Document G5v1ox6NvMO0vVkLqj6wbZ5KV

FILE NAME: Shipbuilders Council of America (SHIP) DATE: 1969 Apr 2 DOC#: SHIP034 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Minutes of the Safety Committee Meeting, SCA P fN G A D -U iv e M inutes Safety C om m ittee M eeting S hipbuilders C ouncil of A m erica A n ril 2, 1969 i w fihbims Dr- > ?r..1 uhd;i C& (bint fSESitifcl The S afety C om m ittee of the C ouncil convened a t 9:30 A. M. A pril 2, 1969. P re se n t w ere: H arry H. H ow ard (C hairm an) Lloyd B eers G. M. B ryan John P. C arey V ernon Duke John F . F itzg erald D avid A. L av alette W illiam F . M etts H arold J. M organ Lloyd J . P ic cin M. P. R edford Linw ood T em ple G. P . W alls B ethlehem Steel Corn. B ath Iron W orks Corp. Ingalls S hipbuilding Div. /L itto n B ath Iron W orks Corp. A labam a D ry D ock & Shipbuilding Jack so n v ille S hipyards, Inc. G eneral D ynam ics/Q uincy N ew port News SB & DD Co. G eneral D ynam ics/G roton Sun Shipbuilding & DD Co. N o rfo lk S h ip b u ild in g 8; DD Co. B ath Iron W orks Corp. M aryland Shipbuilding & DD Co. Edw in M. Hood, P re sid e n t Edw ard P. Ruddy, S ecretary Shipbuilders C ouncil of A m erica Shipbuilders C ouncil of A m erica W hile th e fo llo w in g s ta te m e n t w a s m a d e b y a m e m b e r o th e C om m ittee la te r at the m eeting it w as p e rtin en t to a ll subjects d is cu ssed and, th e re fo re , re p o rte d a t this point. The m em b er of the Com m ittee stated: "T he m oney involved in the su b jects d iscu ssed a t the 'A ccid en t P re v e n tio n C om m ittee* m e etin g s go fa r beyond th at involved in p ra c tic a lly e v e ry oth er co m m ittee that is functioning w ithin the C ouncil. T h ere is nothing th at is d iscu ssed by other groups th at re a lly approaches the po te n tia l co st to sh ip y ard s of A m erica like th at involved in the subjects d iscu ssed by this C om m ittee. " At the in v itatio n of C om m ittee C hairm an H ow ard, the P re sid e n t of the C ouncil opened the m eetin g w ith b rie f com m ent on se v e ra l item s of cu rren t interest: PLAINTIFF'S - SBCA 5016 J ; | ........... r * .....r .... at >.___ ....... ...... > Cfeftl4.6X#A.JOR IB 3 e u J i U./CfiLBM8 2 CHANGE OF NAME TO "ACCIDENT PREVENTION COM M ITTEE" M r. Hood noted th at the C ouncil had adopted re v ise d ByLaw s w hich, am ong o th e r th in g s, m ade changes in the C o u n cil's com m ittee stru c tu re including a reco n stitu tio n of the "Safety Com m itte e " as the "A ccident P rev en tio n C om m ittee. " This change, su b je c t to B o ard a p p ro v a l, is to take p lace in Ju n e. R eactio n of the C om m ittee m e m b e rs w as u n anim ously fav o rab le w ith com m ent by s e v e ra l p a rtic u la rly en d o rsin g the elim in atio n of "Safety" fro m the C om m ittee nam e. ASBESTOS F IB E R H EA LTH HAZARDS IN SHIPYARDS The C om m ittee had b efo re it p re ss clippings w hich pointed up a p o ten tially serio u s p ro b le m involving asb esto s fib er h ealth h a z a rd s in sh ip y ard s. A pparently re c e n t m edical studies am ong a sb e sto s w o rk e rs of the in cid en ce of a sb e s to sis and a type of lung c a n c e r a sso c ia te d w ith ex p o su re to a sb e s to s, had led to re c o m m e n d a tions that the acceptable "T hreshold lim it" be reduced fro m 5 m illions of p a rtic le s p e r cubic foot to 2 m illio n s. A lso, th e re h as been w ide p u b licity of autopsy findings of "asb esto s bodies" in the lungs of a high percentage of the g en eral population. The im plication was that asb e sto s fib e rs a re becom ing an im p o rtan t pollutant in the g en eral a tm o s p h e re (See a tta c h e d a r tic le fr o m th e WASHINGTON PO ST d ated D ecem b er 4, 1968). M r. Hood re p o rte d th a t a m e m b e r of the C o u n cil's B oard at its M arch m eeting had stated h is opinion th at the F e d e ra l safety ru le s and reg u latio n s on this su b ject now being co n sid ered fo r adoption, p ro b ab ly co n stitu te one of the m o st im p o rtan t a re a s fo r Council a c ti vity. The B oard m em ber had proposed fu rth er th at the safety and health p ro b lem of a sb e sto sis (and also in d u stria l d eafn ess) m ight b est be d ealt w ith by the C ouncil on an in d u stry -w id e b a s is . In o rd e r to b e effectiv e the B oard m em b er su g g ested th a t the C ouncil co n sid er e stab lish m en t of a highly sk illed tech n ical and m ed ical group to cope w ith th ese p ro b lem s. M r. Hood re p o rte d fu rth e r th at the B oard had ag reed the m a tte r should f ir s t be rev iew ed by the Safety C om m ittee w ith a view to su b m ittin g its re c o m m e n d a tio n s to the B o ard . C ouncil P re s id e n t Hood noted th a t D avid Sw ankin, D ire c to r of the B ureau of L abor S tan d ard s, had d isclo sed an in ten se in te re st in the in d u stry 's handling of th is p o ten tially serio u s h ealth p ro b lem and had pinpointed a s b e s to s is as an a r e a to w hich he hoped the sh ip y ard in d u stry w ould d ire c t clo se a tten tio n . H is b asic thought ap p eared to be 3 a d e s ir e th a t a situ a tio n su ch as the re c e n t '"black lun g " c o n tro v e rs y in coal m ining be avoided. One m em b er of the C om m ittee re fe rrin g to the p ro p o sal that this problem be d e alt w ith by the C ouncil on an industry-w ide b a s is by m e a n s .of a h ig h ly s k ille d te c h n ic a l and m e d ic a l g ro u p suggested th at com panies having th ese talen ts am ong th e ir em ployees should appoint th em to such a group. To get things sta rte d , he p ro p osed th at a th re e -m a n g ro u p , including two te c h n ic a l m en fro m the in d u stry and one fro m the C om m ittee re p re se n tin g the m anagem ent a re a be ap pointed. The th re e -m a n group w ould study the situ atio n and re p o rt back to the C om m ittee w ith its su g g estio n s. H ow ever, su b seq u en t d isc u ssio n d isc lo se d a la ck of c la rity as to how se rio u s the problem re a lly i s . and also that som e yards alread y have studies under way to d e term in e the situ atio n both fro m the standpoint of in d u stry u se of a sb e s to s and as to the m e d ic a l p ic tu re . A d ditionally, L ab o r D e p a rt m ent in d u s tria l h y g ien ists w e re re p o rte d to have app ro ach ed se v e ra l sh ip y a rd s to d e te rm in e w hat a ctio n is b eing tak en by in d u s try . T h e re w as m en tio n th a t D r. Irv in g S elikoff n am ed in th e W ASHINGTON POST a rtic le , has also contacted som e y ard s. D r. Selikoff w as rep o rted to be D irecto r of E nvironm ental M edicine at M t. Sinai H ospital in New Y ork and a p a rt of a jo in t v e n tu re . b etw een M t. S inai, Jo h n s-M an v ille C orp. and the In tern atio n al Pipe C o v e re rs and R e frig e ra tio n W o rk e rs Union. O th ers m entioned as having an in te re s t in clu d ed the In te rn a tio n a l O ffice of A sb esto s W o rk e rs, Aetna Insurance and the A rm stro n g Com pany. 'A f e e lin g w a s e x p r e s s e d b y s e v e r a l m e m b e r s o f th e C o m m itte e th at it is unw ise fo r the y ard s to refu se a c c e ss by th ese in te re sts. i In th is c o n tex t, a tte n tio n o f the C o m m itte e w as d raw n to an a r tic le in th e W A LL S T R E E T JO U R N A L 'd ated M arch 17, 1968, w hich d isc lo se s th at H ill & K now lton, Inc. , n atio n al public re la tio n s firm , is now re p re se n tin g Johns-M an v ille C orp. on health problem s connected w ith a sb e sto sis and o th er d ise a se s w o rk e rs develop fro m inhaling a sb e sto s d u s t. E nsuing d iscu ssio n convinced the C om m ittee that th ere a re a lo t of things going on and th at a t th is tim e ra th e r th an appointing the s'roup of te c h n ic a l p eo p le th a t had b een p ro p o se d , it w ould be a d v isa b le to f ir s t develop fu rth e r in fo rm atio n . _ T h e co n sen su s w as th a t the p ro b le m needs clo se w atching w ith_coordination_ofj:he^available inform ation and J p ro m p c "ac tio iT ." y"T h e '^ C o m m itte e a g r e e d t h a t th e C o u n c il s h o u ld im m e d ia te ly ta k erste p s to develop w hat is taking p lace in the v a rio u s a re a s , catalogue all of them , and d e term in e w h ere the C ouncil can coo rd in ate and fit into the p ictu re. 4 As one step the C om m ittee a g reed the C ouncil should a sk a ll m e m b e rs to p ro v id e any in fo rm atio n th ey m ay have such as stu d ies being m ade, v isits fro m re s e a rc h groups and so forth. C oncern w as e x p re sse d both as to the a sb e sto s and the h e a rin g p ro b le m th a t th e A m e ric a n M edical A sso c ia tio n se e m s to be le ft out. M ention w as m ade th a t a D r. Howe, who heads up the In d u s tria l M edicine D iv isio n of AM A,--is th e p.roper p e rs o n to ap proach for coordination w ith th at group. M r. Hood a g re ed th a t he w ould e sta b lish lia iso n w ith the H ill and KnowTton c o n c e rn to f u r th e r d ev elo p th e a c tiv itie s u n d e r w ay and th at the AMA w ould be contacted. D uring the d iscu ssio n th e re also w as com m ent th at so long as a sb e sto s is used in in d u stry it w ill p re se n t a h ealth p ro b le m and th at at le a s t fro m th e sh ip y ard in d u stry point of view the eventual solution m ay lie in the use of su b stitu tes. One p ro p o sal w as th a t re c o m m e n d a tio n s be m ad e to the N avy, M ar Ad and the sh ip ow ners that asb esto s containing products not be specified for v essel co n stru ctio n . It w as re c a lle d th at in sandblasting the safety and h e alth p ro b le m had led to su b stitu tio n of shot b la stin g and sy n th etics. The thought was ex p ressed th at th ere m ay be a substitute for asb esto s. In a n y ev en t, th e u se of m a sk s w as re c o g n iz e d a s q u ite o b jectio n ab le fro m a w orker efficiency standpoint. C om m ittee d iscu ssio n indicated also that the problem has not a ris e n suddenly and th at re c e n t publicity has resu lted fro m suggestions for su rv ey s by the lab o r unions. It w as re p o rte d that a p a p er onthe p ro b le m is scheduled to be p resen ted a t the N ational Safety C ouncil m eetings in New Y ork on A p ril 16th. F u rth e r, as to w h eth er the a sb e sto s p ro b le m is new , it w as pointed out that as long ago as 1964 the C ouncil had receiv ed a le tte r fro m the then D ire c to r of the B u reau of L abor S tan d ard s, A rthur M otley, listin g a n um ber of item s of th is n atu re w hich the B ureau intends w ill, as a m a tte r of evolution, lead to so m e re g u la to ry action in the fu tu re. F u rth e r C om m ittee d iscu ssio n of various bits and pieces of in fo rm atio n led to a reco g n itio n th a t b a sic a lly a n atio n al ra th e r than a sin g le in d u stry p ro b le m is involved and th at at this point the Council w ould not be ju stifie d in ra is in g a fund to m ake a study on b eh alf of the shipyard industry. 5 The C om m ittee recognized that the shipyard em ployer is at a p a rtic u la r d isad v an tag e b ecau se u n d er p re s e n t le g a l p rin c ip le s the la s t em ployer is being held resp o n sib le fo r all dam age to a w orker even though h is ex p o su re m ay have been during p rev io u s em ploym ent p e rio d s. The le g al situ atio n ap p ea rs to be quite like th at in the h e a r ing c a s e s . At the conclusion of the C om m ittee d iscu ssio n , C ouncil P r e s i dent Hood stated he w ould co n tact H ill and K now lton and in fo rm the C om m itte e as to h is fin d in g s. SA FE T Y ADVISORY C O M M ITT EE M EETIN G - F e b ru a ry 24, 25. 1969 M r. R uddy re p o rte d th at the P re sid e n t of the C ouncil, as a m em b er of the new S afety A d v iso ry C om m ittee to the B ureau of L abor S ta n d a rd s had atten d ed the f ir s t d ay of th a t g ro u p 's tw o -d ay m eetin g in late F e b ru a ry and that he (M r. Ruddy) had attended the second day in place of M r. Hood. He re p o rte d th at a good p a rt of the m a te ria l m ade a v ailab le to the a d v iso ry group a t the m eetin g had b een a lre a d y r e p ro d u c e d and d is trib u te d to th e C o u n c il's C o m m itte e and th a t he w ould continue th is p ro c e d u re to keep the C o m m ittee in fo rm ed as to the a c tiv itie s of the A dvisory C om m ittee. M r. R uddy re p o rte d th at one im p o rtan t re c e n t outgrow th of the g e n e ra l in d u stry expanding dialogue on safety m a tte rs has been an in te re s t by the U. S. C ham ber of C o m m erce, the NAM and sim ila r n a tio n a l b u s in e s s g ro u p s in th e L o n g s h o re m e n 's and H a rb o r W o rk e rs C o m p en satio n A ct. One re fle c tio n of g e n e ra l in d u stry c o n ce rn w ith th is law is see n in th e sch ed u lin g by the N atio n al A sso c ia tio n of M a n u fa c tu re rs of a sym posium fo r high le v el policy m a k e rs on the pending B urton B ill w hich p ro p o se s to in c re a s e the b e n efits u n d e r th a t A ct fro m $70 to $105 p er w eek . The NAM sym posium is scheduled fo r la te A pril and M r. Ruddy p ro m ise d to r e p o r t b a c k to the C o m m itte e in due c o u rs e as to th e outcom e of the d isc u ssio n s. HAZARDOUS M ATERIALS DATA SH EET The C om m ittee w as inform ed that th is final reg u latio n is expected to be issu ed by the B ureau of L abor S tandards in a m a tte r of days and when av ailab le co p ies w ill go to the C o m m ittee m e m b e rs and all y a rd s. W hile the fin al tex t has n o t been d isclo se d to in d u stry , it is expected th at the re g u la tio n and the d a ta sh e e t w ill follow the fo rm a t a g re e d to by th e C o u n cil's Safety C om m ittee som e tim e ago. The m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee ag reed th a t it w ould be u se fu l if a standard fo rm of tra n sm itta l le tte r is developed for u se by the yards in fo rw ard in g the data sh e e t to th e ir su p p lie rs. M r. R uddy in d icated he w ould 6 co o rd in ate such a developm ental effo rt if C ounsel for the S hipbuilders C ouncil ag reed th at th is is a p ro p er activity. HANDLING O F PO T E N T IA L L Y EX PLO SIV E SHIPS BY U. S. R E P A IR YARDS The C o m m ittee had b e fo re it a re q u e s t by the C ouncil's B o ard th a t it re v ie w th e ship re p a ir in d u s try 's o v e ra ll p o licy as to h an d lin g v e ss e ls th a t a re in a p o ten tially explosive condition, w h eth er due to th e ir n o t b eing gas fre e d o r b e c a u se of o th e r f a c to r s . The b asic thought w hich prom pted th e B oard to d ire c t th is rev iew w as th a t if y a rd s continued to handle th e se ta n k e rs it would be only a m a tte r of tim e before a m ajo r c atastro p h e o c cu rred w ith lo ss of life and p ro p e rty both in the sh ip y ard and en v io rn s The C om m ittee w as inform ed th at at its m eeting on M arch 5 m e m b e rs of the B oard had indicated th e ir ag re em e n t w ith the p rin cip le th at no v e sse l should be handled in a ship re p a ir y ard until it has been gas freed o r o th erw ise ren d ered safe, and th at it w as the apparent sense of the B oard th a t th is m a tte r should be rev iew ed by the C ouncil to d e te r m in e w h at should be done to e lim in a te p o te n tia l d a n g e rs- As a f ir s t step , the B oard had a g re ed th at the Safety C om m ittee should co n sid er the p ro b lem a t its m eeting A pril 2, 1969, and subm it its reco m m en d a tions to the B oard. Subsequent to the B oard m eeting the P resid e n t of the Council receiv ed a confirm ing le tte r on the subject w hich sta te s, in p art: "A s you can a p p re c ia te , the c o st and tim e involved in gas freein g a tan k er can be an im p o rtan t cost fa c to r to a sh ip o p e ra to r, and a s a co n seq u en ce, th is question of gas freein g becom es a p a rt of the com peti tive atm o sp h ere surrounding the p ro cu rem en t of ship re p a ir w ork. As I indicated a t the D ire c to rs M eeting, it is not in o u r m u tu al b e s t in te re s ts to in je c t safety co n sid eratio n s of th is type into the com petitive a re n a and you w ill re c a ll I p roposed to m ake o u r position c le a r, on an individual com pany b a sis, to the C oast G uard and the D ep artm en t of L ab o r. P rio r to taking this actio n and as a re s u lt of the d iscu ssio n s and a s s u r an ces th a t the C ouncil w ould co n sid er this m a tte r in som e depth and take reaso n ab le prom pt action, I a g re e d to d e fe r m y a p p ro a c h to the g o v ern m en tal au th o rities on this su b ject." <? f "I am not unaw are th at the m o st effective action could p ro b ab ly be tak en on an in d u stry w ide b a sis by the S hipbuilders C ouncil, and I h e a rtily en d o rse the p u rp o se w hich such actio n is intended to ach iev e. H ow ever, as you re a liz e , this m a tte r has been con sidered for sev e ra l "years and no action has been fo rth com ing. "I w ould a p p re c ia te your e a rly advice as to a p ro g ra m the C ouncil m ig h t p ro p o se th at w ould effectiv ely solve this problem . " M r, R uddy re c a lle d th at in 1963 a sp ec ia l Ad Hoc C o m m ittee of the C ouncil had been appointed to develop g u id e lin es fo r d elib eratio n w ith the N ational F ire P ro tectio n A ssociation in the fo rm u latio n of re v ised re g u la tio n s dealing w ith the handling of non g a s -fre e d v e s s e ls in sh ip r e p a ir y a rd s . At th a t tim e the p ro b lem stem m ed fro m various legal problem s w hich had a rise n out of th e MISSION SAN FRA N CISCO ep iso d e - a ta n k e r w hich had collided in the D elaw are R iv e r w ith an o th er v e sse l and the ensuing explosion and fire had alm o st d estro y ed the tan k er and th ere w ere num erous crew deaths and injury. L egal opinion at th at tim e in d icated th at sh ip y ard s could be fully re sp o n sib le for any cata stro p h ic incident re su ltin g fro m the p re s e n c e of an ''ex p lo siv e v e ss e l" in a sh ip y ard . The 1963 Ad Hoc C om m ittee had co n sid ered a p ro p o sal that N F P A Code 306 "S tandard fo r the C ontrol of Gas H azard s on V essels to be R ep aired " Section 4, should be am ended to g re a tly r e s tr ic t the handling of th e se ta n k e rs by ship re p a ir y ard s. C o m m itte e d is c u s s io n h ig h lig h te d a n u m b e r of th in g s to co n sid er if fu rth e r re stru c tio n s a re im posed on the sh ip y ard s, in c lu d in g : (1) Im p o rtan ce of the w o rk to the in d u stry (2) D am age to c u sto m er rela tio n sh ip s (3) Im p o sitio n of ad d itio n al re s tric tio n s on y ard m an ag em en t (4) Im pact depending upon a y a rd 's g eo g rap h ical lo catio n (5) P ro sp e c ts of sh o re shops a cq u irin g w o rk now done by integrated y ard s. 8 As to the g eo g rap h ical p ro b le m it w as explained that, if a ta n k e r in a n o rth e a s t U nited S tates p o rt'is found to re q u ire re p a ir y a rd s e rv ic e , but the m an ag em en t of a y a rd re fu s e s to accep t the tan k er u n le ss it is g a s-fre e d , the v e sse l w ill probably le av e the p o rt and c lea n a t se a w hile e n ro u te back to th e Gulf so th a t w hen it a r r iv e s a t th e Gulf it can e n te r a ship re p a ir fa c ility in clean condition. It w as re p o rte d that d ifferen ces of opinion had developed on this q u estio n and in o rd e r to d e term in e w hat positio n should be taken by the S hip b u ild ers C ouncil, a su rv ey had been m ade of all m e m b e rs. At that tim e the outcom e based on volum e of tanker w ork w as about 10 to one a g a in st fu rth e r re s tric tio n s . A fter d iscu ssio n , the C om m ittee agreed that as a firs t step a su rv e y so m ew h at along the lin e s of th a t in 1963 should be m ade to d e te rm in e the p re s e n t p o sitio n of the individual m e m b e rs of the C ouncil on this im p o rtan t question. BUREAU OF LABOR STANDARDS ADM INISTRATION OF SA FETY REGULATIONS The C o m m ittee en tered into a round ro b in d iscu ssio n of re c e n t ex p erien ces w ith ad m in istratio n of the safety and health re g u latio n s by the B u reau of L abor S tandards w ith p a rtic u la r em phasis on inspection pro ced u res and instances of legal action. O verall com m ent in d icated a hardening of attitu d e am ong the m em b er y ard s. T here w as a g reem en t th at it is of p rim e im p o rtan ce that in all cases shipyard leg al counsel should be called in v e ry e a rly w hen p ro b lem s a ris e . T h ere is som e d isen ch an tm en t w ith the p ro c e d u res w hich a re being d e s c r ib e d b y th e G o v e r n m e n t a s " i n f o r m a l . 11 In o n e c a s e i t w a s r e counted th at the s o -c a lle d in fo rm a l h e a rin g a ctu a lly tu rn e d out to be a full d re ss leg al proceeding. B ased on the d iscu ssio n , it w as the sen se of the C om m ittee th a t if p o s sib le an in fo rm a l c o n fe re n c e should be s e t up with. B u re au of L ab o r S tan d ard s D ire c to r D avid Sw ankin, so th a t the y ard s could d iscu ss th ese p ro b lem s w ith h im w ithout his staff being p re sen t. The m e m b e rs of the C o m m ittee also a g re e d to su b m it by le tte r to the P re s id e n t of the C ouncil any p ro b le m s that m ay a ris e in the in te rp re ta tio n o r ad m in istra tio n of sp ecific reg u latio n s so th at they can be taken up w ith the B u reau ra th e r than w aiting fo r the B u reau to com e up w ith its own re v isio n s to the reg u latio n s. 9 EM PLO Y EES* CO M PEN SA TIO N COMMISSION ADM INISTRATION O F COM PENSATION ACT T he m e m b e rs of the C o m m ittee w ere unanim ous th at a m a jo r fa c to r in the la rg e in c re a s e th at h as taken p la ce in W o rk m en 's C o m p en satio n in su ra n c e p re m iu m s is due to the a r b itr a r y p o w ers w hich re sid e in the D eputy C o m m issio n er. One m em b er of the C om m itte e suggested th at p erh ap s in place of the D eputy C o m m issio n er, a h e a rin g board ought to be estab lish ed . O th ers pointed out th at the co st in c re a se is due in la rg e m e asu re to averaging by insurance com panies w ith a rb itra ry p rem iu m and aw ard d eterm in atio n s. B ased on the d iscu ssio n , it w as ag reed that this m a tte r should be re fe rre d to the L eg al C om m ittee of the C ouncil to d eterm in e w h a t m ig h t b e done to c h a n g e S e c tio n 21 o f th e L o n g s h o r e m e n 's and H a rb o r W o rk e rs C o m p en satio n A ct so as to im p ro v e c la im s a d m in is tra tion. The thought w as e x p ressed th at w hen the C o n g ressio n al C om m ittees sch ed u le h e a rin g s on th e pending le g isla tio n to am end th e L o n g sh o rem en 's and H a rb o r W o rk ers C om pensation A ct th is m a tte r should be brought to th e ir atten tio n and a sp ecific p ro p o sa l m ade on behalf of the sh ipyard in d u stry , if the L egal C om m ittee so d eterm in es. W ALSH-HEALEY SA FETY REG U LATIO NS The C om m ittee w as inform ed th a t re v ised W alsh-H ealey Public C o n tra c ts A ct Safety and H ealth S tan d ard s o rig in a lly scheduled to becom e effectiv e F e b ru a ry 17, 1969 b ad been delayed fo r a p erio d of 90 days as a re s u lt of urgent req u ests by industry associations for th eir review by the N ixon A d m in istratio n . A le tte r in te rp o sin g objections to a nu m b er of new p ro v isio n s on w hich in d u stry had n o t had an opportunity to co m m en t and stro n g ly re q u e stin g such a delay w as subm itted by the C ouncil to S e c re tary Schultz. Among new p ro b lem a re a s in the regulations a re , of c o u rse , the sections dealing w ith n o ise le v els and asb esto s th resh o ld le v e ls. The C om m ittee a g reed th at the C ouncil should again d istrib u te the J a n u a ry 17, 1969 re v is io n along w ith a copy of the e x istin g re g u la tio n and the tw o p o sitio n le tte rs p re v io u sly su b m itted to th e L ab o r D ep artm en t w ith a re q u e st th at M em bers subm it additional com m ent. The C om m ittee a g re e d th a t as a m inim um , the S e c re ta ry of L ab o r should be asked to fu rth e r d elay issu a n c e of the reg u latio n in so fa r as the h earin g p roblem and asbestos is concerned. The C om m ittee w as in agreem ent that the sh ip yard in d u stry w ill have m o st serio u s p ro b lem s of com pliance u n less som e chaiig i s jr,sd e in th e s ta n d a rd s a s now pending. 9* - 10 STANDARD UNIFORM STA TE SA FETY LAW One m a jo r su b jec t being c u rre n tly d isc u sse d w ithin the D ep artm en t of L abor and w hich has been taken up w ith in d u stry and la b o r on the agenda of the Ad%dsory C o m m ittee, is a p ro p o sa l fo r a S tan d ard U niform S tate Safety Law . M r. R uddy re p o rte d th at the sp ecific p ro p o sal fo r a u n ifo rm act b efo re the A dvisory C om m ittee had b een re p ro d u c ed and fo rw a rd e d to th e C o m m ittee fo r th e ir r e view . A fter b rie f d iscu ssio n , it w as decided that all legislation d ealin g w ith the F e d e ra l and State W o rk m en 's C om pensation and Safety law s including the F e d e ra l O ccupational Safety and H ealth Act a re m a tte rs that can b e st be handled by the L egal C om m ittee and th at the S e c re ta ry of the C ouncil should take w h atev er actio n .m ay be re q u ire d to b rin g th ese m a tte rs to the atten tio n of th at C om m ittee. T h ere w as a g re e m e n t th at the C ouncil should te stify b efo re the C o ngress a g ain st the in c re a se s in the le v el of benefits being proposed in the B urton B ill, H R -6949. GEAR CERTIFICATION M r. Ruddy re p o rte d th at no com m ent had been receiv ed fro m m em b ers of the C om m ittee on the B ureau of L abor S tandards reg u latio n , P a rt ]505, G ear C ertificatio n , published in the FED ER A L REG ISTER, M arch 4, 1969 and fo rw ard ed to the m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee fo r fin al co m m ent on M arch 12th. The assu m p tio n is th at fro m the view point of the sh ip y ard s, th is reg u latio n is acceptable. T here w as som e d iscu ssio n as to w hether s h o re sid e c ra n e s now re q u ire c e rtific a tio n . No actio n w as taken. ADJOURNM ENT The m e etin g ad jo u rn e d a t 3t00 P . M. Edw ard P. Ruddy S ecretary