Document NErojL0JjexvXYVMDga2wY0YQ

,j n | | 4 ' 'J 0 7 J PLAINTIFF'S EXHI C0IFI3HITIAL Georje K. Foster Asbestos, Que. March 19, 1949. .I, d'-!- ' ' -v-- 8aranae ReoorOslO Vc.^ \ The report on experimental asbestosls has been re viewed . The experiaents and reeultlnf conclusions are sunaarized In the attached report, to which I have added 07 own coamnts and recomaendatlana. The recoasendatlons are for the Industry as a whole. Several points need further clarification; when these have Dean discussed with the Saranac people I shall subnlt another report. KWS/h.n. Kenneth *. So1th, I.D. .] I 4 ' j 0 / 2 ! grama? or rutpusa A. Varioua forwa of aabaatoa flbraa produce.typleal '- ."rr. . . . flbroaia in the lime a of acme anlnala. B. flbroaia ia produced by the echanlcal and not tha ehaoical action of the fibre. C. flbroaia ia produced by tha lane flbraa (20-50 nicrona) and not by tha abort flbraa (undtr 20 nicroaa). v D. Aabaatoaia na produo ad in an a taoaphara with a total duat court of 138. M.P.P.C.f. of which only 0.6* wart 10 aicrona or Ion*or8. Aa tha concantration of lone flbraa in tha air la in- ereaaad, tha flbroaia dorelopa in a ahortar tlaa. f. flbroaia will not profraaa aftar rwwrral from duat to norsal air. G. Aabaatoaia bodlaa ara foraad around flbraa to prerant furthar Irritation. r S. Aluninun therapy la uaalaaa in aabaatoaia. I. Aabaatoa duat cauaaa no alcnlflcant chance in tha couraa of pulmonary tubarculoala. COP^ 1. Tissue and anuaal susceptibility was noted In the axperiaenta. Individual susceptibility to the dust aaong our eaployees has been noted for many years. 2. We always hare believed that 'the action of the dust was aechanical and not chemical. If there was an add.j ehealcal effect, I believe that we would see countless cases of asbestosls because we have had hundreds- of rsen -exposed to high concentrations of dust. 3. The theory.of the action, only by long fibres of 20-50 alerons is, at first, hard to accept because: (a) I personally have beard the late Dr. Gardner say that probably the eost dangerous lengths of fibre for the those of 5 to 15 microns (b) In Dr. Gardner's letter to Mr. Sabourln of Peb.23,1911, he statea: aI believe that the true hazard in asbestos plants Is proportional to the amount, of snail. Individual uncrushed fibres la the ataosphert. I siikyect toes *be-- reason only one"sA*J 11 Hie or no typical asbestosls In the nines and mills Is because there Is probably too little such fibre In the air of these plants. Conversely the reason for the typical disease In the fabricating plants Is the fact that the processes there open the bundles of asbestos fibres and tear then Into lenxthsshort Brgngti to be inhal'e3~in dangerous quantities?. (c) In the U.S. Public Health Bulletin #2Al entitled *A Study of Asbestosls In the Asbestos Textile Industry* It Is stated that the medium length of fibres range from 7 to 16 microns In the plants studied. Dust counts around the mixing pickers and cards showed the lowest percentage of fibre and the shortest lengths of fibre and It was aaong these men (pickers and carders) that the greatest nuaber of asbestosls eases occurred. However, in spite of these three statements, I would prwfer to believe In the action only of the long fibres and accept these recent Saranac findings because: X - The dust counts in our mills show 65$ - 60% of the fibres are 5 microns or less in length and rarely 1% are 20 microns or longer, and we have relatively few asbestosls eases. TT - The recent Seranac studies have shown that asbestosls will develop in an atmosphere of 138 l.P.P.C.P. total count of whleh only 0.6$ were fibres longer than 10 microns. We have had many areas in our mills where such counts could have been found. IT? -Saranac 4*o has shorn that, logically, as the concentration of long fibres is increased, sort - - fibrosis develops. The fibre deceits la tha 7hetford area are of longer fIbra thantKi-ITbeatos awposlE. Hthough re is no data "today, 'we assume that the dust in tha Thetford Hills hac a higher percentage of tha longer. fibres than that in ... tha Asbestos Mills. `jfrlf ml ght. -in part for ' tha greater number,pf JU&aJipais essas seen_in tha Tfletford ?lant. . .. . . .----- JT"- Tha relatively small number of asbastosls easaa -occurring in tha asbastos mines and sills as compared with tha textile plants sight ba dua in part to tha percentage of fibras in tha industrial atmosphere. Oust counts in various taxtila plants sbov up to 2b% fibra while counts in our sills show only 4>-5Jt fibre. 4. That tha fibrosis of asbastosls will not prograss aftar removal of tha animal from dust to normal air can aasily ba believed. I have saan many san who, whan transferred to non--dusty Jobs, have improved physically and whose x-rays have shown no progression. 5. Wa always hava ballavad that tha asbaatosls bodies sra not evidence of disease, but simply tha fact that fibre has bean inhaled and tha body bas shown defensive action in an effort to neutralise tha irritation. 6. I still believe that asbastos dust will not aggravate a pre-existing tuberculosis; also that the course of tuberculosis will not ba altarad in a san who baa worked for several years in our mills as long as ha has no x-ray evidence of asbastosls. However, at tha moment I can neither accept nor deny tha statement that asbastosls has no affect on superimposed tuberculosis. The Saranac experiments have shown that asbastos is not an inertdust like gypsum, nor is it a vary active dust like quartz. TheJ have shown that cancurrwnt asbastosls and tuberculosis produce more fibrosis than does either dlaase alone. Also it has been shown that tubercle bacilli have been found in the asbestotlc fibrosis which is not the usual site for this infection. 7hase experiments have shown that there may be some connection between non-tuberculous infection and asbastosls. I believe that this Is a fact for, although I do not think our mill workers have more respiratory complaints than the average man, I have v seen several eases where pneumonia has developed on e pre-existing asbestosls. Such cases are extremely difficult to treat, show s verj slow recovery and considerable fibrosis in tbe x-ray. The local doc tors have stated that pneumonia In an employee who has worked for many years in the dust often has fatal termination. In view of the probable detrimental effect of asbastosls on suosrimpoaed pneumonia, I believe thal the relationship of tuberculosis developing on a well-established asbestosls should have further study. Although this relational^'.; has not been shown in the recent ex perlments, my opinions must be r.eutral until more cases of the dlseaa among our employees have been studied. .*4 , > { 221 . Becgaaendatlgis i 1 - The air in the Asbestos and Thatford plmntr should be sample and studied for fibre lmgths,.and these finding correlated with the experimental and human studies "at'Saranae. II - Asbestosls can be controlled lfx- (a) Every effort is made to lower the duat concentra tion in the working area of tha employee* and (b) transfers to non-dusty jobs are affected before any diaablllty develops, probably aa aoon aa there are significant x-ray changesr III- Tuberculosis'eould not be a .problem..If.. . (i) Every active caae is isolated and not allowed to work; (b) nan-dusty jobs are found for apparently arrested cases; (c) routine case finding, examination of all contaetstetc. (an adequate tuberculous control procraa) was carried out. IV - We should_hare_an opinion, fron the ,8aranac Laboratory on the association of'asbestosls and cancer. There is a world-wide effort to find the cause and cure for cancer. The medical literature is full of suggested causes and asbestos has been mentioned as a very definite possible cause. Although in actual practice we have seen_no_jrases_of cancer of the lung asong our employees^ asbestos is an irritant and as such might jiay some role in the developaent of carcinoma. An expert opinion on this relationship would be worth while. MU uw^ t<MU fm Ohm f find Ji hraahjag dm tt mw1| sailing Ulii that thara Is m ahiah laaladas 17 asms af graop naming attlUsttiu* af thaaa sra plants af tha tataxaatiaaal fmr and fmr Omm* thin 114 naan ta light haatnsa X ass mdtav tha Omm adtnrtla--ata at ta tha gaaaral naming Unhand rapliaa fxaa this Oaapaagr braoght ta nur attastln* tha fast that thasa (tfilUtlmi vara lanladad with soar athar TV*i* affiliationa* fsuuMA' ? ` hat hr* turn tald aa* that this liat (attaafcad) is aadn hasa salsyiaa as halp ta pm aid tha data baak ta tha tftas Kia hiad af arraagaaaat iltt graapa* (U*r that thasa paapla sbaald sat ha as a list ta raanlm i yawtlml satarial* n aaasastlas with tha gamp** thtlydifraraa* prnhlaa has arias* is IftpaarBratham* I* i a Mas liU# aha is thalr aarsn is InaUitt has askai adrartisanasls* tha JUiqMUs* Sarrtaa Parana * har gat Mas hat thara is s paififhfiOtjg that dslag this f grm* igrawads i '. * r'/i y aggastad* aa a |url pallajr tha faliawUgt thara shall ha aa aanmnlaattans ta samaa aha ara nagltpaas af graap psMmhaldars fra* tha gaaaral falfarn Ctvislaa* aaaa thaoih sash s anraa am ha asking visit# as aartifiaata pallaphaldars nroa laAutrial paULmhaidars m anr hdbalf* ' r^ X aa sat amdlsg tha advartlsasasti ta thia prasast list af 17 hat X tiiafc that' tha sattar af thaaa aaraaa and af othara Ilka Kina 1111 shadUTha dliwisd farthar la asmiatias aim aar gaaaral prmatins* dagast t)| 19^1 Assistant halfara fopsrviaar 2172%