Document 8jZBQLZVKmR1OB6pwQJbdj65

4 x. a. boost piTXsaaaGH MR.W.C.HAHVEY - UAVBHPORT M8.A.M.HZLLBS - BBGBBWATBS fist ASBOStOS HP nKAB& camceit Hovenbsr 9, 1964 Thank you for calling to cmr attention th xteatl newspaper utlfll* tint altegM * zan typo of cancer to bo caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Loo Crallsy tolls at that this la praaantly a hlflhly controversial loans. The validity of tbs study's supportlng data la miousljr qaastlmad. Fran ear kaodtdgt of tbs facts (and aoao aalng a cwwtmtAvt pproadi) no are forced to bo skoptlcal of tha allegation. Otalees and nstll sons wore definitive data appear* no cannot bacons too concerned aboot tha possibility of asbestos causing cancer. Of coarse, the above is not intended to (aisles tbs seriousness of occnpatlonal diseases that are knoen to be caused by asbestos. XO pxaeont asbestosis in norlcers handling this aterial, it is essential to nalatain dost eonosatrations within safe levels. T. 8. BOKHET TBBiDB cct JXloary, Davenport M.B.Gaxrts, Pgh. F.H.Illlg, Pgh. 409805 0150 FOX 042794 24 L -r - j A RARE CARCINOMA I BELIEVED ON RISEl Study of Asbestos Workers! Shows a High Incidence j By HAROLD at SCHMECK Jr. [ Occupational exposure to as bestos may be making an ex'tremefy rare form of cancer much more common, accord ' leg to a report yesterday to the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, The cancer la called mesothOr lioma. It affects the inner lining of the abdomen or of the chest and, in either case, it Is fatal. _ In the general population it is T extremely rate, but studies In .Africa, where asbestos Is mined, and more recent studies of construction workers exposodto .. asbestos dust In the Mew fork City ana shew It to be far more common among those ex , posed occupationsily. ' The specialists who gave the - report expressed wry that the danger might not be entirely restricted to a limited occupa tion group, but that It might be man general and possibly of considerable importance. There Is no direct evidence to sub ; standata this, they said,, but : some of the available findings hint that this may b* the css*. Tha report waa given by Dr, Irving I. Sdlikoff and Of. Jacob Churg of Mount Shut Hospital and Dr. E. .Cuyler Hammond, a*KwyktBn Dr.JB. OnyterHAupnond' l.-.* . > * dlrector of statistical'rowrch for the American Cancer -So ciety. Mesothelioma is so ran in the general population that it ia noti separately coded among csnses| of death. Tat a study four years ago in an African asbestos min ing region found 33 cases, the report said. dust has in the past been linked with some increased risk of lung.cancer, Dr. fieUfcoff and _ Dr. Hammond said at a neural ... . conference before their talk, but) - ' the mesothelioma is another matter. . The group pursued the. ques-, Hon by studies in.the United States. One of these was a studyi of deaths among members ofl . two Hew Torfc area locals of at construction trade union whose! members deatth with asbestos! Insulation. Of a total of 3071 . deaths occurring *h> this fairly . restricted group over 20 years-- 1943 to 1904--to were found tp be caused bymesothelioma. The report called this "an, extraordinarily high incidence! for a tumor generally so rare." . In contrast, they current hugh study by the American Cancer; Society on the effects of environ mental factors oil health showed) that among 31,652 deaths in th| general population only three were due to mesothelioma. A further study of many casesJ of mesothelioma collected overt a long period by the Armed!! Forces Institute of Pathology, showed that one-fourth of tbose| specimens that could fee tested had evidence at the presence of asbestos. The worrisome feature. Dr. -Hammond and Dr.Bolikoff said, is the evidence that asbestos.; once taken Into the body, stays there. Thus even a single heavy exposure could conceivably pro duce a cancer after a latentp period of 20 years or more, they'; said. 7" This Idea, for which they said! y there is some experimental an]: ~ well as epidemiological evidence,1 could expand the risk from sim-` ply those occunafionally exposed!- to virtually anyone who might - only occasionally encounter as-t bestos dust. i- The severity of exposure nec essary to produce such a sen- . ous effect Is not known, the two physicians said. 4O98G5 0151 t i FOX 042795 FROM i A. M. MILLER EOGEWATER WORKS TO MR. THOMAS B. BONNEY PITTSBURGH OFFICE October 3 RE: INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE NEWSLETTER MARINITE___________________________ Enclosed is a clipping from the October 7> I9^> issue of THE NEW YORK TIMES which may be pertinent to your September 25 LETTER UNOER THE ABOVE CAPTION. I HAVE CIRCULATED THIS INFORMA TION TO THE EOGEWATER INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE COMMITTEE. A OUST MASK IS WORN BY EOGEWATER MACHINE SHOP EMPLOTEES WHO CUT Marinite. Also, Mr. Malencsik informs me that a portable vacuum IS BEING PURCHASED. a. M. .iS- AMM/oo Enclosure cc: Mr. M. E. Gantz - Pittsburgh Mr. F. H. Illig - Pittsburgh ALCOA 409805 0152 SF 4363.V. M 3-64 FOX 042796