Document OEN5px7dwJwbKVQ06gyke6eVL

FILE NAME Corning OC DATE 1948 June 2 DOC OC145 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Letter to Mr. Paul M. Giever from the Public Relations Manager : we oe ort - & . . t N. Hilliard ~ Seattle bee > bec Hr . Seattle Still Still bec Mr. J. Portland Portland Tallman Messrs Messrs A. Kuenn W ure Mr. E. = June June 1948 - 4 . t Engineer 1022 Industrial Accident Commission Portland Portland Portland 11th Street ; Portland Portland Oregon . . literature Dear Dear Giovert | and ef Wre suggestion Dr. J. A. Tallman of our Portland office and of Mr. At B. suggestion office I am glad to Portland office ZB. legical legical effects our Seattle Fiberglas materials legical effects of exposure to has supplied you with copies of literature literature this subject and Tallman this letter may reiterate literature reiterate reiterate literature supply 1 points has and even though it hope some of points hope that supply points with useful already established with you subject information I understand twhoatolyohuas currently interested interested in the insulating Fiberglas insulating for for insulating was result possibility exposure pathology pathology fibrous form the res- MP Dr. Leroy manfactured Gardner whatever Trudem investigations Foundation want to ' Company want md Gardner investigations investigations Saranac New York and find and sut whethethrere conduct whatever whatever deemed necessary necessary possibility piratory whether tract was any possibility Over period Page 2 , It was on the basis of Dr. Gardner's findings that we discontinulaotde in 1941 our program of making chest rays at month intervals of our veral thousand production employees who were constantly exposed to the material in manufacturing operations With the exception of a few score batch house employees handling sand where of course there is exposure to free silica none of our production employees wears a respirater On the basis of Dr. Gardner's findings we know that there is no silicosis hazard or other lung hazard attendant upon exposure to fibrous glass There is ef course no free silica in glass The batch house workers therefore art the only ones who wear respirators and the only ones who are given chest rays at periodic intervals Meanwhile over the years Fiberglas has become widely established and is handled by thousands of production workers daily in the scores of equipment and applianos manufacturing establishments that use it to insalate such millions things as refrigerators ranges water heaters roasters etc. Many millions of hours of exposure have accumulated without any record of compensable leaders disability attributed to such exposure Other leading manufacturers of water heaters for example now employing Fiberglas to insulate their appli- ances are such industrial as Rhoen Ruud A. C. Smith Hission Rater Heaters Prigidaire Restinghouse G. E. Hot Point etc. Range manufaoturers using Fiberglas T insulating wool of exactly the same land being used at Fowler include such industrial leaders as Roper Hc Fibban & Sexton , Caloric - Stove Newark Stove Kenmore ranges etc. Thus to the scientific data develobpy eDrd. Gardner has been added the ex- pirical evidence of successful use of these materials over a long period of time not only in our own plants but on the assembly lines of scorer of other - . manufacturers . Fiberglas thermal inculations are a form of mineral wool As is sometime He case in handling such other form of mineral wool workers handling Fiberglas thermal insulation materials initially experience discomfort to the skin of fart is not continuing as the workers become accustomed to the material the hands and wrists The expeirn i oureown n pc lane ts and in the plants of the vart majority of other plants using these materials is that this discom material Our attitude always has been that workers handling a new material have a right to ask questions about it with reference to how it might affect their health Because it is impossible for us to talk to all these workers individually we have prepared materials to be placed in the hands of industrial hygienists safety engineers plant physicians production supervisors that would be usoful in answering such questions Attached are letters that have been widely distributed to job induction supervisors and industrial physicians in plants yor where these materials are handled I m sure that these will be worth careful attention and if you wish additiosonpaiels we will be glad be supply Just as we carefully investigated the problem of possible hazard to the lungs and respiratory tract we have tried carefully to investigate the question of Mr. Paul M. Gisver Page 3 June 2 1948 ; < skin irritation At Dr. Gardner's suggestion in 1941 we went to Dr. Marion B. Sulzborger nationally New York dermatologist who conducted a clini cal investigation the results of which are reported in the attached reprint ** an article from INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE Using human volunteers Dr. Sulsberger his assistants employed six materials Fiberglas T thermal insulating wool of exactly the same type used at Fowler Fiberglas FF insulating wool + of the type used to insulate refrigeratora a rock wool that he obtained on the open market tape woven of Fiberglas continuous filament yarns tape woven of Fiberglas staple fiber yarns and absorbent cotton which be used as a control These materials were rubbed on sites on the flexor surfaces of the arms over periods ranging from seven to nineteen days Each site was rubbed daily except Sunday for two minutes - findings are the folowing following Significant of Dr. Sulzberger's the histologic changes in all sites including the sites rubbed with absorbent cotton were of approximately the same . type of the reactions observed were of a transitory and | superficial nature definite sensitisation to any of the . , materials could be demonstrated An important investigation was made during 1941 by Dr. Walter J. Siebert St. Louis pathologist acting in behalf of the St. Louis local of the Asbestos Workers Union Dr. Siebert's findings are reported in the attached reprint of his article that appeared in INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE On the basis of these scientific investigations and on the basis of experience in our own plants and in oustomers plants we make the following recommendations for handling Fiberglas thermal insulating materials y 1. Keep work spaces as tidy as possible disposing of trin and other ; . scrap in receptacles provided for waste 2. Wash well with wild soap and water before meals and at the and of each shift . 3. Hear clothing that is loose at the neck wrists and ankles 4. Apply calamine lotion containing one per cent phenol to skin surfaces if you are bothered Available at most First aid stations or any drug stores this lotion will help relieve dis- 5. Use a cleanser containing a wetting agent for removing fibers . that eling to the skin . ; These recommendations are essentially the same as those made in the attached letter addressed to plant physicians Th are e toy be found also in the attached reprint of a paper on Safe Handling of Fiberglas in Shipbuilding which I delivered before the Marine Section of the National Safety Compress in Chicago in 1944 Fr. Paul H. Giever Page 4 In addition you may be interested in knowing that we have followed with careful attention the use of Fiberglas materials in medicine and surgery The Tower Company Inc. in Seattle is using Fiberglas continuous filament - . ' arns in a knitted fracture bandage known as Cast to replace Plaster of Paris casts in reducing bone fractures This use is described in the attached reprint of an article by Dr. Anderson and Mr. Erickson that ap- peared in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY Fiberglas continuous filament yarns have been used experimentally as surgical sutures This use is contact with the body in bandage described in the attached reprint of an article by that appeared in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY yarns has been used in direct devised to collect the andate from surface burns Dr. Schols and Dr. Mountjoy Cloth woven of Fiberglas a specially This use is described in the attached reprint of an article by Dr. Hirshfeld et al Fiberplas super- fine batts are used to fill pillows Such pillows manufactured by the Le Buchsan Company Brooklyn by the Glasdown Corporation Wilkes Pennsylvania and the P. R. Mitchell Company Cincinnati have been listed as allergenic by the Council on Physical Medicine of the American Medical Association and are used for the relief of individuals who are allergie to feathers or other organic materials used to fill pillows Attached are photostate of reports listing such pillows as accepted devices from the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Fiberglas radio opaque yarns have been used as tracer threads in surgical sponges This application is described in the attached reprint of an article by Dr. Lewison that appeared in the BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN QULLEGE OF SURGEONS Fiberglas yarns have been used by dentists to fill root canals in human teeth This application is described in the attached reprint of an article by Dr. Masth that appeared in the DENTAL DIGEST Although most of these medical uses are not significant commercially the articles describing then in medical literature point to the fact that Fiberglas materials are allergenic sensitiz , inorganic toxic absorbent resilient I understand that Mr. Tallman has discussed with Mr. R. J. Mowrey the possi bility of including some information regarding the health aspects of Fiber- glas materials in Safer Oregon It occurs to me that the material in the letter addressed to plant physicians or the letter addressed to Job industion supervisors would be suitable and if you concur I shall appreciate it if you would pass this along to him for such use mate othr erimaa tel rias ls not specrei ferrf ed i to ic n tha e tl ext l of ty his letter are includeidn the attached envelopteo complete your files I hope this information will be useful to you and that a course satisfactory to everyone concerned can be worked out Yours very truly > Edward G. Ames . 7. B. An extra sopy of this letter is enclosed with an extra set of the achments if you should wish to pass it along to Mr. Mourey , Mr. Paul H. Diever Page5 1924 1948 8 Enclosures Attached to letter Gardner Deprint Letter to Plant Physician Letter to Job Induction Supervisor Bulzberger Reprint Ciebert Reprint Ames Reprint e Anderson Reprint Mountjoy Reprint Hirshfeld Reprint Photostats of Buchman Glasdown pillow acceptances Ismison Reprint Masth Reprint id In attached envelope Health Aspects of Fiberglas Materials ~ Pioneering Uses of Fiberglas Materials in Medicin Figley Reprint BuShipe Mamo Mellahon Reprint Photostat of Buck article Reprints of recent advertisements in medical series Bibliography Many Forms for Kany Uses