Document NGqQZap19pvrRKbXdbjxVMkLE

FILE NAME: New York State & NY Times (NY) DATE: 1971 Dec 3 DOC#: NY034 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NYT Article - Study Finds Risk in Asbestos Level jgrHtivmi STUD? FINDS RISK IN ASBESTOSLEYEL Hazard Noted in Breathing Formarly 'Safa'Amounts ByJANEE. BRODY Asbestos w orkers have been found to develop, eerioua Job* d lceu e a fte r tw o decade el breathing a ir containing a* bestoa fiber* in amotmts Jong considered "safe." The finding, reported y ester day by a H tm td research team to the New E ariandJourn al of Medicine, potato u p tb s need fo r a reconsideration of w hat is a cafe, low lev el of exposure to asbestos fibers, . An editorial accompanying th e journal article s ta te s tb * th e present allowable level should be lowered end that "there is sow a clear need for m ore decisive action on control m easures." The study involved 105 w ork ers in private New England shipyard-- 101 pipe co veted w ho prepared and applied In sulating m aterials to m achinery and pipe* and 84 "controls" of sim ilar age, duration of employ m ent and smoking habits. The H arvard team, headed by D r. Raymond L t t M urphy J r. of th e departm ent of physi ology, found th a t asbestos*lung scarring caused by asbes to s fiber--w as l l tim es more common am ong the pipe coverers th an am ong the controls. A fter 20 years of exposure to asbestos-containing a ir, 31 r cent of the pipe coveren had evidence of asbestosis, the doctors reported. D ust exposure among asbes to s w orker* in th e shipyard bad been under ctudy for 20 years and rem ained near the so-called "threshold lim it .value" then recommended o f five m illion articles p e r cubic foot o f air. T his level w as long considered to be "safe" fo r workers chron ically exposed. ' The industrial threshold limft value la curentiy expressed m ore precisely la terms o f the am ount of asbestos fibers In th e air. However, tbe current value o f 12 fibers of asbestos per m illiliter of a ir is also con sidered to be to o high b y re[searchers In toe field,__________ tartiteM ditsi .man New Standard Asked Several researchers and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Or ganizations have recently M th e United S tates Departm ent of Labor to set a new "em er gency standard" of two fibers p er milliliter on grounds th at the 12-fibef level represents t smrioua danger to the h ealth of asbestos w orkers. . The Labor Department said yesterday th a t "this -m a e s tr i XfiSSrtSP5' *" H" *" under consideration by the OpA ctually, even a level o f two fibers p er m illiliter, w hich is cme-thousandth of a liter, may be hazardous, according to an other study by D r. M urphy and his colleagues. Thfy found thgt tom e w orkers who sanded as bestos floor tiles also developed lung disease after chronic ex posure to an estim ated level of 1.3 fibers p er m illiliter. The journal editorial noted th a t even a t a level o f,l fib p er m illiliter, a worker breath ing 15 liters of a ir each m inute fo r eight hours would Inhale 10 m illion fibers every work day. "A lthough only a fraction of th e inhaled fibers rem ains in Ihe lung; these figures suggest th a t an alarm ing number win still accum ulate over a 10-year period," to e editorial states. A t. heavy levels of exposure, asbestos fibere Have been linked to a greatly increised risk .o f developing lung cancer. . The general public--an d par ticularly th e urban residents-- te also exposed to asbestos fibers, which can be found not only In a ir but also in drinking w ater, wine and beer. A sbes to s fibers have been found In to e lungs of persons who were never exposed to asbestos in dustrially. However, th e re is no evidence a t present for asbestos-linked disease in the general.population. MT newaSKKlNlliiMiinlulaiattiacopyM^lofiim. Furtlxreproduction po fittM thari pmHaton