Document MMYY86mLa6z9zkDRoM0GZ89mL

FILE NAME: Shipbuilders Council of America (SHIP) DATE: 1969 Apr 2 DOC#: SHIP061 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Minutes of the Safety Committee Meeting M inutes Safety Com m ittee Meeting Shipbuilders Council of A m erica A nril 2, 1969 *0*3 Mshisis Dr" 1 l i i t f i t i tu t ; u . 7 . . E ii'- . . i t - t n l ?2IiiuihT The S afety C o m m itte e of the C ouncil convened a t 9:30 A. M. A pril 2, 1969. P re s e n t w ere: H a rry H. Howard (C hairm an) Lloyd B eers G. M. B ry a n John P. C arey Vernon Duke - John F . F itzgerald David A. L avalette W illiam F. M etts Harold J. M organ Lloyd J. Piccin M. P. Redford Linwood Tem ple G. P. W alls . .. B ethlehem Steel Corn. Bath Iron W orks Corp. Ingalls Shipbuilding Div. /L itton Bath Iron W orks Corp. Alabama D ry Dock & Shipbuilding Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. General D ynam ics/Q uincy N e w p o r t N e w s SB Sc DD Co. G eneral Dynam ics / Groton Sun Shipbuilding & DD Co. N o r f o l k S h ip b u i ld in g Sc DD Co. Bath Iron W orks Corp. M a r y l a n d S h ip b u ild in g 8c DD Co. Edw in M. Hood, P re s id e n t Edward P. Ruddy, Secretary S hipbuilders Council of A m erica Shipbuilders Council of A m erica While the following statem ent was m ade by a m em ber of the C om m ittee la te r at the m eetin g it was p ertin en t to all subjects d is cussed and, th e re fo re , re p o rte d at this point. The m em b er of the Com m ittee stated; . "The m oney involved in the subjects d iscu ssed at the 'A c c id e n t P re v e n tio n C o m m itte e ' m e e tin g s go fa r beyond that involved in p ractically ev ery other com m ittee that is functioning within the Council. T here is nothing that is discussed by other groups that really approaches the po tential cost to shipyards of A m erica like that involved in the subjects discussed by this C om m ittee. " At the invitation of C om m ittee C hairm an Howard, the P resid en t of the Council opened the m eeting with b rie f com m ent on se v e ra l item s of current interest: " PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT | S..BC.A.. 5016. 1x0/ s_______________ J 2 CHANGE OF NAME TO "ACCIDENT PREVENTION COMM ITTEE" M r. Hood noted that the Council had adopted rev ised By Laws which, am ong other things, m ade changes in the C ouncil's com m ittee stru ctu re including a reconstitution of the "Safety Com m ittee" as the "A ccident Prevention C om m ittee. " This change, subject to B oard approval, is to take place in June. R eaction of the Com m ittee m em b ers was unanim ously favorable with com m ent by sev e ra l p a rtic u la rly endorsing the elim ination of "Safety" fro m the Com m ittee nam e. ASBESTOS FIB E R H EA LTH HAZARDS IN SHIPYARDS The C om m ittee had before it p ress clippings which pointed up a potentially serious pro b lem involving asbestos fiber health h azard s in shipyards. A pparently recen t m edical studies among ' asb e sto s w o rk e rs of the incidence of a sb e sto sis and a type of lung can cer asso ciated w ith exposure to a sb e sto s, had led to re c o m m e n d a tions that the acceptable "T hreshold lim it" be reduced fro m 5 m illions of p a rtic le s p e r cubic foot to 2 m illio n s. Also, th e re has been wide publicity of au to p sy findings of "asb esto s bodies" in the lungs of a high percentage of the general population. The im plication was that asbestos fibers a re becom ing an im portant pollutant in the general atm o sp h ere (See attach ed a rtic le fro m the WASHINGTON POST dated D ecem ber 4, 1968). M r. Hood rep o rted that a m em ber of the C ouncil's Board at its M arch m eeting had stated his opinion that the F e d e ra l safety . rules and regulations on this subject now being considered for adoption, probably constitute one of the m ost im portant a re as for Council acti vity. The B oard m em b er had proposed fu rth er that the safety and health problem of a sb e sto sis (and also in d u strial deafness) m ight best be dealt with by the C ouncil on an in d u stry -w id e b a s is . In o r d e r to be effective the B oard m e m b e r suggested that the Council co n sid er estab lish m en t of a highly skilled technical and m edical group to cope with these prob lem s. M r. Hood rep o rted fu rth er that the B oard had ag reed the m atter should fir s t be review ed by the Safety C om m ittee w ith a view to subm itting its reco m m en d atio n s to the B oard. Council P resid e n t Hood noted that David Swankin, D irector of the B ureau of L abor S tandards, had disclosed an intense in te re st in the in d u stry 's handling of this potentially serio u s h ealth p ro b lem and had pinpointed a s b e s to s is as an a re a to w hich he hoped the shipyard in d u stry would d ire c t close attention. His basic thought ap p eared to be 3 a d esire that a situation such as the recent ''black lung" controversy in coal m ining be avoided. One m e m b e r of the C om m ittee re fe rrin g to the proposal that this problem be dealt with by the Council on an industry-w ide b a s is by m e a n s .of a h ig h ly s k ille d te c h n ic a l and m e d ic a l g ro u p suggested that com panies having these talents am ong their em ployees should appoint them to such a group. To get things started, he p ro posed that a th re e -m a n group, including two technical m en fro m the industry and one fro m the Com m ittee rep resen tin g the m anagem ent a re a be appointed. The th re e -m a n group would study the situation and re p o rt back to the C om m ittee with its suggestions. H ow ever, su b sequent d iscu ssio n d isclo sed a lack of c la rity as to how serio u s the problem really i s . and also that som e yards already have studies under way to d eterm in e the situation both fro m the standpoint of industry use of a sb e sto s and as to the m ed ical p ic tu re . A dditionally, L abor D e p a rt m ent in d u stria l hygienists w ere re p o rte d to have approached sev eral sh ip y a rd s to d e te r m in e w hat actio n is being tak en by in d u s try . T h e re was m ention that D r. Irving Selikoff nam ed in the WASHINGTON POST article, has also contacted some yards. D r. Selikoff was rep o rted to be D irecto r of E nvironm ental M edicine at Mt. Sinai H ospital in New Y ork and a p a rt of a joint venture . betw een Mt. Sinai, Johns-M anville Corp. and the International Pipe C ov erers and R efrig eratio n W orkers Union. O thers m entioned as having an in te re st included the International Office of A sbestos W orkers, Aetna Insurance and the A rm strong Company. 'A feelin g w as e x p re s s e d by s e v e r a l m e m b e rs of the C o m m ittee that it is unwise for the yards to refuse access by these in te re sts. In th is c o n tex t, atte n tio n of the C o m m itte e w as d ra w n to an a rtic le in the W A L L S T R E E T JOU RN A L d ated M a rc h 17, 1968, w hich discloses that Hill & Knowlton, Inc. , national public relations firm , is now rep resen tin g Johns-M anville Corp. on health problem s connected with asb esto sis and other d iseases w o rk ers develop fro m inhaling asbestos dust. Ensuing discussion convinced the C om m ittee that there are a lot of things going on and that at this tim e ra th e r than appointing the vroup of technical people that had been proposed, it would be advisable to f ir s t develop fu rth e r info rm atio n . The consensus w as that the p ro b lem n e e d s c l o s e w a t c h i n g w i t h c o o r d i n a t i o n of t h e ^ a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d __ p r o m p t ac"tiorT" ''r'r h e ^ C o m m itt e e a g r e e d t h a t th e C o u n c il s h o u ld i m m e d i a t e l y takerstet>s~to develop w hat is taking place in the various a re a s , catalogue all of them , and determ ine w here the Council can coordinate and fit into the picture. 4 As one step the C om m ittee agreed the Connell should a sk a ll m e m b e rs to p ro v id e a n y in fo rm a tio n th ey m a y have su ch as studies being m ade, v isits fro m re s e a rc h groups and so forth. C oncern w as e x p re sse d both as to the a sb e sto s and the h e a rin g p ro b le m "that the A m e ric an M edical A sso ciatio n see m s to be left out. M ention was m ade that a D r. Howe.who heads up the In d u strial M edicine D ivision of AMA,--is the p ro p e r p e rs o n to _ approach for coordination with that group. M r. Hood agreed that he would estab lish liaison with the Hill and Knowlton concern to fu rth er develop the activ ities under way and that the AMA would be contacted. D uring the d iscu ssio n th ere also was com m ent that so long as asb esto s is used in industry it will p re sen t a health p ro b lem and that at le ast fro m the shipyard industry point of view the eventual solution m ay lie in the use of su b stitu tes. One proposal w as th at re c o m m e n d a tio n s be m ad e to the Navy, M ar Ad and the s h ip owners that asbestos containing products not be specified for vessel construction. It w as re c alle d that in sandblasting the safety and health p ro b lem had led to substitution of shot blasting and synthetics. The thought was expressed that there m ay be a substitute for asbestos. In an y event, the u se of m a s k s w as r e c o g n iz e d as q u ite o b je ctio n ab le " from a w orker efficiency standpoint. ^ Com m ittee discussion indicated also that the problem has not arisen suddenly and that recent publicity has resulted from suggestions for surveys by the labor unions. It was re p o rte d that a pap er onthe p ro b le m is scheduled to be p resented at the N ational Safety Council m eetings in New Y ork on A pril 16th. F u rth e r, as to w hether the asb esto s p ro b lem is new, it was pointed out that as long ago as 1964 the Council had received a le tte r fro m the then D ire c to r of the B ureau of L abor S tandards, A rthur M otley, listing a num ber of item s of this nature which the B ureau intends will, as a m a tte r of evolution, lead to som e reg u lato ry action in the future. F u rth e r C om m ittee discussion of various bits and pieces of inform ation led to a recognition that b asically a national ra th e r than a single industry problem is involved and that at this point the Council would not be ju stified in ra isin g a fund to m ake a study on behalf of the shipyard industry. ' 5 The C om m ittee recognized that the shipyard em ployer is at a p a rtic u la r disadvantage because under p re se n t leg al p rin cip les the last em ployer is being held responsible for all dam age to a w orker even though his exposure m ay have been during previous em ploym ent periods. The leg al situation ap p ears to be quite like that in the h e a r ing c a se s. At the conclusion of the C om m ittee discu ssio n . Council P r e s i dent Hood stated he would contact Hill and Kn owlton and in fo rm the C om m itte e as to h is fin d in g s. SA FE T Y ADVISORY C O M M IT T E E M EETIN G - F e b r u a r y 24, 25, 1969 M r. Ruddy rep o rted that the P resid e n t of the Council, as a m em b er of the new Safety A dvisory C om m ittee to the B ureau of Labor S ta n d a rd s h ad a tte n d e d the f i r s t d a y of th a t g r o u p 's tw o -d a y m e e tin g in late F e b ru a ry and that he (M r. Ruddy) had attended the second day in place of M r. Hood. He re p o rted that a good p a rt of the m a te ria l m ade a v ailab le to th e a d v is o ry g ro u p a t the m e e tin g had b e en a lre a d y r e pro d u ced and d is trib u te d to the C o u n cil's C o m m itte e and th a t he would continue this p ro c e d u re to keep the C om m ittee in fo rm ed as to the activ ities of the A dvisory C om m ittee. M r. Ruddy rep o rted that one im portant re c en t outgrow th of the g e n eral in d u stry expanding dialogue on safety m a tte rs has been an in te re s t by the U. S. C h am b er of C o m m erce, the NAM and s im ila r n a tional business groups in the L ongshorem en's and H arbor W orkers C om pensation Act. One reflectio n of g e n eral in d u stry co n ce rn w ith this law is seen in the sch ed u lin g by the N atio n al A ss o c ia tio n of M a n u fa c tu re rs of a sym posium fo r high lev el policy m ak ers on the pending Burton Bill which pro p o ses to in c re a s e the benefits u n d er that A ct fro m $70 to $105 per week . The NAM sym posium is scheduled for late A pril and M r. Ruddy p ro m is e d to r e p o r t b a c k to the C o m m itte e in due c o u rs e as to the outcom e of the d iscu ssio n s. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS DATA SHEET The C om m ittee was inform ed that this final regulation is expected to be issu e d by the B ureau of L abor S tandards in a m a tte r of days and when available copies w ill go to the C o m m ittee m e m b e rs and all y a rd s. W hile the final text has not been d isclo sed to industry, it is expected that the re g u la tion and the data sheet w ill follow the fo rm a t ag reed to by the C ouncil's Safety C om m ittee some tim e ago. The m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee agreed that it would be useful if a standard form of tran sm ittal letter is developed for u se by the yards in forw arding the data sh eet to th e ir su p p liers. M r. Ruddy indicated he would 6 coordinate such a developm ental effort if Counsel for the Shipbuilders Council agreed that this is a proper activity. HANDLING OF PO TENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE SHIPS BY U. S. R E P A IR YARDS The C om m ittee had before it a req u est by the Council's B oard that it rev iew the ship re p a ir in d u stry 's o v e ra ll policy as to handling v e sse ls that a re in a potentially explosive condition w hether due to th e ir not being gas fre e d o r b e c a u se of o th e r f a c to r s . The . b asic thought w hich prom pted the B oard to d ire c t this rev iew was that if yards continued to handle th ese tan k ers it would be only a m a tte r of tim e before a m a jo r c atastro p h e o c c u rre d w ith lo ss of life and p ro p erty both in the shipyard and enviorns . The C om m ittee w as inform ed that at its m eeting on M arch 5 m em b ers of the B oard had indicated their ag reem en t with the principle that no v essel should be handled in a ship re p a ir yard until it has been gas freed or otherw ise rendered safe, and that it was the apparent sense of the Board that this m a tte r should be review ed by the Council to d e te r m in e w hat should be done to e lim in a te p o te n tia l d a n g e r s . As a f i r s t step, the B oard had agreed that the Safety Com m ittee should consider the problem a t its m eeting A pril 2, 1969, and subm it its reco m m en d a tions to the Board. Subsequent to the Board m eeting the P resid en t of the Council receiv ed a confirm ing le tte r on the subject w hich s ta te s , in part: ''As you can ap p re cia te , the co st and tim e involved in gas freeing a tanker can be an im portant cost facto r to a ship o p e ra to r, and as a consequence, this question of gas freeing becom es a part of the com peti tive atm o sp h ere surrounding the p ro cu rem en t of ship re p a ir work. As I indicated at the D irecto rs Meeting, it is not in our m utual b e st in te re s ts to in je c t safety considerations of this type into the com petitive aren a and you w ill re c a ll I proposed to m ake our position clear, on an individual com pany b asis, to the Coast G uard and the D epartm ent of L abor. P rio r to taking this action and as a re su lt of the discussions and a s s u r ances that the Council would consider this m a tte r in som e depth and take reasonable prom pt action, I a g re e d to d e fe r m y a p p ro a c h to the g o v e rn m e n ta l a u th o ritie s on this s u b je c t.'' ` **I a m n o t unaware t h a t th e m o s t e f f e c t i v e a c t i o n could probably be taken on an in d u stry w ide b asis by the Shipbuilders Council, and I h e a rtily end o rse the purpose which such action is intended to achieve. However, as you realize, this m atter has been con sidered for sev e ra l "years and no action has been fo rth com ing. "I would a p p re cia te your e arly advice as to a p ro g ra m the Council m ig h t propose that would effectively solve this problem . " _ M r. R uddy re c a lle d th at in 1963 a sp e c ia l Ad Hoc C om m ittee of the Council had been appointed to develop guide lines for deliberation with the National F ire P rotection A ssociation in the form ulation of rev ised regulations dealing with the handling of non g a s - f r e e d v e s s e l s in sh ip r e p a i r y a r d s . At th a t tim e the problem stem m ed from various legal problem s which had arisen out of the MISSION SAN FRANCISCO episode - a tan k er w hich had collided in the D elaw are R iv er with another v e sse l and the ensuing explosion and fire had alm ost destroyed the tanker and there w ere num erous crew deaths and injury. Legal opinion at that tim e indicated that shipyards could be fully resp o n sib le for any catastrophic incident resu ltin g fro m the p re s e n c e of an ''e x p lo siv e v e s s e l" in a sh ip y ard . The 1963 Ad Hoc C om m ittee had co n sid ered a p ro p o sal that N FPA Code 306 "Standard for the C ontrol of Gas H azard s on V essels to be R e p a ire d " Section 4, should be am ended to g re a tly r e s tr ic t the handling of th ese tan k ers by ship rep air yards. C o m m itte e d is c u s s io n h ighlighted a n u m b e r of things to consider if fu rth er restru ctio n s are im posed on the shipyards, including: (1 ) I m p o r t a n c e o f th e w o r k to th e i n d u s t r y (2) D am age to c u sto m er re latio n sh ip s (3) Im p o sitio n of a d d itio n a l r e s tr ic tio n s on y a rd m a n a g e m e n t (4) Im pact depending upon a y a rd 's g eo g rap h ical location (5) P r o s p e c ts of s h o re shops a c q u irin g w o rk now done by integrated yards. 8 As to the geographical p ro b le m it was explained that, if a tan k er in a n o rth e a st United States port is found to re q u ire re p a ir y ard s e rv ic e , but the m anagem ent of a y ard re fu se s to accept the tanker unless it is g as-freed , the v e sse l will probably leave the port anc clean at sea while enroute back to the Gulf so that when it a rriv e s a t the Gulf it can enter a ship re p a ir facility in clean condition. It was re p o rte d that differences of opinion had developed on this question and in o rd e r to d eterm in e w hat position should be taken by the Shipbuilders Council, a survey had been m ade of all m e m b e rs. At that tim e the outcom e based on volum e of tanker w ork was about 10 to one ag ain st fu rth er re s tric tio n s . After discussion, the Com m ittee agreed that as a first step a surv ey som ew hat along the lines of that in 1963 should be m ade to d e term in e the p re s e n t position of the individual m em b ers of the Council on this im portant question. BUREAU OF LABOR STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION OF SAFETY REGULATIONS The C om m ittee entered into a round robin discussion of recen t experiences w ith adm inistration of the safety and health re g u lations by the B u reau of Labor Standards with p a rtic u la r em phasis on inspection procedures and instances of legal action. O verall com m ent indicated a hardening of attitude among the m em b er yard s. There was ag reem en t th at it is of p rim e im portance that in all cases shipyard legal counsel should be called in very early when problem s arise. There is som e disenchantm ent with the procedures which a re being d escrib ed by the G o v ern m en t as "in fo rm al. " In one c a se it was r e counted that the s o -c a lle d in fo rm al h earin g actually turned out to be a full d re ss legal proceeding. Based on the discussion, it was the sense of the Com m ittee that if possible an inform al conference should be set up with Bureau of Labor Standards D irecto r David Swankin, so that the yards could discuss these problem s with him without his staff being present. The m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee also ag reed to subm it by le tte r to the P re sid e n t of the Council any p ro b lem s that m ay a ris e in the in te rp re ta tio n or a d m in istra tio n of sp e c ific re g u la tio n s so that they can be taken up w ith the B u reau ra th e r than w aiting for the B ureau to com e up with its own re v isio n s to the regulations. 9 EM PLO Y EES' COMPENSATION COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION OF COMPENSATION ACT T he m e m b e rs of the C o m m ittee w e re unan im o u s th at a m ajo r factor in the la rg e in c re a s e that has taken place in W orkm en's C om pensation in su ra n ce p re m iu m s is due to the a rb itra ry pow ers which resid e in the Deputy C om m issioner. One m em b er of the C om m ittee suggested that perhaps in place of the Deputy C om m issioner, a h earin g board ought to be established. O thers pointed out that the cost in crease is due in large m easu re to averaging by insurance com panies with a rb itra ry prem ium and aw ard determ inations. Based on the discussion, it was agreed that this m atter should be re fe rre d to the L egal C om m ittee of the Council to determ ine w h a t m ig h t b e done to c h a n g e S e c tio n 21 of th e L o n g s h o r e m e n 's and H arb o r W o rk ers C om pensation Act so as to im prove claim s a d m in is tra tion. The thought w as ex p ressed that when the C ongressional C om m ittees schedule h e a rin g s on th e pending le g isla tio n to am end the L o n g sh o re m e n 's and H arbor W orkers C om pensation Act this m a tte r should be brought to th e ir attention and a specific p ro p o sa l m ade on behalf of the shipyard industry, if the L egal C om m ittee so d e term in e s. W ALSH-HEALEY SAFETY REGULATIONS The C om m ittee was inform ed that revised W alsh-H ealey Public C ontracts Act Safety and H ealth S tandards o rig in ally scheduled to becom e effective F e b r u a r y 17, 1969 h a d been d elay ed fo r a p e rio d of 90 days as a re su lt of urgent req u ests by industry associations for th eir review by the Nixon A dm inistration. A le tte r interposing objections to a num ber of new p ro v isio n s on w hich in d u s try had n o t had an o p p ortunity to c o m m ent and strongly requesting such a delay was subm itted by the Council to S ecretary Schultz. Among new problem a re as in the regulations are, of course, the sections dealing with noise lev els and asbestos threshold levels. The C om m ittee agreed that the Council should again distribute the J a n u a ry 17, 1969 r e v is io n along w ith a copy of the e x istin g re g u la tio n and the two position le tte rs previously subm itted to the L abor D epartm ent with a req u est that M em bers subm it additional com m ent. The C om m ittee agreed that as a m inim um , the S e c re ta ry of L abor should be asked to fu rth e r delay issu an ce of the regulation insofar as the hearing problem and asbestos is concerned. The C om m ittee was in agreem ent that the ship yard industry will have m ost serious problem s of com pliance unless some change is m ade in the sta n d a rd s as now pending. *` - 10 STANDARD UNIFORM STA TE SAFETY LAW One m a j o r s u b je c t b e in g c u r r e n t l y d i s c u s s e d within the D ep artm en t of L abor and w hich has been taken up w ith in d u stry and lab o r on the agenda of the A dvisory C om m ittee, is a p ro p o sal for a Standard U niform State Safety Law. M r. Ruddy rep o rted that the specific proposal for a uniform act before the A dvisory Com m ittee had been re p ro d u c e d and fo rw a rd e d to the C o m m itte e fo r th e ir r e view. After b rief discussion, it was decided that all legislation dealing with the F e d e ra l and State W orkm en's Com pensation and Safety laws including the F e d e ra l Occupational Safety and Health Act are m a tte rs that can best be handled by the Legal C om m ittee and that the S e c re ta ry of the C ouncil should take w h atev er actio n .may be re q u ire d to bring these m a tte rs to the attention of that C om m ittee, T here was agreem ent that the Council should testify before the C ongress against the in c re ase s in the lev el of benefits being proposed in the Burton Bill, H R -6949. GEAR CERTIFICATION M r. Ruddy rep o rted that no com m ent had been received fro m m em b ers of the C om m ittee on the B ureau of Labor Standards regulation, P a rt 1505, G ear C ertification, published in the FE D ER A L REGISTER, M arch 4, 1969 and fo rw ard ed to the m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee for final c o m m e n t on M arch 12th. The a ss u m p tio n is th at f r o m the view point of the shipyards, this regulation is acceptable. T here was som e discussion as to w hether sh o re sid e c ra n es now re q u ire c ertific atio n . No action was taken. ADJOURNMENT The m e e tin g a d jo u rn e d a t 3;00 P . M. ? .r . Edward P. S e c re ta ry Ruddy