Document JJQaOm6YJ1oXqeydYoVnbm14B

FILE NAME: Asbestos Sacks and Bags (ASB) DATE: 1967 Nov 23 DOC#: ASB045 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Confidential Report - Visit to Plymouth Naval Dockyard by Dr. Lewinsohn to Investigate Situation of Welders Refusing to Work with Asbestos HCt/TB Tos j i /v n /a a it, /mo-/ 23rd Hovember, 1967 P H M B AMP COHPIDBITIAS V i s i t to Surweon Comm***"-* Bar rie s Plymouth Haval Dookyard on 22nd Hovember. 1967 I tra v e lle d to Plymouth la ths Company o f Hr. Harks and Dr. Donaldson, whioh afford s! no a good opportunity to learn the background to the situ ation whioh has developed in the Subnarlna welding seotlon. This incident as w ell as the health aspeot has apparently prompted these welders to r e je c t asbestos Cloth in any shape or fo re , and has been seised upon by Hr. hupson to j u s t if y h is ban on the use o f a l l asbestos d o th l a the Plymouth Havel Dockyard. Dr. Harries fe e ls that Hr. Hopson say be under sons pressure froa the Admiralty's le g a l section as there are sone 50 w rits a t Connor Dsn pending, allegin g negligence by the Admiralty, by Ben su fferin g fr e e asbestosls. Dr. B arries I s engaged In a survey of Plynouth Dookyard workers, and i s studying In d e ta il the oooupatlonal h isto rie s , working environment. and e lin io a l state (including X-rays and lung function te s ts ) o f workers not neoessarlly regarded as asbestos workers. During ths course o f th is survey he has diagnosed a large nuaber o f oases o f asbestosls and believes that in the next fiv e years o r wore the nuaber o f asbestosls oases and nesotheliona oases w i l l oontlnue to increase. At the present tin e there hr a been one oase of asbestosls in a welder who has subsequently died, and there are a t th is moment two welders in h osp ital su fferin g fro a asbestosls, two suffering flpon nesotheliona, and two dying o f lung canoer. I t i s th is situation whioh has precipitated the notion taken by the men in the Submarine seotlon. These aen hare been kept working as a group by nanagenent in order to prevent th e ir views froa affectin g the other 250 or nore welders not involved. Dr. Barries wishes to sake further te sts o f the dustiness on a ty p io al welding Job using ordinary d o th . He fe e ls that i f the dust le v e ls are satisfactory there is no reason why the men should not continue to use th is d o th . As Dr.Harries h ia se lf put i t to as ' I don't want to obstruot, aa the work in the dookyard has to oontinue and has to he done1. That Dr.Harries does in s is t upon however, is that the work i s done in good oonditions, and that u n til he is reasonably sa tisfie d that the d o th i s usable under these oonditions he w ill not he able to recommend i t . He believes that the B ritish Oooupatlonal Hygiene S o ciety ' s proposed threshold lim it values fo r ehrysotile are quite adequate i f they can be applied. oontd, Dr* Barries points oct th at In sp it* o f the large rvwbar o f oases o f asbestosis which have boon diagnosed since 1966(and compensated)work s t i l l oaatlnaaa In tbs dockyard beoause o f the good rolstlon s which be has established with management, tbs man, sad tbolr Trade Unions. Be baa not refrained from explaining the health r is k shore 0000x0017, and. b elieves, as I do, that th is la e ss e n tia l I f sa fe tr precautions are to be e ffe c tiv e . Z noted with Interest that notices hare been put up In oertaln areas whieh read "DANCKR - ASBESTOS ASSA - WEAK TOOK EKSPIB1T0E*. Dr. Barries Informs me that a dlsoonfort allowance o f ltd per houn Is paid to these men to enoourage them to sear th eir respirators/ Dr. Barrios b elieves that the explanation fo r the lsereasO' In esbestosis which has ooeurred and shloh ha predicts s i l l continue fo r many Tears a t the rate o f about 15 or more eases per year, oan be attributed to tbs foot that p rio r to 1950 most lagging contained mainly magnesia and only about 12^ asbestos, but that slnoe 1950 asbestos lagging has consisted o f 95^ aso site . Bs f e d s that th is sooounts f o r the men who are not loggers being diagnosed as asbestosis cases, beoause they were exposed l a engiao and h o lle r rooaa to high concentrations o f amosite during stripping and ro-lagging. Bs has measured dust concentrations and finds that shore calcium silio a to aeotions are being removed ha obtains counts in the range o f about 20-A0 fib res per 00., but where amosite lagging i s being stripped counts range up to 1000 fib res per eo. Be also fe e ls that what was not previously rea lise d i s that movement inside these eonflnei spsoss tends to increase eonveotion ourxents and disperse fib re throughout the ship. Dr. Barries i s also engaged in an epidemiological survey of a l l ex-dookyard workers oomparing th e ir ages at death with the male population o f Plymouth aa a whole and also oomparing oauses of death in dockyard workers and the male population me a whole with partiou lar reference to lung oanoar and other oanoexw, heart disease, and respiratory diseases. Bis findings are not yet available fo r disoussion, but w ill probably ba published in about 18 months time. I t is in terestin g to note that not a single ease report' has appeared i s the Plymouth newspapers aa y e t. Dr.Harries believes th at th is i s beoause o f the excellent relations be has with the looal Coroner. A ll asbestos workers' lungs are examined by the P.M.P. in C ard iff who obtain Dr. Vagner's opinion. Whilst talking to Dr. Barries Z mentioned to him that the A.B.C. and the U.B.C. P.B.U. were to bold a Joint mooting in the future. Ba would be very keen to participate and pointed out his work was being done with P.H.U. equipment and assistance. Thor are obviously items whioh were discussed by us which we f e e l should be kept o f f the reoord, and therefore Z have not quoted aotual figu res fo r the instance o f asbestosis in the dockyards eto. Dr. B.C.lewinsohn.