Document N2KBXwO3zOjEDvbj297On0oQw

FILE NAME Allied Signal Bendix ASB DATE 1972 Aug 17 DOC ASB050 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Meeting Minutes - Asbestos Study Committee FRICTION MATERIALS S ARDS INSTITUTE INC E. 210 TE 4 PARAMUS N.J.07652 MINUTES OF THE MEETING of the ASBESTOS STUDY COMMITTEE FMSI 4 8/23/82 8/23/82 52 Thursday August 17 1972 at 9:30 A.M. at the Institute Office E. 210 Route 4 Paramus N. J. MEMBERS PRESENT I. E. Weaver Chairman J. C. Henning W. Spurgeon H. Wagner E. H. Feierabend Manhattan Inc. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. World Bestos Division Bendix Corporation : Bendix Research Laboratories Carlisle Corporation Molded Materials Division Abex Corporation American Brakeblok Division MEMBERS NOT PRESENT W. B. Reitze Manville Corporation OTHERS PRESENT . D. E. Stone E. W. Drisiane Bendix Corporation Friction Materials Division Friction Materials Standards Institute The meeting was called to order by Mr. Weaver Chairman at 9:30 A.M. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Secretary These minutes obtained read a summary of had been released the and Minutes of the Meeting held February 10 a motion for their acceptance had been 1972 Upon motion duly made seconded and unanimously passed it was RESOLVED To accept the minutes of the February 10 distributed 1972 meeting as INTERPRETATION OF THE OSHA REGULATIONS The Asbestos Information Association AIA net with representatives from OSEA late in June The purpose was to interpret various individual requirements in the OSHA regulations Letters from the ALA to their member companies dated July 5 1972 and July 12 1972 were distributed to the Committee Members In the first letter they covered areas such as labeling clothes lockers ~~ ws Minutes of Meeting Asbestos Study Committee -2- August 17 1972 ~ respirators monitoring and physical examinations citations OSEA inspections productsich distinguishes Sebeshing Sebeshing and employee notification In the second letter tween locked asbestos containing the AIA distinguishes Bold 85 and clutch facings There are certain labeling requirements tied in to the - locked containing asbestos products but this letter also discussed | | the problems of subsequent working of locked asbestos containing products The members discussed some of the items in the OSHA regulations One member -, indicated that during an inspection there were 3 OSHA people at their plant for 7 to 8 days Interestingly the 3 OSEA people came on site the first day wearing respirators Whether this was for effect or is a standard procedure for OSwH as A not known One of the items pointed out by an OSHA inspector on thescenwe as the dry sweeping of loose asbestos compounds vs. the wet sweeping or vacuum cleaning that OSHA calls for Another member advised that they had taken out all air hoses around briquette presses and other machinery where loose asbestos is handled before it becomes locked in Surprisingly to some members asbestos sampling indicated that the inspection One member required and drilling locations were problem areas respirators be worn at all drilling locations that the In an inspection at one member's plant the OSHA people set up 5 stations and while 4 of them sampled below the 5 fiber per cc TWA one station read 18 fibers per cc THA This member was cited in averaging the readings When the Federal Goverment was considering the necessity for asbestos regulations two of the companies represented by Members on the Committee were asked to cooperate in a survey by NIOSE This study by NIOSH was to check over medical records and other such items to attempt to put the problem in prospective NIOSH had indicated to the cooperating manufacturers that the information they were providing would be kept confidential However as it turns out the OSHA people have copies of the NIOSH studies which would indicate that the confidentiality has been violated A member questioned what happens when the asbestos concentration in a work area exceeds 10 fibers per cc the ceiling concentration in the OSBA regulations The answer is that the employer must notify the worker so exposed in writing that he was exposed to such a concentration and the worker must wear a respirator in that area The next question concerned what the proper means for notification of the worker would be If an interpretation is officially asked of OSHA they will indicate that a registered letter to the employee is the proper beans of notification In other areas OSHA has indicated that meeting the spirit of the law is what counts and it is felt that bulletin board notification would suffice The next . question . concerned respirators disposable It was indicated that there were 3 / respirator the Bureau of Mines and these manufactured by the A. O. Smith Company Welsh and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing MMM Respirators furnished employees must have a proper fit instructed both as to the fit and the servicing of the for testing and approval of respirators for protection and the employees must be respirator Responsibility against asbestos dust re- cently was transferred from Bureau of Mines to NIOSH Until NIOSH approvals are issued it is recommended only respirators reusable or disposable type having Bureau of Mines approval specifically for use on asbestos dust be used inasbestos contaminated atmospheres Minutes of Meeting Asbestos Study Committee . -3- , August 17 1972 LABELING PRACTICES There are 3 areas for concern on labeling One is the handling of the loose asbestos fiber from the point where it is received to the point where it is mixed and briquetted The next is the handling of the products with supposedly locked asbestos during subsequent operations such as drilling grinding inspection and boxing The last concerns the handling of the brake lining or clutch facing by the customer where he may also do some drilling or grinding before the lined assembly is finished product It was reported during this topic that there was a higher concentration of asbestos in the air in the Inspection Department than most members had realized One member indicated that when pallets of brake linings were shipped there apparently is additional dust created during transportation The question of surface dust on the working surface of a brake lining or a clutch facing was discussed Where members have taken action to reduce the dusty type surface they have found that they have actually altered the frictional characteristics of the material during the early miles on a vehicle In other words the brakes are not very responsive during the early mileage after reline In the AIL recommendations it is cuggested that where r^nufactureris shipping his brake linings or clutch facings asbestos products he should notify the user of his product to the effect Power bench saws without collectora should not be used in curting this product If this is impractical operators. should be provided with a Bureau Mines approved respirator It was suggested that a notification put in boxes of brake linings or clutch facings being stripped to customers A sample of the caution labels suggested is attached to these minutes Mr. Feierabend indicated that this recommendation would not be accepted warmly by many manufacturers Mr. Wagner objected to the recommendation that warning notices be put in the brake linings as he felt it / was another red flag that would bring more harm to the industry than the | alleged good that would come from enclosing such notices Several members have | had customers call in to their Sales Departments asking if the handling of asbestos in brake linings and clutch facings is a hazardous condition Another asked if this notifcation was a requirement of the OSHA regulations It was indicated that this was not specifically required by the OSHA regulations The concern is do those customers doing additional grinding and drilling of the brake linings or clutch facings create working conditions where the con- centration of asbestos would be a hazard Since small manufacturers are exempted from the OSHA regulations they will probably not be rumming tests Larger customers will of course be covered under the OSHA regulations and it is expected that tests will be run in these manufacturers work areas Whether the Institute would recommend such labeling in finished products shipped to the customers was not decided It was felt that this subject should receive furthes consideration from the Members of the Committee before a recommendation is made One member commented that there were instructions by some manufacturers advising that blowing out the wear debris from used brakes was not recommended This subject of recommending that brake lining and clutch facing manufacturers include a warning sheet in their shipments appears to be somewhat controversial and it is suggested that this matter receive some serious discussion by the Members of the Committee with those responsible at their companies This item will cost definitely be on an agenda for the next meeting of the Asbestos Study Committee A Minutes of Meeting Asbestos Study Committee -4- August 17 1972 SAMPLING FOR ASBESTOS FIBER COUNTING Mr. Stone questioned the possible movement of asbestos inside the filter sample when sent to the lab for examination Mr. Weaver indicated that this possibility was quite remote visit to the member's plant Apparently the question arose after an OSHA In response to a question one member indicated it takes about two months from the OSHA sampling until the OSHA report is received Further it was indicated that the company hears if it is to be cited and not if the conditions are satisfactory The OSHA regulations call for an eight hour time weighted average TWA for the measurement of air- borde concentration of asbestos fibers One member indicated that he runs his sample test for a continuous four hours to compute the concentration With a continuous shop people four hour sampling . there are sometimes reactions from the , Ss Returning to the question on sampling for fiber counting OSHA recommends a full straight eight hour sample It was indicated they used 8 filters during this continuous sample A member suggested using 90 minute sampling for most ^rt^sof a completjoeb cycle if it tack longer than 90 frutes Re recommended four hours of sampling for specials A member questioned as to what minimum time was necessary in sampling to determine the peak concentrations that cannot exceed 10 fibers per cc No specific answer was given but Mr. Weaver indicated some sampling procedures which he felt were optimum for counting fibers entrapped by the filter The number of tests for various conditions is suggested in this tabulation One condition is where you are measuring friction materials with asbestos in the compund and the other is for areas where you are handling all asbestos Optimized time for fiber collection - depending on TWA fiber per cc concentration expected in area Optimum for counting fibers on the filter Priction Materials THA Fibers per CC Optimum Number of Tests - All Asbestos TWA Fibers per cc 0- 5 5-10 10-15 15-20 - 1-8 hr test 2-4 hr tests 3 tests 3,3,2 hrs 4 2hr tests 8-1 hr tests 0-3 0-3 3-6 3-6 6-9 6-9 9-13 13-20 The question arose concerning the sample where one is trying for counting What about the other werials in brake lining hazardous Might these not be counted on the filter as well as to pick up asbestos conside that are not asbestos One answer that is indicated for the skilled laboratory man making the examination is that he should be able to distinguish between asbestos fibers and other materials Further one can go to 800X on the microscope and get a closer look at the materials picked up on the filter Dr. Spurgeon indicated that one can use low temperature ashing to remove resins and other organic materials primarily friction dust Minutes of Meeting Asbestos Study Committee -5 August 17 1972 EPA AUTOMOTIVE EMISSIONS Dr. Spurgeon indicated that the Bendix Research Laboratories are working under contract for EPA on particulate emissions from brake linings and clutch facings and will not be finished until March 1973. Dr. Spurgeon felt it would not be proper to discuss results and progress to date on this study under contract to the government THE STATUS OF EPA REGULATIONS - Mr. Weaver indicated that one of the reasons for scheduling this meeting in August was to go over the new EPA regulations However this agency has not finalized their regulations as yet and it is not expected to be published until sometime in September Mr. Weaver indicated that the problem was not with the asbestos sections but rather with some of the other materials and he expected that their regulations will not be very much different from the earlier temporary regulations on asbestos Once again those earlier regulations were more concerned with control practices collectors and disposal techniques than with numerical emission values No further action can be taken in this area until the EPA regulations are published CONSIDERATION OF SUBSTITUTES FOR ASBESTOS At the Annual Meeting June this Committee was directed to consider a recommendation that the Institute sponsor a research study to determine the possibilities of substitutes for asbestos The purpose of this suggestion was that if an outside study were to show that certain materials might very well be acceptable substitutes for asbestos the information would be made available to the members If the outside study indicated that there were no satisfactory substitutes for asbestos in friction materials this information \ could be used as a defense should we have a recurrence of action similar to \ Illinois banning of asbestos based brake linings The Committee discussed this | and as most of them are working on asbestos substitutes and some in particular have marketed materials without asbestos primarily metallics they felt this suggestion would not be warmly received by many members One member indicated : that it would be very difficult for them to sanction the Institute making any such study considering the work they have done in the past / Upon motion duly made seconded and unanimously passed it was RESOLVED That the Asbestos Study Committee does not recommend an Institute study in the area of substitutes for asbestos WASTE DISPOSAL Someplace between the point where the asbestos product is finished and the waste materials are disposed of the OSHA requirements will become EPA requireBeats In other words we are moving from the condition of standards in the work place to standards in the atmosphere or environment The area of waste disposal is a major problem All asbestos bearing wastes according to the OSHA regulations must be collected and disposed of in sealed impermeable bags or other closed impermeable containers Whether a closed steel truck body is considered Impermeable isa question If the OSHA people mean what they say Minutes of llecting Asbestos Study Committee . -6- . August 17 1972 when they suggest that an employer who is attempting to meet the spirit of the law will not have difficulty it will be assumed that removal of the waste material in enclosed steel truck bodies would be an acceptable means of disposal Most members indicated that they had great difficulty with polyethelene bags - they are too soft and they tear when they are stacked The next area which is a major problem is the actual disposal of the dust Usually it is unloaded as land fill One member uses a screw conveyor to fill a truck _ with a fixed container The material is then dumped into land fill The material is wet down after dumping and after a hole is filled it is covered up~ Mr. Stone mentioned a procedure he had seen where they turn the dust into pellets and dispose of the pellets One member a indicated solution for the disposal of the paper bags that are used to package the asbestos They unload the asbestobasg inside a hood where they cut the bag plastic bag which the asbestos bags are picked up in The bood has an empty . The topic of proper disposal of the friction material waste products was discussed The most desirable method of disposing of friction material waste products is to put it back into the friction material Where a manufacturer has a formula product line this is reasonable However most of the larger manufacturers would find it very difficult to segregate the various mixes picked up in their collection devices and recycltet back into the friction material without running into product problems This is obviously the most desirabla thing to do with the waste material but for turning out a quality product it becomes very difficult The most common means of disposal are to wet the product down and dispose of it as land fill In some areas the material in ' bagged and sent to the dump The problem of economical means to dispose of the waste from friction materials has been a problem in the industry for many years It is likely to become a much more perplexing problem considering the regulations by OSHA and EPA Dr. Spurgeon brought up the question of the possibilities of the Institute sponsoring paid research on waste disposal It was indicated that within the Constitution and Laws of the Institute we could very well sponsor such research but it would be up to the Committee to make recommendations in this area Generally there are areas other than asbestos that are involved in this waste disposal problem Among the items to be considered are grinding dust asbestos fibers and bags phenolics which ar^ pcked up in wet scrubbers lead and its compounds and the solvents that are driven off during processing The Committee will consider this possibility at a subsequent meeting A member suggested a possible questionnaire to be sent out to the Membership concerning the problems of waste disposal to see whether the rest of the Membership could contribute some information in this area and to determine the extent of interest in the study of waste disposal by the Institute The Members of the Committed should consider items to be included in such a questionnaire for discussion at the next meeting of the Committee MATERIALS OTHER THAN ASBESTOS Because the problem of waste disposal is not a problem of asbestos only questions were raised about the possibilities of extending the scopoef the Committee's work beyond that of asbestos alone The Secretary indicated that it would be within the scope of the Committee to extend their activity to materials other than . asbestos Lead and lead compounds are among the hazardous materials being regulated by Federal agencies As many manufacturers use lead and lead compounds  Minutes of Meeting Aeberton Aeberton Study Commis Commis -7- Aug 17 1972 is Seir friction materials this might be a material to be studied ' ashitos the Committee Committee On the other hand because of the seriousnesosf the ashitos regulations by taking on other materials the efforts of this Committee Committee might be diluted Currently there are regulations on solvents s^linn and other materiale considered hazardous or noxious by the regulate gencies It - requested chat the members consider the possibilities of exper ing the . actities of thethe Committee to cover other materials METHODS FOR EXAMINATION OF FIBERS Dr. Spurgeon questioned whether there were any other reliable tech for the menturement of arbestos fibers other than the membrane filter method Tha question question was also aimed at whether the regulatory agencies were consiering consiering other analytical methods Mr. Weaver indicated that in conversation with AIA he had recently learned that the Department of Labor is considering a study on the possibilities of the gravimetric methmeotdhod indicated that the nembrane filter method for sampling asbestos firs Ec build be in use for some s to cons and possibl up to the July 1976 date when the stiffer two Mber per ce requirement goes into effect The Department of Labor is considering a 15 men committee to study this possibility for sampling the asbestos The make of such a committee yould be as follows 4 from industry 4 experts 1 from MON 1 academic 2 from labor 1 medical 1 from the American Industrial Bealch Association and 1 consumer advocate It is suggested that members of the voluntee Asbestos Study Committee consider whether their companies might wish to for service on such a Federal committee OTHER BUSINESS Some of the Committee Members are operations oriented and others are environment oriented It was requested that those individuals responsible for corporate decisions in the hygiene environment area be listed That list is as follows Charles Borcherding James Armstrong Abex Corporation - Chicago Illinois Corporate Industrial Hygiene Bendix Corporation - Southfield MichigMichig Safety Director Ike Weaver Manhattan Inc. - Manheim P Director of Environmental Control George Wilson Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. - Akron OF x *& ke 2 te ke 8 There being no further business brought before the Committee upon motion duly made seconded and unanimously passed it was RESOLVED To adjourn Adjourned at 4:00 P.M. Distribution Committee Members J. Greenen L. Stickles British Council AIA E. W. Drislane Executive Director