Document LJKQR8dVy9L1m42vmVgpLRq

FILE NAME: New York State & NY Times (NY) DATE: 1973 Nov 25 DOC#: NY057 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NYT Article - Conferees Study Asbestos Hazard CONFEREESSTUDY mmmm 125 From 13 CounWtt Find That Lethal Mineral Is Present Everywlwre MA E. BRODY MetAluYWNnrVwkTtMT ii ui!>,t N*C.--More than 12S idowUU from 13 counl?HineAnu4ticwcodchocurae&*y *f*at awiede*k A/^v/T2-5" 11 7 3 a mineril of * thousand uses whole potentially lathal flberi pervwie ihc human environ . meat? In throe days of Intense dis cussion rod debate, no final conclusions wen niched, a few worrisome preliminary findins wen presented end hun dred of u-yet unanswered . questions were ratsod. Only two facts went unchnltengsd: that abastos Is everywhen--tq the air, n weterways, In drinking weter, in fodda and beverages, drugs and talcum powder, and the*when whaled; W large quantities. as bestos is dangerous, causing incaMcIttriWg lung disease and highly lethal cancers, The conference, called hy the National Inalllui* of Environ mental Health Sciences, was promptad largely by the dlscovery earlier this year that the drinking water of Duluth, Minn., and other elites on Uke Su perior was heavily contaminated wl h asbestos, the presumed re sult of pollution by a mining company that Has been dump"8 67,000 tons of rocky waste . into the lake each day for IT years. The Government Is seeking to . end tbo dumping of these as bestos containing wastes Into Lake Superior In on action cur rently being heard la United Stetee District Court In Minnea polis. But wbat can and what should It do about the countless other sources of asbestos con tamination? "Asbestos represents a clas sic problem tint our modern Industrial society will face over and over again,1' remarked Dr. Devkl Ball, director of the Na tional Institute, "ft's a vital substance, so we can't ban it, but Ultra's a growing concern about Its possible health ef fects." And since the lieelth effects of asbestos often do not show up until 30 to 3 years after Initial exposure, "ovon If we atop all asbestos exposure to day, we will continue to see evidence of disease welt into the next century," said Dr. Rob ert Burrell, e microbiologist at, West Virginia university, | . virtually all the reliable In formation about the harm aeheetoj can wreak on the hu man body is derived from the Mparienc* of asbestos workers who have Inhaled large quan tities of the flbore. In addition lo succumbing to the chronic lung disease as bestoste, these workers are far more likely than the geecral population to die from King can cer and mosothclloma, an In- ^ ooor ti11 crifocts the lining of the cheat or abdomen. ^ " Oritiy Dr, Irving J. Sell- off, who directs o Federally sponsored asbestos research center at Mount Sinai Medical Center, reported (hat aabestos rfS rV i p had an increased rlak of developing cancer of the gastrointestinal tract An estimated 100,000 newj ^ .^ fp d ro lm e stin a l cancer, wIB b* diagnosed In the United! ^ " *M yoar. and although! tij* Muon a moat common, type ef interne) cancer, Its! tsuse, remains unknown, A bl* question cxplorod at , `f w c o r t meeting was how Whaled asbestos might damage the digestive tract Dr. Sidney Lajldn or New York University " ? i 5* M ,w M per cent or iuntied particle* were likely to be coughed up and then swallowed, 1 -t Intensive studies of the cf.focta of aabestos consumption! oo, * variety of experimental! animate are just getting under <*sy. But prelimiiiary findings l',r"Wd to Ihn meeting tndh! ista that the fibrous mineral can pass llmiugh the wall of lire null intestine, gel JrUa the) bhrodauetui) and lymph systeml and become widely dliributed, throughout the body organs, W-i eluding th* brain. Dr, achkoff said that an an- expectedly largo number of as-,- bestoa workers ho has becnj studying hd died of brain tu-' ruors, although the itgsfficaiKrl of UiU observation was not vet* dear. ' ' A pilot study conducted In! Canada resulted In kidney and! chest-wall tumors W three oil "Li? r*u ! asbestos mixed.' with corn oil. although none oil the animals given com oil ilone! developed cancer. , w Jjk Gerhard Volltheimer of Berlin reported (bat particles * to ntxatos fibers were pesorbetf' between cells of , tho gastrolntestitul tract mOcb more rapidly after the consump, lion of caffeine or Icoline. He aid that persorbed partidci rimW be found In breast milk sad could cross tho pteceate to tho fomi, Dr.Johu Goldsmith of the Natioreol Cancer Instituro urged that all unnecessary sources , of asbestos be eliminated." Totviird this end, rhe Center for bdeuc* In the Public Interest, and the Environmental Defense Fund have requested a linn on asbestos filters, used to process : m*hy "m-eragw and drop. end. elimination of nsbcxiox from Ulc, used In foods as well s in cosmetic powder.