Document Dd45K9XvgxZy1q9RVgXpXLDGo

FROM THE INSULATION INDUSTRY HYGIENE RESEARCH PROGRAM taring J. M.D. DlmlD VoL 7 No S 'O* turnimr 1*7* Identification System for Adhesives-Solvents i i l i IflaUeyv#.' ihanfc and lit if f ilm** ran trad hntiKlmldt. Heir. IV only changr fariliura on *f*l other duMi Itin conumcimn ih ts an Ofvn Irailri bttiif htttk' m iiiumRjie %m*nV Asbestos Disease Can Spread to Workers' Families A widening sfxctruin of asbestos disease has tven found h> Dr. Henry Anderson and other scientists of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In a study just completed of 326 family conla. is ol fitmter aslvsfcrs factory work ers. it has been found that 35*2 had .X-ray abnormalities characteristic of asbestos exposure. These data were presented by Dr. Anderson on March 24th to the Conference on Occupa tional Carcinogenesis held at the New York Academy of Sciences. The family members pmentially af fected included all in the household: it was not simply the wife of the worker, ho would shake dust fn*m her busml's clothes tvfotc washing them. Alleeted were children, brothers, and sisters, as well as wives. It would ap pear that the dust had Ixcn present throughout the household, brought home on the clothes of the factory workers. The workers w-cre employed at a fac tory that manufactured amosite insula tion material, often for use in Naval ships, hot also widely n--.il in power plants and industrial insulation. It oper ated from 1941 tliroiigli IVM. Many of the workers whose families later devel oped signs of asbestos exposure were employed for relatively shon periods of lime. The dust exposures lo the family members, however, could base been longer. Ashcstts. i%nce in the house, is diffieiilt to remote. and exposures could continue ion" alter ecssaiitm of the husband's ir t:itli.-r *. employ iiK'nt. In itluf stmiies h\ M<>unt Sinai rescareh workers. aslvio dust has Kvn found still present in households of t'tmtinuril im fxigr 4 It it now possible lo report th.it proprest it bcin| made on the development of an identification system for harardout materials, including adhesive ce ment, sealants, and similar products used in applying insulation materials. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has an advisory com mittee which has developed the hash, principles of an identification system. This committee, under the direction of Roy Resnick, has met with Roy Steinfurth. Administrator of the Insulators' Health Hazards Program, and Duncan A. Holaday, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, to review the special prob lems associated with the use of adhe sives in the insulation industry. Hazards Identified The OSH A committee has derided on the basic principles of an identifica tion system which will be applicable m a variety of industrial products Signal words, such as "Danger." "Cau tion.*' and `'Warning" will he used to show degree of hazard. The principal types of hazards will be identified by words such as " Flamm ib1-" "Health Har ml" and *iai- vi bo. mg additional information need < Im protection will also be required Some identifieation of the principal component will also be given. Particu larly hazardous substances, such as wood alcohol, benzene, xylene, and toluene w ill be required lo be named if they comjvse more than stated percen tages of the product. Altogether, this could mean that latvl on industrial prmJueu would K* as informative as those now required on products ints*nded for household use. This would insleed N' an niipu'mem oser the present situation luf- t tuumut d on /***' * Conference Held on Occupational Cancer In the recently concluded New York A paper by Dr. Robert Morgan, of Academy of Sciences Conference on the University of Toronto, related Occupational Carcinogenesis, a variety cancer of the lary nx ith asbestos ex of researc h studies were presented con* posure. This cancer, as lung cancer, is cerning the health of asbestos workers. also strongly related to cigarette smok Of prime importance was the presenta ing. Similar data have been found tion on the presence of asbestos disease among insulation workers, where a in the family members of workers dis threefold increase in laryngeal eancer cussed in the lead article of this issue. A.ihcsio.i -Liir Exposure Studied has been found in research of Dr. Irving I. Scliknffof the Mount Sinai School nf Medicine. Among other studies were a report Participants at the conference not on the morbidity and mortality among only considered causes of occupational hardrnck miners exposed to an asbes- cancer, but some also offered sug tiform mineral. Hete. a study by the gestions for medical surveillance National Institute for Occupational and treatment. Several researchers dis Safety and Health investigated the cussed the usefulness of sputum cytol health of underground metal miners ogy . in which cells coughed up from the w ith exposure to a fibrous mineral vir lung are screened fnr indications of tually identical to amosite asbestos, a possible cancer. material used extensively in marine in sulation and also formerly in much pipe Mure Effective Surgery Possible covering and asbestos block. Studies of former asbestos workers In an analysis of 70 deaths, a and of uranium miners suggest that lung threefold increase in lung cancer was cancer can be detected in its very early found. Additionally, a review of chest stages, offering the hope for more ef X-rays showed pulmonary fibrosis to fective surgery. Needless to say. how be present in the group of workers, even ever. the best prevention for asbestos though the fiber concentrations that cancer is to not breathe the fibers in the were measured in the mine were only fust place. 0.24 fibers per milliliter, one-twentieth Finally, a review of the suitability of of the current U.S. Asbestos Standard. the current U.S. Asbestos Standard Fibrous Class Analysis A second tepon by scientists from NIOSH also is of interest to insulation was presented by Dr. William Nicholson nf the Insulation Hygiene Research Program. In his presentation, he dis cussed the factors that limited the cur workers. David L. Bayliss presented rent standard's effectiveness for pro data on deaths among fibrous glass pro tecting asbestos workers and urged that duction workers. No unusual mortality as technology is developed, it be im w-as found in the large majority of mediately implemented in the asbestos workers. This was to be expected, as industry to reduce asbestos exposure to these workers had been exposed pre the lowest feasible level, as rapidly as dominantly to large diameter fibers possible. w-hich would not be carried into the The conference marked the two hun deeper segments of the lungs. dredth anniversary of the first research However, it was suggested that one paper published on occupational car group of workers, esposed in lire past to cinogenesis. that by Pereivall Pott on thinner fibers, could have an increased scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps. In risk of respiratory cancer. This is of hir opening remarks, the conference special importance as these small co-chairman. Dr. Joseph K. Wagoner diameter fibers are bow ofler used in of NIOSH. decried the slow progress in stead of asbestos in high temperature conuplling occupational cancers in insulation material. modem industry. Labels Neccssiiry for Hazardous Materials continual from paw I rcntly. many laMs give inadequate in formation. or none at all. on what hazards might be involved or vs hut pre cautions should be followed. Procedure Guides AVrr.ivary The advisory committee h;is sery important additional tasks. These in clude the preparation of use guides and training materials which will describe actions to be taken and prrxedurcs to he followed when certain statements ap pear on the labels. For example, how should products labeled "Danger--Extremely Flam mable" be stored and applied? W'hat action is called for when the words "use only with adequate ventilation " appear on the label? The Occupational Safety and Health Act places the responsibility on the employer for protecting his employers, but it is obvious that many small employers need assistance in deciding whin protective measures are required for various situations. W'orkmcn w ill also need instructions on how to trans late labels into protective action. No Serious Objections Eeprnrd It is probable that the larger manufac turers will not have serious nheeiinns to an identification system: indc-.-d. they now comply with simihu regula tions for household products Small manufacturers may find preparing the Materials Hazards Data Sheets a large task and also may object to disclosure of the composition of their products. As the system will probably not call for specific identification of low-hazard compounds but only a statement such as "Petroleum Distillate" or "Alco hols". it seems these objections could be resolved. It is anticipated that the advisory committee report will be completed by continued on /><gr A 9m / * ____________ ^___ Dust Brdughf Home Gan Affect Family s.0*. Asbestos Disease Can Spread to Workers' Families continuedfrom page / of individual worker hygiene and demonstrates the need for adequate changing facilities and showers. Under these former factor)- workers 20 years no circumstances should dusty clothes after clo<ure of the plant. be brought into the home, even to be pul Mesothelioma, a cancer often linked into the washing machine. They should to asbestos exposure, has also been be washed separately, preferably by a und among these family members. commercial industrial laundry serv ice Of 252 deaths so far identified among equipped to handle asbestos contami household contacts of these former nated work clothes. workers, two have been from pleural For family contacts w In* suspect they mesothelioma. Additionally, two other have been exposed to considerable mesothelioma cases have been idem household contamination, medical sur lifted in living members of this group. veillance is in order. The family physi These eases have the following his* cian should be told the exposure history lories: so that X-ray and chest examinations AC.: The 40-year-old son of a man and subsequent medical problems can w ho worked from 1945 through 1948 be closely monitored for possible in the plant, when the son was II symptoms of past ashcsios exposure at year* old. home. B P.: The 41-year-old daughter of This current report hy Dr. Anderson the plant's chief engineer. is only the most recent in a series of I. Y.: The 42-year-old daughter of a scientific publications that show family man w ho had worked in the plant for and environmental asbestos risk. As five years. The family lived near the early as I960, scientists reported cases plant and the daughter used to bring of mesothelioma in individuals who her father lunch every day. w hen she had had no prior occupational exposure was 10 years old. lo asbestos. L.N.: A 32-year-old woman who. at Later, mesothelioma cases were re the age of 13. lived in the home ofher ported in individuals whose only identi brother-in-law while he worked at fiable asbestos exposure w as associated the plant for sis months. Prior to with their having lived within one-half that, she lived one-half mile from the mile of an asbestos manufacturing facil plant and played frequently in the ity or in households of asbestos work homes of friends whose fathers ers. Dr. Anderson's findings show that worked in the plant. such problems may turn out to be quite The results of this study dramatize common and that more persons than ttw need for stringent dust control and suspected may be at risk fr*m asbestos cleanup in situations where asbestos it exposure, and require appropriate sur used. It also heightens the importance veillance. and may be earned tame. Label Report Available Soon continuedfrinn page 3 June 15. 1975. Following this report, proposed regulations would he pre pared. published in the Federal Regis ter. comments received, res iscd regula tions prepared, and hearings held. After the hearings, final regulations would be drawn up and promulgated The full priKcsccould well take a yeai However, when the committee re port becomes available, further discus sions will be held Nrtwcen reptesentj. lives of the insulators and OSH A. to determine which of the re* imum-mlalions can he implemented w iiliout waning for regulations to he promulratcd. This situation is not limited to ptoduets used hy insulators, hut is w ide spread throughout llic coiisiruiiion industry. Menders uf the Intein.itmnal Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades, especially, have need of adequate labeling of the products they use. Progress is being made but much still needs to be done to insure that when regulations arc adopted, they will he cfTective. Here, the Asbestos Workers. Painters, and other affected uoum members should review the published recommendations In verify that the proposed labeling is adequate for the matcrials they use and the instim t tonal materials supplied for the use l hazardous materials arc ch at Iy wiiticn and understandable. >fO ?4i ._ taio> Awc < WOO w C * S - * ?nfi wmf * w E XX firS O J* 0 *7 X --e **.c2 f5e In,' gristsoeo * O m w. eoC-xcc< EO .goA 5?"= !* 3_JL-SSCsx?si E>* ss ? g 8 S o ~L E j* oW M v - Om .:. %> to w - S - .i; fe I !6s::i a e c# ^ n .S. o-s3 - -s 3~ 9 w ft * iijj ? 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