Document O3xgBv4kq1owE53d2rNnOpnzX

yTZ&st-z- A337AL3 D3YB10N To (Name) Division Location XXGMCX Messrs. R. E. Byrne, Jr. J. Crane G. L. Dickson E. J. Kleber T. P. Norris R. L. Schult W. C. Thurber J. E. Walsh -- Copy to: Messrs. B. L. Ingalls H. B. Rhodes File a-i.'b VAL AVE..P. 0. BOX 51\ 'i'AGA R A Oats Originating Dept. December 1, 1975 "Calidria" Asbestos Answering letter date Subject Enclosed Issue of GDCI "Drywall" Please note the enclosed article starting on page 6 of the Subject journal. Harry and Blair are to be complimented on the time and effort that went into this. It is hoped that this, and a concluding article in the next issue, will help salvage most of our business in this application. When available, we plan to send reprints of both articles to our tape joint customers and other interested parties. Myers Marketing Manager JLM:dal UCC 003764 UCC 003765 Georgia-Pacific Speed Set The joint compound that understands your problems. Speed Set understands. ft understands the problem asbestos can cause in a joint compound--so there hasn't been a spec of asbestos in Speed Set for more than two years of actual field use. It understands your interest in time and money. So, Speed Set lets you pick from more than just one working time-- whatever suits your needs best. (That's understanding!) And because shrinkage and cracking are problems you can live without, Speed Set resists turning your job into a nightmare. Speed Set: The first product of its kind with alt these advantages. It can really heip... if you'll let it. Georgia-Fbcific ^ r- 7 o / "r O UCC 003766 Howard Leederman Executive Director Editor Sharon Watton Executive Assistant Managing Editor Jerry Berg, Chairman Publications Division November/December 1975 Vol. 21 No. 3 CONTENTS Editors Comments................... 3 President's Message................ 4 New Officers........................... 4 Asbestos & Silica Dust............. 6 Warehouse Fare........................10 For Women Only.......................12 Convention '76......................... 15 GDC I Founders Day.................. 22 Workmanship........................... 27 6DCI OFFICERS 1975 76 CHAIRMAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS Herbert 5. Rersenfeld PRESIDENT T. |. Vot-le EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT William A Marpk VICE PRESIDENT Robert S. Mitchell TREASURER lobn C. Craifi SECRETARY Vernon L. Raymer Publication Office. Reston International Center. 11800 Sunrise Valley Drive. Suite 1230. Reston. Va. 22091. Issued bi*Monthly/Annual Subscription Rate: United States, $6.00 Outside United States ST 2 00 via airmail; Priority Mail Option; add $5.00 First Claas, 57 00 Airmail/Controlled Circulation/Postage Paid at Falls Church. Virginia. GDCl DRYWALL is owned by and produced under the direction of the Gypsum Drywall Contractors International, Inc. GOCI DRYWALL assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and cartoons, and reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial and advertising material. Unsolicited material must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Photographers must furnish signed releases from subjects giving us permission to use their photo graphs for publication and/or advertising purposes (release forms are available from this office). Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced, in whole or in pert, unless expressly authorized in writing by GOCI DRYWALL Requests to reprint should be sent to GDCl DRYWALL. Reston International Center. 11800 Sunrise Valley Drive. Suite 1230. Reston, Va. 22091. Questions and comments regarding GDCl services should be addressed to local GDCl chapter offices as shown in the telephone directories, or to Gypsum Drywall Contractors International. Reston international Center. 11800 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 1 230. Reston, Va. 22091 Copyright 1975 by Gypsum Drywall Contractors International. Inc. EDITORS COMMENTS WHAT IS REASONABLE? Amid the current problems af fecting the Construction Industry -- including such notable matters as OS HA, Federal-State-Local in vestigations, labor unions with un heard of wage prices, the confusion with piecework, the cost of doing business, the retention problem, the lack of lien laws that adequate ly protect the subcontractor--is it not reasonable to expect this Drywall Industry to pull together now and to advance in unison upon these many problems? For the Drywall Industry is, you know, the Industry that claims over 98% of the interior partition and ceiling construction in the housing market...the Industry that claims over 88% of the market for partitionsand ceilings in commercial construction...and the Industry fast advancing toward acceptance of exterior application. Where are you? From statistical information, we know there are over 6,000 of you contractors out there, ranging from the little guy to the big one. We want you to know there is room in GDCl for each of you. The cost is not unreasonable. And the associa tion is neither union nor non-union ...it works for the Contractor and for the Industry. Is it not reasonable then to assume that a group, an Industry, banded together can and does make an impact? Just take a glance at today's news headlines, both in the press and on TV...the unions do it--the students do it-- {Continued on page 30 ) A , C 7 *r j UCC 003767 3 This year your President has attended several events of interest. Among these were the celebration of twooriginal drywall associations honoring their 20th and 25th an niversaries. This means, among other things, that drywall has been a growing, vibrant industry for over a quarter of a century. During that period of time, these local associa tions and your International have claimed the honor of promoting the use and development of this product. No one else can make this claim. At the present time many of us are wondering if the game is worth the prize. Due to economic pres sures, or otherwise, interest may appear to be lagging in the institu tion which has consistently stood for the product and industry to which we owe so much. One won ders if, due to this long history, the old adage "Familiarity breeds con tempt" might not be true. How ever, on our recent trip to Europe, we saw the slogan of one of the big breweries which read "Familiarity breeds content." Perhaps a little more familiarity and interest in your association would result in more contentment and under standing amongst ourselves and a smoother, more profitable opera tion for you. And speaking of the European trip. The representatives from GDCI and the Auxiliary who parti cipated were involved in a most interesting and educational en deavor. The use of drywall prod ucts, the results attained and the application and marketing tech niques were certainly of great in terest to all of us. The intense interest shown by our overseas members was very heartening and contributed to the success of the tour. Certainly, t believe I speak for all of us in saying the whole en deavor was worthwhile and every one felt well repaid for the effort and cost. The itinerary was well planned and conducted. Our next big project is the spring convention at San Deigo. I extend a hearty invitation to each of you and the hope that this may be the best event ever in the history of GDCI. Just a word about the recent Semi-Annual Meeting. A good deal of meaningful discussion was held and all who attended had an excel lent opportunity to participate. It was a great pleasure to greet and honor the "old timers" who were responsible for the initiation and early progress of our association. May we see them many more times. T. J. Vogle President, GDCI JOHN C. CRAIG--TREASURER Better known as Jack to his friends and the industry, Craig is President of Craig & Company, Ltd., Distributors and Contractors, Honolulu, Hawaii, a firm whose acoustical, drywall, taping, fire proofing and industrial insulation subtrades are doing work through out the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Basin. Craig has been a member of GDCI for 11 years, serving both as Regional Vice President and Di rector, as well as a charter mem ber of its affiliate Gypsum Drywall Contractors of Hawaii of which he was the first President, a position he held for 8 years. In addition, Craig is a 30-year member of the General Contractors Association of Hawaii; a charter member and current President of the Subcontractors Association of Hawaii; member and Director of the Western Insulation Contractors Association; member of the Na tional Insulation Contractors Asso- (Confirmed on page 19 J 4 ,, A ' - 7 0 0 UCC 003768 New USG 800 Corner Bead is multi-purpose. Just one corner bead to inventory for both drywail and one-coat veneer finish. IV** fine-mesh flange pre vents shadowing, provides 90 mechanical keys per lin eal inch for superior bond ing. Resists impact damage. Attached with staples, nails or clinch-on tool. New tapered flange prevents chattering. New smaller ground dimen sion can be used with veneer plaster, DIAMOND* Interior Finish and drywail systems. Actual Size. Mail now for sampia and data ahaat. United States Gypsum, Dept. DN-115 101 S. Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60606 Please send information on multi-purpose corner bead. NameCompanyAddress^ City. -State- iX r' y i "i I UCC 003769 UNITEDSTATES GYP, BUILDING AMERICA ASBESTOS AND SILICA DUST OSHA Regulations and Exposure In Drywall Operations Harrison B. Rhodes Technology Manager and Blair L. Ingalls Supervisor, Special Projects Union Carbide Corporation Metals Division Niagara Falls, New York Introduction This two-part article is intended to acquaint drywall contractors with the current and proposed reg ulations governing the use of prod ucts containing asbestos and crystalline silica! The concluding article in the next issue will present data on the exposure to airborne asbestos and crystalline silica (quartz) during the sanding of tape joint com pound. A total of seven industrial locations were tested. Exposures to asbestos during the wet-out of dry-mix compounds and during cleanup will also be shown. BACKGROUND AND CURRENT STATUSOSHA ASBESTOS REGULATIONS The Williams-Steiger Occupa tional Safety and Health Act was passed in 1970 with the stated ob jective of assuring, insofar as feasible, every American worker a safe and healthy workplace. Under the provisions of this act, the Sec retary of Labor issued an emer gency temporary standard for exposure to asbestos dust on De cember 7, 1971. After extensive public hearings, a permanent standard, effective July 7, 1972, was promulgated. The asbestos standard and the methods used by OSHA to develop it were immediately subjected to a massive legal attack by the Indus trial Union Department, AFL-CIO. In addition to the law suit, OSHA was under continued pressure from other labor groups, public interest groups, and spurred on by the news media to make revisions. It was also recognized that this was the first health standard written. As such, there were parts that were vague, parts that were impractical to enforce, and parts that were overly restrictive without a cor responding benefit in protection for the worker. During1973, OSHA decided that the asbestos standard should be altered. The initial concept was to replace it with a series of manda tory work practices that would minimize the admittedly cumber some monitoring requirements. The asbestos industry was asked to submit proposed work practices and a technical committee was formed under the auspices of the Asbestos Information Association/ North America. This committee consisted of representatives from about a dozen asbestos producers and large manufacturers of asbes tos-containing products. Commu nication was also maintained with trade associations that used asbes tos or its products. A draft work practice for joint taping was drawn up and submitted to the GDCI for comment. The technical committee drafted several broad work practices re lating to the handling of asbestos. It soon became evident that a large number of specific work practices would be needed to cover the wide range of industrial situations where asbestos or asbestos-containing products were used. The commit tee also examined and recom mended changes in the portions of the regulations that were vague or overly restrictive. The IUD decision was an nounced in mid 1974 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Dis trict of Columbia. The court gener ally upheld the OSHA position in the matter and noted that, al though the Congress had poorly defined the procedures to be used to set such standards, OSHA had used proper methods to collect and evaluate the conflicting evi dence presented. The judgments made to arrive at the standard were within the discretion granted to OSHA; and, more particularly, the court said that it was correct and proper to consider economic fac tors. Two points were remanded for further consideration; those re lating to record retention and the time allowed for compliance. After the court decision, OSHA materially altered their position on the revision of the asbestos regu lations. Under heavy pressure to issue health regulations for other substances, a decision was made to amend the asbestos regulations only to the extent needed to clarify ambiguities. No changes were to be proposed intheallowableexposure levels. Many of the suggestions for clarifying language made by the AIA/NA Technical Committee were understood to have been ac cepted. The redrafting of the regulation along these lines was apparently completed in late 1974 and the re sults were submitted for review to various governmental departments as required by law and policy. Dur ing 1975 key personnel changes occurred at policy making levels in both OSHA and NIOSH. At some point, apparently quite recently, the decision was made to drop the amendment concept and reopen the entire asbestos and health con troversy. This information became 6 . UCC 003770 public when the proposed changes were published in the Federal Register on October 9,1975. The asbestos standard that was promulgated on June 7, 1972 and which is still in effect can be di vided into seven main categories: 1. Sets the maximum allowable airborne asbestos concentra tions in the workplace at a ceiling level of 10 fibers/cc longer than 5 micrometers and at a time-weighted average (TWA) for an 8-hour shift of 5 fibers/cc longer than 5 micro meters. The TWA drops to 2 fibers/cc longer than 5 micro meters in July 1976. 2. Defines the acceptable proce dures to meet these standards. 3. Defines where personal pro tective equipment may be used and specifies the types available. 4. Specifies monitoring require ments and the procedures to be used. 5. Specifies requirements for caution signs, caution labels, and h ousekeepi ng proced ures. 6. Requires medical examina tions for all employees "ex posed to asbestos." 7. Sets requirements for keeping of medical and monitoring records. The standard was written in lan guage that fits conventional fixed manufacturing locations. It pre sents some very real problems, however, when applied to the con struction industry where the job site and the work force are transi ent. The areas of particular diffi culty to drywall contractors are those dealing with monitoring and medical examinations. The AIA/ NA Technical Committee recom mended a cutoff level below which medical examinations were not re quired. It was also proposed that monitoring could be dropped where monitoring experience had demonstrated the levels to be con sistently below the cutoff or where the asbestos had been properly modified by a bonding agent to prevent excessive dust. The revised standard proposed on October 9, 1975 follows the same general pattern but differs in the following critical points: 1.The allowable exposure level is reduced to 5 fibers/cc long er than 5 micrometers ceiling and 0.5 fiber/cc longer than 5 micrometers time-weighted average (TWA). 2. Monitoring and record keepingrequirementsare increased substantially although a pro vision to discontinue moni toring under certain cir cumstances is included. 3. There is no cutoff level on the medical examination require ment. OSHA has reviewed the recent medical literature on asbestos and has proposed regulations based on a very strict interpretation thereof. They have not assessed the eco nomic (inflationary) impact of the proposed regulations but have stated their intention to do so or certify that there is no impact be fore public hearings are started. The burden of proof has been placed on industry to demonstrate that these regulations are overly re strictive. There is no question that if they are promulgated as pro posed, they will place a very heavy burden on asbestos producers and users. Appropriate responses will be submitted by various segments of the asbestos industry and other interested parties. OSHA has stated in the Federal Register that the construction in dustry will not be covered by the newly proposed regulations. They will continue to operate under the present regulations until a new vertical standard for that industry is developed. This should not lead to a false sense of security, how ever, because the same medical conclusions on allowable exposure levels are applicable regardless of the industry where they occur. Al so, the OSHA health regulations are rapidly moving towards a fixed format that will embody all of the same basic concepts regardless of the substance being regulated. It should be noted that the develop ment of an asbestos standard for the construction industry is in prog ress and recommendations have been submitted to OSHA by the Advisory Committee for the Con struction Industry. i PROPOSED OSHA REGULATIONS CRYSTALLINE SILICA Asbestos products do not consti tute the only potential health haz ard for the drywall industry. Tape joint muds contain crystalline silica which has long been recog nized as the cause of a disabling lung disease called silicosis. The National Institute for Occupa tional Safety and Health (NIOSH) has prepared a Criteria Document relating to occupational exposure to crystalline silica and submitted it to OSHA on November 11,1974. A proposed silica regulation has been drafted by OSHA and was to have been published during Sep tember 1975. The pressure on OSHA to prepare other regulations has delayed this publication but it will undoubtedly appear in a few months. NIOSH recommended an allow able maximum exposure level to airborne crystalline silica of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (50pg/M3). Medical examinations, extensive monitoring, record keep ing, signs, warning labels, and oth er provisions similarto the asbestos regulations were also recom mended. An action level of one half the allowable exposure limit was also defined as a cutoff point below which the regulations would not apply. UCC 003771 A ; C7o3 7 OSHA REGULATIONS -- INERT OR NUISANCE DUST Table G-3 of Section 1910.93 of the OSHA regulations as revised on June 7, 1972 lists the maximum allowable airborne concentrations of inert or nuisance dust as 5 milli grams/cubic meter (mg/M3) in the respirable fraction and 15 mg/M3 in the total dust. If a dust is below the allowable levels for asbestos and silica but above that for nui sance dust, the regulations have been violated. This regulation has been less widely publicized than those for asbestos and silica but has been in effect for a number of years. It must also be considered when job-site dust conditions are examined. COMPOSITION OF TAPE JOINT COMPOUNDS Tape joint mud, either dry in bags or already mixed in five-gallon containers, is a well-known ma terial at the job site. Few appli cators realize, however, what goes into a mud and how carefully the ingredients must be balanced to give the critical blend of properties necessary to make the mud work properly during application and after it has dried. The ingredients in a typical ready-mix tape joint compound are listed below. COMPOSITION OF TYPICAL READY-MIX TJC Percent by Weight Ingredient Wet Dry Basis Basis Water 31 -- Limestone 41 60 Mica (and Clay) 16 23 Binder 7 10 Asbestos 34 Miscellaneous 2 3 100 100 8 Looking at the dry basis, which represents the condition when the mud is cured, it can be seen that the principle ingredient is lime stone. This is the bulk filler that keeps the cost of the product down. It does not impart any hand ling properties to the wet mud. The next largest ingredient is finely-ground mica which is in the form of tiny flat plates. These tend to form a loose structure in the wet mud and have an important bear ing on how the mud flows when trowelled and how it shrinks when it dries. The other mineral ingredient is asbestos. It is present at a level of 3-5% and performs the function of controlling shrinkage and crack ing when the mud dries. It is also very important to trowelling prop erties which allow the mud to form easily in thick sections and permits feathering of the wet edge. The most critical function of asbestos in most muds is to provide freezethaw stability. Muds which do not contain asbestos will generally be unusable after they have been frozen. The binder in ready-mix is usu ally vinyl acetate, while casein, starch, or a similar "glue" is used in the dry mixes. It cures to hold the compound rigid and firmly at tached to the wall. The miscellaneous ingredients include such items as additives, fungicides, surfactants, cellulosic thickeners, and proprietary mate rials. These are important ingredi ents but will not overcome the effects of an improperly balanced blend of major components. A compounder who wishes to formulate a mud without asbestos will have to replace it with a ma terial that will impart similar prop erties. The mica can be increased or some other fiber-like material, such as certain clays, may also be used. Additional cellulosic thick ener to give the necessary viscosity UCC 003772 A < o / u 4- is also likely to be required. This has a tendency to make the vis cosity unstable, i.e., correct at the plant when manufactured but either too high or too low when the mud arrives at the job site. The reformulation problem be comes much more complicated when silica is considered. Four dif ferent limestones commonly used in the manufacture of TJC have been analyzed for crystalline sili ca content and found to range from 0.3 to 2%, Similarly, three different micas had silica contents of 2, 5, and 9%. While asbestos is usually free of crystalline silica, clays often contain substantial quantities. By proper selection of ingredi ents, it is possible to produce a mud with a silica content as low as 0.3%. Unless the low silica ingredients are readily available mud costs will increase. Since- silica appears everywhere in nature, it is unlikely that a tape joint mud can be pre pared without detectable levels. If the proposed regulations are promulgated, workplace monitor ing can be extensive and a con siderable financial burden can be imposed on contractors. Eleven commercially available muds were found to contain from 0,3 to 2.5% of crystalline silica which is consistent with the silica content of the raw materials. Very few mud suppliers appear to be aware of the potential silica prob lem. It is well known that the major tape-joint compounders have had extensive research programs under way for the past several years to develop asbestos-free muds that work as well as those with asbes tos. So far, the programs have had limited success. The muds devel oped are more expensive and gen erally do not perform as well. The formulations now in use evolved to their present high-performance level over many years and it is, ob viously, difficult to replace the key functional ingredient. (Continued on page 30) (Continued from page 3) associations and other special in terest groups do it...so, why can't we do it? Much has been said about involvementand participation. How ever, we cannot too often repeat that, if we are to solve the prob lems facing us in these turbulent times, we must all work together to understand the nature of our age and the world in which we live, Many of the problems affecting our Industry today stem from very ba sic roots. We have created a society founded on science and tech nology, yet have not found a mean ingful place for many of the younger generation nor success fully employed the abilities of a large part of the older generation. We are in a crisis over values and aims of our culture; our efforts have been centered on materialism and striving for world leadership, rather than concentrating on values and the full development of human resources in our homes,and in our own communities. As surely as day follows night, it is an in escapable fact that we are all af fected by the events of our times. There is no longer a place to run and hide, and we cannot afford to accept complacency or trust in the security of our own backyards. We must take responsibility for more than our own concerns so that each person may have the opportunity to develop his own potential for good and thereby strengthen the entire nation. We must, in short, be motivated toward involvement. You ask what GDCI will do for you? It will do what you ask of it and demand of it, for you as a member do indeed have a voice. The association has now been in existence some 20 years and is recognized as the spokesman of the Drywall Industry, both by gov ernment and those within the In dustry. So let's all get involved... let's not be like a shot from a 16 ga. shotgun, but let's be a cannon ball, moving through the halls of Congress and showing that our In dustry is a unified group from one end of the nation to the other and spanning the seas. For, if you don't get involved, the new laws and regulations, the growing lack of concern forquality, thesteadily de creasing productivity rate and the escalating prices will eventually put your Industry--and you--out of the market. And sooner than you may think, one morning you will awake to find another product in its stead. Not reasonable, you say? Then, isn't it reasonable that you, who have made a living from this great Industry, should con tribute to the well-being of that Industry and stand shoulder-toshoulder with confidence, 6,000strong across the nation and throughout the world, to assure that the Drywall Industry does en dure and will continue to make this world a better place in which to live, work and play? --- Howard R. Leederman Editor {Continued from page 8 ) ASBESTOS EXPOSURE IN THETAPE JOINT INDUSTRY The tape joint industry had their attention drawn forcibly to the as bestos standard in the Spring of 1974. A group at Mt. Sinai Hospital, led by Dr. Selikoff, announced the results of a study of 59 tapers who were members of Local Union 1974, Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York. The fiber counts found during sanding were generally very high and one long time worker in the industry had a clearly recognizable case of lung fibrosis. The same data were trans mitted to NIOSH who issued an alert to the industry. At the time of this publicity, a major supplier of asbestos and oth er products to tape joint compound manufacturers had collected dust count samples during sanding at two locations in Florida. In con trast to the New York City results, the fiber levels found were low and well within the regulations. A pos sible reason for the difference can be found in the application and sanding conditions, i.e,, hand-tool applied and heavily sanded in New York City compared with Ames tools and light sanding in Florida. The question of different work practices was pursued further with various contractors. It was found that the amount of sanding done varied widely, even within a geo graphical area. It depended on the way the mud was applied, i.e., Ames vs. hand tools, the skill of the operator running the mud, the type of finishing coat to be applied to the wall, the size and quality of the job, i.e., custom or "mass production," the amount of venti lation, and the personal preference of the contractor. In addition to these mechanical factors, different mud formulations appeared to vary widely in their tendency to gener ate dust when sanded. In general sanding was minimized to reduce costs. It was obvious that more infor mation from other parts of the country was needed to better de fine the levels of asbestos exposure to be expected. With the assistance of the GDCI and the excellent co operation of various individual contractors, field tests have now been run in New York, Texas, Michigan, and Minnesota. The New York, Michigan, and Minnesota sites were carefully selected to cov er as wide a range as possible in the "intensity" of the sanding op eration. Conditions varied from one man sanding lightly to three men sanding heavily in the same apartment. The New York tests al so provide information on hand tool application. In addition to as bestos tests, air samples were collected at several of the locations to check the airborne concentra tion of crystalline silica (quartz) in the respirable fraction of the dust. The results of these tests will be presented in the January-February Issue. A30 n . t sJ 0 UCC 003773 When it Comes lo Fire-Resistance Jfothina Con Match It! Greater Coverage! Leae Odor! It's Unmotdied in o Lot of Other Woys Tool New Henry #237 Acousti-Gum has it all over the other acoustical tile adhesives! Take fire-resistance, for example. Latex- based #237 has passed the tough "Tunnel Test" and earned a Class A Fire Rating ^ E3 ... the best rating possible. Superior alkali resistance on concrete, and faster cure mean unbeatable reliability. And #237 offers easier handling in cold weather, putting it far ahead of the field when the temperature drops. You shouldn't let another day go by or another tile go up till you're HNRY. sticking with Henry! I 1B7S. THE W. W HENRY CO. THE W. W. HENRY COMPANY 5608 SOTO STREET HUNTINGTON, PARK, CA 90255 GD-11 SALES OFFICES; HUNTINGTON PARK, CALIFORNIA (213) 583-4961; CHICAGO, ILL, (312) 254-3510; SOUTH- RIVER, N.J, (201) 254-2424 A ; C 7 O -j UCC 003774 Gold Bond announces a complete line of asbestos-free dry and Ready-Mixed joint compounds, plus spray texture products. Now you cart have traditional Gold Bond quality without asbestos. Ask your Gold Bond representative for more information, r write Gold Bond Building Products, Dhdstanof National Gypsum Company, Dept DS5-G, Buffalo, New York 14225. fefoe gypsum, and then some Gold Bond UCC 003775