Document R2XBomoNxx25Gm9KEOmjYgNL7

K.:::T.v.iail:g ASBESTOS INFORMATION ASSOCIATION 1745 Jefferson Davis Highway, Crystal Square 4, Suite 509 Arlington, Virginia 22202 (703) 979*1150 ANNUAL MEETING September 20, 1978 Marriott Twin Bridges Hotel Arlington, VA The Annual Meeting of the Asbestos Information Association/ North America was convened at 9:52 AM, September 20, 1978, in the Marriott Twin Bridges Hotel, Arlington, Virginia. The following members were present: George Barge W.H. Beasley Frank M. Brown Robert A. Carlson William C. Clark Brian Donner Thomas A. Dougherty Guy G. Gabrielson, Jr. Jean Gaudry (for M. P. Carson) Clarence A. Herbst, Sr. H.W. Heunemann (for N. E. DeCandia) A. R. Hooker Edward Kaufman (for Alfred Shaines) J. E. Keith Donald G. Magi11 John H. Marsh Joseph T. Mooney, Jr. C. G. Morgan Adam Novak Dimitry Poutiatine Richard H. Prigozen (for H. S. Prigozen) J. L. Rainey John Riopelie H. B. Rhodes, Dr. Eng. Sci. Richard H. Rosenberg Walter J. Rosenthal Kurt Schwarz John Sheridan (for J. M. Ciskowski) E. R. Zacharias Atlas Asbestos Company Cement Asbestos Products Co. Connell Bros. Co., Ltd. Special Asbestos Co., Inc. Asten-Hill, Limited Vermont Asbestos Group CertainTeed Corporation; Nicolet, Inc. Asbestos Corp., Ltd. Resinoid EngineeringCorp. Congoleum Industries, Inc. The Flintkote Company P..T. Brake Lining Co. , Inc. Rostone Corporation Hollingsworth & Vose Co. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. Monsey Products Company Continental Products Corp. Huxley Development Corp. Johns-Manville Corporation Schriber Industries, Inc. Amatex Corporation The Bendix Corporation_ Union Carbide Corporation Borg-Warner Corporation Glasweld International, Inc. Supradur Manufacturing Corp. Jim Walter Research Corp. Molded Materials Company CAP CO JEN OOI1165 V-' Page, 2 Also present: James W. Armstrong, F. E. Messier and Ben Wong, The Bendix Corporation; E. W. Drislane, Friction Materials Standards Institute; Joseph A. Artabane, Esq., Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft; W. T. Whitley, Cement Asbestos Products Co.; Doris M. Fagan, ASBESTOS Magazine; Richard P. Carter, Edmund M. Fenner, and James F. Reis, Johns-Manvilie Corp.; James G. Heil, CertainTeed Corp.; Robert G. Rucker, Congoleum Industries, Inc.; Hans Weill, M.D., Tulane University; R. H. Mereness, B. J. Pigg and Richard Trachtman, AIA/NA staff. Welcome and Minutes Mr. Dougherty, President of the Association, called the meeting to order, welcomed attendees and introduced members attending their initial AIA/NA meeting and Joseph A. Artabane, Esq. who succeeded Adrian May as Association counsel. On motion, minutes of the last Annual Meeting, September 21, 1977, were approved as submitted. Statement of Finances The Executive Director reviewed the financial statement for the eight-month period ended August 31, 1978. He invited attention to and explained any negative variances between the budget and actual expenditures for specific line items. As of August 31, total assets of $161,312 with liabilities of $53,711 resulted in a net worth of $107,601. The Executive Director said the Association's financial condition was solvent and no problems were anticipated for the remainder of the fiscal (calendar) year. On motion, the financial report was accepted. Executive Director's Reoort OSHA - The The RTI-CONSAD consolidated report on studies of the construction and manufacturing industries is not available, although it has been submitted to OSHA. Grover Wrenn, OSHA's Director of Health Standards Division, recently advised that public hearing on the asbestos standard most likely would not be held before the first quarter of next year. EPA - Phase I of the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Substances Review has been completed by the project officer and is undergoing in-house review. The report will ultimately be considered by EPA's Priorities Committee (Phase II) for possible further studies or regulatory initiatives. CAPCO JEN 0011166 Page 3 The study, "Chemical Market Input/Output Analysis of Selected Chemical Substances to Assess Sources of Environmental Contam ination: Task III, Asbestos," has been completed by Syracuse Research Corp. for EPA. The study is not expected to be used as basis for any specific agency action. Copies are available on request. Miscellaneous - A brief reference was made to recent state initiatives impacting on the asbestos industry. Appreciation was expressed to Dr. Rhodes and Messrs. Fenner and Carter for their assistance to the Association in this area. A written statement by the Executive Director regarding Association activities for the preceding year was distributed (copy enclosed). Membership Mr. Dougherty said membership in the Association now stands at 37 regular members and 16 associate members. A request from the Richard Klinger Company for change in category from asso ciate to regular was received earlier this month. Contributions by nonmembers to AIA/NA's work thus far in 1978 totals" $3,575. Standards Advisory Committee Report Dr. Rhodes said that the committee felt it was not necessary to submit any additional information for the record on OSHA's generic cancer proposal. Deadline for additional written comments is October 10. (Note: Date was subsequently extended to October 24.) Dr. Rhodes commented on the EEH study. He said that, as pre viously reported, the report has major deficiencies. The Association's EEH study review group (James Heil, Edmund Fenner and Dr. Rhodes) are pursuing this task consistent with other demands on their time. Dr. Rhodes reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's hazardous waste program pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). He said considerable effort had been expended by the Johns-Manville Corp. to persuade EPA that asbestos should not be included in the RCRA regulations since it is already covered under National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS). It now appears that asbestos will not be regulated under RCRA. CAP CO JEN 0011167 { Page, 4 Air Sampling and Analysis Program Dr. Rhodes said this program continues to enjoy outstanding participation. Thus far, data has been received on 2,414 filters. A printout will be distributed which will show each program participant the results of all samples with which that participant was associated. Dr. Rhodes observed that the num bers generated by the sampling program showed some variances which were greater than expected. Dr. Rhodes reported on response to date regarding attendance at the Second International Colloquium on Dust Measuring Tech nique and Strategy scheduled for October 11-13 at the Dulles Marriott Hotel. Approximately 25 non-U.S. attendees have advised of their plans to be present. Legal Research Committee Mr. Gabrielson said that this committee met September 18 and reviewed the State-of-the-Medical Art Memorandum prepared by special counsel. He said that this document covers the legal issues involved in the presentation of the state-of-the-medical art defense. The document incorporates the work of Dr. Enterline in his review of medical literature on asbestos-related disease. The document is now being revised following the committee's review and should be available to members and their trial counsel in the near future. Mr. Gabrielson said that the document would be available to non-members as previously agreed. The fee will be $2000. Mr. Gabrielson added that the procedure here would involve a direct billing to the non-member by Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft while the AIA/NA would receive appropriate follow-on credit. Mr. Gabrielson reported that the cost of maintaining the data bank by special counsel on a monthly basis would be about $1500 which is considerably more than the earlier estimate of $700. He said the Executive Committee had agreed that no change in this procedure should be made for six months. Medical Consultant's Report Dr. Weill reported on the AIA/NA sponsored Plant Physicians Conference to be held in New Orleans, November 9-10, under the auspices of Tulane's continuing education program. The purpose of this conference is to provide physicians whose responsibility it is to perform medical surveillance on asbestos exposed work ers with an update on the methodology of health surveillance. CAPCO JEN OOI1168 Page 5 Also covered will be the state of the medical art. This will prepare the plant physician to serve as a witness during litigation. Dr. Weill said that official AMA credit would be made available to participants. Response to date has been encouraging - about 30 attendees are expected; Dr. Weill reviewed the present state of asbestos-health literature with specific reference to the United Kingdom.. A study dealing with average exposure and'mortality has recently been published. Dr. Weill noted that this work does have scientific merit. There will soon be published an update of a ten-year old British study on asbestosis. This is the study on which the current British asbestos standard is based. Dr. Weill mentioned a further study conducted at McGill Univer sity which is based on total particulates rather than fibers. There is a Tulane University study of asbestos-cement manufac turing industry workers which showed the existence of a level of exposure below which excess mortality was not-detectable. Dr. Weill next mentioned the occurrence of mesothelioma in a Turkish village where there is no asbestos. Dr. Weill referred to HEW Secretary Califano's speech on September 11 before the AFL-CIO National Conference on Occu pational Safety and Health and related study. He expressed confidence that the study would be discredited and stated further that this was an example of the anti-scientific approach of releasing this kind of information generally to a public which cannot evaluate it prior to the time for scientific peer review. Dr. Weill then addressed some specific problems with the study. He concluded by saying that the scientific basis for the study is weak. Technical Committee Report Mr. Fenner said that the major task facing the committee at this time is the provision of technical support for the. Standards Advisory Committee relative to their preparation of an AIA/NA alternative standard for occupational exposure to asbestos in the construction industry. This work is. principally in two areas. The first is in connection with CAP CO JEN 0011169 Page. 6 the EEH study of the construction industry as previously reported by Dr. Rhodes. The other area pertains to work practices. Mr. Fenner noted that the Asbestos Cement Pipe Producers Association has developed and documented work practices for asbestos cement pipe. In cooperation with JohnsManville Research and Development, a set of work practices is being developed and documented for asbestos cement sheet. He said that work practices will comprise a major part of the AIA construction alternative. International Affairs Mr. Marsh outlined a number of ongoing actions of the Asbestos International Association, including the work of the Medical Advisory Panel headed by Dr. Murray and the European Economic Commission Advisory Council headed by Mr. Thiele. Mr. Marsh commented on AIA efforts to coordinate attendance of industry representatives at major international conferences. He re ferred to upcoming conferences at Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Caracas, Venezuela. The AIA also provides advisory documents to aid industry in countries where regula tions on asbestos do not presently exist, Mr. Marsh said. A probable increase in AIA/NA dues to the international asso ciation was explained by Mr. Marsh. He said the new dues would be about $26,000 per annum. Mr. Marsh reviewed the program for the AIA Second Biennial Conference scheduled for October 25-27 in London. He said Mr. Dougherty had been invited to give a presentation at the conference. Election of Directors In accordance with Article IV, Section 4.02, AIA/NA Bylaws, the following regular member company representatives were proposed to serve on the Association's board of directors; B. J. Iwarsson J. L. Rainey Robert Van Buren M. P. Carson William C. Clark George Barge John Riopelle Nicholas Gritzuk W. H. Beasley Gordon Coats Thomas A. Dougherty Abex Corporation Amatex Corporation American Biltrite, Inc. Asbestos Corporation Asten-Hill, Limited Atlas Asbestos Company Bendix Corporation Cassiar Asbestos Corp. Cement Asbestos Products Co. Calaveras Asbestos, Ltd. CertainTeed Corporation CAP CO JEN 0011170 Page 7 N. E. DeCandia Frank M. Brown C. G. Morgan A. R. Hooker John W. Guffy Donald G. Magill Adam Novak Joseph Ciskowski Dimitry Poutiatine B. Ramundo W. M. Sleeth S. Masuda Edward R. Zacharias Joseph T. Mooney,'Jr. George P. Vogel William B. Hoffman Guy G. Gabrielson, Jr. John H. Marsh Clarence A. Herbst, Sr. Derek Coomber Howard J. Tomlinson Robert A. Carlson Kurt Schwarz H. B. Rhodes, Dr.Eng. Sc. William K. Clark Brian Donner Congoleum Industries Connell Bros. Co. Continental Products Corp. The Flintkote Company Garlock, Inc. Hollingsworth & Vose Co. Huxley Development Corp. Jim Walter Research Corp. Johns-Manville Corporation Kentile Floors Lear-Siegler, Inc. Mitsubishi Canada Ltd. Molded Materials Company Monsey Products Company National Assoc, of Filter Mfg. National Gypsum Company Nicolet, Inc. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. Resinoid Engineering Corp. Richard Klinger, Inc. Safeguard Automotive Corp. Special Asbestos Co., Inc. Supradur Manufacturing Corp. Union Carbide Corporation Uvalde Rock Asphalt Co. Vermont Asbestos Group Inc. The list,, as read by the Secretary, was approved by vote without objection. Association Officers Mr. Dougherty said, in keeping with AIA/NA Bylaws, terms of office for current officers will not expire until September 1979. Miscellaneous In conjunction with the Annual Meeting, Mr. John A. McKinney, President, Johns-Manville Corp. was speaker following dinner on September 19, and Congressman James G. Martin was speaker following breakfast on September 20. Mr. Dougherty said he wished the record to note the appreciation of the Association for their participation. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:38 AM. Secretary Enclosure CAP CO JEN OOI1171 STATEMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AIA/NA 8TH ANNUAL MEETING September 20, 1978 To say that the events of the preceding year resulted in a lessening of the focus on the asbestos-health relationship would be a monumental understatement. There were signifi cant initiatives at federal and state levels in addition to major conferences and constant attention by the news media. The latter, of course, has intensified considerably in the past few months. These activities, combined with the efforts required to fulfill the basic informational objectives of the Association, have resulted in our most active work year since establishment of the Association eight years ago. In regard to the federal regulatory scene, OSHA'a proposed revision of the asbestos standard remains as a principal item of concern. In brief, there has been little change in status since our last annual meeting with the exception that a draft final report which consolidated CONSAD Research Corporation's and Research Triangle Institute's studies of the manufacturing and construction industries respectively has been completed by RTI. This report has not yet been accepted by OSHA nor has a proposal for the construction industry been published. Both actions must transpire prior to a hearing, assuming that the two industries are jointly considered during the hearing pro ceedings. This was the primary recommendation of the Association CAP CO JEN 0011172 Executive Director's Statement Page 2 in response to the October 1975 proposal. These factors, along with other priorities confronting OSHA, make it unlikely that a hearing will be scheduled before first quarter 1979. Strategy planning for AIA/NA's partici pation in the hearing is under the overall direction of Mr. Gabrielson who serves as chairman of the Association.'s Asbestos Regulation Task Force. As has been previously reported, AIA/NA's independent study of asbestos in the construction industry, in anticipation of an OSHA proposal, was contracted with Equitable Environmental Healthy Inc. This study has been in a hold status for several months. However, with RTI having now submitted its consolidated report to OSHA, the Executive Committee considered it advisable to complete this work. An EEH study review group chaired by James G. Heil, CertainTeed Corporation, is in the process of completing this task. In October 1977, OSHA proposed a generic policy designed to expedite rulemaking for carcinogens. The proposal was described as a "major breakthrough for OSHA" by Labor Secretary Ray Marshall Strong opposition to this proposal was registered by the chemical industry which formed the American Industrial Health Council to coordinate its efforts. AIA/NA has worked closely with this group Public hearings on the generic proporsal were held in Washington, D.C., from May 16 to July 25. Over 150 witnesses geno~-' CAP CO JEN 0011173 Executive Director's statement Page 3 than 7,000 pages of testimony. Dr. Harrison B. Rhodes, Union Carbide Corporation and Executive Committee member, testified on behalf of the Association on July 19. The contention that recycling of existing health standards, including those per taining to asbestos, would be inappropriate under a generic standard, was the principle point of AIA/NA's position. .Atten tion was also called to complexities associated with a feasible health standard for the construction industry. It was announced last month that Administration concern over inflationary impact of government regulations has led to a decision to conduct a "regulatory analysis" of the generic proposal. This occurrence and the necessity to review the voluminous amount of testimony and comments make it difficult to forecast when final action will be taken by OSHA. The Association commented on a draft generic labeling standard distributed by OSHA to selected addressees this past January. It was recommended to OSHA that substances already subject to labeling requirements in existing health standards, such as asbestos, be exempt from any generic labeling regulations. Opportunity will be permitted for further comment when a formal proposal is published. Timing for this action is unclear, es pecially in view of current emphasis on economic impact of gov ernment regulations. The Department of Transporation issued a.proposed rule for loading, shipping and handling of asbestos fiber in March. AIA/NA's Standards Advisory Committee, under chairmanship of Dr. Rhodes, CAP CO JEN 0011174 Executive Director's Statement Page 4 developed and coordinated a detailed reponse to DOT's proposal on behalf of the asbestos industry in North America. Further action by DOT is awaited. A public hearing is not required. EPA has been active in a number of areas and additional initia tives by this agency may be expected. These areas include hazardous waste disposal. National Permit Discharge Elimina tion System, and review of the asbestos-health relationship under provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Specifics concerning these areas have been reported as occurred. It is of interest that EPA amended its national emission stand ard for asbestos in June in regard to asbestos spraying and as bestos removal from buildings during renovation and demolition. The Association had submitted comments on the proposed amendments and worked closely with cognizant EPA officials during the rulemaking process. We were pleased that AlA/NA's recommendations regarding the friable concept and exclusion of spray-on materials which are encapsulated were provisions that were incorporated in the final rule. Related to the HEW program, in the sense of extraordinary focus on the asbestos industry, was the International Conference on Health Hazards of Asbestos Exposure sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences in June. The mid-year directors meeting was scheduled to coincide with this conference. The impact of this event remains difficult to assess. As was reported, little new scientific information was presented. How ever, two significant conclusions emerged from the conference. CAP CO JEN 0011175 Executive Director's Statement Page 5 Dr. Selikoff and Dr. Hammond, American Cancer Society, announced that they found no excess health risk to the general public from environmental exposure to asbestos from their studies in the Patterson, New Jersey area. These medical scientists also reported an excess of lung cancer among non-smoking asbestos workers. Evidence was also presented that mesothelioma can occur from causes other than asbestos exposure. Our committees have made substantial contribution to the benefit of the Association during the past .twelve months. In addition to the Standard Advisory Committee, previously mentioned, there has been extensive work by the Technical, Legal Research, Insurance and Air Monitoring Committees. Other AIA/NA initiatives and special programs which include a plant physicians conference and an international colloquim on dust measurement techniques have been scheduled for later this year. In June, letters were mailed to over 100 prospective members with the view that, while the Association has never sought new members for numbers sake, a broader representation would enhance the Association's position as we meet the challenges that confront the industry. We currently have a membership of 36 regular members and 17 associate members as compared to 35 and 14 re spectively a year ago. Financial contributions from non-member companies to date this year total $3,575. Representations by staff and/or member companies at various meet ings and hearings and with government regulatory agencies has increased over the past year. Of note in this connection is the CAP CO JEN 0011176 Executive Director's Statement Page 6 * work of the Asbestos International Association at which United States interests through AIA/NA have continued to be represented in an outstanding manner by John Marsh. These activities are reported regularly in our directors meeting, monthly newsletter, and by memoranda. Distribution of educational-informational materials to promote the safe use of asbestos is a major Association work. The hand book of U.S. federal and state regulations was revised this past February and enjoyed wide circulation. Since our last annual meeting, requests for a total of 18,000 individual publications have been received. In addition, films are frequently requested for group showings. A need has existed for some time to add to our publication inventory a pamphlet which would address suc cinctly the asbestos-health issue. Such a pamplet has been drafted with the assistance of our medical consultant, Dr. Hans Weill. This new publication will be available in the near future and should be of significant assistance to industry in efforts to provide employees and others reasonable and factual information As stated at the outset, the past year has been a busy one. The next twelve months may well prove busier. The support of the Association membership is gratefully acknowledged and we look forward to your guidance and suggestions in the coming year. Executive Director CAP CO JEN 0011177 This subject willl be discussed at AIA/NA meeting tomorrow morning. Time permitting, request you peruse in advance of meeting. Tom Dougherty CAP CO JEN 0011178