Document JJpQkYbb1g5QjwnBoGYX1erOO

FILE NAME: WR Grace (WRG) DATE: January 9, 1968 DOC#: WRG220 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1968 Memo to OF Stewart from RW Sterrett with report on Dec 1967 meeting. aw-" -'MTCcnn !C,^ACE| .iz: p-vraafflil ZONOE D IV ISIO N W . R. S R A C E A CO . HEacH .sour. M*nr \.\Z\ C H IC A G O . ILLIN O IS TllifxO'it 5i7--57C 0. F. Stewart R. K. Sterrett January 9, 1963 Travelers Rest Home Office PERSONAL .AND GANFIDENTIAh Dear Floyd: Through Mr. Burnett, President of JM-!, I arranged for Peter Kostic to meet with Mr. F.. Fenner, Director of J-M's Depart.-mt of Environmental Control. Dor your confidential information, copy of Kostin's report is attached. I plan 'to discuss this further with Taggart in the near future and will then advise further. Sine:, rely, CC: R. A. Bleich - Lihby Attachments R. W. Sterrett UA.lv.i.b.UiDLi-.W PERSONAL AMD COBHIDEMTIAL TO: R. W. Sterrctt-Dcnolite V Clue a" o r'rlOM: --- -- Peter Ho3tic OATi':: SUvjHCT: CC:: ' W. L. Taggart V L. Mears C. J. Dugan J. D. Eir.gery J. P. Cahalane C 'J January 5 , 1968 Dust Con :r?1~\01 i fig f gi L-:- v.L 66 u <? Li 8 ICJ; 'O''01 r-^- Ssap' . ' Cn December 26, 1967, I met vith E. Fen.var, Directt.r of the Johns-!ianvillo Department of Zn.virorjr.entai Control, and C. Shoekler, Krnager of Gccuoauior.al Environmental Control at the J-M Research and Engineering Center in Manvilie, Lev Jersey. The purpose of cur meeting vas to discuss dust problems and controls at'Zcnolite, and more specifically at Libby. Since I'd hr.ova Fenner professionally, and Cheekier, professior.ally ar.d socially, rapport vas .quickly established. Prior to ry setting up the agpeintnent vith then, they vere apparently instructed by J-M's president, C. B. 3'urr.ett, to provide the advice and help I sought. Mere are seme of the things that cane out of the ` resting: A. EOR IMMEDIATE ACTIO;: 1. Conduct Industrial Hygiene Survey _at Libby Because of differences of opinion as to the actual content of the dust, .it was their recommendation that a thorough Industrie.! Hygiene Survey be done ' as soon as possible at Libby. This vculd involve sampling the air in ail work areas where thrre is exposure to dust, ar.i laboratory analysis and count of the dust particles. I asked if such service might be available from, the Division of Occupational Health. U. 3. Public Health Service. They said th.?.t the best ve could expect from them, is a conference vith a reoresenuative at one of their local offices. They are overloaded r.ov vith nev ar.i different problems such as that of Fiberglass which J-M has sought their help on for ever tvo years. Since J-M has an Industrial Hygienist and laboratory about 50 miles up coast from Santa Barbara, California, I asked if it couldn't be arranged for bin to do the .job for us, 31A willing, of course. It 'was their opinion that if ve make the request through channels (Burnett) J-M would comply vith the request. ani/cr areas of air ccnoamir specific problem areas ami : informat ion from J M, we will - - 'i r. < then reposition of the dust, (2) numb particles (this is important s cr.-y in sice are hacar icus), ar.i ('-) sources ren this ve will knew if ve hav . --w-.---->''-m-.--*^m ; f the problems. T .a, - ~ '- be or...cur VT: (at 1c ones v;.s --- ^ --- zz'z:> ir : n ' R. W. Sterreit -2 Dust Control January 5, 19'--3 2. Work Histories on 32 Employees . . To provide exa.-ainir.ii physicians with all the infomation. and help they may need, complete and thorough work histories should be done on each of the 32 employees referred to in Chuck Dugan's letter of 12-5-67* Such histories should contain information similar to the attached sample Work History. (Before a form for this purpose is finalized, I would surest consulting with the physician as indicated in item 3, below. He nay want to add a question or two.) 3 Physical Examinations and Studies Regarding the 32 employees showing abnormal chest X-?.ay pictures , it was recommended that they be given complete and thorough examinations ar.d tests by a physician well versed in pulmonary diseases. This should include respiratory function tests and heart function tests as well as chest X-Rays. Purpose of such exams is to ascertain definitely what the lung abnormalities are. Then, if claims arise, we will be in a position to fight these cases which are deemed not to have risen out of employment with Conolite. It is J-M's experience that the cost of such exams and tests is approximately 2200. . 3 P03T SUrA/EY After it is recognised that we do have dust problems and the problem areas are identified, we should move fast in doing whatever had to be done to remedy the situation. This is of course to minimise dust inhalation by all employees, but most important to arrest lung contamination by the 32 forementioned employees. These employees, so far as we Ionov, are not presently disabled. If ve minimise their exposure to a dust level net exceeding 5 mppcf chances are ve may be able to keep then on the job 'until they retire, thus precluding the high cost of total disability. Although medical opinions differ, J-M's doctors ar.d Industrial . Hygienists feel that an asbestoses contaminated lung will remain status quo once further contamination is eliminated. It is interesting to note that asbestesis victims do notrdie of asbestesis as such but rather from complications such as secondary lung infections or heart disease. C. DUST CONTROLS AdID IIAXIMUM ALLOV.'ABLT COHCE.Y.'BATIOHS ' Regardless of the. percentage of asbestos dust particles in the air, our goal should be to keep the tct?_L dust count below 5 million particles per cubic foot of air. This is to say that the total count of all dust particles less than 10 microns in size should not exceed 5 mppcf of air. (It should be noted in revievrir. our files that the percentage of asbestos dust at Libby had been expressed at one tlme_or~otKer"hs_6 12fi; 22.-5/*-, -kO;1-and-755v)------ -- - ---- ------ ------ Although had contacted concentration Foundaticn is the J-M people and two other a'thorities on the subject who I agree on the above mentioned 5 mppcf count, the maximum allowable fer asbostes dust is ccntrover icl. The Indm serial Hvoiar. e currently circulating a cor.man cation which E have seen, proposir. tiy feel nhut ar.y to asbestos ?,. ii. S t e r r - e t t - 3Dust Cor.troi January ?, lo^j c. des? coetrols a::d m t x l codce: :nv in iO. that every cancer -are among their employees will be a potential V/orkm.en's Compensation case. The chorees ox' developing asbostesis at courts under 5 mnpcf are minimum. The number of cases arising cut of such exposures at .J-!! have been few in number eve:.- the years. iX any rate, rerror and Sneakier emphasised that Threshold Limits (K.'.C) should be used as guides in the control of health hazards and should not be regarded as fine lin_es_ between safe and dangerous concentrations. D. L. P. WELSH CASE The case involving foncer employee, L. P. 'Welsh, should be quickly settled out of court. Whenever it is proven to our satisfaction that an employee has developed an illness or iser.se while in our employ, especially in instances where a plant is located in a small town, public relations could be damaged if the employee is required to fight for his benefits through the courts. It was J--111s experience that a precedent sett/ing out-of-court settlement of a case in a small town (Hershville, H . C) was not necessarily a signal that the employer's cash register is open for all comers. The settlement, in this case, prompted only two additional though justifiable claims. 2. The accuracy and/or reliability in taking and counting dust samples by personnel attached to the local plant (as in the case of Libby) is questionable. If there is no alternative but to assign such responsibility to local personnel, an annual or semi-annual check should be made by someone else such as a private consultant or ?, Kcstic. F. EMPLOYEE EDUCATION Employees\should be informed regarding the consequences of inhaling dust particles and the complications such as T-B, earner. lung access, etc. which night develop. If they are familiar with the haoards involved, they are likely to make greater effort to protect themselves. C-. FZBSOW.AL PROTECTIVE DEVICES It has been -Id's exneri-er.ee that personal protective devices such as masks and respirators are only effective. This typ-e of equipment, therefore, should be used only in emergencies and for -exposures of short duration. H. DIAOiiCSinO ASBESTOS IS In his leaser esc icing the recent hearing in i'alispell, h'cr.tnr.a. Chuck. R. k. Sterrott _ 1* _ Dust Control January 5 > 1yo'f I. !iOU- ^EPXliG^. . - Both Fenner art Bheckler repeated several tines the necessity for good housekeeping in du;r, control programs. J-'.-i's manual c. Envir onr.etal Control Standards contains .rather rats cantiai. sect,ion on housekeeping. J. AIlO'ihlR iELflhd If we so''desire, Farmer and Sheckler indicated they would-be hapoy to meet with you, Id :bars ar.d all others concerned, here at Cambridge, for - purposes of further discussing the problem. If ve'd like to set up such meeting they surge:-: rd a date between Ja m ary 15 ar.d January 2l, during which period they both vev'-d he available. K. It .is^ my opir.iui, unless it is undesirable from a business-relation standpoint, that ve should get J-!i to do the survey for us. This should be done as soon as pcs:idle. You will have to make a request for such service of Burnett. I wall -v:company their man t e Libby, coordinate the survey, observe and assist hir.*., and tf I feel there is justification for our (Central Engineering) getting suitable du:.t sampling equipment, I '.rill make such recommendation. This would enable us to y.h check Libby as veil as expanding plants. As indicated under item A-3, arrangements should be made with a physician, specializing in pulr, -nary diseases, for examination and testing of he 32 employees in question. For the names ox" competent doctors in this regard, I would suggest s-cekir.: the help of the Seattle office of Maryland Casualty. If Libby management so desires, I shall be glad to start the call rolling on this. \ After a physicior. hah been contacted ar.d tentative arrangements for examinedic and testing made, work histories on the 32 employees should be written up. As indicated in item 1-2, the physician should ce consulted before the work history foixa is fine'iced. K , / ____ /(Vi --- -/I -------- ''peter Kostin b,?./k ,C<COf ^3 sam h je'co p t \w .< . ... t .. , TO: Manager, Industrial Health, GHO IH-601 Work History EMIMOYHE: John Dec DS 1?. #0000 CLOCK #6666 Ref. I ton Dotes cf Employment Time Elapsed Yr. Mo. Day Employment Dent, Name and Number DATE: January 1, IRCI I Raw Materials Potenti al NOTE: John Doc vas b o m 2/26/93 in Spokane, Wishing ton. ; He is married, has h children, all apparently self supporting and over 21 years of aye. NHis records irdicatc prior employment as a > moulder in an iron foundry in Seattle. Washington for approximately 10 yrs.; and as a laborer on a. farm in lova for rurroximafely 2 yrs. .Hired by J-M 7/7/31 end is a Quarter Century Club member- In 1956 he was out for It months due to a coronary condition, treated by Dr. A. B. Black. He v;as retired on 3/1/58 on a normal retirement. Hired 7-7-31 to .10-3-30 Trans : 10-3-33 to 5-h-HO Lay-of ? RO"*-H;'.7rod 5-5-O to 7-6-tO 7-7-O to 7-23-1*6 Transfer i-D3--1 to 0-0-h8 7 2 26 Moulder OCC-Magnesia Asbestos Fiber ' Dia. Earth NOTE: Work continually on a vet process with no potential exposure to toxic material inasmuch as room described a s :clean, clear, and vet. No miscellaneous fill-in jobs. 1 7 1 ' Charger OOO-Mayr.esria Asbestos Fiber . Dia. Earth NOTE: Dumped bags of.fiber and dia. earth on floor, mixed with scoop shovel and shoveled into bin. No respirators worn - no mechanical ventilation. ' ; t Reduction in force - lack of business) n 16 NOTE: Work timo, empio; Respirators t1Ust counts 2 0 15 N JTE: This There is no Planer Onr. Speciality CC0-Magnesia Asbestos Fiber nJ i -, la-,- L*yi,l Present day Ill-Ealvage Din. Earth Dilina! ohn Doc '.of. I ten /Cavo of Absence 3-2-56 bo 7-8-56 le-cngagcd 7-5-56 to 3-1-58 la tired 3-1-55 \ IH-601 V-:crk History \ Ko.` Day Employment' Dept, IJ&mo arid Humber Rav Materials Potentia (Treated for a coronary condition. Paid 1? weeks of H & A Insurance) POTS: In Mercy Hospital under care of Dr. Blade 1 POTE: 22 Janitor 000-Magnesia Asbestos Fiber Dia. Earth Cleaned offices, ladies'and mens' rooms and lunch rooms. .one (Normal J-M Retirement - Age 65) . ' OATS 0? DL1TU: February 26, 1893 - TOTAL PI-TUOD 0? J-M rMPLOYMSNT: 26 yrs. 7 nos, 2h days . 'TOTAL PERIOD OF J-M POTENTIAL EXT COUPS: 7 yrs a 7 nos. 17 days ` TOTAL P.-.RIOD OF GJTSIDS POTENTIAL SXPOSUPS: 10 yrs. approximately PATH OF SEPARATION: Retired Kerch 1, 1553 ' -epared by: 1 "(nan) f r ^ The meeting made a deep lopreaalon on a. Z as surprised at univeraal agreement among partita at tha seating on tha harmful affaota of aabaatoa. X thought John*a Manvllle would try to refute. Dr. Sellkoff'a atatamenta but they did not do ao. It la ray foaling that aa thtaa facta art dlaeealnated around tha aounty, tha uaa of aabaatoa aprayad fireproofing alii ba discontinued. X faal we should place a top priority tag on our effeots to ae ure a aubatltuta for tha aabaatoa In our Monokote fireproofing. Sincerely JC/rw Jasaa Cintanl Diatrict Manager