Document Jrd9JZ26eRXO9Eb6GqdQdrna6

FILE NAME: Union Carbide (UC) DATE: 1966 Sept 9 DOC#: UC085 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Memo RE Asbestos - Toxicology with Attached Publicity & Articles M E M 0 R AMD U M TO: Messrs. T. Dougherty D I S T R I B U T I O N ^ / DATE: September 9, ^Soo ii. A. Hiller R. W. Stobaeus 3. K. Barton J. E. Skvarla W. T. Cohan -\Js3 j. A,. Riddle K. \. Wood ^ N. J. Setter R. T. Larkin CC: L. S. O'Rourke L. F. Crow G. C. Brice s' D. S. Kamens SUBJECT: Amest T oxicology T. J. Hall K. West H. F. Reichard/R. G. Woolery G. Vessels Q Jj. A. Riddle J. Derbecker Shifters 0 F. R. Chestor. A. A. A n d ra d e T. F. Frangos File E" ,r `/ \ deceived S c ? 1 ? 1966 Gentlemen: u.c.Ce. ` " -/AEAI.S DlV. ' 'T A ,.iP . Attached are "tear sheets" from some of the most recent publicity in respect to the subject. The one article appeared in the September 10 issue -of . CHEMICAL WEEK; the other was passed along to us by Peter Cheston, and appeared in the LONDON SUNDAY TIMES of August 14. ^ There Is no doubt this kind of publicity will persist, and it is important that its inapplicability to our products and our applications not be missed by our customers ana prospects. You have some positive positions you can and shoula take with your customers: 1. It is important that you continue to use Dr. Dernehl's "Asbestos Toxicology Report" as well as the statements made by the Food and Drug Administration (Department of Health, Education and Welfare). I am attaching copies of each; if your file supply of these is de pleted, you can either run off copies or get addi tional from us. 2. In the CHEMICAL WEEK article, if we look at the summary of "sources of airborne asbestos", we see that, to our knowledge, our products now are used only in modest amounts in ceiling ar.c floor tiles, and here in rela tively low concentrations. Further, these are applications . employing particularly good resin binders, making the loss of asbestos to the air from such compositions appear highly unlikely. UCC 000076 A 1035 ) -2- 3. You will recall (my memo March 26) that there has been medical literature reference to the association between cancer and polycyclic aromatic organic compounds found with certain sources of asbestos -- among them jute oils from sacking materials, and 3,4 benzo(a) pyrene. Union Carbide uses no jute bags. . Analytical tests have established the absence of organic material with Union Carbide asbestos. Some time next week, we expect microanalyses to show specifically no detection of polycyclic aromatic compounds with Union Carbide asbestos of our different grades. 4. Please note the primary concern in these publications deals with "airborne asbestos" - and Dr. Dernehl has stated clearly that "while asbestos dust in excess of the Threshold Limit Value i3 potentially harmful, as are many other dusts encountered in industry, it is as readily controlled as other dusts and it can be used safely with appropriate precautions" . We should take the positive position, important to our customers, that Union Carbide produces and supplies this commodity in pelletized form, a major step in assisting the user to control his own dust hazards. We feel certain this factor has been a prominent one in the decision of certain of our floor tile customers to shift toward . use of Union Carbide product. Very truly yours, A.E.Pufahl:dk attach. UCC 000077 A 1, 0352 Taking Giant Steps Two chemical process companies took giant steps toward diversifying into the oceanography field last week, and two paper companies with com bined sales of nearly $1 billion/year reached a tentative agreement to merge. (1) Bendix Corp. (Detroit) ex panded its oceanic activities by ac quiring for an undisclosed amount of stock Marine Advisers (La Jolla, Calif.), producer of oceanographic in struments for petroleum and utility companies, state and federal agencies, and firms engaged in scientific pro grams. ' (2) Fluor Corp. (Los Angeles) and B. L. McFarland and Associates (Fort Worth and Midland, Tex.), a group of five companies involved in offshore and onshore drilling opera tions, have agreed to merge, subject to stockholders' approval. The Mc Farland group operates five offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. (3) A tentative agreement to merge has been reached by U.S. Plywood Corp, (New York) and Champion Parers. Inc. (Hamilton, O.). It is sub ject to both directors' and stockhold ers' aoprcval. The corporate identities bc'.b companies will be preserved. 7!educing Gas Rates The Federal Power Commission has ordered El Paso Natural Gas Co. and Transwestern Pipeline Co. to reduce by S17 million/year the price of na tural gas.in the southern California market. The rate cut stems from the July 26 decision in which FPC turned down the application of Gulf Pacific Pipeline Co. (a Tenneco subsidiary) to supply gas to the Los Angeles area (O Y Aug. 6, p. 20). Gulf Pacific last week filed for a rehearing. El Paso and Transwestern were told they would have to lower their rates to reflect the lower costs result ing from the bigger deliveries pos sible in the expanded system. At the rnme time, FPC said it would conduct further proceedings to decide if cus tomers should get additional benefits resuming from more liberal depreciaV'.'t: allowances. "PC has given the companies 45 days :o show cause why the reduction 'hott'd not take place. 32 CHEMICAL WEEK September I '.', Sources otf airborne asbesios .Asbestos-lined ducts used in centrally air-conditioned buildings. Asbestos ducts and insulation in home central-heating plants. Motor vehicle brake linings and clutch plates. Auto undercoatings. Asbestos ceiling and floor tiles. Asbestos shingles and sidings. Construction and demolition Fitting, cutting, and removing asbestos-filled wallboards and floorings, piping and insulation. Incineration of asbestos-filled scrap. Improperly filtered effluent from asbestos processing plants. A s b e s to s : A w a its sis `T r ia l' The asbestos Industry-- whose end products are valued at more than $500 million/year-- may be in for a shake up. It could come in the form of federal legislation limiting the use of asbestos, because asbestos has been ac cused-- though not yet "convicted"-- as a significant health hazard. Prob able contender for asbestos markets: plastics. Recent studies have convinced U.S. Public Health Service specialists and other medical authorities that about 40% of all Americans have mild, chronic cases of asbestosis, even though most of them never worked directly with asbestos. Unlike other airborne dust particles, asbestos fibers have the ability-- al most as much as activated carbon-- to absorb polycyclic hydrocarbons and arsenicals. Furthermore, says USPHS, in the past 30 years the as bestos-related cancer rate has in creased sixfold. The Inferences: While the average asbestos worker is well protected, the man on the street is not. The 3x1micron asbestos fibers in his lungs can come from a variety of sources (table, above). And medical experts say there's no way to assess hydrocarbon content in those lung deposits. American Cancer Society research ers feel certain there is a synergistic relationship among airborne asbestos, smoking and lung cancer. They reason that the nondegradable. hydrocarbonsoaked fibers may well be a constant source of lung irritation. 1256 UCC 000078 PHS officials think it may take them up to five years to establish asbestos' true role as an air pollutant. However, Congress may act before the research is. finished. Says Repre sentative Robert Watkins (R., Pa.): "We've seen enough evidence al ready. Asbestos will never get a clean bill of health. 'With just a little more data we'll move for controls and strict ones." Some form of asbestos control is in the offing, public health officials are certain, if only part of a larger clean-ambient-air program. However, there is the danger that Congress may enact rigorous controls on the quanti ty of asbestos that could be used. In that case both Canada and U.S. asbestos products manufacturers would be hard hit. Of the five forms of asbestos mired today, chrysotile asbestos holds the predominant mar ket position because of its insulat ing and process ng qualities. Canada produces more than 80% of the chry- . sotile asbestos used in the U.S. In both countries, a number of serious dislocations would occur. At present, there is no known ma terial that could fill all of asbestos' strategic roles. On the other hand, should federal controls merely cal! for higher standards for binders and shieldings, that would spark a rise cf new products, with plastics tr.k:rg the lead. Reason, say industry spokesmen, present polymer technology could easily turn up products to replace as bestos in most end-uses. A 1035 3 c<r?vib auiiiiliO c r i u j By Br Alfred B'vue R r l G U L A T I O N S w hich ackn ow le d g e that, o c c u p a tio n a l e x p o s u r e to a s b e s t o s is c a u s i n ' ; t h e m o s t im p o rta n t industrial c a n c e r of o u r l i m e w ill lie i n t r o d u c e d n e x t w e e k il:.v M i s s M a r y a i o t i l c i- b i s o u , M i n i | .-.ter o f .S o c ia l R e r u n ly. 1 I'Yu ih *.!!! l h c l u i i j . i i i r I IllnlWII X. IIICMlllll'lUiUia Will he J:.-i111111!i.1 ,v| II " pl'c e'lbed 1d i M M s e , " s o i l i u l . a s b e s t o s w o r k e r s ! w ilt- r u n t r a c t it a s a u 's u l t o f | tire.*' o c c u p a t i o n a ftt-r a c e r t a i n ! d a t e wl'.i h e e l i g i b l e f o r 1b e n e f i t . M e s o t h e l i o m a i usual tu m o u r of the in d u s tria l is a n u ii- p le u ra -- | c u v e n n t ! Hit* i u n ^ -- a n d o f s im ila r tissue lin in g th e a h d o m in a l i c a v ity , a m i is in v a r i a b l y fa ta l. ! S e v e ra l step s are b c in y ta k e n to I w a r d s d is co ve rin '; th e full effects ! of this recently roco ynise d | disease so th at m e a s u re s to pro- 1v e n t i t c a n l i e d e v i s e d . ! A .! re g iste r of 'all p a s t a m i ! p res.-n t eases o e n i r n m ; in lln la iu h a s uocii sec u p b y th e M e d ic a l ' Research C o u n c i l 's I'lieu m u - tuiiio-.is R e s e a r c h U n i t , d ir e c t e d ! b y Dr. J . C . G i l s o n , i n C a r d i f f . ; T h e y h a v e a d d e d 70 n e w e a s e s t o t n e i r o r i g i n a l n u c l e u s o f 120 i s i n c e t h e S u n d a y T i m e s b r o k e 'tins | n e w s of (his e p id e m ic o n O c to b e r ; 2I, llM H i. O n e h o s p i t a l iti L o n - I d u n arid a rn iih c r in llelfas! a r e e a c h a d m ittiiu ; a n averan'e o f o n e n e w case a m o n th . | A n a v u r a . w o f `10 y e a r s u s u a l l y j e la p s e s b e t w e e n e x p o s u r e to asbestos a n d th e a p p e a ra n c e of | th e ;;row t.li. E x p o s u r e f o r on l.v i tw o or three m o n th s m a y cause ! the cancer. Livin ;; n e a r an | asbestos w o r k s p re d isp o s e s to i m e s o th e lio m a , a n d relatives of l a s b e s to s w o r k e r s c a n also y e t it U tro u t'h initalinc asb esto s fibres i y i v e n Gi: th e clothiiij; o f th e ir ;m enfolk. , .Su cu p a tie n ts w e r e n o t w o rkiii.u w ith asbestos, so lie e iu 'ib lo fo r th e y w ill not com pensation o u u v i m e in du strial Injuries A c t o f 15147. I n c r e d i b l y , p e r h a p s , lie " arc also o th e r m e s o th e lio m a victim s w h o are not cliyible u n d e r th e n e w retaliation ho.an.se th e y w o r k e d 'f o r a s h o r t tim e in th e in du stry on ly b efore the n e w A r t ' I I ' I I' I V . There are three types of asliesto.; .u.-r-d cnmmerrir.liy-- chrysidilo. erociuoiite and amositfi --whose possible hazards are now liein;; .'.Ssei.vu in the fahoratery and ;.o' ;tc!d. With , . lit: :.x eoaomao. Itie In;, r.,..;. .e:.i i II;;.ill;1.1 l .-I i:. ,il ra.i.'/.M'' tlteiOHOll '.ilHiU-. to ..I'.,:. V, r.1`1 ( oolv one ivjieoi tiloc |u .X u., Monies in ` mull Afnc.i , e.o. alivndy shown mat tiro t . is more common iu the noiyi.h.iur- ltood of mines priiduein;: .roe.tin- lile than amosite. To complete the. picture the coiitmmee are '.u-.sionx to see a similar study performed iu Gaitada hi relation to mines producing chrysolite. Rntiuduipsts iu British hospitals are also ja m j back thrmtuh thir records to see tf mcs'ol heliums ,< a "now" disease associated with the commercial use of a.-bene,, and checkin;: if it is ;..-eu!;ariy related to certain ilistm Is. 'they are also studyim; tile incidence of asbestos particles in Iuium exatoined post mortem. In cities of tho U S . Smith Africa and Britain the iun.es of midble-a.ted and older people have been sound to contain asbestos bourns in front 5 to on per rent, of case.-, lint the medical si;:miior.:ice of this, if any, remains to lie derided. Advised liy a committee of experts, the Ministry of i.nbour is draw ind tin a new rode of lTipdations (iosi;;iied to eive persons work'niK with nriv.hts more pi-nleclion than they have had from the .-eneral t'aelory roipdations. Asbestos is now used to make cutters, rmiiinj:, tiles, bral:e-l:tiir.i;s and mnnermis other lldups not euvisase.d wlien il-.e risk of asbesiosis was (5ret realised. 'i'iie ot.ieiai proposals will therefore include Severn1, occupa tion:; to which not enoujth thought is r.iven t:j present. Poemi.-mm standards of dustmens will pre sumably lie proposed for workers expose.; p. special risk, such as tin.-'' tit the textile industry v 1 'in.-i, . :..,i-;cd in inurin': hot ,. It is .oil 'd tii.it me first nfiU'ial prunes.;11 will he made known by.' th.......... . f :ii: . . . ... UCC 000079 UNICN CARBIDE CORPORATION 270 PARK AVENUE. NEW YORK, N .Y . 10017 ASBESTOS TOXICOLOGY REPORT It has been known for many years that seme persons working in asbestos production were prone to develop a disabling lung disease. In time, this condition became known as asbestosis and was related to exposure to high concentrations of asbestos dust. With further experience, it was found that men could work with asbestos without development of lung disease if dust concentrations were kept below a certain level. It is now gen erally accepted that a man can work a 40-hour week for a lifetime without developing asbestosis if the asbestos dust particle count is kept at or below 5 million particles per cubic foot of air. This dust concentration of 5 million particles per cubic foot of air is the Threshold Limit Value for asbestos, and no cases of asbestosis are known to have occurred when exposures have been maintained at or below this level, despite large-scale utilization (now approaching one million tons per year in the U.S.A.). This concentration of dust is generally not'visible in the average work area unless a beam of light causing a Tyndall effect is present. Usually the dust concentration must be from 8-10 million particles per cubic foot before its presence is visible in average lighting conditions. Several years ago, it was reported that there was an increase in the incidence of cancerous tumors, especially of the lung, associated with asbestosis. Recently there have been reports of some cancers occurring in individuals exposed to asbestos dust, but who have not developed clinical asbestosis. It is believed by most authorities that these cases have been associated with exposures significantly exceeding the Threshold Limit Value. A major manufacturer of asbestos products who also mines asbestos has not been able to show an increase in cancerous growths in men working where dust concentrations were maintained at the Threshold Limit Value. Control of asbestos dust exposure is therefore necessary. The control methods are the standard ones applicable to a variety of dusty operations. They include closed flow systems, wet processes where possible, and adequate exhaust ventilation where openings in the system are necessary. Pelletizing is sometimes used to improve the handling character istics of otherwise dusty materials. Where satisfactory containment to stay within the Threshold Limit Value is impractical or impossible, efficient and reliable respirators are available for the protection of the employee. A program of environmental monitoring is highly desirable to determine that Threshold Limit Values are not being exceeded. In paper manufacturing, it would be desirable to know the dust concentrations where the asbestos is dumped from bags into the pulp slurry. Concentrations should also be ' determined where dusting occurs in finishing products. While initial dust determinations should be made at frequent intervals, once the level has been established as satisfactory, the frequency may be extended tc occasional tests to assure continuation of a satisfactory condition. UCC 000080 A 1.035b -2- Pre-employment and periodic physical examinations of workers are desirable. These should include chest X-rays to insure that the worker has no chest condition prior to work with asbestos and to determine that no lung changes are resulting from work with asbestos. It is believed that the addition of asbestos at the proposed levels during the manufacture of paper products would be harmless to the consumer. Total dusting would have to be well in excess of any levels ,acceptable to the consumer for the asbestos concentration to approach the Threshold Limit Value. In conclusion, while asbestos dust in excess of the Threshold Limit Value is potentially harmful, as are many other dusts encountered . in industry, it is as readily controlled as other such dusts and it can be used safely with appropriate precautions. Carl U. Dernehl, M. D. Director of Toxicology K. S. Lane, M. D. Assistant Director of Toxicology UCC 000081 A '0356 'V V > Our Law Department advises us that the attached exchange of letters with the Food and Drug Administration means that FDA is in agreement with us that the use of asbestos fiber as a component of paper and paperboard used in contact with food is safe and is in compliance with the Food and Drug Act and that no specific regulation under the Food Additives Amendment is necessary. Our letter to FDA is dated October 31, 1963. Their reply is dated December 6, 1963. The correspondence is between Mr. Scriba of our Law Department and Mr. Cassidy of F.D.A. UCC 000082 4 !0357