Document DGEpgY5qLJ0ymp441azvpkgbn

FILE NAME: Newspaper & Magazine Articles (NMA) DATE: 1970 June 16 DOC#: NMA049 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NYT - City to Stop Spraying Asbestos; Material Was Linked to Cancer City to Stop Spraying Asbestos; Material Was Linked to Cancer New York Tunes (185?-Currentfile); Jun 16,1970; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Tunes (1851 pg.44 City to Stop Spraying Asbestos; Material Was Linked to Cancer Mayor Lindsay yesterday or dered the spr&yin'g of asbestos halted in all public construc tion projects. His" order followed findings by the Environmental Protec tion Administration that spray ing of asbestos was not only harmful to construction work ers at the site but could pol lute the air over a much larger area. Asbestos is believed to be a cancer-causing agent Last April the administra tion issued regulations re quiring that tarpaulins cover the area where asbestos is be ing sprayed on private con struction projects, and that waste asbestos be collected and buried in designated areas. The Mayor's order yesterday said that he wanted to "adopt an even more stringent policy" for public agencies involved in construction projects. He therefore directed the city agencies to forgo use of sprayed asbestos in all future public construction "wherever pos sible." In the event that use of the "teohnique of insulation''-- that is, spraying under tarpaul ins--is unavoidable, then city agencies must follow standards as least as stringent as those for private contracting jobs, he said. Dr. Irving Selikoff of Mount Sinai Hospital who has been studying the effects of asbestos for many years, testified, at a recent city hearing that nearly one asbestos worker out of five tested here since 1943 died of lung cancer. Since the April order many contractors have discontinued the use of asbestos and switched to substitutes, but Dr. Selikoff has said that such sub stitutes may be just as dam aging. Reproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission