Document JLDn1n9o0EbvmOGjv3q3ND7B

FILENAME: Flintkote (FLK) DATE: 1968 M ar 29 DOC#: FLK054 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: M eeting M inutes - Special M eeting * Exhibit .. Exam of Date ...........R p X ..^ ./ I Official Reporter Ka t h y ry lanos hcv ( l SPECIAL WEETINC GRAND 8AHAWA HOTEL AND COUNTRY CLUB. G.3. ERIDAY, WARCH 29. 1968 Dr. Wright attended the meeting as Chairman of the S c i e n t i f i c Committee of the I n s t i t u t e of Occupational and Environmental Health. INSTITUTE Of OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH At the i n v i t a t i o n of the President of the A s s o c ia t io n , the Chairman of the Committee reviewed b r i e f l y the a c t i v i t i e s of the I n s t i t u t e since the la s t special meeting, f i r s t , a progress ra` por t on the ep idiomological study of asbestos mine workers was submitted by Dr. McDonald i n february. This report ind ic a te s t h a t the work i s somewhat ahead o f schedule with the r e s u lt that some funds may have to be advanced ahead of budget. As regards the Antigua Conference, there were 37 doctors and 7 Q.'A.W.A. people in attendance. Total expenditures to data 365,000.00 as a g a in s t a budget of 305,000.00. The charges for the p r i n t i n g o f the proceedings of the Conference are s t i l l to come. Joh ns- Wa nvi lle has prepared a p o s i t i o n paper on Asbestos and Human H e a lth , copies of which have been d i s t r ib u t e d to every company. c c 2. The Chairman then asked Counsel to reoort on his a c t i v i t i e s , es p e c i a l l y on his' e f f o r t s concerning B i l l s HR-14816 and S-2864 which are before the House and Senate Committee on Labour and P u b l i c Welfare of the United S t a t e s . The -ee ting was informed t ha t Dr. S e l i k o f f appeared before t h i s committee and used rather st ro n g language concerning the health of workers in the asbestos i n d u s t r y , statements which may well be misleading and i n v i t i n g . misinterpretation i f not considerable exaggeration. Counsel was happy to po in t out that he had been v i s i t i n g with Dr. S e l i k o f f on se v e r al occasions and f e l t that the l a t t e r had however a genuine de si r e to get to the core of the problem and in t h a t connection to work more c l o s e l y with u s . Dr. S e l i k o f f has q u i t e a f r o n t to cope w ith . He f e e l s he sometimes i s the center o f a t t a c k s from i n d u s t r y . As a r e s u l t of h i s work with i n s u la ti o n workers (18,000), he i s i n demand in many c i r c l e s , and such circles^ demand more a c t io n on h i s p a r t . J. M . research people meet regu l a r l y with Dr. S e l i k o f f ' s team. f o l l o w i n g a phone c a l l from Dr. S e l i k o f f , Counsel accompanied him when the l a t t e r (Dr. S e l i k o f f ) appeared before the House Committee on Labour, on B i l l HR-14316 tabled by s e c re t a r y Wirtz. This v i s i t to Washington'was supposed to be an "impromptu" a f f a i r , but Dr. S e l i k o f f had however a well prepared statement. Several questions were asked and some damaging comments r e s u l t e d . In view of t h i s , Counsel had found tha s i t u a t i o n to be pressing and t h a t something should be done in Washington. He had contacted flr. O'Hara, Chairman of the Committee, and explained hi s p o s i t i o n with . ../3 The sticky note shown below was written by Barry Castleman and attached to the page immediately following this one along the right margin at the spot marked on the next page with an / \ c c 4. befo re the Dresden Conference in A p r i l . A report on the metho dology w i l l then be r e l e a s e d ; t h i s i s an accomplishment to be s u r e . Dr. McDonald w i l l a l s o report on h i s e pi d lo m ol og ic a l survey at the Dresden Meeting. His study of Primary Mali gnant Tumours of the Pleura or Peritonium i s already in- progress. D^. Wright explained th a t i t i s sometimes cheaper to have ce rt a in r e se a r ch p r o j e c t s c a r r i e d out by competent people in other coun t r i e s , because of c e r t a i n s p e c i f i c condit ions and f a c i l i t i e s . In t h i s regard, the A s s o c ia t io n i s supporting p r o j e c t s of Dr. V i g l i a n i and Dr. P er ni s; the Committee a l s o proposes to recom mend support of a study on a group c f shipyard workera-in H a l i f a x , Nova S c o t i a and a study of Dr. Dumont of the U n i v e r s it y of Montreal. In the U . S . A . there i s a committee of i n d u s t r i a l - h y g i e n i s t s whose main fu n c tio n i s < to determine standards c o n t r o l l i n g noxious agents. This s e r v i c e determines maximum allowable c o n c e n t r a t i o n s . The Committee has potent l e g a l standing i n theory, but not in practice. I t was emphasized t ha t adequate info rma tion i s not always a v a i l a b l e to t h is Committee; f o r in s tan c e , standards for the asbestos industry are not up-to-date. As a r e s u l t of the evidence as to c r o c i d o l i t e being a cause c f mesothelioma, strong pressure has been exerte d, s p e c i a l l y in Great B r i t a i n (Dr. Roaeh),to r e p la c e c r o c i d o l i t e i n the manufacture of pr oducts wherever p o s s i b l e , C r o c i d o l i t e , however, should not be s i n g l e d o u t . The three tyoes of asbestos are i n the same boat. The s i t u a t i o n in the case of c r o c i d o l i t e comas .from the experience i n South A f r i c a and Great B r i t a i n . In the U . S . A . Dr. S e l i k o f f has r e p o r t e d ' a high i n ci d en ce of mesothelioma among i n s u l a t i o n workers, u s i n g in t h e i r trade both amosite and ch rys ot il e. This could mean /5 c c 5. t ha t the e x c l u s i o n o f amosite and c h r y s o t i l e might be asked at some f u t u r e d a te . One cannot ignore t ha t with proper circums t an ce s the same f i b r o g e n e s i s and ma l i g n a n c y apply to amosite and c h r y s o t i l s . These f in d in g s have been reported by Dr. John Knox in T e x t i l e Plants in Great B r i t a in . Dr. McDonald's study w ill show the a c tua l s i t u a t i o n in the asbestos operations in Quebec.' In visw^of these f i n d i n g s , what are the po s s i b l e options? a) No f i b r e could be used. b) Customers may decide to use something e l s e . c) A l t e r the f i b r e to a point where i t i s s t i l l s a l e a b l e , but not in ju rio u s. d) Like i n the beryllium industry, to contain the material} this i s p o s s i b l e but h i g h ly improbable, due to the la rge u t i l i s a t i o n of fibre. e) To l e a r n the"maximum allowable co n ce n t r at i o n which i s s afe Tor the working man and the p u b l i c . In Great B r i t a i n , this has been s e t at 2 p a r t i c l e s ( f i b r e s ) per cubic centimeter. The S c i e n t i f i c Committee plans to make an a n a l y s i s of the l a s t op t io n i n a sy st e m a t ic way. The Committee has undertaken a survey o f arse s where research should be done i n the f i e l d of asbestos and h e a l t h and the est im ate s of funds needed in each area. There are. 4 major a re a s : 1) S t u d i e s d e a l i n g with the maximum allow ab le dust concentration in the environment of man. 2) S t u d i e s d e a l i n g with the determinants and mechanisms in the b i o l o g i c a l a c t i o n o f asbestos f i b r e s , i n order to int er rup t the process. e e/6 c c 6 3) Studies dealing with the reducing of the con centratio n and numbers of inhaled asbestos f i b r e s . 4) Studies dealing with the development and e va lu at io n of methods used in the oreceeding considerations. The engineering problems (area N o .3) should be handled by indu str y' ' i t s e l f . The danger however i s t h a t the job w i l l be given to peo ple having already other assignments. The second area would be p a r t l y supported by s c i e n t i s t ' s . The cos t of an i n t e l l i g e n t program could amount to some 3500,000.00 a year f o r an unknown number of year s. The f i r s t area may l a s t ten to f i f t e e n y e a r s . P r e s e n t ly , there are . st ud ies being conducted by Or. McDonald, Or. V i g l i a n i and Or. Pernis. In order to cover manufacturing operations in Quebec, the budget should be se t a t 3110,000.00 in s t ea d of 330,000.00 over the next two y ear s. There i s very l i t t l e information to talk of in the manufacturing *" asbestos products. I t seems that the indu stry w i l l have to go ahead and conduct studi es on t e x t i l e , asbestos-cement, t i l e , rooming, e t c . , product manufacturing. To t h i s end, one needs a population with 20 to 25 years of exposure and some competent s c i e n t i s t s nearby. In the New Orleans area , the c o s t of such a study would run at 3100,000.00 to 3110,000.00 f o r two y ea rs , and a l i t t l e le ss for the next ye a r . At M a n v i l l e , New J e r s e y , the cost would be 3125,000.00 per year. The c o s t of s t u d i e s I n the f i r s t area would, t h e r e f o r e , amount of 3800,000.00 per year . The sticky note shown below was written by Barry Castleman and attached to the page immediately following this one along the right margin at the spot marked on the next page with an X c c 7 . The surv ey of desired inf orm ati on compiled by the I n s t i t u t e of O c c u p atio n a l and Environmental Health proposes a systematic program f o r studying the problem in such a way as to provide the necessary data fo r the purposes s e t forth above. I t i s obvious t ha t the areas are i n t e r - r e l a t e d and that ther8 i s some ov er la pp in g and r e d u p l i c a t i o n . There i s nothing that has not been expressed b e f o r e , but i t seems t h a t a use fu l purpose - /might be served i f the areas for study are recorded so that memories ca n be c o n s t a n t l y refr eshed and none of the important f a c t o r s overlo oke d. J u s t how t h i s m a t e r i a l w i l l be used i s not e n t i r e l y c l e a r a t the moment. I t can a c t as a s c a f f o l d i n g upon which e n l i s t e d research can be s t r u c t u r e d . I t may a s s i s t in minimizing overlap and r e d u p l i c a t i o n . I t i s hoped that i t may a s s i s t t h o se who are d e s i g n i n g pe rti ne n t s t u d i e s to include the n e ce ss a r y components. I t may als o help to i n d i c a t e the areas of study which would-be the most productive in terms of a speedy development of s a f e g u a r d s . I t should giv e an understanding of the s i z e o f the problem and hencs avoid the stagin g of inadequate a-ttacks. The o u t l i n e proposed may a s s i s t in developing an orderly approach and reduce the chance that e f f o r t s w i l l be dissipated by popular i n t e r e s t s . I t i s apparent, t oo , from such an outline t h a t the s e v e r a l major avenues can be worked upon simultaneously and each component w i l l b e n e f i t by i n t e g r a t i o n o f e f f o r t . One.may wonder why there has been a delay in the development of safe practices for using asbestos since its potential for f i b r o g e n e s i a has been known f o r f i f t y years and the suspicion that i t might p l a y a r o l e i n n e o p la si a dates back to 1935. A paucity o f knowledge has been and con tinues to be the major deterrent for the development o f r e l i a b l e and adequate safeguards. This in turn can be t r a c e d to s e v e r a l f a c t o r s to which a t t e n t i o n must be directed <f.~tha g o a l o f s a f e u t i l i z a t i o n of the f i b e r i s to be achieved. M c c 6. s' The l a c k of study methods possessing s u f f i c i e n t r e l i a b i l i t y to convince a l l concerned has been a major dete rrent to which con s i d e r a b l e but s t i l l inadequate a t t e n t i o n cu rr e nt ly i s Deinq d ire c ted . A paucity of adequately trained persons w illin g to devote t h e i r e ne rg ie s to the problem i s a second major deterrent. E q u a ll y at f a u l t i s the l a c k of opportunity for study and i n s u f f i c i e n t funds for that purpose c h a r a c t e r is t ic of past years. There i s no reason to expect t h a t these problems w i l l disappear and adequate inf or mat io n be obtained spontaneously without directed e f f o r t . The i n d u s t r i e s i n v o lv e d , the workers with t h e i r organiza t i o n s and the government r e g u la tin g agencies e it h e r d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y might be expected to provide the op p ort u ni tie s for study end the funds f o r t h i s purpose. Past experience with government a ge n ci e s give s l i t t l e reason to hope t ha t they w i l l mount a sus t a i n e d e f f o r t and i t i s doubtful that the workers and t h e i r orga n i z a t i o n s can do s^-on a broad enough s c a l e . This places the burden o f developing the necessary information and pu tting into operation the required safeguards d ir e c t ly in the hands of the industries i'nvolved. The time appears to have come f o r a concerted approach and a vigorous pu rsuit of the problem. F o ll ow in g Dr. U/right's p r e s e n t a t io n , i t was pointed out by the P r e s i d e n t t h a t . i n d i s c u s s i o n s with people whs defended the tobacco i n d u s t r y , he had been t o ld that i t had been found advisable not to be c a r r i e d away by the medical p r o f e s s i o n . Why not speed up Dr. McDonald's st udy? Our A s so c ia t io n knows of mesothelioma and t h i s study should t e l l us of the degree of in c id e n c e , the President added. To pr event snowballing of research e x p e n d it u r e s , i t had o r i g i n a l l y been fore see n t ha t the cost could be s p l i t up three ways: .../9 ) c c 9 . 5250.000. 5250.000. 5250.000. to Q.A.fl.A. to Wanufacturers. to Government. I t was agreed t ha t we need a d e f i n i t e program to obtain support ! of manufacturers and government, and the Q.A.Ifl.A. i s the best group to lead the indu stry i n t h i s f i e l d . Dr. Wright to submit copy o f framework to a l l companies, so t ha t a recommendation can be made by t h e i r a d v i s e r s . This w i l l a l s o help obta ining support of manufacturers. The d i sc us si on s i n d i c a t e d that there was a lack of communication with Directors about the problem, e s p e c i a l l y as to the escalation o f c o s t s (5 1, 500 ,0 00. 00 ). Po ss ib ly the Executive Committee of the I n s t i t u t e could be enlarged so tha t a l l D ir ec t or s could be bet ter a dvi sed . Suggestions were made a l s o as to the sharing of expen d i t u r e s by mining and manufacturing companies. The Chairman of the Executive Committee explained t h a t several resear ch p r o j e c t s had been submitted r e c e n t l y , a c e r t a i n number o f which had been recommended by the S c i e n t i f i c Committee but not r a t i f i e d by the Executive Committee. To do so would require an amount of 550,000.00 over an above cu rre nt budget of the In s t i t u t e . Acco rd ingly , i t was proposed by the Chairman to increase present budget of I n s t i t u t e from 1249,642.00 to 5300,000.00 (for 1968). This w i l l allow the Executive Committee to study end c c - . cept some of the p r o j e c t s submitted. I /10 I -r 'T 'A r.>v-c- I c c t f 10. ( Dresden Meeting - Due to recent reg u la tio n s of the U.S. Government, the industry w i l l finance the t r i o to Dresden of Drs. Mancuso, G n t e r l i n e , Naylor, McDonald, W.Smith, and Clark Cooper, for a t o t a l coat of S 4 , 280.00. These s i x doctors are presenting papers at the Conference. ADJOURNMENT ^1 Their being no f u r t h e r business, the meeting uias terminated. V !\ Paul-A. filteeu , Genera.1 Manager & Secretary.