Document RGQ5LdY6RgyKa8b4O6X7Kj6n

FILENAME: Flintkote (FLK) DATE: 1973 June 7 DOC#: FLK046 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Presentation - Asbestos Textile Institute P~ 0 Q 0 i l -- /^/5 ^c/7 M .. f-'P, r,r ^ ~ ^ ^ 6 / 7 J 7 3 . __ //S2J5STC5 l^x-riLL jT/dr/ T w V I ara sure that many c: you have ashed yourselves, as I have ashed myself, why has zr.s asbestos industry seemingly been singled out as the prime target for so many ass-alts by government, labor, the press, certain segments of- the tr.edical oroiessior., and by various environmental and consumer activist groups? Why us? Can asbestos really be all that bad? Are tha products wa produce -truly going to hill raillions of Americans, as seme encarts have predicted? C: .s zr.src sone sert of nefarious conspiracy afcct to destroy tha asbestos industry? Tha answer to tha cues cion of Mv.`h-' us" is both cone lax and simple. C o m d e x because it is a combination ci enrei interrelated but separate factcrs. ironie because each oi factors is, whan considered by itself, ruita ocviou.-.. Tha three factors are (i; a s d u r o s cou.^s disease (2) a sco/.csmun arose to champion d o nuuh :cr asi.'UTCs c: 11 in>r *- 'i-- frit. 3 and"'(3l "'cornucopia of'new government agencies were sec up z conVrol things' char cause' disease Lee us lock at each, of these Tactors in'cum." ....... 'First, chere is no doubt that the inhalation of substantial amounts of asbestos can lead to increased races c various cyces'cf lung disease, including two forms of cancer. These are facts which car.nct be denied, even, if they do not apply ih all circumstances ar.d under all c o n d i t i o n s . T h e medical literature is full of solid evidence linking asbestos to disease. In my office, I have on file mere than 2.CCC medical papers dealing v i m the health risks of asbestos ar.d hundreds more are published every year. Secondly, the spreading of alarm ever the health ri of asbestos has as its prime spokesman one ci the most talent medical publicists of the ace -- - Sr. Irving J . Selikoff of Now 'fork's hour. Sinai Hos pitai. hot only i: Selikoff capable of arousing the ire and moral indignation or the rose conservative.reporter or politician with his graphic descriptions ar.d _pre_d.icti.ons of the ravages of asbestos, but he has also surrounded himself with a group of similarly talented publicityconscious associates who have carried the Mount Sinai message .to the far corners of the nation. While Or. aelikcii has, in his zeal, unquestionaily painted a far darker picture than tha facts warrant, we should always remember, an his defense chat the insulation workers he has been studying for more than a decade were and still are dying iron asbestos related disease at an appalling rata. This would be enough to cloud any man's thanking. Finally, in the past decade there has been a tremendous growth, in public and governmental interest in environmental and cooupaticr.al health matters. This interest has been translated into a series of far-reaching laws affecting m d u s t r v - s ire.'* itanmer hi-cher"'.n unknown in this or. day ocher country. L.-beliaYe ,it cis accurate^ jco say that these new laws, such a^rcia^.-.Qccupational .Safety .and .Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the.Consumer.protection .Act, and .others , have forever altered the cor.cepfoc the free enterprise system as it was known in this country, far. a hundred and fifty years. Thus,_ in combination, these throe factors created a. situation.in which a cadre of freshly created federal agencies, with strong statutory authority, were prodded into assigning priority status to asbestos by Or. Selikcff and his followsrs, who used and in seme cases misused the great wealth of negative asbestos-health data contained in the medical literature to -achieve these ends. .In short, the asbestos industry was singled cut because it was vulnerib la to if-a ok, cacauce there was scm.ecr.e willing, almost an:<iauu . to laid that ^cuiok. and because Congress had graciously arovidec the vunicla* for such a.-, acsuul o SVT* How i&uciv o: what Cr. Selikoff says about as beatos it %*> ^r.rv &r true, ar.d the rrr.r. r in which he has ab used the avail able meet ^ ip ^ - data in order to blew up an essentially occupational problem into & national calamity are topics which we shall examine a bit later. The background of industry efforts to deal with the asbestos-health problem as a national issue gees back nearly a decade, to Sr. Salikoff's now famous 1964 seminar on asbestos disease at the New York Academy of Sciences. While this semina. did much to prick the industry's conscience abcuo asbestos and health, the problem still remained one of limited public and press interest until around 1367 , wr.en the media began beating the medical bushes searching for stories that would graphically portray American industry's supposed complete disregard for the environment and for tne health and safety of its workmen and tho American public. The asbestos-health problem was found to be tailor-made for such s c e n e s and Or. Selikcff was not hesitant in'catering-to the sensational!:;t whins of the press. As a-re-sult,-sra.rcir.e_ with Paul Brcdeur's infamous Me:/ Yorker artaoT-e of .-March . 1 9 6 3 asbestos has since grown into an icerc of xajor cress interest. In these years, industry efforts to combat the spate of negative press articles on asbestos were carried on primarily by the Johr.s-Mar.ville Corporation, which' set up a task force of specialists in various fields to do what it could to portray the-problem-ir. its proper perspective. While some minor successes v/ere achieved, it was found that no one company acting independently could adequately or effectively represent an entire industry in dealing with the press and with government officials. As a result, in late 1970, eight companies gathered in New York City to launch the Asbestos Information Association of-North America, vnich was frankly patterned after the British * - --- usa asbestos Inforracion Ccmittee, which hid been established sere three years earlier. In our original concert, the Association would lir.it its activities to providing accurate, unbiased interratien cn asbestos and health to the press, to the public and to interested politicians and ocher gevernrent offiicals. It must be racerbera that at this particular tir.e, the enorrous problems that would later develop with regard to OSKA and ocher Federal regulatory agencies were as yet on the distant horizon and basically unrecognized by the industry. Fortunately-- and p r o p e r l y ----the Asscciaticr. has u ad the v/isdcr. to alter its original lira.ted concept o: itc proper functions, and .now endeavors to assure vnataver activities and responsibilities it deers .necessary to protect the interoesct*s< c- of the ashes: industry in. the in.-.tad States vis-a-vis asbestos-health. 3 From our rather m w initial public relations concept the Association has grown in ,e last two '/ears into an organization with priorities . eight r.a]or fields__oi endeavor. These are: tr-- ' - Medical Affairs Legal Affairs Government- Affairs * .trrr..- .. r...... Environmental Control Publicity and Public Relations Customer Relaciono Employee Relations, and Inter-industry Relations ... In briefly discussing AIA activities in each of these fields, I will leave government affairs for last, not because $ it has a low priority within the Association -- in fact it is currently the most important -- - but because it is the rest complicated and requires the res: discussion. or 1 irtjfc iy m Our literatura research :s eased considerably by receipt?. the-jtonthiy medical paper distribution c: t.-.e Institute, o Occupational and Environmental Health ir. Montreal, which. is unded by the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association. .. This year, far the tirso time, the AIA has elected to sponsor medical research of its own. Currently underway is a completely AIA/NA tended study of chest sounds, which is being conducted by 2r. Raymond Murphy of the Harvard School of Public Health. Che purpose c: the study is to rind a new merr.co or determining an individual's potential susceptibility :o use CI disease. Che Association has also recently decided to cor.trih'. to-.some very exciting researcr. into a possible cure ::: mesothelioma througr. electromotive treatment. stucy is :eing conducted at Sumerset Hospital in hew Jersey. In the legal atrairs area, one Association parricioated ir. ah amicus c u m capacity in the law suit brought by the To take our activities or.a at a time chan ..... medical affairs. It is an obvious fact that if an organization is to speak authoritatively on a medical matter, it must not only be seeped in the literature of that particular medical subject, but it must also keep itself constantly informed of new discover! and developments. This we have accomplished in a number of ways. For example, .by sending representatives to important medical m e e t i n g s S u c h as the 1972 international conference on the biological effects of asbestos held at Lycr. in Trance, which was sponsored by World Health Organisation. ^Both John Marsh, the President cf the AIA, and I attended that .conierence_.cn behalf .cf the Association. ... We also meet on an irregular basis v i m various medical experts in the field, both from the United States and aorcac, fX- .2 ~ Ir.dustriai Union Department of. the AFl/CIC against the sr- Occupational-Safety and Health Administration on the asbestos standard's, "--in our brief, which was considered by the Justice I. Department to be- the best one filed, the Association supported .(ll OSKA.against the IUD, somewhat of a ur.icue position for an . industry to'.find itself in vis-a-vis a .governmental- regulatory-" 'agency. Oral argument on the_casa vas held April 4 in Washington. --1).m`-l.{jf 'tE;IH'' J-i: While a decision has yet to be handed down by the Court of Appeals, we are confident that the case will be decided in our favor. The Association has retained the services of C. 1. Shecfcier, with when many c: you are familiar, as cur special consultant cn environmental control affairs. At the present time, Cliff is w o r h m g with the AIA/HA Dnviro.-.mantal Control Soh-Committec cn the development of a s e n e s of five Association compliance manuals cn the CSKA standards. We expect to have these manuals available w i t n m a short ceriod of time. ! nij jh ri'c* m -i Ii ffHt '11 1 13 'last ye-ar-,-because cf the- veil established u.-.re1iabi1 tj-f this-membrane" fi-lter- method es- a- m.cr.rccrir.g tool isr the asbes i'n'duVtry, the" AIA'undertook the- -sponsorship- of a study at a research laboratory in California to- determine the effectof Certain variables cr. the overall accuracy or the method, The results'of the stuoy shoved an error factor of plus or ni nus SO per cent under the rest favorable o f measuring conditi ens * These results ware sent to" both CSHA and to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health., A number o recor.tendaticr.-s- contained in the study for improving the accuracy of the method have been incorporated into a soon be-reTeased revised NICSK operations manual cn fiber tour. In the customer relations area, the total affac negative' press publicity and government regulations or. ir eu'atcaers Is still today rather poorly defined. Some menusers of the Association have racer t.d serious proolems ir. thi5 aT<2A -u - Where customer problems do exist, they normally :al_ into one of five categories. First, the customer has thoroughly investigated his situation and has found that he can no longer afford to continue using asbestos or asbestos-containing products, either because the cost of central is too high or because he would have to raise the price of his product to a level chat-would maJca it ncn-ccmpecioiva with ncr.-asbestos containing substitutes. Second, the customer has not thoroughly investigated his situation and only thinks chat he can no longer afford continue using asbestos. Third, the customer has read cne cr mere .negative articles cn asbestos in the public press and has made the s.nao -wi- "we cu--* rn .-n* j plant.* Ofe.n, decisions of this nature are forced cn top management by ill-informed medical advisors or safety and health directors. - IS . I Four, the customer has neither a control problem r.cr is h e particularly afraid of using asbestos in his own plant. However, he is fearful Chat chose or his cempetitiors whose finished products da r.cc contain, asbestos will stress the adverse health effects of asbestos in crying to take business away v< iron hin. Customer fears of this nature are essentially "gut" reactions and hense extremely difficult to deal with. And .... Five, the customer has none of these problems or fears but he has been advised by a government o m c i a - or inspector that he would be better off if he quit using asbestos or asbestoscontaining products in his plant. While this problem does not appear to be widespread, we have learned c: a number or situations where it has occurred. Actions of this nature by government officials arc totally uncalled for and s.-.culd be dealt wish promptly and decisively. The best solution is to obtain oomtleta details on cr.a incident and then to register a formal o o m m l a m t 15 with.the offending official's immediate superior or with the 5?- _.governmenagency involved,. ... The Association's first reaction to the overall customer relations.problem was to approve funds for a seriesof four regional seminars at which industry customers would be given a number of basic presentations on ehe various aspects - of the asbestos-health problem. The seminars were tentatively scheduled for the Spring of.this year. However, the experiences cf a number cf cur member companies shewed that general catchall type seminars cf the type originally contemplated wouid.net be effective in dealing -with the majority of customer relations problems. In order ( to do the cb properly, it was found that customer presentations ...have to be tailored to the r.eeas and prociams c: the individual customar. 1 17 As a result, the Assoc iatsn cancelled its scheduled series of seminars and instead e lected to davelep a number of packaged slide presentations on such topics as "The Facts About Ashes tos and Health,* and "Uncerstanding the OSHA Regulations ," which could be used by member companies as part of a tailored presentation to individual customers. These slide presents coor.s are still in the works, but should be available shortly. As with customer relat icr.s, the Association feels that employee relations is a pro olam best handled by the individual member companies. Th us far, the AIA's sole corori butior. in this area cf industry concern has been to prepare thedraftof an employee Safety a.J tf ^- ...W ui*"*w*--2^ w.. r\d>wdS"C3 " Health. The draft was made aval lable to the member companies for their cwr. use ar.d at least cr.u, Saybestas-Manhattan, has produced it in booklet form for distribution to ail its antic I personally believe that the employee relations as oect c; the asbestos-health problem is one that has been so rely neglccted'by most companies within the industry. I feel tha this could develop into a major problem area in the near fut; "and chat steps should be taker, now to deal with it. We know that Dr.Seiikoff and various organised labor group s are planning a full scale campaign to bring their interpretation 'of the asbestos-health problem to the attention of asbestos industry employees throughout the natron. If the ir.dustry permits this interpretation to be disseminated ur.challer.gec, the consequences cculd be grave indeed. 19 _ ___ Inter-mi-stry relations jre best defined as k eepir. tie.industry informed about important new developments on the governmental, medical and press relations fronts that affect asbestos. This is accomplished within the by periodic distributions cf documents and information to the member companies and to others cn cur mailing list. The value of this c o t t o n y can be gagued by the fac that our overall mailing list increased from ape:extrately a d02en naras in 1971 to more than 0 a year later. While we have had to trim ine list somewhat this year fer logistical a reasons, we assume from the frequent requests we still receive to be placed on the list that the material we send out is being th read and is of considerable value to those receiving it. Next to government af.airs, cur public relations an publicity actitities constitute the single largest consumer of tine, effort and money within the Association. Those of you who are familiar with the treatment that asbestos has been - receiving in the public press over the years can readily understand why this activity ranks so high, on our priority lis: What you may not understand are the reasons why cur extensive efforts in dealing with the nation's cress have :een unsuccessful to date in producing the theoretical "balanced" or "positive* story or. asbestos and health. 21 simp.lA ..fact:1s chat :r-cn the standpoint or today1s-young.activist. reporter,. industry is the bad guy, ar.d nothing we do, say or achieve cam ever change this' impression. Id we spend $100 million dollars on. environmental- control, the prass either says ye ought.to have .done it tan-years ago or that we should.have spent 200 million. Id.we sponsor medical research, they say we are.trying to buy favorable results. Id we are opposed to ridiculously stringent standards, they say we. are in favor of letting our employees die. A television executive in Minneapolis described this new breed of reporter as being *so intent on demolishing the establishment that they .would, blindly destroy the credibility of the media in the bar Aether TV executive, this time in Chicago, stated 'they want to make moral and political and social judgments on chair assignments and then take sides. Never mind getting the tacts straight.'" 22 ''''As'a'result of this-" industry is a. rr.cr.st2r" phiiosc -asbe5cc's^iir~remain e:hot'newsitem only so long as the news is bad. ?ha~"good"'that asbestos does in protecting lives an property is of no concern to the press. Likewise, industry efforts'to*protect workmen and the general public iron asbest exposure will always be given minimal coverage, since such information is directly contrary to the portrait of an irresponsible industry producing a 'killer* product that is tha sola Vlement o f hews worthiness in t.-.o asbestos story. The press relations battle will therefore be won, not when the media starts to print positive cr balanced articles about asbestos, but when the press ceases to print anything about asbestos at all. As long as negative news or. asbastos-heaith continues to be generated, the media will continue to eat it up. The media will only cease to carry .such stories when the generation c i negative news ceases ... 22 $$$ it is as si=oie as chat. Positive or balanced stories ara a chimera, since they are, by definition, not newsworthy. " " " Let me give you a very specific example of this last *&/ principle in action. As most of you already knew, the Association is currently engaged in an extensive campaign to "interest the trade press in articles on the benefits of asbestos and on industry accomplishments in the environmental control area. The trade press, unlike the national or public media, w *" is m u1cWpHh mere m M receptive to articles of thes nature and we expect . i 'i f tO to be seeeeii:ng a number cf positive stories m the trade tress * in the nr.eexxt few months. In any case, ve also from time to time put out press releases or. various subjects relating to asbestos-nealch. A few weeks ago,"we isaured a release cn the report c: the advisory committee "on"asbestos cancers of the World Health Crrenicazicn. In "brief, the report concluded that the general public is not im dancer freu asbestos in the environment. Thus far, we have - 24 - received nearly tv/o do ten press clippings iron trade puiiicati: s that carried the story . to the best of cur knowledge, not a newspaper, news r-agaair.e, radio or TV station, or any other segment of the public media ran the story, with the single exception of a Trench language paper in Toronto. As I said before, if the news is good, the press ain't interested, Nonetheless, the Association has no intention of abandoning our efforts vis-a-vis the national'media. Wa will continue to issue appr opriate press releases, cooperate with feature writers doing stories cr. asbestos, write scathing letters to the editor when these stories appear, and in short, do ail we can to prose nt the press with a balanced view cf the asbestos-health si tuation. i Cur most rec er.t effort in this regard has been the preparation and printi r.g of an Asbestos a.-.d Health Information Fil-e, -which -we- have -a lied to seise 5 ,CCC newspapers , r.agarir.es 25 trade publications, radio and TV stations, science'writers'etc. across the United States. I have'brought 'a' half-dcten files along with r.e that you can take a loch at'after the meeting. Basically, the file'contains copies of the five industry position papers which were distributed earlier, as well as a number of important medical papers and a pair of photographs illustrating the benefits of asbestos and industry efforts at environmental control. You may be interested to know that tha item chosen* to illustrate the benefits of asbestos is a fire-proof asbestos suit. While we don't expect cur information file to change the whole attirade of the press toward asbestos, we are hoping that tha media will make usa of it tc.accurately report the industry's position when doing stories or. the subject. And now, having heard the bad side of the public relations problem, it's time for tha good news. ir 26 And the good nows is .... despite all the negative articles on asbestos-health that have appeared in the press over the past half-dozen years, very few people have been ^ying attention. Let ce explain. In February, the Association undertook, a personal interview research survey of the American public to determine its attitude toward asbestos and its awareness of the he&lt issue. The survey was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation during March and April. More than 2,QCC decograph!cally selected Americans were interviewed. I have here with b o sufficient copies for all of you of a summary of the results. ( ccM'iNT ??.c:,..?u:c<ARy ) Before going on to describe cur activities in the government relations area, I think it cigr.t be interesting at this point to take a very brief Ieoh at the manner in which Dr. Selikoff and his supporters have used his research results to dramatise and exaggerate the seriousness of the asbestos-health problem. . - - - - .. - --------------- I have two slides which point this out 'rather conclusively. SLIDE 1 ---- RESEARCH DATA The first slide shews the actual results of Dr. Selikoff four mortality studies of asbestos workers. The numbers in " parenthesis beside the figures for total number of workers indicate these who have so far died from ail causes. The percentage figures alongside the total number or deaths from asbestoses, lung cancer and mesothelioma are based on the total number of deaths from all causes, net cn the number of workers in the study. The most portant study or the lot is the second from the top, show g the deaths from asbestos-rsiaoed disease among all members . the insulation workers union, regardless 3 of length of exposure. fou will' not a that 34 per cer.c o those'workers who have died thus far have died from c.-.e of the three asbestos-related diseases. These, then, are the facts Dr. Selikofi works fro-. This is what he kr.cws from his own investigations. Now let us take a look at what he has done with these figures in order to dramatize the problem. SLIDE 2 ---- PREDICTIONS This slice shows Or. Selikoff's predictions about asbestos-related deaths in the L'nited States. Without going into details, Or. Selikofi has arrived at his projections by the simple procedure c: multiplying one percentage of deaths from asbestos-related disease among his insulation workers by the total number of employees in the entire industry. 23 You will also note that ho has rai sed his projected death estimate to enormous heights over the past year by simply increasing the base figure cf employ ees exposed, while still retaining the precentage multiplier o f 34 per cant being experienced by the insulation workers. I night point out that this tactic , however improper and deceptive, has boen an enormous success since each raising of the estimate has earned Dr. Seli koff correspondingly grater coverage by the media. No finer uxa male exists of the total gullibility of the press than the man r.er m which Dr. Selikoff manipulated and played on thei r prejudices to gain publicity. I can readily envision the lot cf then up there at Mount Sinai laughing themselves si lly ever the ease with which they bamboozled the crass with thesa trumped-up predictions. 1 * Please don't get me wrong, 9er.tler.en. 1 have little doubt-that the ins.uiA.tisn ..workers are in fact dying as rapidly 0 ~ , .as Dr .^Seiikof f says they.are. The.problem is he has translated their mortality experience to the rest of the entire industry, il . which is absolutely ridiculous. r* .In. the. first place, the estimated number of employees in the industry is too high -- five times too high to be precise. Even mare important, according to an analysis by the ...Association of more than a cozen mortality studies, including .those of O r ._ Salikoff, cur prediction is that approximately r 25,000 past and present employees in the asbestos industry have died or Will eventually die of asbastes-relac This is less than cne-thirteer.th cf Or. Selikoff's estimate. In add Irion, cur figures snow that 20 c deaths -- or SO per'cent -- will occur among chc insulation tr ades 31 While these estimates should he reassuring to these \* U3 in the mining end manufacturing areas of the industry, we should not forget that 5,000 of our workmen are still go: to die of ashestes-related disease and that, all things considered, there is absolutely nothing that we can do to prevent it. The only thing we can do is to clean up our plants to assure that those entering the industry in the future wtiv'llt pr.aot have cthe same experience. S-Z 2 Z 3 ----- G0'v~.1NMN7 ACINCIS Within the past year and a half, the main thrust of Association effort has shifted to the government affairs fro The principal agencies in Washington with which wo have lean dealing are, of course, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the environmental Protection Agency: the ?cc and Drug Administration; the Bureau of Mines: and, to a less degree, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Ha .- 3 : - and tha National Institutes of Health, both cf which are mainly involved in research efforts. In addition,-a few weeks ago we were contacted by the Federal Trade Commission, which had received a petition from the Center for Science in tha Public Interest requesting an investigation of consumer uses of asbestos for the purpose of determining whether certain products ought to be labeled as hazardous and whether warnings should be required on all advertisements for those products. On the basis of ay meeting with an investigator from the FTC I would say that we have little to worry about in this particular area. S H I S -i--- OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has bean of enormous concern to the industry over the past 13 months. As mnst of you already knew, the Association expended tremendous efforts during the six month period \ n - leading :to cho promulgation of -last June's CSHA star.cards cn asbestos-.---1 think it is a `gauge of the effectiveness of the total industry involvement in this .tost crucial tatter that of eleven main requirements in the standards, the industry position'was'-accepted totally by'CSHA on nine o: the eleven', about fifty- percent--cn' a corrchy'ar.d totally rejected on only one. --Now, of-course,-OSHA is planning to redo the standard package and we- are working closely with them on this project, the first step-will be-the-formation'cf'a 15 man advisory committee -to review*the current standards and any additional data and.information that has been developed in the year since the standards were promulgated. Working-in cooperation with nine other trade associations, including your own, we have selected four individuals as industry wide recommandations to CSHA for the "four so-called employer * 3-1 spats on the advisory committee. The cor pccpio selected were Guy Gabrielscn, Prosida.nt of Nicclet; Ike Weaver of Raybestos'-Hanha.tca.i; Or. Fred Pundsack, Vica President for Research and Development of Joh.is-Manvilla; and Cliff Shecxler In discussing the formation of the advisory committee with John O'Neill of the OSKA Standards Development Section, we were asked to add a couple of names to the list so that OSKA would have at least the semblance of a selection. This we have agreed to do. The committee will he given up to nine mcr.tr.s to /I complete tis deliberations and prepare for CSHA a revised standard package. This will be followed by public hearmcs, approximately a year from now. We do not expect to see a - * new standard promulgated before the Fall of 1974. -SS** mag '25* 25 Itt' is cz course impossible to docerrur.e at this tine vhit_jtiseLr.a.w standards will look like, however, I would venture to say that they will certainly not be less strict than the ones we have today, although they will probably be less contusing and leave less room tor employer interpretation. Something will unquestionably be done to improve the current difficulties with the monitoring requirements. SLI3E S --- NXOSH These slides, by the way, are merely simplified organisation charts of the various agencies with which we deal in Washington. Tho main function of the National Institute for "Occupational Safety and Health is to conduct research and to prepare so-called Criteria Packages, which are essentially recommendations to CSKA fer standards cn various materials and chemicals. Such a package on asbestos was prepared \ 0 by NICSH t ;he time of the OSHA proceedings Last year. N'l will .not .be preparing.a new or revised err terra package fc uoccrsmg review of .he asbestos standards. I do not believe it would be unfair to say that of all the agencies in Washington dealing with asbestos, Dr,.SeliHocf has had his greatest influence on.the young idealistic scientists and doctors at MIOSH. Consequently, industry influence is weakest in this agency. It was SICSK, after ail, that evade the original reccr.rar.dat!on for a two fiber standard in the asbestos industry. SI 6 hext to CSKA, the Sav entai Protection Agency ha the greatest potential of any raderai agency for adversely e of e ashes dustrv m this c hot only is air and water poi s TCX^C C,w S - 17 Control Act, r.cw pending in Congress, will rise become an E?A run.cticn after passage. . .. For this reason, I am pleased to be able to say that the asbestos industry has an excellent relationship with the EPA. No finer proof of this exists than the fact that there was r.ot a single major industry recommendation or suggestion made to the EPA at the public hearings on the proposed asbestos emission regulations that was r.ot accepted either in to to or in principle'in the final- standardswhich, were published in early April, of this year. We are presently wor!<ir.g with the I?A or. the development of waste -water effluent standards for asbestos manufacturing plants. We fully expect that these standards will turn out to be as reasonable as t.-.e air pollution regulations. The proposed effluent standard's are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register in early duly. This will be followed bv ' a II public hearings, probably in lire July or August, with the final standards being promulgated in the Fall, perhaps as i; early as October. 1yi' We are also planning, in the near future, to meet in Washington with representatives iron the standards development and enforcement branches of the E?A to discuss with them questions of interpretation and compliance policy with regard to the new air pollution regulations. We have already resolved one interpretation question that is of special interest to the asbestos textile industry. .!!l j' Approximately two weeks aqo 1 was asked by a member company of h i the Association to find cut whether the E?.s. was planning to require the manufacturers of asbestos safety clothing to register as potential emission sources under the law. .`tf 'I! 39 In discussing the situation ever the phene with compliance officials,' I' argued that che producers of asbestos safety clothing vera not manufacturers as defined in the regulations'"but were instead only fabrication of an asbestos product, and as such, should not have -to register as potential mission sources." - - - After our phone conversation ended, a brief meeting was held among the EPA compliance people. I was then called back and informed that they agreed with me that the safety clothing producers should not be required to register. While this rather minor problem took approximately an hour and a half and two or t.-.ree chana calls to resolve, it is indicativa of the type of day-to-day services chat the Association provides for its member companies. \ 40 - . _r Jtt SL U E 7 --- FDA Over the past /ear che "cod and Erug Administration has shown an increasing interest in asbestos as a possible hazardous contaminant in various foods, beverages and drugs. Late in 1972 they set up an asbestos task force to review the situation and to propose regulations and guidelines where appropriate. Thus far they hava concentrated their efforts in two areas on the use of ashestos-concar.ir.ated talc in food packaging ar.d in cosmetics, and secondly, on the use of asbestos celulose filter pads m the beverage ar.d drug industries. In our first meeting with che FTA task force last November on the filter problem, they demonstrated an appalling ignorance about the health hazards of asbestos. Since then, they have gotten one heck c: a lot smarter, due at lease in part to the tremendous amount of data ar.d information wr.ioh u tha Association has been supplying to them. As a ccnsecuar.. the FDA is today less panicky about asbestos and therefore less likely to propose foolish, ur.supportable regulations. Spokesmen from the FDA have, in fact, defended the filter inc against environmentalist attacks in the press and elsewhere recent months. This is, quite obviously, a healthy sign. SLIDE 8 --- INTEREST CROUPS Sine* our contacts with tha National Institutes of Health have been quita minimal, and since the health and safety section cf the Bureau of Mines is presently being reorganized, we can now proceed to taka a brief look at the 1 various interest groups that have been in the forefront of tha assault on asbestos. These ara tha groups and erganirati that constitute *tha other side.' As you can see, there are a lot of them, and between them they can exert powerful pressure on legislators and administrators at all levels of government. 42 Since time''is not available to discuss each c their activities and philosophies' In detail, I-would .like to say that we keep a cosa watch on all of them and are always prepared to take whatever action is appropriate when they \ step out or line. . 5liez p r o j e c t o r e r r ----l i c k ? o n Our activities in the area of Congressional relations have been quite minimal to dace, although we are preparing for the upcoming struggle in Congress over workmen's compensation reform legislation, at which time asbestos is unquestionably going to be racked over the coals by Or. Selikoff and his compatriots in orgar.iced labor. Unfortunately, the Association has neither the manpower nor the time to embark on a full-scale legislative information program. We have met on occasion with tha legislative and legal assistants to various ienaccra vi-.o have attacked asbestos, A .a *> \ 5 3 however much sore, needs- t be done'-in- this area-and.I am afrai individual) rcember companies. are going', to have-to be-the prime ball carr iers- and, not tho Association; : -- For essentially the sane reason) our government 'activities at tne state and local level have declined to essentially zerp.pverthe'past year and a half. This has not been too serious-a deficiency as most of the authority of the .cities and states in asbestos control has been usurped by .the .various Federal regulatory agencies. Nonetheless, mere individual company activity, is required at these levels of government. .Zn conclusion, Z think we can all be justifiably # pleased with what, we have been able to. accomplish in the cast few years in resolving, the cornucopia- of interrelated problems that constitute the asbestos-health situation. u 1 $ 1$ 'Cur~ plants are clearer- and our workman better protected. The--general'-public-has1been- b-hown to; be in no danger fron asbestos-,- it it ever was.- While-we have been regulated extensively, for the nost part the standards that have been \ developed have net been as bad as we ieared they night be, and in sene rases' they turned out far better than wc ever dared hope. In addition, while we are still, taking our luaps in the public press, the net er'cect or all this adverse - publicity has-been shown to be surprisingly snail. "- We have sweated a lot and we have groaned a lot, but hi -i we are still standing and we are still viable. I sense teday -.6 S*. gj; within the industry a greater reeling or ccr.ridance m the y. for-r# err I?;* future than at any t m :u in the past raw years. But we .oust Bvi irr * not rest contented.- - ; S { &*/ &?;} `>6 45 - W e 'r.us: remember chat Dr. Sclikoif has to cats been far lass"successful than our industry has an influencing the decisions of the various governmental regulatory agencies. v This will make him try harder. Just last week I saw a speech \ % of his in which he purposely misinterpreted soma data by a distinguished British scientist in order to prove that ever, '"two fibers is not a sufficiently safe level for occupational exposure to asbestos. The struggle is far from over. Wa must not only continue but indeed expand cur activities m the various areas of concern if we are to assure the future well-being of the asbestos industry in the United States. Thank you vary much