Document MnOBQRJYga4og95DZJQy5vE9

FILE NAME: Keene (KNE) DATE: August 4, 1970 DOC#: KNE036 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1970 Aug 4 Memo from Underwriters Laboratories Inc re June 1970 Meeting on the Health Hazard of Asbestos Fiber UNDERWRITERS' LABORATORIES, IN U 333 PFINGSTEN ROAD NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS 60062 an independent, not-for-pvojit ovganization testingJotpublic safety August 4, 1970 PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT TO: Listees of Spray-Applied Fire-Protective Materials SUBJECT: Meeting of June 17, 1970 on The Health Hazard of Asbestos Fiber Gentlemen : Under date of May 15, 1970, we sent a letter to each of our Listees of Cementitious Mixtures and Sprayed Fiber materials requesting a meeting to discuss the health hazard of asbestos fiber. The meeting was held on June 17, 1970 at our Northbrook Office. Attached is a list of those people attending the meeting. For the benefit of those unable to attend, this is a brief resume of the discussion at the meeting. Because they-appeared-to-have contributed largely to the recent attention to spray-applied materials containing asbestos, a brief review was conducted of "Asbestosis and Neoplasia," April 1967, Th American Journal of Medicine and "The Magic Mineral," October 1968 New Yorker. Considerable discussion followed and^ some representatives took issue with the conclusions of the articles. It was stated that the . health hazard to the general population by airborne asbestos fibers was without factual foundation. Reference was made to an article entitled "Asbestos ahd Health in 1969," October 1969, American Review of Respiratory Diseases, as a balanced review of the health hazard of inhaled asbestos fiber. Continued discussion pointed out that there appeared to be three problem areas associated with the spraying of fireprotective materials as follows: . 1. It appears to be agreed among those present that there is a problem of materials becoming ariborne at the job site and distributed about the neighborhoodcausing a general air pollution problem. However, there was disagreement as to whether this pollution is in fact a cancer causing health hazard. r m 1oooo -2- August 4, 1970 2. There appears to be agreement that there is a - health hazard to Workmen on the job site if proper precautions are not taken to avoid inhaling airborne fibers by isolation of the spraying operation from other workmen, the use of masks, thorough housekeeping, and the proper handling of contaminated clothing by spraying personnel. 3. There may also be a health hazard to the occupants of a building if, for example, particles are sloughed from the fire-protective materials and become airborne as in return air, plenum systems. It appears that Items 1 and 2 are of immediate concern. Item 3, however, has not been reported to be a problem to anyone's knowledge at this time. It was pointed out that Great Britain has been studying the same questions and for a longer period. Information on the subject can be obtained from The Asbestos Information Committee, 10 Wardour Street, London, England, WIV 3HG. We were advised that the Sprayed Mineral Fiber Manufac turers Association-'s printing a" "Recommended Code of Practice for the Application of Fireproofing Materials" which should be available in the near future. 4 , Mr. E. N. Davis urged submittal of the Code to American National Standards Institute for adoption as evidence that the industry was striving to solve a recognized problem and on a national standard level. It was pointed out that'u.L.I. had an obligation to supply information to locat inspection authorities on the proper application of Listed materials. Accordingly, one solution would be to include such instructions on the bags of material or a reference on the bags to application instructions. A bulletin containing a specific proposal is being prepared and :will be sent out shortly. This concluded the discussion on the health hazard of asbestos fiber. L 0343283 -3- August 4, 1970 The guests were invited to reconvene a**-,. i . ^ . discuss implementing the new criteria for i?ncb rrtaoatrtiiinengsgssisstuocchobensasicdoeanrtisaneigpnaerdnaetwienmebAtoShoTokMdlseEt11o9fi n aptnrhdeesUef LnU2t6im3ng3J ^X*e ~rLfeanb^?Srs at *"TM* ofT n itiT r B near future. The meeting ended at about ? p?m 'I- ? - ln the meeting for t h e i r M m e ' a n d ^ a l u a M e ^ ^ e n t : ! 6 X UNDERWRITERS' LABORATORIES, INC. RLP:bja R. L. PARKS Associate Managing Engineer Fire Protection Department X 0343290 Attendance at Meeting of June 17, 1970 ______ Name________ _____________ Company __________ - ^ James L. Kempthorne Sprayon Research Corp. '' A. C. Richardson Atlas Asbestos Co. H. J. Corson Midwest Mechanical Packing Co. William K. Curtis National Gypsum Co. C. M. Brasker Philip-Carey . Morris Lieff Philip-Carey Lee Jenne Keene Corp. - Sound Control Div. Dick Kempthorne Sprayon Research Corp. Larry Gropp United StatesMineral Products Co. Bill Medlyn - -- ..... .... United States Mineral Products C o R. J. Wenk U. S . Gypsum C o . Fred Kastner U . S . Gypsum Co - Edw. N- Davis Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. Jack A. Bono Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. Henry Marraffa Universal Fire-Bar, Inc. George Wright Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. W. P. Raines Johns-Manville Corp. ----- R. H. Neisel Johns-Manvilie Corp. ' Thomas Egan W. R. Grace & Co. Tom Feit W. R. Grace & Co. R. L. Parks Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. XL 0349291