Document KJdKX410xaO9ny0o2oJppny4r

FILE NAME: Union Carbide (UC) DATE: 1966 Mar 22 DOC#: UC181 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Memo and Newspaper Articles RE Links between Asbestos & Cancer MEMORANDUM $. tr - \ ! ?J!TALS DJV. TO: Messrs. T. Dougherty R. A. Miller R. W. Stobaeus B. K. Barton T. R. van Fleet N. J. Setter R. T. Larkin CC: L. S. O'Rourke SUBJECT: Asbestos - Toxicology T. J. Hall H. F. Reichard/R. G. Woolery J. A. Riddle. J. Derbecker P. R. Cheston T. F, Frangos Gentlemen: Early in March the "New York Times" and the "Herald Tribune", reporting the establishment of a new environmental health laboratory at Mt. Sinai Hospital (New York City), revived some publicity (copy attached) in regard to Asbestos dust as a health hazard. We understand that a few newspapers in other cities picked it up. this will make "Out of context" reporting leads to erroneous conclusions, and is no exception. Nevertheless, we should reckon that such a commentary recur, and all of us should use the tool we now have at our disposal to certain our customers are acquainted with the facts: 1. You have copies of Dr. Demehl's "Asbestos Toxicology Report." Additional copies are enclosed. Use these, and call particular attention to Dr. Demehl's statements in regard to "Threshold Limit Value"fJr asbestos. Control of asbestos dust exposure is necessary, as is control of exposure to any of a variety of dusty operations. 2. Union Carbide pellets offer a clear-cut means of handling asbestos under exceptionally low dust conditions. 3. No work yet conducted or published presents, nor pro fesses to present, incontrovertible proof of a relationship between cancer and asbestos. Some publications have re ferred to the association of deleterious organic compounds, among them jute oils from jute sacking material, and 3,4 benzo(a) pyrene. We do not use jute bags. Further, we are CC 020800 -2analyzing tandom samples of our product, and expect shortly to prove the absence of any polycyclic aromatics. Your pelleted asbestos affords customers the best means of avoiding dust hazards. Make this clear. Very truly yours, A.E.Pufahl/dh Enclosures UCC 020801 >ti i u p a m t i n g Luts n1^- __ . .... jilAsiiesfos Dust Called a. Hazard: ' To at Le^sf One-Fourth of U.5. ny JANK E. mtOIJY I Asbcatog v.ust, which has al structlon workers and their ready been connected with families. the development of fatal can According to the findings of cer in one-half of asbestos three recent limited studies, the workers, may be a ' potential dangers might extend to the health hazard for one-quarter general population.'The studies, of the population or more, it which involved autopsies on|' was reported yesterday. 1,100 persons in three cities, Jj This preliminary finding was showed that 25 per cent of thei. described by Dr. Irving J. .Sell- people had asbestos lodged . inj' koff in announcclng the estab- their lungs. |1 lishment of ' an environmental Dr. Selikoff explained th a t1 .health laboratory at Mount the studies had used a "crude Sinai Iwill -H-ospital. --The laboratory further investigate the technique1' that disclosed those asbestos fibers that only bad .dangers to man of asbestos and become coated by an iron-rich bother environmental Imints. contaml- material lungs. A while lodged in the more refined technique Dr. Selikoff said the link now shows that ma. , persons between cancer and asbestos harbor noncoated asbestos fi had led him to suspect that bers as well, he said. othor mineral dusts . that con New Study Started taminate both urban and air might create medical rural haz >r. Selikoff leagues at the and his col new laboratory ards for the public. The new laboratory will . be have sta in which rted they a thre will: e- yea r study headed by Dr. with Dr. J: - >b Selikoff Churg, who. found . <1Examine, with the ceased's family's approval, de the that asbesti al! showed workers eventu to seven times lung 4,000 tissue of the from 3,000 persons expected to die to in tb normal cancer and death three rate from times the lung nor the next two years at Mount Sinai, Elmhurst Hospital and mal the death rate from cancer of stomach, coloq and rectum. Veterans Hospital The doctors will in the Bronx. look for un- Other Workers Affected coatcd as well as coated asbes Dr. Selikoff noted that the tos fibers In the tissues. dangers of exnosurc to asbestos GDook for correlations be- . dust were n imited to tl >sc tween the causes of death and h who work directly with this tiie presence of asbestos fibers'g ubiquitous Insulator and filler l'n lung tissuee,. / . material. The dangers, he said, ^Det'ermine the occupational t) extend to workers in "contigu history of the deceased and their u ous trades," such as other con- relatives and other pertinent v background information. p Asbestos Is a fibrous mineral & highly valued for its noncor rosive and long-wearing prop- p erties. In addition to its common t use as a fireproof material, Dr. t Selikoff said, asbestos makes up a about 50 per cent of asphalt h tile and is used in dental cement, p brake linings, plastics, beer fit- g ters, gas masks and paper. Until i last year, some schools used t) asbestos dust Instead of sand si for children to play in. wi ;' Study Links j ' Asbestos To.Cancer I; ; By Earl Ub ell I . Science Editor Scientists have known for A a long time that asbestos . j was bad for your lungs. Now ' ` 1 ft study of New York City workers, both roofers and i. .Insulation blowers, reveals ;-. that exposure to the mineral : j.v' sends lung - cancer death l J , rates skyrocketing. |: The figures--gathered by .' doctors at Mount Sinai Hosi | pital--show that such work ers have eight times the lungcancer death rate as would [' he expected in a non-exposed , population. 'I , ! ' i. I h r* ! I ; < I ; a I : ., More suprislngly, the stud les reveal that such workers run four times the rick of getting cancer In other parts of the body, with cancer of the colon particularly singled out. For all c;her diseases, the Insulation workers have the same death rate as the rest of the population, . These findings were em phasized yesterday by Dr. : Irving J. Selikofi, head ' of . Mt. Sinai's Division of Envlronmental Medicine,' on the , . occasion of the establish ' ment of an environmental i health laboratory in the hosi - pital. The laboratory has received grants totaling $324, ; ` 000 from the United States ' Public Health Service and . I | the New York City Health ! Research Council. Dr. Selikofi also pointed r out that cigarette smoking seems to heighten the effects ' I of the asbestos. Among 130 J men exposed to asbestos 20 years or more who were non smokers, he found one lung- can cer. death among 310 : smokers, 21 such deaths. j UCC 020802 UNION CARBIDE UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION 270 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10C17 ASBESTOS TOXICOLOGY REPORT It has been known for many years that some 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 uniess 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 net 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- " ,8 ^ erWiSf duSt? 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 Threshoid 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 to occasional tests to assure continuation of a satisfactory condition. UCC 020803 -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 020804