Document 912pOy7BxvJJxMamvaO4vOLwR

United States Rubber Company Administrative Center. Winnsboro (Location) October 14, 1964 Mr. A. C. Link Hogansville Enclosed are copies of articles which appeared last week in the rw York Times and the Stamford, Connecticut, paper. I am sure you have s en similar articles in your local papers. At the A.T.I. Meeting on Thursday, we learned that this press release went to 1,750 daily papers and in view of the news worthiness of the subject matter, there is a great possibility that the majority of these papers published the release in total, or in part. It was the consensus of the A.T.I. that articles such as this present a very grave hazard to our Industry from both personnel standpoint and the economic standpoint. After considerable discussion of the pros and cons, we arrived at the conclusion that it would he unwise to attempt any denial of these articles inasmuch as we have rather sketchy information to make such denials. It was decided that each company would attempt to play down the Selikoff Report and await the outcome of publicity from the conference in New York next week. As a result of these articles, Dr. Oral ley of the Public Health Service has prepared a paper for publication in New York next week which he told us on Friday appeared most promising from the Industry standpoint. He further stated that his data, of course, was incomplete but data collected so far within the Asbestos Textile Industry, would tend to repute many of the statements made in the press releases. As an example of the implication arrived from such articles as these, we were advised on Thursday by General Textiles in New Jersey, that they haul received three cancellations for ironingboard covers that morning as a result of people reading these articles. I talked with Johns -Manville today and they are being beseiged with telephone calls asking for clarification or explanations of the articles. The Management and Medical Department have taken the stand that the articles are without foundation and that the findings of the study group next week as well as the Public Health Survey now being conducted would support the contention. In view of the foregoing, it may be well that we reassess our position with respect to the Public Health Survey being conducted by Dr. Cralley. I am not suggesting that we reverse our position but upon Dr. Wells' return from New York and after consulting with Dr. Wolfsie, we may wish to alter our position. At the Board of Governors Meeting at the A.T.I., it was unanimously voted that the A.T.I. ask Dr. Ken Smith of Johns-Manville to coordinate the 500?00r?p Mr. A. C. Link -2 10/14/64 doctors from our various companies and in this connection, it was suggested that al1 of the doctors meet in New York with Dr. Smith sometime Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening to determine the position they will uphold in the forthcoming meetings. I am sure Dr. Wells will want to be a part of this group. We will keep you advised of any developments within our Industry and particularly any positions which the A.T.I. may take on this matter. S. J. Peele, Jr Pi CC: Mr. R. A. All Mr. R. C. Harrington tsoo?oor?9 i i> U' ,:il k -.<i. V" XCryC 7.C f 1 S '7 -a.9JJC'5fc.,3 iC&nicer IIV ifesdied Cancer Link Stalled- j NEW-YORK <AP) -- Medical,shoes, and in many other appli- (specialists pointed a strong:cations. Ordinary; wear and ifingrr of .suspicion today atjtcar, they said,: night release ! asbestos a3 a cause, not only of dust into the atmosphere, jluog cancer but also of another Tho report was presented to Icxtrcmcly rare form of fatal)the American Public Health ! human cancer. Association by Drs. Irving . J.] | Thia cancer, known as meso- Selikoff and Jacob Churg.ot the llhelioma, involves the . lining of Mount Sinai Hospital, New I tho abdominal and chest cavi York, and E. Cuyler Hammond, ties, - - - Sc.D,, director of statistical . Prom Autopsy Studies. research for the American Can Much of the specialists', evl- cer Society. Dr. Hammond is idence comes from autopsy stud- known for his studies of cigar lies of men working with asbes ette smoking in relationship to tos as n insulation material. lung cancer. . They said it also is possible Wide Usage. . , that dust from nroducts contain- , Asbestos is a mineral, magi ing asbestos might be exposing)nesium silicate, and about 3Vt people generally to some risk ofjmillion tons- of it are used cancers. How much risk there j worldwide each year, they said, might be, they said, they couldlln 1935, worldwide usage not tell. > - - famounted to about 500 ton., the .' Asbestos Is used not only for]researchers said. V ' .". , ^-insulation but as a flooring mn-j Tiny, hard particles of ashes- itrria!. iu automobile b.alci1`(Conttr.'.'.oU on Pegs 3 Col. C) (Continued from Page One)'I tos can lodge in the lungs during: mining, processing and applica tion of asbestos-containing ma terials, cr- possibly from dust raised through normal wear, they said.. "tVe had previously found that lung cancer and possibly gastrointestinal cancer were markedly increased in incidence among asbestos insulation workers.".they said. How they also find a marked ly high increase among such workers of mesothelioma, a cancer so rare it is not classed separately as a cause-, of death in. the international classifica tion of diseases. . . , High Ratio.' As. a prime example, they reported finding 10 deaths due to this form of cancer in a study of. 397 deaths among Now York and New Jersey building Wades union members engaged in using asbestos at least occasion , :? ' ally as an insulation material. By contrast, this form oi can cer was found to be the cause of death among only threa out of more than 30,000 autopsies in ai study of the general population) /=i sponsored by . thb American) Cancer Society.'. Other studies, showed a high incidence net only of lung can cer but mesothelioma among i. persons who had-asbestos parti cles in Hioir lungs at the time of their deaths, they said. ` "It would appear that meso thelioma must be added to the neoplastic . (cancer) risks of asbestos Inhalation and joins lung cancer (53 out of 307 deaths) and probably cancer of the stomach and colon (34 of 307 deaths) as a significant compli cation of such industrial expo s'- i in tho United States," their report said. Dflects Not Immediate. .. The cancers may not appear until 20 to 30 years after asbes tos dust is inhaled cr swallowed, they said. Since the particles do not dissolvo, they may remain, in body tissue as a continuous! scurco that might incite ulti mata cancer. Dr. Hammond said one worry is whether a few or even a sin gle past exposure might set the * ... v stage for cancer. He said this is a matter -- '.'.ing for more re-J search. .. ) i . * ; -' Takinbreathin- cautions to avoid] -sbestos dust is a] ' main pr. -n for industrial! workers, . id' Dr. Selikoff) - ' said. <& / v - 1 J SOO*ZP040 ~T ~r* 24 L ARARE CARCINOMA. RELIEVED ON RISEi Study of Asbestos _____ Shows a High Incidence By HAROLD >L SOHMECK Jr. Occupational exposure to as bestos may be mailing an ex tremely rare term of cancer much more common, accord- inf to a report yesterday to the annual meeting' of the American Public Health Association. j The cancer is called mesothe lioma. It affects the Inner lining of the abdomen or of the chest and. in either case, it is fatai. In the general population it is; cxtrerr.eiy rare, hut studies i:;l Africa, where asbestos is mined.; anti more recent studies of construction workers exposed to asbestos dust i:i the New York City area show it to be far more common among those ex posed occupationally. The specialists who gave the report expressed worry that the danger might not be entirely restricted to a limited occupa tion group, but that it might be more genera! and possibly of I considerable importance. There; is r.o direct evidence to sub-' stanthue this, tlsev said, nut; some of the available findings; h!r.t that tins may bo the case, j The report was given by Dr.! Irving J. Selikotf and Dr. Jacob Chore of Mount Sinai Hospital and Dr. B. Cuvier Hammond, i director of .-'I tcai research ior the American Cancer So-j ciety. j Mesothelioma is rare in the penorai population inai ;t not; separately cooed sir.one causes; of"death. Vet a study four years: ago in an African asbestos ir.-.r.-; ii-.g region found 33 cases, tiie; report said- 1 Heavy exposure to asbestos I hurt has in fhe past been linked i with some increased risk of; lung cancer. Dr. Selikoff and; Dr. Hammond said at a news' conference before their talk, buti the mesothelioma is another; mailer. The group pursued the ques-f tier. by studies in tiie United1. States.'Oco ot iheso was a study;- or deaths among members off two New York area locals of a1, construction trade union- whose:- members health with asbestos:', insulation. Of a total of So?:- deaths occurring in tills fairly:- restricted group over 20 years-- 1043 to if>64--10 were found to,- te caused by mesothelioma. ' The recort called tins ''.m2 extraordinarily high incidence!- for a tumor generally so rare."!" In contrast, they current fcushw study by the American Cancer t Society on the etfvcts of environ mental factors on health showed.* that among 31.652 deaths in the > genera! population only three * were due to mesothelioma. i A further study of many cases * of mesothelioma collected over-1 a long peried by the Armed * Forces Institute of Pathology;* showed that or.e-fourth of thost j^, specimens that could be tested'* had evidence of the presence ofi'J asbestos. , '* The worrisome feature. Dr.'* Hammond anti Dr. Sedlsoff said..J is the evidence that asbestos,'* once taken into the body, stays'* thtre. Thus even a single heavy-J exposure could conceivably pro-!* duce a cancer after a latent * period of 20 years or more, they;* said. This idea, for which they said * there is some experimental asu well as epidemiological evidence,; could expand the risk from sun-'.' ply those occupationallv expose-.i;. to viruiaiiy anyone who might:- only occasionally encounter as-;; bestos dust. H The severity of exposure r.ec- J essary to produce such a sen- J ous effect is not known, the * two physicians said. ;* i\ ^00200H <