Document K6GD74EQpgpMOar1Vkz8M8EoN

m/aBUREAU OF , WORKERS' COMPENSATION Division of Safety & Hygiene. 8120 Washington Village Drive. Dayton. Ohio 45458 PLAINTIFF'S . -- EXHIBIT ~ * REK-39 Toll Free: Phone: Fax: 1-800.962-7768 (513)438-8876 (513)438-8602 December 16, 1991 ;udy Spencer Legal Section industrial Commission of Ohio 30 V. Spring St. 9th Floor Columbus. OH 43266-0581 Claim: Claimant: Company: _ ____ R.E. Kramlg Co. 323 S. Vayne Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45714 Dear Hs. Spencer, Is a 45 year-old man who worked as an insulator for approximately 28 years.. During that period he worked out of a union local for a large number of employers, the last being Kramlg. He has developed mesothelioma allegedly caused by exposures to asbestos-containing materials encountered* during his employment* Insulators, especially those who worked in the trade before 1971, have a high probability of past exposure to asbestos- containing materials. It is impossible to determine when HMIBV may have received the first or last injurious exposure to asbestos-containing materials, or what the levels of exposure may have been. Due to the stringent regulations and requirements pertaining to asbestos exposure prevention, it is highly unlikely that he was exposed during the .ast years when he worked for Kramlg. Since the latency period for the development of most forms of asbestos-related respiratory disease Is so variable. symptom cnset cannot be used to determine when or where exposures occurred. Because of the ambiguity of symptomology, a direct link between exposures and symptom development Is also dlf fIcult. I The development of mesothelioma is another matter, however In a paper by Hughes and Velll ^reference below), the following Is found "Mesothelioma. a primary pleural or peritoneal malignancy, Is a rare disease, even among asbestos workers -.a total ol approximately 1500 cases in the U.S. annually compared with approximately 130,000 lung cancers). Icnsoquently. In coraparlton with lung cancer, there is much less quantitative Information for mesothelioma for establishing a lcse-response relationship. As a result. of the very low : r.c idence of this disease in the general population and c.-.elusive evidence of ar. increased risk among asbestot. workers (the only known occupational cause), any case occurring in a person with an Industrial asbestos exposure is assumed to be a result of that exposure. However, virtually all studies of mesothelioma cases have Included persons for whom no known asbestos exposure could be identified. Moreover, a substantial number of cases have been reported from rural Turkey (attributed no the indigenous occurrence of another fibrous mineral, erlonlte, a form of the mineral seollte) and animal studies have demonstrated that fibers other than asbestos can lnduea mesothelioma. For these reasons, it is concluded that there are background cases of mesothelioma in the general papulation: l.e., cases with no relationship to asbestos exposure". Since worked for many years as an insulator, there is little " doubt that he received exposures to asbestos- containing materials. Exposures to any particular agent, .or combination of agents does not guarantee disease development, however. The occurrence of mesothelioma, with known asbestos exposures makes a strong case for the connection between this claim and his work history. If I may be of further assistance with this claim, please let me know. Industrial Hygienist References: 1. Hughes and Velll, Asbestos Exposure - Quantitative Assessment of Risk, Am. Rev. Resplr. Dis., 133:5- 13, 1986. 2. Occupational Respiratory Diseases, KIOSH Pub. 86-102, Sept. 1986. Page 2 RECORDS CERTIFICATION I, the undersigned, an employee of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, do hereby certify that the microfilm images on this reel of microfilm or microfiche are complete end accurate reproductions of the original records of the ^<4- 14as accumulated during the regular course of business, and that it is the established procedure of this department to microfilm its records for permanent file and to dispose of the origins! records after microfilm reproductions have been mad". WC-5012 (7/91) 44 r h