Document DvpdYNenEMb2xyMy24XBQj7EB

PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION Corporate Communications Department Old Ridgeburv Road Danbury, CT 06817 TO: S.L. Baye W.F. McClure R.F. Wolff MEMORANDUM November 3, 1983 c fv Ed MOV 3 1983 fl F. holfb CC: A.S. Hart J.W. Goetz R. Levi ton FROM: Ed Van Den Ameele SUBJECT: Statement for Approval re OSHA Asbestos Standard Following, for Law Department and Metals Division approvals, is a statement prepared by John Meyers at King City to respond to press queries re the temporary standard on asbestos filed yesterday by OSHA: ------------ // i-i / * "We do not expect any! short termydverse effects on our operations in California nor on the operations of most of our customers. We do not oppose a review of the asbestos standard through normal rulemaking procedures, but we feel that the issuance of an emergency temporary standard is unnecessary and inappropriate at this time. "We are not aware of any scientific proof that the current permissible exposure level of 2 fibers per cc is unsafe, especially for chrysotile asbestos:' *1owever, it is prudent to reduce exposures below this level to the extent feasible. /fit VL''*U-' "Normal rulemaking procedures would provide-i extrellent forum for discussing the many complex issues surrounding the asbestos issue: health effects, monitoring limitations, risk assessment, technical feasibility, fiber type, industrial process, etc. h^jrf^ngs sh^pld atf^p>"NjKyfrle^xjjart_^aild ^ ` "le to all partieV. i^- eiitirety." stantfakd cone-ists oflsome tewing Vhe'aocWeflt in------- The Asbestos Information Association has already responded to media queries from USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and BUSINESS WEEK. There was a short item on CBS-TV News this morning and also the attached front page story in today's NEW'YORK TIMES. Since views from individual companies will undoubtedly also be sought by the press, would appreciate a call (Ext. 6985) with your approval as soon as possible. Many thanks. EWV/m UCC 001130 AY, NOVEMBER X 1983-- --wmss----------- EMERGENCY RUUNG SET BY JOB AGENCY ON ASBESTOS PERIL `Grave Danger' to 375,000 Is Cited as Permissible Level of Exposure Is Cut 75% By The A--d twit Pr-- WASHINGTON, Nov. 2--The Labor I Department, warning that 379,000 workers faced "grave danger," issued an emergency standard today that slashes >by 75 percent the permissible exposure to asbestos fibers by employ ees in the manufacturing, construction and maritime industries. An agency of the department, the Oc cupational Safety and Health Adminis tration, put out an Emergency Tempo raryStandard lowering the legal asbes tos exposure level over an eight-hour day bom 2 fibers a cubic centimeter of air to half a fiber. The emergency rule, the first by the Reagan Administration, is enforceable immediately upon publication In the Federal Register. A spokesman, Doug las Clark, said the agency hoped that would occur Friday. Agency Risk Assessments In announcing the action. Labor Sec retary Raymond J. Donovan said the job safety agency's risk assessment predicted "three excess cancer deaths per 1,000 workers exposed for ooe year at the current permissible exposure level." Those studies also showed "risk of grave danger" to people who have even short-term asbestos exposure, the agency said, adding that the mortality rate was 53 times higher for smokers who are exposed to asbestos. Such studies indicate that lowering the asbestos level to half a fiber's cubic centimeter of air will "save many lives, " the agency said. Cawmr and Ling Disease Lfefc Aabeetos, a fibrous mineral widely used ss s fire retardent in buildings and reinforcement in concrete pipes, has been shown to cause cancerand de- billtatinghmg disease. *.*. Unions representing workers in con struction and manufacturing indus tries had been pressing the Adminis tration to take such emergency action. An asbestos health standard has been on the books since 1972, not long after the Occupational Safety and Health Ad ministration was created, but has re mained unchanged since 1V18. Under Government procedures, the job safety agency must propose a per manent asbestos standiud and seek public comment on It within 40 days of publicationof the emergency rule. The agency administrator, Thorne G. Auditor, said last April that he was I speeding OSHA's work on tightening [ the existing asbestos standard. Inalet- Contlnued on Page BU, Column 1 Stiff Job Rule on Asbestos Set Continued From Page A1 Issuance of the emergency standard was spurred in part by increasing con ter to Sheldon Samuels, director of cern about the exposure of construction health and safety of the Industrial industry workers to asbestos at work Union Department of the American sites where buildings were being Federation of Labor and Congress of demolished. The agency said in Octo Industrial Organizations, Mr. Aucbter ber that it was stepping up Government said, "Personally, I am very con inspectionsofthese sites. cerned about the asbestos problem." He said at the time that the agency planned to issue new rules by June 1984. The emergency standard also re quires that employers train their work ers in the handling of asbestos. The standard permits wide flexibility Hr. Samuels said he was pleased by the agency's move, against asbestos, but added: "The real test is whether they have put into place the enforce ment mechanism. It's the quality, rather than the quantity, of enforce ment" Mr. Samuels also said, "I want to see 200 hygienists out there" inspecting work sites immediately. on how companies achieve the lower exposure levels. Such methods include removing fibers from workplace sites with suction equipment, reorganizing work practices and furnishing respira- tors to workers. Unions contend that strict engineer ing controls are the best solution to the problem. Mr. Donovan noted, however, that 1 the Occupational Safety and Health Act ! He said be was "withholding judg required that such health standards ment" an the meaning of OSHA's ac call for corrective measures that are tion untfl he learned more about how "clearly feasible" to industry. Similar the agency planned to bring about com standards have been successfully chal pliance with the regulation. lenged in court by industry. Thousands of Lawsuits Three large asbestos concerns, the Manville Corporation, UNR Industries Inc. and the Amatex Corporation, have filed for bankruptcy law protection in the face of thousands of lawsuits by for "That is wby the decision to issue an E.T.S. was made only after careful deliberation within the department and detailed review of our work outside the department by experts from the public and private sector scientific communi ties," the Labor Secretary said. mer workers who claim they con tracted respiratory problems as a re mit of their jobs. UCC 001131 4*5U------- ---------------------- ' New Rule Limiting | Asbestos Exposure ] Is Issued by OSHA By Joann S. Lublin ! StaffReporter of Thk Wall Stuet Jouikal WASHINGTON-In a step rarely taken, the Labor Department placed Immediate 1 tougher limits on occupational exposure to ' asbestos, which has been linked to fatal dis- The department's Occupadonai Safety and Health Admlnlstradon issued an emer gency temporary standard that sets maxi mum workplace exposure for asbestos at a 500,000 fibers per cubic meter of air. The */ current level, set In 1972, is two million fi bers per cubic meter. The temporary rule, sought by It unions, takes effect Friday and remains in effect for six months while the ft job-safety agency decides whether to make If the tougher standard permanent. This marks the first time OSHA has is sued an emergency temporary standard since 1970. The asbestos industry is expected to challenge the ruling in federal court. Al though unions won the desired emergency ruling, they remain unhappy with OSHA be cause they wanted even more stringent new limits and fear the agency won't step up its enforcement efforts. The emergency rule reflects new scien dfic evidence linking low-level exposure of asbestos to asbestosis, a lung disease, and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs. An OSHA analysis .found 50,000 work ers in the U.S. are exposed to between 500,000 and two million fibers per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight-hour day. "That really Is the basis" for the .emer gency rule, said Patrick Tyson, OSHA's dep uty chief. "We had to demonstrate that there are a number of workers at risk." The agency believes the new exposure limit may prevent 200 of those employees from dying from cancer, Mr. Tyson added. OSHA has agonized for months about whether to Issue the emergency ruling, be cause of its poor track record with such steps in the past. Industry groups have sued the job-safety agency over five of the eight emergency standards issued since the agency's Inception in 1971. Only one of those five rulings has been fully upheld by the courts, a standard limiting exposure to acry lonitrile, a chemical widely used to make synthetic rubber, plastics and other prod ucts that has been linked to cancer. ?. a J' l I 1 Wincorp Dissidents Cint