Document J3nRQjOKL35vmLjmDg2Q9LgYX

;jc a, _ ,, INTERNAL CORRESPONDENCE JUN 2 1 W3 -7-- IVtllHlNO AND PETALS DIVISION TofNa^.i oirr.ian u",; E. S. Prochnik public Eolations Dept. 4th Floor, New York E* 6* Beverly W. N. Johnson V* J. Xovaek J. 3* Whitaker * P. 0. BOX K, KING CITY. GALffORNIA 93930 Qaia June 15, 1975 Ofijjjnu/irty 0pl*_ AlWWfci'Ufl Uttar* dot* ***>1*0 JOi fy ** n"*t, The attached copy of an article on the Asbestos hazard appeared in the AprilHay, 1973, California Farmer Consumer Eeporter, issued bi-monthly at Santa daw, California. A copy of the issue was sent to Be by Grace McDonald, Editor and Publisher. Very tral^yodrs, '^itl uiL s/ //l A > l j a. Floyd H. larriaon, dr. enclJ /elg UCC . 009301 . nh CONFRONTING THE ASBESTOS HAZARD Union Carbide's Mining & Metals Division plant in King City, California expects to ship 20% more of its "Calidria" asbestos pellets in 1973 than in 1971, according to Floyd H. Larrison Jr., company manager. The pellets are used in making paper products, vinyl asbestos floor coverings, oil well drilling mud, coatings and adhesives, gypsum compounds and thixitropes in resins. Used throughout the United States, in Europe, Japan, Australia and other world mar kets, the product is shipped in bags or in hopper cars which carry from 90 to 100 tons each. Shipments to Japan go through the Port of San Francisco. The National Market ing Division of Union Carbide is in Niagara Falls, N.Y., J. L. Meyers is Manager, Corporate headquarters are in the 52-story Union Carbide building at 270 Park Ave., New York City. The company has 3,000 employees in the 13-state Far West Region at more than 50 plants, mines and offices. Including its affiliates, in excess of 100,000 people are em ployed at some 400 locations worldwide. Hardly more than 50 workers are employed at the King City operation. The story of manufacture of asbestos pellets dates from the late 1950's when a Union Carbide geologist discovered "mountain leather" asbestos at the mountain top of Cali fornia's parched Coastal Range east of King City some 20 miles from Coalinga in Fresno County. This is one of three open mines where the Occupational Safety & Health Admin the ore is on the surface, can be easily istration (OSHA). In the process of de scooped up during the summer months veloping these standards data compiled by and run through screens to separate the the National Institute for Occupational rock. (The other two mines. Atlas and Safety & Health (NIOSH), Rockville, Coalinga Asbestos, are on the S.E. tip of Md., and its national occupational disease the range in San Benito County.) The ore consultants, was used. Among such au is 60 per cent asbestos, equalled, accord thorities are Dr. Irving Selikoff, Mt. Sinai, ing to the King City Union Carbide bro N.Y. School of Medicine, and Dr. W. chure, "nowhere else on earth, except per Clark Cooper, lecturer, Division Of Occu haps in Yugoslavia . . . pational Health Sciences, U.C. Berkeley. The screened rock, loaded on ^Tucks, Dr. Cooper and U.C. Professor Emeri snakes its way down the mountain, a 55 tus Irving Tabershaw, have now formed mile haul, to be dumped at the King City their own occupational disease consultant mill site and be processed through the service at 2180 Milvia St., Berkeley, Ca year. The plant started operation in 1963, 94704. after some years of study. Standards to control dust particles by Exposure to inhalation of asbestos, can installing equipment within industrial cer-producing, fibers, has been minimized plants are under the jurisdiction of the in the plant by use of the "wet process" Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) screening method. Rocks and heavy mate Region 9, which includes all of California. rials drop to the bottom of ore slurry Regional Administrator is Paul De Falco, while lighter asbestos floats to the surface. 100 California St., San Francisco, CA The slurry is then pumped through pipes 94111. and filtered water is removed and sheets Standards for control of asbestos are of "asbestos" cake are ready for final now under consideration. They will spec processing and marketing. ' ify the minimum amount of control equip ment to prevent such cancer-producing fibers from being emitted into the atmos phere. Control equipment is scheduled to De installed by Union Carbide at King City during 1973. . NOTE: Standards for protection of workers at asbestos mines are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, even where processing is also done at the mine-sites. (See story on pg. 5 of the Dec. '72-Jan. '73 REPORTER for lack of ef fective protection by the Bureau in South ern California Talc Plants.) ` : 1= 10.000 5kyz,s-h s F` /- 2.i- Additional equipment to be installed during 1973 is expected to further reduce asbestos fiber content in work areas at the King City plant to levels conforming to the June 7, 1972 standards adopted by BLM Grazing Fees Up 20% Agricultural Dateline, the publication of the Washington State Grange, reports in its February issue that the Bureau of Land Management is increasing grazing fees from 66C to- 18<? per animal unit month, an increase of almost 20%. They also report that while the nation's beef production wilt increase one-third in the decade 1970-1980, meat imports for 1973 will be up 10% over 1972 and'that the President will suspend import limitations due to the current beef shortage. WHO WILL PROTECT THE WORKINGMAN? The controversy over whether enforce ment of the 1970 Federal Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) should be left in the hands of the U.S. Department of Labor or transferred to California juris diction is currently being decided by the State Legislature. The bill under discussion is AB150, "The Industrial Safety Act of 1973," the result of two years of study by the As sembly Select Committee on industrial Safety, of which Assemblyman Jack Fen ton was chairman. Other members were Jim Keysor and Newton Russell. The bill was triggered by the Sylmar Tunnel disaster near Los Angeles which occurred on June 24th, 1971, killing 17 men. Amended from last year's version, it passed the Assembly Labor Relations Committee by a 7 to 1 vote May 9th. Revenue and Taxation made further amendments at hearings on May 14th. Next step is Ways and Means, chaired by Willie Brown Jr., San Francisco. AB 150 is backed by every segment of the organized labor movement which con tends that California occupational safety and health standards are far superior to the national average and therefore State jurisdiction and enforcement would be by personnel aware of the type of accidents and health hazards predominant in this major industrial state. Enactment of AB 150 at least begins to cope with dangers to life and limb from occupational diseases, not the least of which are cancer-producing asbestos dust and chemicals. The weakness of both Federal and pro posed State enforcement machinery lies in the recognized fact that there is a seri ous lack of adequately trained occupa tional safety and health specialists. This is due to cut-backs in Federal and State funds for such training and lack of salary incentives to attract students to enter this vital field. For further information address As semblyman Jack Fenton, Rm. 3112, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. Phone 916-445-0854. Giving Credit Wliere It's Due Credits were not given for pictures used in the February-March RE PORTER. The picture of Don Ed wards with Mayfair School students was taken by Mercury Staff Photog rapher A1 Magazu. The picture on page 2, showing Mayfair School staff members was taken by Janice Kiernan, Mayfair teacher. The illustration of the Hydrologic Cycle, on page 5, was taken from the 59-page Survey: "What About Water?" prepared by Philip P. Dickinson, Tech nical Consultant to the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives, The 3tory appeared on page 2. Pag* 10 FARMER CONSUMER REPORTER April-May, 1973 UCC 009302