Document OE4kmvK4ZjbpzENZG7GGpgdrv

FILE NAME: Union Carbide (UC) DATE: 1974 Apr 2 DOC#: UC224 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Memo RE Visit at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Dept of Community Medicine to Discuss Asbestos Exposures of Tape Joint Workers r > i TH E DISCOVERY COMPANY UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION MINING t METALS DIVISION P 0. BOX 579 NIAGARA FALLS. N. Y. H302 * TEL: 716 278 3376 Apr Union Carbide 230 Mr. F. H. Zimmerman C> National Gypsum Company ' 325 Delaware Avenue B u ffalo, NY 14202 Dear Frank: The report o f our meeting with Dr. S e lik o ff which we discussed this morning is attached. I don't see any reason you can 't discuss i t with Ed Fenner and I also agree that any sort of general d istribution via the AIA/NA is probably not wise. Best regards H.B. Rhodes HBR/cam . Attachment Mining and Metals Division Niagara F a lls , NY 14302 April 2 , 1974 MEMORANDUM VISIT AT MT. SINAI HOSPITAL. DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE TO DISCUSS ASBESTOS EXPOSURES OF TAPE JOINT WORKERS MARCH 29, 1974 Those Present: For Mt. S in a i: Dr. Irving J . S elik o ff Dr. Arthur N. Rohl For AIA/NA: Mr. Frank Zimmerman (National Gypsum) Mr. Joe Volk (National Gypsum, Ind. Hygiene) Dr. H.B. Rhodes (Union Carbide) . The meeting lasted about labours followed by a short tour of th eir f a c i l i t i t e s . I t was a pleasant low-key discussion. We mainly listened and asked leading questions. Mt. Sinai F a c ilitite s Their f a c i l i t i t e s , although quite crowed and cluttered due to an impending move to new Quarters, contain an impressive array of new sophisticated equipment. They are set up to obtain the following information on any chosen p a rticle in a fie ld : 1. Electron micrograph photo. 2. X-ray diffraction pattern-(crystal structure) 3. Chemical analysis (electron probe)? 4 . Scanning E.M.photograph. The procedure is rapid and routine so i t can be applied to large numbers o f p a rtic le s . Studies o f Tape Jo in t Workers ah,* on Rot has ViS1ted about 30 work sites and plans to cover b eath fSfl^n l o ? 6y Sre n e ct ng main]y 20 minute samples in the hbeliinnng seainLdfeSd a6re f aTlseon b? ae?indglno9b` taSinomede. background samples in the areas be 405! wprp ibreaS i n? TMne) ranged fro - 1-20 fib e r s . About 40X were in the 1-5 range, 405! in the 5+-10 range, and 20% were over lgai vJ e! U+thheieSvSerythhui"gVh?xfi-gu0rnee ocofu5n9t ofibbtearinse/dcc.during wet-out o f a dryy -m-i-x in'ictaw J h! $unts w?*;e " J* by the regular OSHA procedure. Dr. Rohl they could t e ll the difference between a mica flake and as bestos and that only true fibers were counted. There does not seem to be any reason to doubt the valid ity o f their counts. ffaarr. nDrr. SS ei ?liJkJoSff Xr"efsaeyrSveosf t*haeperiJg`0h,`tnttowocrhkaenrgse hhaivse obpeiennioenxawmhienneda so larger sample has been studied but feels he has enough to arrive at the following assessment o f the problem: 1. About the same percentage o f positive findings (fib ro sis) occurs as was found previously with insulation workers. 2. Generally the lung involvement is less severe than with insulation workers. fnv a c a J he p o in t " as "de that the counts represented c e ilin g values 9 ?P?ratl0r\ that generally lasted less than two nours per TM ! hat a 9 od ma<jo rity o f the exposures measured met the present OSHA standards and roughly h a lf met the 1976 standards. TUS T fey fe1b that i t would be too confusing to attempt to e s tiJ f i J I i i f Valu! s * l t j as a1so. not appropriate for them to get involved with statements regarding administrative work practices in the in- OSHA^tandaivfc ed*7at? r .they also do not feel that the current S TM ! d h s u ffic ie n t v alid ity to be worth considering so there was really no reason to look at TWA's. The point was also made that the tape jo in t workers with a long history in the business have been subjected to a number o f years o f regular high exposures while wetting out dry-mix comDOund, The x-ray data thus represents a combination of this exposure with consi derably lower exposures during sanding. Dr. S e lik o ff agreed that th is was a problem but did not see any way to sort out the exposures. They are .apparently not going to worry about i t in th eir presentation o f the data. Work Practices Dr. S e lik o ff made a strong push for work practices on the basis that there is no p ractical way to monitor the thousands o f construction site s throughout the country. Work practices in his mind should control the dust levels to zero or very close i t , not merely meet the allowable TWA. Dr. Rohl was asked what recommendations he would make for work practices on the basis o f his fie ld testing experience. Dr. S e lik o ff immediately stated that they did not have the background to maxe any recommendations beyond that o f controlling the dust at it s source, i . e . remove the asbestos from the mud. He stated that one manufacturer had told themthey were going to do this and seemed to be under the impression that i t did not present any serious technical problems. The function of asbestos in the mud was explained together with the very real technical problems in finding a replacement that would give a mud with competitive performance. I f i t were easy i t would have already been done. _ We mentioned the use of respirators to control exposure during sanding. Dr. S e lik o ff f e l t that respirators did a reasonable job and did not seem opposed to this approach. He also indicated that i f i t should be adopted and education program through the unions might be p ra c tic a l. S ilic a Dust During Sanding ^ Dr. Rohl has analyzed the dust samples collected for s ilic a and in at least some cases has found quite high le v e ls. They do not seem to be particu alrly alarmed over this finding but do plan to look into i t further. Some d e fin ite statement may be expected in about 6 months. Acceptable TWA Limits Dr. S e lik o ff was most emphatic that "The chance that the two fib e r lim it w ill survive in the new regulations is remote". He states that there is lots o f evidence to show i t is too high and nothing to show that i t is adequate even to protect against asbestosis. This position merely reiterates other public statements he has made. The need for AIA/NA to be prepared with th eir own documented positi is obvious and well-known. Prohibition of Smoking Frank Zimmerman askeJ whether the evidence s t i l l supported a regulation of "no smoking" 1n areas where workers are exposed to a i r - borne asbestos fib e rs . Dr. S e lif o f f is strongly in favor of th is posi tion and w ill supply backup evidence i f requested. H.B.Rhodes March 29, 1974 Blind Notes to Hr. Thurber and Mr. Myers 1. Frank Zimmerman mentioned that one the biggest problems with the removal o f asbestos has to do with can s t a b ility in cold weather. Without asbestos there is a pronounced tendency fo r an inch or so o f water to c o lle c t at the top o f the can. This is very d if f ic u lt to s t i r back in . 2. Much o f Dr. Roh1` s te st wor*. appeared to be with United States Gypsum muds (ready mix) in the New York area. I was unable to get any confirmation but i t is either they or National Gypsums Matteson I I . plant that told Dr. S e lik o ff about the asbestos-free mud. I have asked Mr. Byrne to have Mr. Norris talk about the subject again with United States Gypsum at an appropriate time.