Document B5OQLDoDgg0Z2pDmLxb5KK5z8

FILE NAME: Montello (MNT) DATE: 0000 DOC#: MNT002 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Internal Report - Background: Application of Asbestos in Drilling Muds with Cover Letter to OSHA c 0 *4 ^ M r. Robert T ice O ccupational Safety and H ealth Adm inistration D o ll / Texas 015393 Dear M r. Tices O ur company supplies mud additives to the d rillin g ind ustry. O ne o f mese product* contains asbestos. Submitted herew ith is a presentation to w hich we urge your prompt and carefu l attentio n. In it we have supplied explanatory background inform ation; fa cts pertinent to the existing problem; and an expression of our position, w ith supporting docum entation. The follow ing key elem ents are In vo lved ; (1 ) C itations fo r non-posting o f caution signs, based upon vtsuol su rveillan ce by com pliance o ffice rs, have had and are having a very detrim ental e ffe c t upon our a c tiv ity In West Texos. (2 ) Users o f our product hove sought to comply w ith the referenced citatio n s by abandoning the ap p licatio n o f the m a te ria l. (3 ) Date from fie ld monitoring tests, covering a wide range o f d rillin g site conditions, have without exception revealed air-borne fib e r counts far below the allow ed T LV and TW A exposure lim its. (4 ) We are convinced that the excessive concentrations Im plied by the citatio n s would not hove been supported, had fie ld m onitoring been performed. M r. T ic e , the problem explained in our presentation is o f upmost g ra vity to our sm all com pany. We again urge your prompt and carefu l consideration of its co ntent. As soon as convenient th ereafter, we would lik e to meet w ith you personally In your D allas o ffic e . Please contact us If you need any further inform ation. Respectfully yours, M O N TELLO , IN C . Kenneth N . Cam pbell President Ends; BA C K G RO U N D ; A P P LIC A TIO N O F ASBESTOS IN D R ILLIN G MUDS M ontello hos been e sm all distributor of specialty d rillin g flu id odditive* since 1957. 015994 O ne o f our products Is o unique high-density asbestos/ which Is manufactured for us by Union Carbide Corporation a f King C it y , C a lifo rn ia . O n the d rillin g rig , asbestos usoge is very sporadic. It is added to the d rillin g flu id through a mud hopper or large fu n n e l. Venturi action of the flu id rushing through the bottom o f th is hopper creates a suction w hich pulls the dry product into the liq u id stream . Additions o f the m aterial ty p ic a lly o ccu r no more frequently than once per sh ift. The amounts added are sm a ll, ra re ly exceeding 500 lb s. per treatm ent. W ith three-eight hour shifts per day and 8 to 10 men per s h ift, assignments are frequently exchanged. The same worker rarely performs the job of adding m aterials on any continuing b asis. When dumping, the worker cuts the end of the 50 lb . bog ond allo w s the m aterial to fa ll into the suction end of the hopper, where the product becomes part o f the liq u id d rillin g flu id seconds la te r. The w orkers' exposure lasts for only a sm all fractio n of eoch sh ift, since dumping is ty p ic a lly accom plished in a matter of m inutes. In ad d itio n , to ta lly enclosed m ixing areas ore ra re , w ith the hopper its e lf generally being located in the open. SUM M ARY O F CURRENT PROBLEM O ur business Is being damaged by the issuing of citations against users o f our product, for non-posting o f caution signs. We know of no cose where the v a lid ity o f the citatio n s has been substantiated by monitoring to determ ine if excessive air-borne fib er concentrations actu a lly e x is t. They apparently depend on the "judgment of Hie com pliance o ffice r" based on "visual o b servatio n". Page I S p e c ific cose* that hove occurred nee November/ 1974 ore listed bfclow. For reasons w hich w ill be discussed shortly/ the companies inspected hove refused to document these for us in w ritin g . From verbal conversations with them, how ever, we b elieve our information to be o ccu rate. EX PLA N A TIO N L o c a tio n Inspection Date Inspector Name A ctio n o f Inspector A ctio n by Company COM PANY A West Texas N o v ., 1974 M r. Shoponn $ 6 5 .0 0 C itation Term inate Product COM PANY B West Texos N o v ., 1974 M r. Toff $65.00 C itatio n Terminate Product COM PANY C Texas Panhandle N o v ., 1974 (? ) (? ) Term inate Product Please note that the company id en tity has been shown by letter o nly and that com pliance is being obtained by abandonment o f our product. We have encouraged these users to contest what w e consider to be improper cita tio n s, but in a ll cases they not o nly refuse to contest, but do not even want th eir names mentioned in discussions with O SH A . They are extrem ely relu ctan t to draw any attention to themselves in the fear of a punitive re-in sp ectio n . We must state em p h atically thet we ore not suggesting these fears ore ju stifie d . They ore how ever, very real in our customers' th in kin g , and they comprise the principal reasons w hy the citatio n s were not contested by the normal prescribed procedures. OUR PO SITIO N IN THE PROBLEM Faced w ith the problem as o u tlin ed , advice and assistance was sought from M r. J . T . Knorpp, the Tulsa O SH A Areo D irecto r. A copy o f our Februory 27th, 1975 le tte r to him Is ottached as Exh ib it I . His response o f M arch 26th, 1975 Is attached os Exh ib it I I . We feel that item " a ." o f M r. Knorpp's le tte r, and p a rticu la rly the key phrases, "judgm ent---- booked up w ith Poge 2 docum entation", bear d ire c tly on the present problem . From his le tte r: " a . Caution signs ore required where in the judgment o f the com pliance o ffice r, based on o lr sample results or visual observation, backed up 0*5996 w ith documentation that air-borne concentrations of asbestos may be In excess of exposure lim its ." (O ur u n d e rlin e s.) Sin ce the regulations governing the use o f asbestos become law in J u ly , 1972, Union Carbide and M ontello have joined in carrying out periodic fie ld monitoring tests on rigs where our product was being used. As a re su lt, we have accum ulated air-borne asbestos fib e r counts from a wide range o f d rill site s. We would lik e a t this tim e to put on record the exten sive evidence attached as Exhibits III through V II. A b rief recap o f the in d ivid u al fib er counts follow s: TEST LO C A TIO N TEST DATE C E ILIN G C O N C EN TR A TIO N FIBER S/cc TIM E-W EIG H TED AVERAGE FIB ER S/cc Texas Panhandle S e p t., 1972 1 .0 0 .5 Centra) Oklahoma S e p t., 1972 1 .9 0 .4 N ew Houston, Texas S e p t., 1972 1 .8 0 .4 South Louisiana S e p t., 1972 1 .4 0 .6 Upper M ichigan S e p t., 1974 0 .1 3 .7 1 .4 1 .8 0 .4 2 .2 3 .9 1 .3 0 .2 in.-- i . m , ,, .1 0 .4 0 .3 0 .4 0 .3 0 .4 0 .3 0 .3 0 .3 0 .2 7 0 .3 1 Page 3 (R ecap of fib er counts continued from page 3) TEST LO C A TIO N TEST DATE C E ILIN G C O N C EN TRA TIO N FIB E R S / Upper M ichigan Canadian, Texas V ic i, Oklahom a S e p t., 1774 Mar., 1975 M a r., 1975 W oodward, Oklahom a M a r., 1975 I .? 0 .7 0 .4 1.8 0 .7 0 .3 ' 0 .1 0 .1 0.2 0 .5 0.6 0 .5 0.2 0 .0 0 .3 0.6 0 .3 0 .5 0.2 0.2 0.2 0 .3 TIM E- W EIGHTED AVERAGE FIBER S/cc 0 .4 5 0 .4 1 0.4 0 .2 0.2 W ithout excep tio n , these readings are far below the allow able le v e ls for both T LV and TW A . From past experience we are convinced that the excessive concentrations Im plied by the W est Texas citatio n s would not have been supported by actual fie ld m onitoring. In the more than 2 1/2 years since the asbestos regulations became la w , we have no knowledge o f any cita tio n having been issued based on corroborating monitoring d a ta , to show die existence o f excess oir-borne fib er concentrations. In fa c t, where such tests have been run by com pliance o ffice rs, no basis has been found fo r cita tio n . In September o f 1974, a com pliance o ffice r for the State o f Utah carried on fie ld monitoring tests a t one of our Page 4 custom er's lo catio n s. A nalysts o f these tests resulted in o ruling of "In C o m p lian ce". A copy o f the form marked Schedule V III is attached. 599$ In ad d itio n , we understand that one or more monitoring tests have been run in the State o f O klahom a, and that no counts in excess of the ollowoble lim its provided in the regulations were found. We know of no other instances where monitoring by com pliance o ffice rs has been undertaken in the d rillin g industry. O n the basis o f o il the above, we strongly feel thot it is inappropriate for the com pliance o ffice rs to continue to c ite or threaten to c ite , for the absence of warning signs, based on th e ir visual observations. Such citatio ns should, we b e lie v e , be backed up with adequate docum entation, in the form o f appropriate m onitoring. Page 5 STATEM ENT O F CIRCUM STAN CES M ontello supplies a sp ecial asbestos to the d rillin g industry. Our business is being jlamoged by the Issuing o f c ita tio n s, against users of our product, for non-posting o f caution signs,/rhese citatio n s have not been substantiated by monitoring to determine if excessive a irborne fibe lmnnenliullyiir'' _ . . . I f r i rrr jr* ft j~-f ----exist .- Compliance is being obtained through.abcndenment et ourp sedUfPhy these useis. M f* sew - h t/ t'h C ii/ , . u t t i f T 'tX to .i ~~ 1 " tensfthaM he^ exces^ concentrations im plied by these citatio ns would not hove been supported by o ctual neldjno nU gring^j We b elieve the letter and th e'sp irit o f 4>e regulations con be served only by fie ld m onitoring prior to the issuance o f citatio ns fo r non-posting o f caution signs. We respectfully request that a uniform ity ruling b^promulgated snaking such monitoring mandatory as the o n ly adequate docum entation for requiring caution signs on d rillin g rig s. FACTO RS SURRO UN DIN G OUR REQUEST M ontello has been a sm all distributor o f sp ecialty d rillin g flu id ad ditives since 1957. One o f our / . /e r* - f products is a unique, high density asbestos w hich is manufactured fqr us by Union C arbide Corporation a t King C it y , C a lifo rn ia , O n the (b illin g rig , asbestos usage is very sporadic. It is added to the d rillin g flu id through a mud hopperor large fu n n e l. Venturi action o f the flu id rushing through the bottom o f this hopper creates ^ a suction w hich p u lls the dry product into the liquid stream . Additions ty p ic a lly occur no more often than once per s h ift. The amounts added ore sm all, ra re ly exceeding 500 lb s. at a Hm e.^W ith rhree eight-hour shifts per d ay and 8 to 10 men per sh ift, assignments are exchanged frequently and the * , ,, . y same w orker ra re ly performs the fob o f adding m aterials for more than a few sh ifts. And them<sMy for - '. . . * a n* 0X6000 O .m o ll of * . 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