Document OE3q6X65Q0mGy34ad30pDZQrQ

FILE NAME: General Electric (GE) DATE: 1980 Feb 20 DOC#: GE178 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: CPSC Memo with Comments from GE Protesting Proposed Rules on Use of Asbestos FcdR NunO-TnIrLFI- 1 0 - 1 7 - 7 9 - j - n 1 2 - -- 1 9 7 -- 1- 78 9 -- 80 COMMENTS DU^-n 12"^7s ^ t e s g o v e r n m e n t M em orandum Office of Program manmsement td : Office of The eneral Counsel from.. Ca w Rasberry, Office of The Secretary subjsct ; Referral of Official Comments U .S . CONSUMER PRODUCT SA FE T Y COMMISSION WASHINGTON. D.C. 20207 date 2-20-80 16 CFT Chapter I I Consumer Products Containing ASBESTOS; Advance N o tice of Proposed Rulemaking CC12-79 Attached are comments on t h e ---- ---------------- Please Log and Handle as Appropriate. CotBBients By Date Of Receipt COMMENT CC12-79-31 DATE 2-4-80 CORRESPONDENT School of the of Chicago C h ic a g o , 111- In s titu te SIGNED BY Gail Barazani M ichael McCann Monona R o s s o l Linnea Smith C C U -7 9 -3 2 ^ CC12-79-33 CC12-79-34 CC12-79-35 2-5-80 2-7-80 2-11-80 2-14-80 General E le c tr ic Co. F a i r f i e l d , Cotin. Maureen Dye Glens F a lls , N.Y, Reichold Chemicals, Inc. White P la in s , N.Y, A u stralian Consumers' Assoc. Chippendale, N.S.W. A u stra lia M artin E, Connor Interested Person T. R. Madden A llan Asher CC12-79-.36 (see;CC12-79-15) CC12-79-37 2-15-80 2-15-80 CC12-79-38 CC12-79-39 2-15-80 2-15-80 Wagfaer E le c t r ic Corp Parsippany, N .J. j . C. Schroer The A sso c, o f A sbestos Cement ip e Producers Philadelphia, Pa. Arthur H, Kahn., George E . R a h n ,Jr. Counsel W. R. Grace & Co. Cambridge, Mass. B. R. W illiam s,V ,P res. American In d u s tria l H ealth .Council, In c. Scarsdale, N.Y. -------- Ronald A. Lang _ E x. D ir . . _______ - - 12- CC 12-79-32 General Electric Company Fairfield, Connecticut 06431 Martin F. Connor Mr. Connor stated: 1. Generic Rulemaking on the Use of Asbestos in Consumer Products is unnecessary and inappropriate. 2. The Commission's proposed regulatory approach improperly assumes that every risk of cancer is unreasonable. a) The Consumer Product Safety Act specifically requires that the Commission find that a degree of risk is unacceptable before it takes regulatory action. b) In view of the prevalence of carcinogenic substances, the Commission may not ignore quantitative degrees and differences when it assesses the risk associated with such substances 3. The Commission may not assess the acceptability of risk associated with use of a carcinogen without addressing the difficult scientific and public-policy issues which arise from exposure to extremely low doses of that carcinogen. 4. Any step taken to control the use of asbestos in consumer products must acknowledge, and make sense in light of our substantial and continuing exposure to asbestos in ambient air. 5. Without supporting empirical data, the Commission may not regulate products emitting very small quantities of asbestos fibers on the hypotheses that these fibers build up indefinitely within buildings. 6. The Commission must realistically balance health risks against total product utility, including particularly product safety. E5EP comment: No CPSC engineering issues