral tie word " asbestos," as was and Safety Administration filiations, then we are faced I. mineral industry's being ic rules originally developed 1 to the workplace and the iber producers" since even rner.t fibers.'' Many synthetfali into this category. J, and considerable progress :nt Into adopting appropriate cost eight years since the first Ialt Lake City first analyzed a i result o f 50-60% " fibrous i the part o f the talc producer Js o f asbestos analysis, the ; to 10%. ogist to the Salt Lake City ds o f detection o f minerals by e asbestos content o f the talc ! OSHA method of analyzing 1A laboratory in 1978 o f six asbestos particles per 1000 counted in a bulk sample o f talc. Anyone who has observed tremolitic talc particles under the microscope can readily conclude from these numbers that the true asbestos content o f the talc, if indeed the six particles counted arc asoestos particles and not cleavage fragments, lies somewhere in the realm o f trace or negligible on a weight basis. And this particular type o f talc, which is not beneheiated to any significant degree, has not changed in general mineral composition since it was first mined in 1948. It is quite possible that similar improvements in analytical technique will demonstrate that Reserve Mining's taconite wastes contain little or no asbestos and the same could apply to the Homestake ores. But official government regulations for asbestos have not been changed significantly since they were promulgated, and not all regulatory agency laboratories are necessarily following identical analysis techniques. The nature o f the technique alone, coupled with the controversy over asbestos fiber definition still leaves the mineral industry uncertain as to whether or not " government asbestos" will be found in its ore or finished products. Furthermore, there is uncertainty over the next mineral or group o f minerals the regulators will decide to pounce upon. Since asbestos minerals are silicates, all silicates have come under suspicion-- zeolites, talc, kaolin, pyrophyllite, wollastonite, attapulgite, feldspars-- most of which are used to some degree by the ceramic industry. This is o f particular concern since over 90% o f the earth's crust is composed o f silica and silicate minerals. Any o f these that can be construed to produce elongated fragments when processed may possibly come under special scrutiny. Zeolites in particular have come under recent attack through the discovery o f high mesothelioma incidence in two Turkish towns. Local rocks and volcanic ash were searched for asbestos and when elongate mineral particles, later identified as two varieties of zeolite, were found, the search ended and zeolites were pronounced to be as dangerous as asbestos. Extrapolations o f this type from three or four extremely rare forms o f common minerals to cleavage fragments and crystal particulates o f similar dimension are scientifically unacceptable. OSHA has been promising a silica standard for years. The holdup is O SH A 's realization that the term " silica" covers a numberofdifferent mineral forms, each w'ith a possibly distinct biological reactivity ranging from hazardous to inert. A proposed I'LL o f 50 /g crystalline quartz/m3 air in the workplace could have a serious effect on the use o f products containing free silica in the ceramic industry. Cristobahte or tridymite produced during the firing o f ceramic bodies carry half o f the TLV levels o f quartz. A talc criteria document, referring to talc free o f quartz and asbestos, is being developed by Stanford Research International under contract with NIOSH. Even tually OSHA will receive the document and institute a talc standard development process, with publication possible in a year or two. The NIOSH-proposed permis sible limit o f 1.5 /ag/m3for talc is considered extremely low and certainly costly to maintain in the workplace. Documentation to justify this low level for essentially pure talc is extremely limited and subject to question. I would like to conclude by asserting that hazardous products, whether mineral or organic chemicals, should he controlled in the workplace so that employees enjoy the freedom from hazard they are entitled to. On this point there is no disagreement between the regulators and those who are regulated. Where the point o f contention arises is the attempt by the regulator to use a broad brush to include all the " inaybe's ," the similar or associated materials forwhich they have little or no medical data but which they feel sure " might" be dangerous, and the continuing efforts to reduce all dust exposures, even remotely harmful, to zero. 81 t . In addition, contention arises as a . hck o f expertise in the subject to " ^ M i0S?I, but they profess to be regulated. There are no ,, asbcstoS f,ber and how ,o know all about minerals, especially has no regard analyze for it. Anyone who challenges them is made to teei i for the safety and health of the worker Government regulation has already the TM m illions o f dollars, reflected m i g er cost d P` industry millions upon * f the ducts you use. If specifically those ,ve could see any 7 associated with the control o f allc ed . - exposed to mineral dusts, w e " S d S % * * * * .0 cooperate with the reg u la te, instead o f always seeming to be at war against them. 82 r*" Impact 0 on the R Patricia ( J. E. Baker 232 E. Mai The impleme potentially t< to these regu performed a The impact i it could not remarks are and will not of Transpor the Environ Administra (M SH A ). To fur receiving ir been aided association: consumers would not T R lh cover varir The T Toxic Sub: stances. T1 the membe agency or merely ma companies the iiidust' TSC tory undei seemed si " ceramic; reporting i o fC 0 2 iip to the rept include tr. occurring bauxites.