Document N2GRRO68MgBBJJEVrBMpNeJ4b

FILE NAME: Kaiser Gypsum (KG) DATE: 1984 Sept DOC#: KG057 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Report - Health Knowledge in the Gypsum Industry with Cover Memo Manville y . - D. H. Markusson, 2-20 I 7J "7 ? Internal Correspondence 3aie September 28, 1984 J. . Siderius, 2-19 Zzcm. L. Polk, 2-17, K. Page, 2-17, r . Brady File/Chrono SuDj' Gypsum Health 2-19 Attached please find a report bibliography, titled "Health on the above subject, including Knowledge m the Gypsum Industry. ir vour attention is directed in particular to Section vi which eoneeMl1*hheefalltthhatinnfido0rCmUaitliontnSbythNaatti*oPnPa*larGtyopsu5hmouandefwf.ortrs. Gtroace, The supporting documents can be found in the "Gypsum Health." file labeled Septenoer 2 b/ 19&4 HEALTH KNOWLEDGE IN THE GYPSUM INDUSTRY Use of Asbestos in Spray-On Proouct The use of asbestos in spray-on form apparently began in I932 in Great Britain. This was the 'Limpet" process, at first used primarily in railroad coaches to control condensation and noise, and also as a thermal insulation (69). Sprayed asbestos uas used extensively in the British Navy from the end of the war until 1963. This use consisted almost entirely, of blue fiber. Spray-on insulation containing inorganic fiber was introaucea in the U.s. in 1935. The use was at first mainly decorative. This decorative-use proouct may have containea little or no asbestos (69). in 195u, National Gypsum obtained Underwriters Laboratories approval for its brand o spray-on insulation to be usea for fireproofing, in 1951, the Asbestospray Company followed suit (69). widespread use apparently began in 1958 with .the use of sprayed mineral fiber as fireproofing in the construction of the 60-story chase Manhattan Bank building in New York (74). -1- The precise point in time when asbestos fiber was introduceo into the spray-on product in the o.s. is not known. While it is likely that asbestos was introduced simultaneously with the first use of spray-on for fireproofing ( m 0 ), other sources place the date m the late 50's. It is clear, however, that asoestos was used in the gypsum manufacturing process as far back as the m o ' s . Asoestos fiber was added to stucco mix to improve working qualities (29). it was also used as a retarder in plaster ot paris (29). Both are gypsum products. In 1935, A tlantic G y p s u m Products co. agreed W i t h its insurance carrier to a supplemental occupational disease loading factor based on the mixing of both asbestos and gypsum rock {7). Also, it is noteworthy that Dr. George right began working for National Gypsum reading x-rays in 1953. He states that he recalls seeing cases of asbestosis among national employees at that time. He does not know it' the cases came from workers involved in spfay-on making. New York city banned spray applications of asbestos containing material in 1972, The Ef a banned spray application or any insulating or fireproofing material with more than 1% asbestos in 1973 {79), ' -2- II. working conditions in the industry There are several early descriptions at dusty working conditions in the gypsum industry, in the 1918 u.i, Department of Labor publication 'Mortality from Respiratory Diseases in Dusty Trades,* the following quote appears: *w. Gilman Thompson writes of the occupation 01 masons and plasterers at some length, including concrete mixers, vhoi of course, are' exposed to fundamentally different conditions. He points out that men in this group of employments inhale much dust of tile, brick, plaster of paris, gypsum, and cement, and that they are subject fom these combined conditions *to catarrhs of the respiratory passages, and such diseases as asthma, bronchitis, rhinitis, and atelectasis are frequently met with among them.* There would seem to be much similarity in the oust exposure o these occupations to that observed in the case of lime and cement workers. Thompson suggests, therefore, that in some cases, as in the tearing down o't plo plaster in confined spaces, in tunnels, etc,,'where sprinkling can not be resorted to, respirators may be used to advantage. . . it may be said in conclusion that such investigations as have been made of existing conditions at plaster works prove that there is abundant room for material improvement, and that in most of the plants only the crudest ano most unsatisfactory appliances are employed for the prevention of gust and*its inhalation by tne "men employed ~(zT~, (emphasis addeaT. - ~~ i Another description of working conaitons in gypsum plants was given in a 1929 insurance industry publication designed to assist underwriters in classifying industrial hazards: "In one of the smaller plants, there was no adequate provision for the removal of dust, it was everywhere. On the roofs and platforms and even on the ground for some distance it had settled in layers sometimes inches thick. It is present to a marked degree in the dry mill process in all plants, and at times it is possible to -3- ! work*rs in certain deoartr,lent.K daily (4), 11A* E a d y Knowledge of Gypsum Health Hazards ..". , >ok as if our. The oust ight tons oi oust Gypsum mining entails some hazard from'free silica, due to the fact that gypsum rock is sometimes found near - q u a r t 2 - b e a r i n g deposit* <5, 80) . Knowledge g s U i c a health risks was established in the early part of the century , since it was thought to be a contnouting factor in tuberculosis. Gypsum rock dust and dust created by the piaster of paris product were noted and compared to health effects of silica dust as early as 1917 (1, 2). There is reference in a 1928 insurance rating publication to a specific lung disease among gypsum workers. This reference gives some insight into the limited state of neaical information at the time. Nevertheless, the tern `styeosis" was used in the report, describing use of gypsum as a paint mineral base: . "Gypsum is calcium sulphate. Although in the mining and purification of this mineral, so gross is the exposure at times that gypsum workers may develop a dusty lung disease {"stycosis"), its occurrence in paint manufacture is unknown. -4- iI | S ^ iW i: iW S ii* A iS ! H " "&' 10 s UbSt a,,ceB whic` " Jj i w i i S S t f S l ; ? 1 . . . " `5 brought into contact with the'evfl i r,?r inor*ani, is slightly irritatino 1 ! ,, ey or rauc0U6 membranes periods of t l w S U k i l i ?o95 S u 2 i p2`UC# Ver ien* of disease, in the present v r i t i n a M u9C 6eci0Us form hmadpianinmt inmdantuhfeacltiumreite<d3).exposSJe* tSnhaatt%8hho0uullddCtta^keltlUp?laUcSely While calcium sulphate is believes to be phtnini i Physically harmless in s m a l l ' A m i t i e s harmless*(4*!' ^ dU8t may be re9ardeci as entirely This observation was maoe by a Dr. carey P. McCord, of the Industrial Health Conservancy Laboratories in Cincinnati, Ohio, by 1934, health studies on the effects of gypsum dust were being conducted (5, 25). The first study found in the literature, in 1934, concludes that . .exposure to gypsum does not produce any permanent or serious lung pathology and that no demonstrable disability results from years of exposa (5). This study, however, notes that silica was a common impurity in gypsum rock, and that commercial operations involved the production of great quantities of dust, much of which is very ,,fine, workers at these operations ace therefore liable'to a steady inhalation of large amounts.' -5( ij i 1i . I j j | | I i IV. jSinsonpap*rs Tb. Vanaivec Brown and r.iatod doownant, r.vaal a ot aspects Of gypsum industry involvement ana knowledge regarding the Saranac studies. In a memorandum describing the Mellon Institute of industrial Research Symposium on oust Problems held in Pittsburgh, p a on January 15, 1935, Brown notes a-conment by or, Lanza: ' "^r- ^anza pointed out that no one had ever maintained that gypsum uust was harmful and yet, nevertheless, the gypsum inuustry had suits pendinq dollars*1(6^VeCin^ clalms in excesB f four u U i o n In a 1935 letter, or, Cardnec informed Metropolitan Life Insurance Company that basic studies on both asbestos ana gypsum dusts had been completed (8). The Gypsum Association, an industry trade group, produced witnesses incluoing or. Gardner on its behalf at a 1938 workmen's compensation ratings hearing: The Gypsum Association"set forth its views on the dust conditions in its industry>in a fifty-nine page brief and supplemented its printed statement by the oral testimony of experienced men in the industry anci such 38 Doctors L. U. Gardner and Homer M. Sampson of the Saranac Laboratory. The Association succeeded in convincing the Committee that the amount of free silica duet present in the mining ana processing of I ? S t u ' Wa8 n e g l i g i b l e a n d that the s p e c i f i c O. D. rate for this industry should be eliminated except for the making of sanded wall plaster (10), -6- " "0St i"porta"t' -5 ' c,p.,,y ... . slgn,toty to Oho 193 agreement that provid.s i,,g0,tl, t 0 M U > for or. 0 . experiments 0 the effects M ssbesto, ,, ,, ,, <13. 3. !,. There ... c,, r.p0B,, nc, ,, t..5 eio< orown ,,,a 3. s . 0ttt, a a to Gypsum (14, 15j. P,, s U e n e of ,, ^ Dr. Gardner p u b l i s h , short article in i ,, 8 again settiny forth the theory first hinted at by Riddell in 1934 that 9ypum dust inhibiteo the harmful effects or silica (17). This article calleo for further research ioto W .UM du,, . There was additional correspondence between Brow,, *na officials of u.s. Gypsum in 1944, *4, -49, ano '51 (1, 19, 20, 21, 23) . These letters ail concerned 5r. Gardner's asbestos dust experiments. U is noteworthy th.t the date, , the above studi.s aimo.t certainly precede the videapteed us, o asbestos in the spray-on product. In 1955, or. schepers, then Bipector of the Saranac Laboratory, published two papers on gypsum dust, one dealing with a human x-ray study, and one with experimenta (24, 25). 7- 1960's Documents A number of national Gypsum documents produced to j -h by Travelers shed light on national's knowledge of asbestos hazards. J-M documents from this time frame reveal considerable exchanges of information between J-M, National Gypsum, w. R. Grace, and trade associations which often included both J-M and gypsum manufacturers. _ A 1961 letter from cliff Sheckler to an industrial relations manager at H. K. Grace answers the latter's request for information on Thermobestos. sheckler cites the ACGlh standard for airborne asbestos dust, ana states: 'Assuming that the airborne dust would approximate the material ratios of the product, this would indicate that dust levels approaching SO million particles per cubic foot would not contain an excessive amount ot asbestos fiber* (27). There is a similar 1965 letter from sheckler to an official of u.s. Gypsum (31), Minutes of a 1965 meeting of the Air Hygiene ana Manufacturing committee of the Asbestos Textile Institute show that a copy of ATI's pamphlet, "Method for Determining Asbestos Dust Concentration* was mailed to the Zonolite Division of 17. R. Grace in Libby-, Montano {30). In this regard, documents indicate that National Gypsum was an associate member of ATI in the late 50's ana early 6u's, resigning in 19(2 (28). Aisoi national, accordiny to its documents, became a member ot the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association (QAMA) in 195b when it opened a mine at Thecford Hines (32, 65). Thus, it is apparent that National Gypsun also engaged in sales of fiber to Armstrong Cork and British Metals corporation (32, 33). In connection with National's fiber sales to British Metals, there is a 1967 discussion of using dust-proof packaging for fiber shipments in order to comply with British health regulations (33). v i. Concealment Documents There exists a series of National Gypsum documents beginning in 1968 which could be construed to show an effort on the part of National to restrict the dissemination of health information about asbestos. These same documents show j -m as the party initiating such dissemination. An undated 1968 memo found in National's documents produced by Travelers reads: * A meeting was held on April 3 with representatives or certainteed, Ruberoid, ana Johns-Manville present, at which time J-M expressed a desire for the immediate i"RndeucosmtrmyetjcdoopeHreaatlitohn s ainf e tpyublPirsahcitnigc eas . *bookTlheits called, boofclet is designed to point out safe ways to handle, apply, warehouse, ana process products for the construction industry. This proposed booklet would be published by the Asbestos Building yrcauccs manufacturers. -9- Hc. eer. wta.oMiunladlnyulifukasceetuitroterstcoomwoimuthrunucicoiasmtaedpvetaotintMtiavrge.epB-ruorednnueatcmttspaiwseeofuo-ldllows: maluemtainl,umetcsi.di,ng, , . harRdbecooamrmde,ndcabsot oikrloent hpaipvee, licmorirtuedgated T RESOLUTION=600 distribution within Asb. nfy. companies only it issued. @PJL ENTER LANGUAGE=PCL