Document KRqapx7q6pG9yyz3ZvdG5kmKw

FILE NAME: Montello (MNT) DATE: 1981 Dec 9 DOC#: MNT006 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter from Montello to Dept of Labor RE Use of Asbestos in Oil and Gas Well Drilling 6106 EAST 32NO PLACE TULSA, OKLAHOMA74135 (916) 665-1170 / TWX 910645-8396 015812 December 9 , 1981 Mr. Thorne Auchter A ssistant Secretary fo r Occupational Department o f Labor 200 C onstitution Avenue, N.W. Room S2315 - Washington, D.C. 20210 - Safety ... Dear Mr. Auchter: On September 10, 1981, Dr. Frank Shell o f D rillin g S p e cia ltie s Company wrote you regarding the use o f asbestos in o il and gas well d rillin g flu id s . We hope i t 1s not too la t e fo r us to add our comments for your consideration. By way o f introduction, Hontello and D rillin g Sp ecial t i e s a re com petitors, each d istrib u tin g a wide range o f products to the International d r illin g industry. Both companies are acutely aware o f the to x ico lo g ical and regulatory fa c to rs associated with asbestos usage. We are a lso intim ately fam iliar with the unique working conditions a t the d r illin g lo ca tio n . With the c lo se cooperation o f our respective manufacturers (Montello d istrib u tes for' Union Carbide), substantial e f - . fo r ts have been made during the past ten years in product formulation to control a ir entrainable dust; in package design to improve in te g rity and d u ra b ility ; in fie ld monitoring to ascerta in the^true magnitude o f exposure 1n actual d r il ls i t e usage; and in developing and improving work practices. . - Dr. Shell makes a strong point o f the need by employeVs using asbestos 1n our industry, fo r a c la r ific a tio n o f how the medical and monitoring requirements are to be applied. This is very tru e , and is 'b a se d o n the fa c t th a t asbestos usage in d rillin g remains remarkably high, despite a profound amount o f extremely adverse media a tte n tio n .* We are convinced th a t any functionally e ffe c tiv e a lte rn a tiv e material would have replaced asbestos in th is application long ago. Employers are thus caught 1n a dilemma. Viewed conservatively, compliance with the present Standard 1s considered impossible. At the same time, replacement o f the mater ia l has met with l i t t l e success. Lest we give the wrong Impression, please note th at our industry only consumes about I t or so o f the to ta l asbestos used annually in the U.S. A ty p ical well w ill only require $1,000. or so worth o f asbestos a t r e ta il prices. lltorne Auchter December 9, 1981 Page 2 : 015813 The d r ill s it e is unique among non-fixed workplaces. There are over 4 000 rig s now operating in the U.S. They d r ill an average o f about one weil "wwoorrlqkrntaicaecsM ^dduriiinc^g^tthiie!^y* eraers. u1Ttoinfutrhtheeersctaobmlipshlimcaetentthoef ssoitmuea8ti5o,n00, 0thneew t n S+hTaw?f--y ] n extremely remote, hard to reach lo cation s. Adding in*** fa c t th at asbestos i s not ty p ica lly used accord- h o u r ^ s o SfnHSnnfduleA * added to the mud system fo r a h a lf o W reau en t ro ies rr^ ?tPtenneIssMo f liocUaPJtion seanvd5raulnp^redictable pcroodmubcitnautsioange make the scheduling o f regular monitoring a nightmare 1n lo g is tic s . tiL f a t th? d-iH site i s extremely complex. Opera tio n s are on a 24 hour, seven day per week b a s is . There is a continual i i W2 * Personn] onto, within and away from th e lo ca tio n . They are em ail^ * *i? man^ d^Tferent_co n tracto rs, suppliers and serv ice organizations t t e r ^ o m o l l c ^ t i n ^ t h * ^ ? 5 neari th? P,a ce "h ere asbestos 1s aided. Fur-* d r i l l e?P] oy?e nj x 1s the very unpredictable nature o f 1s irnP ssib le to plan ahead fo r every contingency. As a 2 ^ * TM ? " f L T 1 fre<luent l y be sent to the lo cation on extremely 5 th* s is i he fa c t th a t 1e5S s k ille d employees are d riliin n ^ ? na^ r e * le ?din9 to considerable turnover during T p ll'TM ? ' . . There can also be a major-change o f personnel when the r i a 17 ! w d Thi v r o ^ nti nud e a rl1 e r* th is happens on the average o f every fn rv e^rM h lif * re<iuent change and unpredictable composition o f the work i S S t S f S J l . 2 5 , ? * e5taM is^ o f uniformly applied medical e l I or th e "U i TM te establishm ent o f a "Work -Practices" w r k lilc e s ta ^ h % f s f ande ^ thf dr i n l n9 industry aqd other non-f1xed e x D o a u ^ *n rfSJ!\w ^ d r d wou1d be e ffe c tiv e in minimizing workplace re lt^ n l' T suscePtib 1e to compliance than the cu r- dard w ill " J t e r , such a su b stan tial change in the Stan c e ? 111 Pr? baMy take considerable time. Meanwhile, employers in our industry continue to face the d ilem mentioned e a r li e r . * f ^ v e i ^ t o r t ' i r i S "^ - 1" dr|n i "9 operations is only sporadic, and l p,er ,ods o f time* In combination with sen sib le work pract$ i " ^ u r-7WA rea<" 9S th a t are ty p ic a lly below the l i s h e d ^ l i s t V t i I i f . 1Sot 5oiStl0 n le v el f o r exams esta b - tim T to 2"2 -21A- W th Union Carbide, we w ill con ing lp e c ia lt ie s w ill1^ ^ ^ ^ T < plaC? s throughout the U.S. (D r ill- liW M L i be doing the same.) We propose th a t, so tyoicallv fa ll i$i.t s o f such rep resen tativ e monitoring W r 5e lSw - 1 flb e r per c c , the employer in d rillin g anciss. wweI wwoou5llddrmTMakkePa^lilidiartaesfproomn soibuirlimtyonfoitrorminogniftroereinlyg aanvdaimlaebdleicatlo*eax-ll Mr. Thorne Auehter December 9 , 1981 Page 3: 015814 users o f our product, and to OSHA i f desired. With the low TWA values demonstrated in our past monitoring, we do not believe issuing an additional OSKA Compliance Instruction to th is e f f e c t w ill in any way promote a more hazardous'workplace. Instead, such Issu ance would serve to remove an unnecessarily burdensome concern now shared by a ll employers 1n our industry, allowing them to make drilling.program decisions on the basis o f economics and.performance. We earnestly re quest your thoughtful consideration o f our proposal. Please feel free to c a ll our Tulsa o ffic e i f there are any questions, or i f further information is needed. V