Document Nzx2kNErNGQz6zjbgyMJbmE8

FILE NAME: Abex (ABX) DATE: 0000 DOC#: ABX303 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: BC Notes on Contacting Jeremiah Lynch In 1968, Ft . Lynch was Chief of the Laboratory of Engineering, Occupational Health Program, P.li.S. in Cincinnati. He? authored "Brake Lining Decomposition Products" in JAPCA. (see summary in Gastleman book, pp. 37*3-379) Lynch utilized testing equipment from a brake lining manufac turer ( v h c y ). He no doubt had discussions and possibly cor respondence regarding these tests with the manufacturer. The manufacturer may also have brought up the issue at an annual meeting of the trade group, Friction Materials Standards Insti tute (19*1-9- \mm IS SOMrCNL GOING TO LXAKINL THrIR MINUTES?) . Pear in mind that a flurry of reports starting with Thomson (Gastleman took pp 355 362) in 1963 had shown asbestos bodies in the lungs of random urban dwellers at autopsy1 the finger had been pointed at brake linings as the cause. The industry was thus very sensitive to the possible repercussions of a P.H.S. report in print saying that asbestos did indeed get re leased in brake we a r . Lynch's report noted that, but its em phasis was on the amount of asbestos that was decomposed, not the remaining asbestos released unaltered. I suspect that the manufacturers were putting pressure on Lynch tc not cause a panic, since they were then unprepared to supply afeteestos-free brakes. Lynch is at Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Millstone, NJ 201-873-6000 I decided to call him, and he was very forthcoming in responding. Ho end Wnnromi'&ji'iTir of the PHS were doing an industry-wide study, and while touring an Abex plant thought of borrowing the test gear used in the 1968 study. Abex and other mfgrs. had little inter est, didn't even ask for the results or the manuscript sent in for publication. Abex plant was in Mawa(?). Only contact with industry was to ask Spell (J-! } what chrysotile turned into when it underwent extreme heat stress -- he was told "forsterite."