Document G52nrOd94Mm1w3noJjxpDnmKr

Protective Suits Asbestos News Letter 75-1 IMPORTANT NEW PROPOSED OSHA STANDARD KMX 01821 Fire-Safe Curtains Highway Safety High Speed Brakes Passenger Car Safety Pipeline Protection On October 9, 1975 OSHA published a new/propo sed^tandard for occupational exposure to asbestos. The text of this surprise revision is .contained in The Federal Register, Vol. 40, No. 197 -- Thursday, October 9, 1975. Basically the proposed standard would institute the following changes in the current regulations: 1) Lower the permissible exposure level to 0.5 fibers/cc from the current level of 5 fibers/cc and the iy 1, 1976 level of 2 fibers/cc. 2) Lower the permissible ceiling concentration to 5 fibers/cc from the current 10 fibers/cc. 3) Extend the record retention period for medical and monitoring records to 40 years or the duration of employment plus 20 years whichever is longer. The current standard requires retention of medical records for 20 years and the monitoring records for 3 years. 4) Require specific minimum data on medical and monitor ing records. 5) Revise the procedures for initial and subsequent monitoring. 6) Revise and update the requirements for respirators, warning signs and labels. (More) fijyl Johns-Manville Asbestos Fiber Sales Greenwood Plaza-Denver, Colo. 80217-(303) 770-1000 AF-81A 12-73 Litho in USA The A.I.A./N.A. has within its organization various committees that will be studying and preparing comments on the issues raised by the new proposed regulations. A.I.A./N.A. has also retained a medical consultant. Dr. Hans Weill, who will oversee the development and collation of perti nent medical information on asbestos. This information will be available for the benefit of its members. We strongly recommend that anyone involved with asbestos consider membership in the A.I.A./N.A. as a means of developing the necessary information to allow them to comment on the proposed regulations: Membership information is available by contacting: Robert H. Mereness, Executive Director Asbestos Information Association/North America 1660 L. Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 223-4885 KMX 01823 WHAT IS THE TIMING? The OSHA proposal requests written comments, data and arguments from interested persons on or before December 8, 1975. It also states that an informal hearing may be requested to provide further opportunity for discussion of the issues. Both J-M and the A.I.A./N.A. have requested an extension of 120 days from the December 8, 1975 date for filing objections in order to allow proper preparation of our comments. We also plan to request a hearing. WHO SHOULD COMMENT? EVERYONE concerned with the use of asbestos should be prepared and plan to comment on the issues raised by the proposed regulations. Your comments should address the issues of medical, feasibility and economic impact. The major users are preparing their comments on these issues. However, included in the proposed regulations is a concern regarding the affect they will have oh those employers who have a relatively small (More)