Document 8VaR5adXRmZq3LG0agnY4jwyB

U.S. DEPi MENT OF COMMERCE National Bureau of Standards Washington, D.C. 20234 October 5, 1973 Hearing Clerk Food and Drug Administration Room 6-86 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, Maryland 20852 Gentlemen: With regard to the proposed rules on asbestos particles in food and drugs that appeared in the Federal Register of 28 September 1973, you indicate on page 27077 that an interagency governmental task force is currently attempting to develop standard technology which can be applied to the identification and qualification of asbestos fibers. We at the National Bureau of Standards have a number of laboratories whose activities can well be addressed to this problem. For example, our laboratory in differential thermal analysis and others in optical and electron microscopy, x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, light scattering for the determination of aspect ratios, etc. are all applicable to the problem of identification and qualification of asbestos fibers. I would like to make you aware of our resources so that we at the Bureau of Standards might become a part of your interagency task force. Please let me know if we can be of help to you in this area. Sincerely, 'JAMES R. McNESBY, Manager Measures for Air Quality