Document BvQ3ZbZZ67r6KYRnRz39dxnO4

EFFECTS-HUMAN EALTH 42920 ccntralion or dose, was linear on a logarithmic scale. The equivalent concentrations and doses of benzene that produced the same inversion of the chronaxia of the antagonistic muscles were found to be 140 mg/cu m and 16,000 mg/1; 120 mg/cu m and 8000 mg/1; 60 mg/cu m and 4000 mg/1; 30 mg/cu m and 2000 mg/1, and 15 mg/cu m and 1000 mg/1. Reduced blood cholinesterase activity, and reduction of the leukocyte, erythrocyte and hemoglobin levels were among the principal symptoms of benzene poisoning. The potentiation of the ef fects of high doses and concentrations of benzene, and the summation effect for tower doses-and-concentrations were determined. ;. 42915 APTIC NO. 66240 Chow, C. K.. C. J. Dillard, and A. L. Tappel GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASE SYSTEM AND LYSOZYME IN RATS EXPOSED TO OZONE OR NITROGEN DIOXIDE. Environ.- Res., 7(3):3l 1-319. June 1974. 30 refs. Exposure to rats to low concentrations of ozone (as low as 0.2 ppm) continuously for 8 days, or intermittently (8 hr/day) for 7 days, significantly increased the activities of the glutathione (GSH) peroxidase system in lung tissue. Linear regression analysis showed the increased enzymic activities to be a func-_ tion of ozone concentration. Lysozyme activity was signifi cantly increased in lung soluble and plasma, during continu ous, but not intermittent, 03 exposure. The results indicated that lipid peroxidation damage occurred in lungs of rats ex posed to relatively high levels of 03. Rats were exposed to relatively higher levels of nitrogen dioxide for 4 days. The ac tivities of GSH reductase and glucose-6-phosphatc dehydrogenase were significantly increased during exposure to 2.3 ppm and 6.2 ppm of N02, respectively. There was no sig nificant increase in the activity of GSH peroxidase in lung soluble, or of lysozyme in the plasma, during exposure to N02. The results suggest that the mechanism of action of N02 is different from that of 03. (Author abstract) 42916 APTIC NO. 66438 Dingeon, M. and Collombel EVALUATION OF THE NUISANCES CAUSED BY ASBESTOS; ASBESTOS USED IN AUTOMOBILES. (Evaluation des nuisances provoquees par I amiante: cas de 1 amiante automobile). Text in French. Pollut. Atmos. (Paris), 16(62):183-190, April-June 1974. 28 refs. Toxicologic and epidemiologic data on asbestos in occupa tionally and spontaneously exposed subjects, and the hazards of asbestos as released by automobile brake linings are discussed. Lung fibrosis, bronchopulmonar cancer, as well as pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma due to inhaled asbestos in occupationally exposed populations were determined. The latency period of asbestos-induced cancer ranges from 15 to 20 years. Crocidolile and antophyllite are more powerful car cinogens than chrysolile. The irritation of the respiratory tract is essential for the formation of lung cancer by asbestos. The carcinogenic effect of different types of asbestos may be due to and be dependent of the presence of impurities, such as chromium,' iron, beryllium, magnesium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese that are carcinogenic, as well as of traces of tar, mineral oil, and benzo(a)pyrene. The metallic impurities may inhibit the benzotalpyrene hydroxylase activity. The increased frequency of positive findings of screenings for asbestos in the lungs ot city dwellers indicates a minimum, though not negligi ble hazard, of ashestp-ns due to asbestos released by brake linings in occupationally not exposed subjects. In this respect, drum brakes, retaining worn-off asbestos particles practically quantitatively inside the brake housing, are less hazardous than disc brakes which release all worn-off asbestos into the atmosphere in nondenatured form. 42917 APTIC NO. 66174 Eddy, T. E. COAL SMOKE AND MORTALITY OF THE ELDERLY. Nature (London), 25l(5471):136-138, Sept. 13. 1974. 13 refs. Mortality from falls in old people is so closely related to mor tality from fractures of long bones, particularly of the prox imal femur, that it seems related to bone fragility. Common contemporary factors may affect mortality and possibly bone fragility for both sexes. Coal smoke may be one such factor. A statistical study was made on British mortality, and death rates from falls were correlated with death rates from bronchitis and domestic smoke pollution. Mortality from falls seemed to be related to domestic smoke pollution independently of the rela tionship to mortality from bronchitis. Since increased smoke levels decreased ultraviolet radiation, the effect of smoke on mortality from falls and fractures may have been due to reduced endogenous synthesis by ultraviolet light. 42918 APTIC NO. 66386 Freeman, Gustave, Laszlo T. Juhos, Nazzarcno J. Furiosi, Rowena Mussenden, Robert J. Stephens, and Michael J. Evans PATHOLOGY OF PULMONARY DISEASE FROM EXPO SURE TO INTERDEPENDENT AMBIENT GASES (NITROGEN DIOXIDE AND OZONE). Arch. Environ. Health, 29(4):203-210, Oct. 1974. 27 rets. Rats in exposure chambers were subjected to mixtures of nitrogen dioxide and ozone at levels reached in severe smog and were subsequently examined histologically for injury. The major site of injury observed was at the level of the junction of the respiratory bronchiole and the alveolar duct, somewhat more peripheral than the lesion caused by N02 alone. Ozone, the more toxic component, was largely responsible for the in jury at the selected concentrations and for the characteristic fibroblastic activity in that region. The observations suggested that potential injury from ambient smog resulted mainly from 03, whereas injury from tobacco smoke was due largely to its relatively high concentration of N02. Smoking and residing in smoggy areas appear to be additively injurious. (Author ab stract modified) 42919 APTIC NO. 66247 Fukuie, Noriko BIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF HEAVY METALLIC CATALYST PARTICLES TO BE EXHAUSTED IN THE AIR. (Jukimoku shokubai biryushi no seibutsu ni oyobosu eikyo). Text in Japanese. Nippon Jidosha Kenkyujo Kenkyu Sokuho (Res. Lett. Japan Automob. Inst.), no. 19:63-69, March 1974. Copper, chromium, iron, and aluminum catalysts were ad ministered orally to rats over a I-month period, followed by examination of the internal organs for metal distribution and pathological changes in an investigation of the toxicity of the heavy metals. No pathological changes were observed, although the point of maximum accumulation rate was dif ferent between Cu and Cr among respective groups of ruts. The results indicate that there may be an optimum absorbing concentration for each of the metals. 42920 APTIC NO. 66379 Fukuta, Shinji, Toru Yamamoto, Takanari Tokuhisa, Junichi Mise, and Urizo Fujii SERUM IGF. LEVEL IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASES; WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BRONCHIAL ASTHMA. (Heisokusei hai shikkan ni okeru kessei IgE chi-kikanshi zensokushorei o chushin to shite). Text in Japanese. Nihon Kvobu Shikkan Gakkai Zasshi (Japan. J. Thoracic Dis.), 12(7):386-391, July 1974. 24 refs. 93 FMSI 06859 FRICTION MATERIALS STANDARDS INSTITUTE, INC., E-2I0 ROUTE #4, PARA1IUS, N.J. 07652 BULLETIN N 0. 5 5 0 October 7, 1975 OSHA PROPOSED NEW ASBESTOS STANDARD Enclosed is a copy of an article as it appeared in the New York Times of Sunday October 5, 1975. The full publication of the proposed standard will be in the Federal Register on October 9, 1975. The proposed new standard is rough. The current regulations call for the 5 fibers/cc limit to be reduced to 2 fiber/cc on July 1, 1976. This new proposal calls for a standard of 0,5 fibers/cc (effective date not established). I have excerpted some of the more significant parts of the OSHA proposed standard (from a covering letter from the Asbestos Information Association): 1. Reduce the permissible exposure limit to a TWA of 0.5 fibers per cubic centimeter (500,000 fibers per cubic meter) and reduce the ceiling limit to 5 fibers per cubic centimeter (5 million fibers per cubic meter). 2. Add a 15 minute sampling period for determination of the ceiling limit. 3. Establish additional requirements for regulating areas, employee rosters, hygiene facilities, employee information and training, signs and labels, monitoring and medical ' surveillance. 4. Extend the period for retention of monitoring and medical records to 40 years or for the duration of the employees' employment plus 20 years, whichever is longer. It would appear that comments on technical feasibility, costs to the employer, and possible plant shut-downs might have some hearing on adoption of this stringent new standard. From the draft copy I have seen, they are asking for objections or comments prior to December 8, 1975. Written data should be in quadruplicate to: Docket Officer, Docket H-033 U.S. Department of Labor Room N-3620 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210 Telephone (202) 523-8076 Again, this proposed new standard will be in the Federal Register of October 9, 1975. E. W. Drislane p.xecutiv# Director f-/* FMSI 06860 FRICTION MATERIALS STANDARDS INSTITUTE, INC Meuj ycuzL* T IHe P/ZciaST3 OSHA ocro&e<- s, /`j'l'T /ASge^ToS %.T* h'OArXU* Sia*J ' '-4 ' NEW RULES URGED FOR ASBESTOS RISK Labor Department Seeking Reduction in Exposure of ; Workers and Families By JANE BRODY `The United ' States Depart ment of Labor has proposed a new standard to protect workers and their families from the lung-scarring and cancercausing effects of asbestos, a mineral of a thousand uses to which millions of American workers are exposed. The existing asbestos stan- dard, which has' been widely contested by labor groups, was designed only to prevent asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs that, if severe, can turn a work er into a cripple in a respirator. However, the Labor Depart ment's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in its proposal that new informa tion had devejoped showing that the existing standard would not prevent asbestosis and would certainly not pre vent asbestos-caused cancers. Cancers, especially those in volving the lung, gastrointes tinal tract and lining of . the chest and abdominal cavities, have accounted for more than 40- per cent of deaths among some groups of asbestos work ers, a rate three to four times higher than that in the general population. In addition, studies in South Africa and New Jersey have shown that the families of as bestos workers also face an increased cancer risk because they are exposed to asbestos fibers carried home on the] workers' clothing. i ; Delayed Fiber Effect . , `Asbestos enters the body mainly through inhalation. It may also be ingested in food ' ' oc drink contaminated with the '. mineral fibers Once in the bo dy,- the fibers tend to persist, ' remaining dormant for many yearS. However, 20 or more years later, cancers caused by these fibers may become cliniUcally apparent. The Labor Department's pro posed standard would greatly reduce the amount of asbestos fibers now allowable in the a worker breathes and whuld sharply reduce a lower standard scheduled to take ef fect next year. Currently the standard permits a level of five million fibers per cubic meter of air. This was to have been reduced to two million fibers per cubic meter by next July. : 'jThe two million level was decided upon on the basis offexperience in one British asbes tos factory, where a study of 290 men indicated that, at about twice that level, only a-small percentage of workers exposed for 10 years or longer developed lung scarring. iHowever, these workers have since been re-examined, and Xv-ray evidence of lung abnor malities was found in 40 to 70'per cent of the same group o;workers in addition, a num ber of asbestos-related cancers was found. ^The proposed standard would reduce worker exposure to as bestos to 500,000 fibers per cubic meter, averaged over an eight-hour day, with a maxi mum exposure at any one time ol five million fibers. Workers would have to be educated as the hazards of asbestos and how to avoid them and tested periodically to be sure they weje suffering no ill effects. . /?' Records Kept Longer ; ^Records of both the medical examinations and tests of as bestos levels in the .work envir onment would have to be kept, for 40 years, or for the duration ' of]' the worker's employment plus 20 years, whichever lo was Iger. The current standard requires retention of mediical re'eor f 20 years and monitoringof records for only three years. Employers would also be re quired under the new standards to'provide shower and change rqoms for asbestos workers to guard against their inadvertant ly I carrying the fibers home. No food, drink or smoking wo'uld be allowed where asbes- ` to.s was used and workers ] wo'uld have to wash thoroughly before eating during the work day. , . The new standard would cov er an estimated total of 50,000 workers involved in the manu facture of asbestos-containing ; produets and about 40,000 field . insulation workers who are ex posed to asbestos dust, plus many .thousands of others who work with products that con tain asbestos. The standard would not cover millions of workers in the con struction industry, where three- fourths of all asbestos products are used. The Labor Depart ment said it intended to formu- , late a separate standard for these workers, since they are usually employed in nonfixed work places and tend to be highly transient. 1 ` The Labor Department must now prepare an environmental impact and an inflationary im pact statement before holding a hearing on the proposed stan dard. In addition to asbestos stan dards, the department last week issued proposed new standards to limit worker expo sure to lead and toluene, both widely used hazardous indus trial substances, and estab lished procedures for handling > other toxic chemicals in tie work environment. OCT 0 5 1975 FMSI 06861