Document QgXVkrxy7doL1zNkJy8o48Bjo

International Bulletin Published by The Asbestos Institute Vol. 3, Wo 1 Fighting Fears with Facts Sometimes it feels like an S uphill battle to fight fear with fact, especially when the fear has been fueled by media headlines. In the case of asbestos in buildings, these fears were aroused by EPA's proposed ban in 1986 and subse quently encouraged by the growing abatement industry and the makers of substitute fibres. Well-intentioned American politicians responded to their constituent fears and passed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. In the United States, and to a lesser extent elsewhere, this is now resulting in the expenditure of millions of dollars of public funds to remove asbestos insulation or vinyl tiles which, according to scientific evidence, represent an insignificant risk to building occupants. The real problem is that the whole sale removal of asbestos insulation may result in increased risks to school children, building occupants and asbestos removal workers. It is tragic that regulatory bodies such as EPA, which are charged with protecting the environment and peo ple's health and welfare, are forget ting the legacy of asbestos diseases and are creating a public health haz ard. It is time to fight fear with facts. (See page 6) HWBUI0001448 Risk Communication: A Risky Business isk communication methods Agriculture Canada, Energy, Mines and Rand strategies held centre Resources Canada, Health and Welfare stage at the Ottawa Congress Canada, The Asbestos Institute and the Centre in December. The University of Waterloo co-sponsored two-day Symposium on Risk Commthuensiymposium. cation, organized by the University of Waterloo's Institute for Risk Research, Most private sector participants were was geared to Canadian regulators, from the nuclear and chemical industry scientists and risk managers. sectors. The media were noticeably ab sent. Although the tone of the seminar was generally dry and academic, some use ful insights were provided by a number of speakers. "The public needs dear, credible infor mation", said Dr. Vincent T. Covello, Director of the Risk Assessment Pro gram at the U.S. National Science Foundation. A recognized authority on public perception and risk communica tion, Dr. Covello offered a comprehen sive view of the subject, induding a set of guidelines to govern communications and cautions about the use of risk com parisons, "Trust and credibility are difficult to obtain, easy to lose and almost impassible to fully regain". A Risky Case Indeed! he panel that focussed on as Tbestos as a case example was a highlight of the Symposium on Risk Communication held in Ot tawa in December. Michael J. Messel, a senior executive in the Quebec asbestos industry during its crisis period, spoke with concern and emotion. An industry pioneer, he recalled the events of 1964, when Dr. Selikoff sounded the first cries of alarm based on his studies of insulation workers from the period between 1943 and 1964. - Confusion and Turmoil "It was a time of confusion", said Mes sel. "There were nine different asbestos companies in Canada, each with differ ent policies. The level of occupational hazard for workers varied from one company to the next based on factors such as the age of equipment and the type of process. In addition, medical data were conflicting and a risk of misin terpretation existed." "Valuable time was thus lost in com municating the true risks", stated Mes sel. "No consensus existed in the indus try itelf nor among medical practitioners, yet in the public mind, the case had been made. Selikoff's selective interpolation of the data was being questioned, yet his 'mastery of the me dia' was the critical factor in the con demnation of asbestos as a material too hazardous to use." "A long period of change and turmoil followed", recalled Messel. "In 1975, a strike occurred in Quebec for improved working conditions for asbestos workers. In 1976, the Beaudry Commis sion on Working Conditions in the As bestos Industry handed down rts report just in time to turn asbestos into an elec tion issue." "The Quebec government eventually bought out several asbestos companies previously owned by American or British concerns and The Asbestos Institute was formed in 1984 to promote the safe use of the mineral." Credibility: A Key Issue No single, sure-fire recipe exists for es tablishing a communications policy un der such circumstances, concluded Messel. No matter how good, any policy will require periodic updating, and time ly information must be adapted and given to people at risk in a language they can understand. "Credibility is the key issue", Messel said. That theme was repeatedly heard during the two-day symposium. Professor Donald Dewees, Director of sion on Asbestos (ORCA) from 1980 to 1984, focussed on four factors: the time element; psychological factors; risk dis crimination; and political action. The Time Element Although asbestosis was first identified during World War II, observed Dewees, and the risk of mesothelioma had be come known by the sixties, spraying of insulation was not phased out until the mid-seventies. Asbestos subsequently became a "family issue" when it was suggested that schoolchildren were at risk in buildings insulated with asbestos. "Communication can be difficult within an organization", said Dewees, "and even more so between several organiza tions where additional factors com pound the problem." The 'net' effect is that the time required for transmission of information is extended. Psychological Factors The psychological make-up of an au dience is of vital importance to risk com municators. When dealing with as bestos, several factors come into play, including length of exposure. "Of those exposed in the past", stated Dewees, "many did not want to hear the bad news. To support precautions now was to admit they had already been at risk, in some cases for long periods of time. The need to control working conditions was difficult to convey because some of the most important recipients did not, in a sense, want to hear about it. They did not want to think about the risk they had already -- albeit unknowingly -- as sumed." Dewees. "Once the public has 'recognized' an issue, individuals face the need to determine if they are at risk or not." Dewees noted that the most quoted statement from the ORCA report is that the health risk caused by asbestos in certain buildings was less than 1 /50th the risk caused by commuting to the building by car. This type of comparison provides a useful basis for comparison of risks. (See page 11) s we hope you have no 1987. At willcontinue to respond Aticed, wb are starting to misleading orerroneousmadia 1988with anewand different Bulletin. coverage when wa are aware of it. I wouldalso encourage others Thanks to the Herculean effowrthso are familiar with the issues ofSuzanne Simard, aidedand to be much moreproactive. Ifwe abettedby Nofa Katherine Sey- do notcorrect the media when moarand ChantalMontgomery they are wrong, we willhave only Schellwe have developeda new ourselves toblame fora misin style and format for our quarterly formedpublic. publication. It Is ourIntention that the Bulletin wittserve as As I review the contents of this more ofa dialoguehr the future. issue ofthe Bulletin, lam struck We ourselves willbe more asser by howmuchis not included. The tive aboutouropinions, andin fastmovingpace ofdevelop vite others to presenttheir views mentsin Asia where extrudedas as well. To that end, we willin bestos cement isbooming, our troduce a "Letters" column in our traininginitiativeson Safe Use spring issue. with the 1LQ, ourefforts to moderate the asbestos removal Wehave includeda cartoon, and industryinNorthAmerica and plan to do more ofthissort of our involvement in promoting ap thing -- partlybecauseitadds propriate regulatory standards visualinterest to the Bulletin but both At Canada endabroad, will also because sometimes we need have to be the topics ofsubse to chuckle at ourselves or to quent Bulletins. The imperatives recognize the bony ofsituations. ofspaceprevail(not to mention Yourreactions andsuggestions the consequencesofnotmeeting are invitedandwillbo welcomed. Suzanne'sdeadlines!). The Economistran an article in its September2Sissue entitled "Ex port and Die". Irespondedand my letter to toe Editor was car riedin the issue ofDecember 12. -- Claude Forget Risk Discrimination "Risk discrimination lies at the core of risk analysis and assessment", argued ? HWBUI0001449 Asbestos Removal Think Twice or years, the asbestos industry has Fbeen plagued by lawsuits on the risks associated with asbestos materials used in office buildings and schools. Most if not all buildings contain asbestos in various forms. Are these materials truly dangerous? Do they generate significant quantities of dust? At a symposium on the quality of air organized by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Montreal in October 1987, Marc Trudeau, En gineer, discussed asbestos in buildings. Trudeau pointed out that depending on the legislation referred to in Canada, as bestos materials are defined as products containing over either 0.1 % or 1 % as bestos. Thus, even though the fibre content is often minimal, one conse quence of the definition used is that there is a wide diversity of asbestoscontaining products. less than 0.20 micrometres in diameter); and on the other hand, the fibre parti cles that are measured may originate from materials other than those classi fied as asbestos." Thus, "it would appear that we will now have to use transmission electron microscopy in order to identify the fibres (or fibrils), amongst which there may be asbestos fibres (or fibrilsl, and then to evaluate their level of concentration in the air. The result obtained is then used to assess whether there is a problem and if so, to help in the selection of a possi ble solution. However, electron microscopy techniques are not yet stan dardized, in spite of the efforts of NIOSH in the United States and the AIA at the international level. Furthermore, when the fibre measurements are low, negligible or almost undetectable, TEM gives a measurement reading of as bestos at levels that are generally consi dered to bean insignificant risk." "Thus", according to Trudeau, "the problem is that you may simply have identified a scientific number which can not easily be understood or interpreted by building owners, managers or oc cupants. but is often used to justify removal activity." Discussion and Conclusion Trudeau outlined some sensible ap proaches to assessing and managing as bestos materials in buildings. He pointed out that the problem with the perfor mance of asbestos materials in the nor mal or abnormal aging process is highly complex (see Decision Tree). Trudeau concluded; "If one talks in terms of risks caused by possible future emissions of dust, regardless of their probabSity, one must also admit that not only medicoscientific truths but also social, cultural and political factors must be taken into account. In the asbestos field to date, legislators' decisions have been as much a function of politics and economic, cul tural and social factors as a result of the real risk of contracting a disease. From the building owners or managers' point of view, controlling the real risks will in volve a sensible inspection, monitoring and maintenance plan. Because of the probability of generating respirable dust, the removal of asbestos is a radical and high risk proposition of last resort." Note: For furtherinformation on asbestos in bui/dings, please contact The Asbestos Institute. Typically, buildings contain asbestosbased products in suspended form in paints, asphalt and caulking; in solid form in materials such as asbestoscement; and in friable form in acoustic and insulation materials. The term "fria ble" is applied to materials that can be easily crushed or pulverized using hand pressure. ^Notwithstanding such considerations as the many limitations on methods of measurement, the studies published to date on the concentration of asbestos fibres in building air, typically and nor mally, report results under 0.01 f/ml, regardless of the method used. In my opinion, what is significant is that the concentrations are small and even negligible compared to the concentra tions of dust present in the workplace, which range from 0.01 to 2 f/ml nowa days and ran as high as 20 f/ml a few years ago." MANAGING ASBESTOS IN BUILDINGS Given the insignificant risk posed by such very low levels of respirable fibres in the air, it is only when asbestoscontaining material is degraded or re quires disturbance for renovations that it is a potential problem. "Natural factors such as climatic varia tions, or corrosion by chemical agents, combined with artificial factors such as the handling of the materials or simply their use, may create conditions that promote the degradation of the products and the emission of airborne dust." Dust Records 'The current or probable future concen trations of airborne asbestos dust must be minimized. However, for the mo ment, there are a number of problems inherent in asbestos dust records in buildings." "In an environment that does not in volve mining, processing or manufactur ing of asbetos materials, it becomes very difficult to measure the concentra tion of asbestos fibres in the air. In fact, optical microscopy is inadequate be cause, on the one hand, the fibres are often so fine as to be undetectable li.e.. 3 HWBUI0001450 Improved Working Conditions in Brazil At the invitation of the Federation of Construction and Furniture Workers of Sao Paulo, member of Flemacon, The Asbestos Institute and the Brazil Asbestos Association attend ed the Bi-Annual Conference of La tin American Asbestos-Cement Workers in Brazil. Joel Alves de Oliveira, union representative for Brazil, welcomed delegates from a number of participating nations, in cluding Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Peru and Uruguay. he results of a study commis sioned by Brazil's Ministry of Labour of the working condi tions in Brazilian asbestos mines and factories were made public at this conference of Latin American AsbestosCement Workers. Changing rooms, showers, collection and on-sitelaundry services for workers' uniforms are part of the Health and Safety Program at Cana Brava. The authors of the study -- three engi neers, two doctors and one sociologist employed by the Ministry of Labour -- confirmed the continued improvement in the working conditions and methods used in large companies, particularly with respect to handling the fibres used in manufacturing asbestos-cement pro ducts. Technology Improves Working Conditions Thanks to more modem equipment and technology, the larger manufacturers can now exercise more rigourous con trol over the workplace. Progress has been noticeable in several respects and dust exposure no longer seems to be the major problem. Noise pollution and industrial accidents appear to be the major causes of workrelated injuries and fatalities. However, the noticeable improvement observed in the major plants are not as evident in small and medium-sized com panies. Recommendations Recognition of significant improve ments in working conditions and me thods in large companies and lobbying for government intervention in small and medium-sized businesses to encourage the latter to make the same improvements in their own plants; Compilation and dissemination of all available technical, general and medi cal information on the safe use of as bestos, via the Brazil Asbestos Asso ciation; Requests to the Ministry of Health to commission studies in Brazilian plants on the effects of exposure to asbes tos, and to institute medical supervi sion plans for all workers. Invitation to Labour In the course of the conference, the Chairman of the Brazilian Asbestos As sociation, Joao Carlos Duarte, for the first time invited two worker representa tives to join The Association. From now on the Brazil Asbestos Association will include representatives from both em ployer and union circles. Countering the Substitutes in Panama Brazilian Mine Living Up to Safe Use nan attempt to counter a recent campaign by manufacturers of sub stitute products catling for a ban of asbestos, the Panamanian govern ment issued a special invitation to The Asbestos Institute to participate in the National Convention of Sanitary En gineers of Panama, last October. In an effort to shed some light on both sides of the issue, the Panamanian government asked for the support of The Institute and PANALIT Ithe one plant making asbestos-cement sheets) in organizing an information session for representatives of the ministries of Health, Water Supply, and Construc tion, as well as civil engineers and con tractors. Jean-Pierre Chevalier-Bultei presented The Institute's information on the use of asbestos-cement pressurized pipes to convey drinking water. To inform and reassure participants regarding health risks, he drew on numerous scientific studies that demonstrate that ingested asbestos is harmless. He also presented socio-economic data on the compara tive use of asbestos-cement pipes and substitute materials such as PVC and ductile iron. He stressed that unlike duc tile iron, the materials for manufacturing A/C pipes can be easily imported by Panama from neighbouring countries. AMA, the asbestos ore compa ny that owns the Cana Brava mine in Brazil, is planning to open a new 250,000-tonne capacity mill in late 1988. Located north of Brasilia, this strip mining operation, the only one in Brazil, consists of two pits, each 30 metres deep. The fibre content of the Cana Brava ore is be tween 7% and 8%. Production increased from 180,000 to 214,000 tonnes between 1986 and 1987. Fibre grades range from Group 4 to Group 6. The local processing industry absorbs 80% of the production, the balance being exported. The use ofasbestos is an important economic factor ASBESTOS Chairman ofthe Board: President of The Asbestos institute: Director ofInformation: Editorial Board: Associate Editor: Layout: Cartoonist: Printing: Secretary: Contributors: Me Jean Dup6r6 Claude E. Forget Suzanne Simard Claude E. Forget Or. Nola Seymoar Suzanne Simard Chantal Montgomery-Schell Langevin etTurcotte Gordon Weber L'Eclaireur Rente Dufour N. Bourque. M. Connely, J. Coombs-Payac, Dr. Jacques Dunnigan. S. Houston, Dr. P.V. Pelnar. S. Pozezanac, M- Trudeau. ASBESTOS ts a quarterly publication of The Asbestos Institute, 1130 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2M8, 1514) 844-3956. Legal Deposit: Bibiiotheque (ra tionale du Quebec and National Library of Cana da. Vol. 3, No. 1,1988. This publication appears in French, English and Spanish. Modern Equipment and Medical Supervision Working conditions at the Cana Brava mine are comparable to those observed in Canadian mines and mills. In addition, modern sanitary facilities -- changing rooms, showers, collection and on-site laundry services for workers' uniforms, plus a health clinic for the workers -- ensure appropriate supervision and constant medical follow-up. HWBUI0001451 Asbestos-cement: Cuba Is at the Forefront Cuba annually consumes close to 25,000 tonnes of fibres, 87% of which come from the USSR and 10% from Canadian mines. Its four plants make asbestoscement products, including pla tes, roofing and pipes for pressu re and gravity systems. Much ap preciated for its price/quality ratio, asbestos-cement is widely used in construction in Cuba. A series of substitution tests involving the replacement of crocidolite with chrysotile asbestos processed by a Ca nadian firm have also proven successful. In fact, the processed fibre can replace crocidolite and still maintain both nor mal production and the intrinsic quality of the pipe. Canaletas A long-span roofing system, measuring 7.32 metres long, 0.936 metres wide and 7mm thick, is another asbestos-cement product made in Cuba and widely used n a recent tour of a plant in OArtemisa, The Institute repre sentatives had a firsthand ex perience of the excellent performance of an ultramodern machine designed to manufacture A/C pipes in diameters ranging from 150mm to 400mm without stopping the machine or halting production. The modern plant, has two 5-metre machines for manufac turing pipes and one plate machine for A/C products. It employs over 500 workers. throughout Latin America. The modified The very sturdy "canaletas" are used for chrysotile will be tested far its capacity covering industrial and public buildings, to increase the productivity of these The material is well known for its high high-demand products. flexibility resistance and can therefore be used with lightweight structures. Mexico to Form Tripartite Organization At the invitation of the Mexican As Key Elements of Safe Use sociation of Asbestos-Cement Ma Canada's Ambassador to Mexico, Ray nufacturers and The Asbestos insti mond Chrelion, kicked off the procee tute, a number of specialists in dings. Chretien reiterated Canada's po occupational health and medicine, sition on the controlled use of asbestos representatives of small and and underlined the importance of the ro medium-sized businesses, and users le played by The Asbestos Institute in of asbestos fibre met in Mexico City the promotion of such a policy around last November to discuss methods the worid. and conditions for the safe use of asbestos. Various aspects of safe use were discus sed. Dr. Gordon Bragg, a mechanical engineer and professor at the University he recent information seminar in of Waterloo, in Canada, dealt with dust TMexico City served as a spring control methods, while engineer Marc board for the creation of a new Trudeau discussed occupational health, association in the months to sampling and counting methods. come. As an official member of the As bestos International Association IAIA), The Institute's Director of Health and the association will bring together repre Environment, Dr. Jacques Dunnigan, sentatives of industry, government and dealt with medical supervision in the labour. This tripartite organization will workplace and the health effects of fibre help maximize the use of available finan substitutes. Jean-Pierre Chevalier- cial and human resources, and will en Bultel, Director of Research and Deve courage coordination and cooperation lopment at The Institute, outlined the with respect to the promotion and safe various regulations and controls cur use of asbestos in Mexico. rently applicable to the workplace around the world. Positive Outcome The main focus of this new association will be the protection of the worker, via the compilation and constant exchange of information and data on all aspects of occupational health and safety, as well as compliance with standards and me thods of measuring fibre levels in the as sociation's member companies. The "canaletas"are the majorasbestos-cement construction material manufactured in Cuba. Cuba Wants Help in Training Specialists he Cuban authorities have re Over 60 participants, including doctors, Tquested the technical support of engineers, technicians, government and The Institute for the advanced labour representatives, attended the training of technicians and seminar -- participating in sessions on hygienists with regard to sampling asnudch topics as industrial hygiene and fibre measurement techniques as well as safety conditions for asbestos workers. dust records in its plants. Special train ing would enable these experts to main Dr. Jacques Lebel. from The Institute, tain national and international occupa spoke on industrial sampling and dust tional health and safety standards in the control methods. Dr. Jorge Otero, a field. lung specialist from Peru, discussed the risks associated with inhaling asbestos The request was made during an Al fibres in uncontrolled environments; and seminar organized at the invitation of J.P. Chevalier-Bultel, The Institute's the Cuban ministries of Construction Director of Research and Development, and Health held in Havana in November. discussed the socio-economic advan tages of using asbestos-cement materi als. The response to the seminar was en thusiastic and follow-up initiatives are already being planned. 5 HWBUI0001452 What Cfcj` h ' '""-Zfri Fear: One fibre of asbestos can kill. Fact: Asbestos fibre is a natural fibre found almost everywhere in the ambient air. Asbestos fibres have been found in ice in Antartica from periods long before the industrial use of the fibre. Fibres of asbestos can be found in the lungs of almost everyone in the population. The Medical Advisory Panel of the As bestos International Association puts it rather clearly: "If one fibre killed, we should all be dead since asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral, is every where and we have been inhaling its fibres since birth.'M Fear: Exposure to asbestos products in buildings can cause cancer. Fact: Asbestos exposure is related to 3 dis eases: asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These diseases are related to the level and duration of exposure to asbestos dusts and, in the case of lung cancer, to smoking. Little is known about how cancer is caused. We do know, for example, that even in the case of mesothelioma, which is a very rare cancer, a substantial proportion seem to occur spontaneous ly, or have no relation to exposure to as bestos.2 When EPA calculated the number of cancer cases which would be prevented by a ban and phase-out of asbestos, they took the known deaths among adult smokers exposed to high concen trations of asbestos dust under uncon trolled occupational conditions 30 to 40 years ago (approximate exposure levels of 10 to 100 fibres per ccl, and they cal culated a number to estimate future deaths at current exposures which are up to 300,000 times lower.3 These hypothetical deaths are a figment of EPA's calculations. In fact, there may be no risk at such low exposures. Studies of towns, such as Thetford Mines in Canada, where resi dents have been exposed to elevated fibre levels in the environment for years, do not show any increased incidence of these cancers among the general popu lation.4 This is like saying electricity kills: if ac cidentally exposed without protection to a high voltage wire, almost 100% of those exposed die. But projecting mathematically backwards to conclude that a smaller percentage of people will die from exposure to the electricity from a flashlight battery is absurd. "... A child's contact time in education has been estimated at 15,000 hours. If throughout this period an average ex posure to asbestos of 0.005 f.ml*1 is as sumed, a cumulative exposure of 7.5 f.ml'1 hours is received. The results in this paper suggest that cumulative ex posures of the same order may be achieved in a few days, if pupils are in the vicinity of the enclosure during removal. If a building is re-occupied soon after removal, asbestos concentra tions may remain higher than before for some weeks and in some circumstances for more prolonged periods."9 ATtestftnHaus kW "***" vlU-c-x-*- <wu*" fit**** Two independent and comprehensive reviews -- one by a Royal Commission in Canada and one by a Special Adviso ry Group to the U.K. government con cluded the following: "... Studies of asbestos concentrations in building air have shown that many buildings containing asbestos insulation do not exhibit fibre levels exceeding those in the outdoor air or in buildings not insulated with asbestos. Even when a building exhibits elevated asbestos fibre levels, these are still very low com pared to current workplace control limits and are orders of magnitude below the level to which workers were exposed in the past. A typical building containing asbestos insulation will expose oc cupants to less than 0.001 f} cc of as bestos, or 1 /1,000 of the current chrysotile control limit. Only a small fraction of occupant exposures in all buildings con taining asbestos insulation would be as great as 0.01 f/cc of asbestos. We will conclude that it is rarely necessary to take corrective action in buldings con taining asbestos insulation in order to protect the general occupants of those buildings."5 Fear: Because this issue is controversial, it is better to be safe and remove asbestos. Fact: 1. Removal of asbestos generates high levels of asbestos dust and often in creases the risk to people, particularly removal workers, rather than decreasing it. In a recent study, fibre levels in most buildings with asbestos products were found to be below the level of quantifi cation.7 Fibre levels after abatement activity in schools and buildings are often higher than before such activity and this in creased level may be recorded for up to 39 weeks after removal. The plain fact is that building occupant exposures are so low it is hard to reduce them further. 2. Recent studies of the toxicity of glass fibre, ceramic fibre and mineral wools show that these fibres are also bi ologically active.10 There are at present no occupational safety standards for substitute fibres and some fibrous materials are being sprayed in a manner similar to that used in spraying asbestos many years ago. Furthermore, some substitute products made of organic polymer compounds can give off toxic gases in a fire. Thus, replacing asbestos with substitute fibres does not guaran tee increased safety. Fear: It is my responsibility as a parent to eliminate ail known risks to my children. Fact: There is no such thing as a risk-free world. We should certainly strive to reduce and eliminate risks, but what is also necessary is to put risks in a relative context and learn how to cope or deal effectively with them. As pointed out earlier. The Ontario Royal Commission on Asbestos in Canada and the Advisory Group on Asbestos in the United King dom, as well as The Royal Society, the World Health Organization and various independent consultants, conclude that "... Unless contaminated buildings are very much commoner than seems likely no appreciable mortality from lung cancer can be associated with any degree of contamination by chrysotiie likely to be encountered in the U.K. in the ambient air or in buildings not under active construction or repair."6 In the case of asbestos in buildings, if the asbestos is in good repair, there Is effectively no exposure because not enough respirable fibres are being released to pose a problem. HWBUI0001453 the risk from exposure to very low levels of chrysotile is so low as to be insignifi cant. .. While the health risk from asbestos in buildings may not be exactly zero, it is far below risks faced every day by Cana dians in their ordinary lives. The risk to occupants from asbestos in buildings is a small fraction of the risks faced by workers exposed to asbestos under the t f/cc control limit for chrysotile. It is less than 1/50 as great as the risk of commuting by car to and from those buildings. In concluding that this risk is insignificant, we conclude that the risk does not present a public health problem."11 It is important to weigh and judge risks in order to set priorities.12 Expending bil lions of dollars on asbestos removal is wasteful. In Illiterate America, Jonathan Kozol estimates that the annual cost of illiteracy to the American economy is 20 billion dollars.13 In other words, one should be more worried about what goes on in the classroom than whether or not the classroom has asbestos insu lation. Surely, it makes more sense to expend money to address real problems rather than to spend scarce resources on insignificant risks. Fear: I am being misfed by the big Canadian asbestos lobby. Fact: The total Canadian asbestos industry in volves 6 mining companies employing approximately 3,000 workers, producing 700,000 tonnes of asbestos, at a value of approximately 300 million dollars (CON). This is about 1/4 of the world produc tion of asbestos.14 Asbestos abatement, one of the fastest growing businesses in America, is esti mated to gross W0 million dollars (U.S.) in 1987.15 This business simply drains money from school boards, taxpayers and building owners. **<-- as Does Dange^ II i^r--` 'fl^**** IS"g"rS(SSSSS&ss,S?"Kt1u"SHSSS'SS^S\I"""S^.'XSXSnS'-m"SKt &.0.1 PSSIKS^*"g??.5! saggar The American Environmental Protection Agency has an annual budget of 2.7 bil lion dollars (US) and employs 13,000 workers.16 The U.S. chemical industry, which mar kets substitute fibres and products such as aramid, mineral wools, glass fibre and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe, has sales of 185.9 billion dollars (U.S.) and em ploys 1,027,000 workers.17 Thus, the Canadian mining industry is a small force in comparison to these other groups. The industry, unions and the governments of Quebec and Canada formed The Asbestos Institute in 1984. The Institute is dedicated to promoting safety in the use of asbestos. It believes that the best way to fight misleading in formation is to put the facts before the public. Fear: If we do not take action to remove asbestos, we may be liable to legal action. Fact: The best defence to a lawsuit is to be able to show that one has acted reasonably. There is substantial scientif ic support for concluding that asbestos maintained in good condition represents an insignificant risk to building oc cupants. Because removal activity may increase risks, and because substitute fibres may also be harmful, leaving as bestos insulation in good repair in place, and instituting a sound maintenance program, is in the majority of situations the most reasonable option. When the level of asbestos fibres in a building is measured, comparative measures should also be taken of the fibre levels in the ambient air outside the building to determine whether action inside the building would reduce these levels. Fear: Asbestos must be removed because the government requires it. Fact: This is not true. In almost all jurisdic tions, regulations simply require inspec tion and a management plan.18 It is only when demolition or renovations are con templated that removal may be ap propriate. When friable asbestos is damaged, the options include repair, en closure and encapsulation; not simply removal. New and effective products have been developed to impregnate as bestos insulation with other materials which keep it from creating dust. Conclusion The facts about the real risks from as bestos in buildings are not well known by the public. Sometimes, presenting these facte is a difficult or unpopular po sition. Yet, it is crucial that school boards, government agencies, unions or building owners not waste money to re move asbestos in good condition, it is difficult but essential to distinguish when asbestos is a real risk and requires control procedures (in occupational set tings and in removal activities) and when it is not (such as in buildings or in the natural environment) -- just as we recognize when electricity is risky and when it is not. M Note: This article was written for an in formation kit on Asbestos in Buildings available from The Asbestos Institute. References 1. Information Memorandum tAJM), No. 2/87; "Seme Statements and Comments on those State merits'* by the Medical Advisory Panel to the As bestos International Association. 2. PELNAR, Dr. P.V., "Nan-Asbestos Related Malignant Mesothelioma", The Asbestos Institute, Montreal. 1983. PETERSON, J.T., Jr.. Greenberg, 3.D., "Non As bestos Related Malignant Mesothelioma, A Review Cancer". Baffler, Pennsylvania, 54(51:951-960, 1984. 3. "Does the EPA Really Have a Case Against Chrysotile Asbestos", The Asbestos Institute, 1986, pp. 11 and 15. 4. PAMPALON, R., Siemiatycki, J., Blanchet. M., "Pollution environnementale par I'amiante et sante publiqueau Quebec", L'Union m6dicale au Canada, 111(5): 475-489.1382 (Mai). 5. DUPR6, J.S. etal., "Report of The Royal Com mission on Matters of Health and Safety Arising from the Use of Asbestos in Ontario" (ORCA), Toronto, Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, 1984, p. 548. 6. United Kingdom Advisory Committee on As bestos, Asbestos, Vol. 1, Final Report of the Advi sory Committee (Simpson Report), London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1979, p. 63. 7. BURDETT. G.J. et at, "Airborne Asbestos Fibre Levete-tn Buifdtngsr-ArSumfnwy'tifuJfc Measure ments'', London, Health and Safety Executive, September 1987, p. 11. 8. Ibid. p. 12. 9. Ibid, p. 13. 10. QUNNIGAN, J., "Known Biological Activity of Selected Asbestos Substitutes", University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke. December 1987. 11. ORCA. p.585. 12. HUGHES. J., WEILL, H.. "Asbestos Ex posure" in Quantitative Assessment of Risk. "... To place this risk in perspective, some other es timated and observed annual death rates per million in die U.S. are: approximately 1,200 for tong-term smoking, 15 for bicycling (10 to 14 yr of age), 15 for inhalation /ingestion of foreign objects, 1 for living for 2 months with a cigarette smoker, and tQ from playing high school football! 1970 to 1980). Although not converted to rates, school bus acci dents resulted m approximately 200 deaths in 1975 and whooping cough vaccination, 5 to 20 deaths annually during 1970 to 1980. 8y contrast, for school asbestos exposure, die upper estimate of an average annual rate of Q.25 deaths per million ex posed would be equivalent to 0.75 annual deaths, based on EPA's estimate of 3 million students cur rently exposed." 13. KOZAL, J.. "Illiterate America". Garden City, New York, Anchor Press, 1385. 14. Based on Budget Estimates for 1986, Energy. Mines and Resources Canada. 15. CORN, M., "Perspectives on the Potential Risk and Management of Option for Asbestos in Build ings", International Congress on Occupational Health, Australia, September 1987. 16. "EPA 1988 Budget in Brief", United States. January 1987. 17. Chemical and Allied Products (1976-1386), Chemical Manufacturing Association (November 1987). 18. "Final Regulations -- Asbestos Hazard Emer gency Response Act of 1988 (AHERA)", Environ mental Protection Agency Press Release Kit, Oc tober 19.1987. 7 HWBUI0001454 The Devil We Don't Know The first Fibres and Friction Materials Symposium was held October 7 and 8,1987, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This event, sponsored by The Asbestos Institute, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the Friction Materials Standards Institute attracted over 215 participants from 10 countries. The Symposium provided a forum for independent, international experts to speak out on various issues associated with the use of fibres in friction materials applications. The conference itself drew no conclusions regarding chrysotile as bestos or its substitutes in friction materials applications. However, one could not overlook the commitment of friction materials manufacturers and the major automobile companies to the de velopment of non-asbestos friction lin ings. These efforts continue despite enormous economic costs, major tech nical difficulties and problems, and potential for massive litigation on the basis orthe use of unqualified (un proven) friction materials. The efforts to develop non-asbestos friction linings have been driven by EPA's proposed ban rulemaking on as bestos, public opinion and the threat of product liability suits from the use of as bestos in uncontrolled conditions in the past. However, based on the papers presented and the discussions held, one must seriously question whether society is slipping from the asbestos frying pan into the alternative fibres fire. Performance Considerations Chrysotile asbestos, which has an 80year track record, was acknowledged as the best materials available for friction materials applications. According to Arnie Anderson, Tribo-Diagnostics Corp., not one of the other fibrous materials, (e.g. aramid, glass fibre, mineral wool, or wollastonite) is singularly acceptable as a substitute for chrysotile asbestos in any significant friction materials applica tion. in an attempt to achieve accepta ble levels of performance, combinations of fibres have had to be used, or totally different lining formulations developed. The process of developing asbestos substitutes, however, has been an ardu ous task, beset with a number of problems. At the conference, one heard about hot-spotting, and problems of noise, high wear, lining breakage and in consistent braking on vehicles which use the new non-asbestos brake linings. However, the most sobering statement was that mandating aftermarket non asbestos friction materials for vehicles originally equipped with asbestos based linings would lead to potentially serious customer safety risk, unless stringent friction materials qualifications and specifications tests were met. The race in America to rid society of as bestos may be at the expense of a more fundamental objective, namely, safety on our streets and highways. What is ironic is that if vehicle safety were the overriding objective, efforts would be channelled towards developing new for mulations which include chrysotile as bestos. According to Amie Anderson, research over the last several years has led to increased knowledge about fi brous materials combinations and fric tion materials performance. Based on these findings, the optimal fibre cocktail for friction materials performance is a formulation comprised of six fibrous materials, with chrysotile asbestos being the most predominant, constituting 2228% of total weight. terline stated. "If you believe that fibres have their effect because of their geom etry, I think it would be very wise to treat man-made fibres in the same way we treat asbestos." Litigation Issues Allan Parnell, of the firm Freeman, Hawkins, reviewed the litigation issues associated with asbestos and substitute materials in friction materials applica tions. Parnell noted the threat to indus try of asbestos-related product liability suits, but expressed uncertainty as to whether the solution to this problem lay with non-asbestos brake linings. Ac cording to Parnell, it is not known whether the asbestos-free friction materials will provide a safe alternative to asbestos containing friction materials. Toxicity of Fibres Dr. Janet Hughes, Tulane University, presented the results of the most recent epidemiological studies on asbestos workers in friction materials manufac turing plants. Her data showed that, provided chrysotile asbestos is strin gently controlled, no undue risk is presented to workers, indeed, based on the data provided. Sir Edward Pochin demonstrated that the risks to asbestos workers in this industry were similar to those faced by workers in the service sector, which is generally considered to be a "safe" sector. These conclusions also hold for workers engaged in brake maintenance and repair where average exposures are known to be much lower than those in brake manufacturing. Regarding the toxicity of substitutes, the discussion was less definitive. Most of the work to date has been based on animal injection and inhalation studies, and the results are sometimes difficult to interpret. Most of the fibres considered as substitutes for asbestos in friction materials applications were found to be biologically active, some more than chrysotile asbestos, some less. Indeed, in his paper Parnell noted the performance and health issues associat ed with non-asbestos brake linings and drew the conclusion that unless substi tutes were adequately researched and developed, replacement of chrysotile as bestos in friction materials could pose far greater risks and result in a floodgate^ of litigation. Concluding Comment As with many conferences of this na ture, many questions were provoked but left unanswered. An obvious one is -- Are we better off with the devil we know, than the devil we don't know? The choice between the two devils may not be necessary. Given that research indicates that the optimum fibre cocktail for friction materials formulations is a combination of fibres, including chryso tile asbestos, decision makers in govern ments, industry and labour should pur sue a policy that encourages development of high performance fric tion materials in a manner which does not discriminate against any one fibre, and which requires all fibres to be strin gently controlled in the workplace. Only in this way can one increase public safe ty on streets and highways, safeguard worker health, and minimize the possi bility for litigation in the future. 9 The results of the limited number of epidemiological studies available on al ternative fibres also strike a note for cau tion. According to Dr. Enterline, Univer sity of Pittsburgh, the results of epidemiological studies of mineral wool workers show that these workers have a mortality pattern not terribly different from that of asbestos textile workers, but lower. This is an important compari son since asbestos textile workers have had the worst disease record among as bestos product manufacturing indus tries. In response to questions. Dr. En HWBUI0001455 Canada-USSR Cooperation -- The Winds of "Glasnost"... new round of talks and fact Mines and Asbestos, as well as scientific Afinding missions on working con and technological research centres: ditions and the use of asbestos CERAM-SNA in Sherbrooke, the Centre began recently between the de recherche minirale pilot plant in Que world's two largest asbestos producerbse,c City and the Canadian Mining and Canada and the Soviet Union. Energy Technology Centre in Ottawa. In this context, the President of The As bestos Institute, Claude . Forget, and the representative of Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, Aleksander !gnatow. visited Moscow last October. In December, V.l. Platonov, Chief En gineer of the Foreign Relations Division at the Soviet Department of Building Materials, and B.A. Sonin, Director of the Science Research Institute -- As bestos Project, came to Canada. These first steps are a demonstration of the interest both countries have in the widest possible application of the stan dards for the safe use of asbestos, it is likely that, over the next year, the world's two largest asbestos producers will attempt to implement this new cooperation through formal agreements on Industrial exchanges and safe work ing practices. During their 7-day exploratory tour, the Soviet delegation met with the major Canadian parties in the asbestos field to discuss regulations, health, working conditions and international coopera tion . Much of their program was devot ed to visiting mines and mills in Thetford R&gis Beauchesne. Assistantto the President, The Asbestos institute, Mrs. Julia Antony, interpreter, Mr. VJ. Platonov, Leading Bngineer, Foreign Relations, Ministry of Building Materials, Mr. B.A. Sonin, Director, institute ofScientific Research. Mr Gaytan Rasa, Manager, J.M. Asbestos Inc. Italian Information Center on Asbestos and Fibrous Materials Growth in the Tripartite Approach n an effort to encourage and facili The centre will be headed by a steering Itate meetings and exchanges of in committee comprised of members of formation between consumer and/or the scientific and research communities, producing nations and the organiza labour and corporate circles, and tions or associations devoted to improv government and consumer groups. The ing the uses of asbestos and related diversity of the membership of the steer working conditions, the Italian Associa ing committee is a reflection of the will tion of Uses of Asbestos IAUAI has an of the CEDAF to maintain the objectivity nounced die opening of a Centre for in and openness of its actions. formation and communication on asbestos and fibrous materials (CEDAF! The CEDAF has also set up a scientific in Italy. committee of university professors specializing in health and the environ ment, and a number of study groups that will concern themselves more spe cifically with the processing of industrial wastes, the analysis of studies on worker health, and the processing of as bestos used in schools and public build ings. The study groups will also examine research projects and studies on the bio logical effects of fibre substitutes. The CEDAF is open to everyone and may be contacted via its administrative office or public relations department. The Italian Centre for information and communication on asbestos and fibrous materials is just one of the many as bestos information centres in operation around the world. It supports the resolu tions passed at the 6th Biennial Confer ence of the AIA, which urge the par ticipants to step up their data gathering and tiie compilation of general, medical, scientific and technical information on asbestos fibre and its substitutes, and to encourage the exchange and dissemina tion of this information. The number of national organizations with a representation of labour and government interests, as well as in dustry members, is growing. This more broadly based organizational model was first demonstrated to be successful in France. According to the Communications Advisory Panel of the AIA, there are now 9 countries with such organizations. They in clude: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Holland, Italy, Mex ico and the U.K. n HWBUI0001456 More Realistic Views " he symposium has been particu Tlarly opportune, for it has come at a time when people in many countries have been subjected to so much publicity and misinformation about the effects of asbestos, that many believe exposure to one fibre carries with it a material hazard of devetoping cancer", concluded Sir Richard Doll, eminent Oxford professor, at the close of a three-day symposium on "Mineral fibres in a non-professional environ ment". "Much anxiety is, in consequence, caused by the realization that the am bient air contains fibres of asbestos or of other materials that can be, and often are, described as being like asbestos. And action is called for that has social costs out of all proportion to the possi ble benefits," added Sir Doll. The symposium attracted some 120 scientists and researchers to Lyon in September 1987. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of die World Health Organization, hosted the conference. Admittedly, certain questions remain to be answered about exposures to mineral fibres and the general health of the pub lic. but a moderating of views was ap parent among the scientists. "Our current answers are sufficiently dear and, l suggest, reliable enough for practical policies to be determined for the control of exposure to mineral fibres that will allow social benefits to be as sessed in relation to social costs", noted Sir Richard Doll. Professor J.C. McDonald {Canada) gave an overview of the degree of risk to society related to the use of asbestos- cement piping. countries, where the needs are great and resources are small." "There is no good epidemiological evi dence for gastro-intestinal tract cancer related to ingestion of asbestos", said Professor Julian Peto (Oxford). Peto also objected to the indiscriminate removal of asbestos from public build ings "The risk to building occupants is abso lutely trivial", Peto said. "The risk is 1 death/100,000 or equivalent to the reduction of 1 hour in a lifetime." A report of the Health and Safety Ex ecutive IU.K.1. oresented bv Dr. Q.J. Burdett, showed very low levels of fibre in public buildings (approximately 0.025 f/cc). Moreover, asbestos removal tech niques could, in effect, push these levels to some 30 times their level before removal. According to Burdett, in some cases such high levels could last for several weeks. Several presentations, particularly those of Professor J.M.E. Davis (Edinburgh) and Professor P. S6bastien {Paris), con firmed the growing consensus that regulations and estimated risks of ex posure to asbestos fibre should take Into account the differences in levels of~ " danger according to type of asbestos and length of fibres. "Three quarters of the world lack proper water conveyance facilities for drinking, sewage, irrigation, etc.", said McDonald. "It would be irresponsible to ban the use of cheap water piping materials, especially in underdeveloped Low Level Exposures Exposed in Australia octors, engineers, scientists and Effects of low level asbestos exposures Dadministrators from all over the was the topic of a mini-symposium or world gathered in Sydney, Aus ganized by the ICOH Scientific Commit tralia, last September for the tee on Mineral Fibres. Dr. P.V. Pelnar of XXilnd International Congress on OcThe Asbestos Institute, Secretary of the cupational Health. Committee, reported that the scientific community's evaluation of the asbestos The Canadian delegation was led by issue seems to have grown more dis Monique Jerome-Forget, president of cerning and balanced. the Quebec Conseil de la sant6 et de la security du travail. Effects of Low Level Exposure Participants mostly reaffirmed that low or short duration exposures to chrysotile do not seem to pose any detectable risk. Cancer levels have been no higher in in dustries where the workforce was ex posed to low levels of chrysotile (Asbestos-cement, Ohlson; Asbestos friction materials, A.D. McDonald; and Berry and Newhouse). A Chinese study of an asbestos textile factory (Hu) covering 5,206 person-years provided further data. According to the Chinese scientists, levels of exposure were clear ly related to the probability of develop ing asbestosis. Exposure must reach considerable levels before effects be come detectable. This lends further credibility to the concept of a threshold, at least for asbestosis. When this is so in occupational situations, it follows that environmental situations where ex posures are even lower pose a negligible risk Indeed. Mesothelioma and Low Level Exposures It was once believed that mesothelioma did not follow the same pattern as as bestosis and lung cancer and could oc cur at very low levels. J.C. McDonald showed evidence to the contrary. While the incidence of mesothelioma in men has steadily increased over the last de cades, following an increase in the use of asbestos, the incidence in women (bothinthe U.K. and the U.S.) has re mained steady. It was argued that oc cupational exposures seem to be the key factor, as many more men than women work in asbestos-related industries. In a general environment, the incidence of IQ HWBUI0001457 Low Level Exposures.. (From page 10) mesothelioma remains stable, indepen dent of the increasing use of asbestos in industry. Amphiboles at Low Levels The participants stressed obvious differ ences between chrysotile and crocidolite, but they questioned the evidence of low dose effects even in amphibole ex posures. In the Australian crocidolite mine, the risk of mesothelioma and lung cancer was high, but no increase of risk of lung cancer was observed before the dose reached 9.9 f/cm3. Some ex posures usually described as low may in fact be quite high. Pictures were shown of road ditches with visible drifts of crocidolite asbestos in the vicinity of crocidolite mines. Obviously this en vironment caused quite high exposures which would elevate the risk of "en vironmental mesothelioma". Asbestos in Buildings Asbestos in the general environment is a popular topic these days, particularly the release of asbestos fibres in build ings. Researcher Guidotti discussed his study of an office building containing asbestos in Canada. Results showed that even during renovation work on damaged asbestos, exposure to as bestos dust was 0.01 f/cc, with peaks of 0.1 f/cc. These levels are well within oc cupational standards, and the added risk of cancer (primarily lung cancer) and mesothelioma from merely working in offices in this building was calculated at 0.003%, a negligible percentage. As Guidotti pointed out, a person working in the building was twice as likely to be struck by lightning in the course of a life time. Morton Corn, a highly respected Ameri can industrial hygienist, came down hard on the U.S. Environmental Protec tion Agency for rousing such hysteria around the asbestos issue. Levels of dust particles in indoor air sampleswere no higher than those in outdoor sam ples, in Corn's experience. In most buildings, he concluded, asbestos "does not pose a significant risk." Yet a $600-million-a-year asbestos removal in dustry had developed in the wake of the EPA's fear campaign. "If the present inadequate procedures for removal continue", warns Cam, ' 'the next wave of asbestos disease will occur among the 30,000 asbestos removers." Proper maintenance and repair of asbestos in buildings is the cor rect approach, according to Corn, not removal. Asbestos should be removed only in 10%-15% of the cases, when it is beyond repair, or the building is subject to extensive renovations or demolition. A Risky Case... (From page2) Political Action According to Dewees, although only heavily exposed workers in an occupa tional setting were at any real risk, politi cal action resulted from the perceived risk to schoolchildren. It was sad and ironic that eventually ORCA concluded that the C$26 million alloted for the removal of asbestos had in some cases more likely increased -- rather than decreased -- the risks to the public. Another example of the influence of public perception was that despite the lack of evidence that use of hairdryers increased counts of airborne asbestos fibres, regulatory action was taken to ban the use of asbestos in hairdryers. "Regulators", said Dewees, "found it easier to ban a product than to explain why there was no ban... It had become politically cheaper to act." Responding to Public Reaction Working in the International Mineral Re lations Division of Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, Bruce McKean recalled a telephone conversation he had with a woman whose water heater was wrapped in asbestos and the as bestos was beginning to break down. McKean reassured her that the material could be stabilized safely by wrapping or painting it. "This was not what she wanted to hear", he said. "She would have believed me instantly if I had told her that yes, there was a problem and she should remove all the insulation." Public reaction can be divided into a) fear and b! loathing, according to McKean. While this householder's reac tion was one of fear, the reaction of the zealot who seeks to punish someone be cause a substance or material has caused harm can best be described as loathing. We must be able to respond to both reactions in a helpful way. Journalistic Imperatives: A Perfect Headline Dian Cohen, a well-known Canadian television commentator and economic consultant, noted the asbestos story had been conveniently 'packaged' for journalists in the mid-seventies. As Edith Efron documented in her book. The Apocaiyptics: Politics, Science and the Big CancerLie, Cohen showed how journalists had exaggerated predictions of cancer deaths caused by asbestos. The reactions of internationally recog nized scientists such as Sir Richard Doll and Professor Julian Peto, who ques tioned the methodology and conclu sions of the studies, were not as newsworthy, stated Cohen. As a result, criticisms were discussed among scien tists but not communicated to the general public. "The reporter", said Cohen, "needs a story and headlines. The process was driven by the imperatives of journal ism ... rather than those of science and health." Mistakes at this stage were compound ed, according to Cohen, by the responses made by an essentially naive industry, which attempted to ignore the problem. "If a story is to be effectively refuted", she concluded, "the refutation must be immediate, massive and geared to the right audience. In the asbestos case, now, the message must stress that tech nological changes mean it's possible to use and handle the material safely." Perception and Reality Claude E. Forget, president of The As bestos Institute, concluded the discus sion by reiterating that asbestos is an occupational, not an environmental risk. Unions sounded the alarm that brought about meaningful change in the indus try, and today union spokespersons vali date the approach to safe use of the material so painstakingly developed be tween workers and the industry. The asbestos case is a good example of perceived versus actual risk, noted For get. For a long time, the perceived oc cupational risk was much less than the actual occupational risk and needed ac tion was delayed. Today, however, with the glare of publicity, the reverse is true. The focus has shifted to the environ ment where, because the perceived en vironmental risk is much larger than the actual environmental risk, action is un dertaken either prematurely or wasteful- iy- No observation could have summarized more precisely the conundrum that risk managers and communicators face now., and will continue to face in the future. HWBUI0001458