Document RagVrq1gjav80ZMVgwYRkpRj7

FILE NAME: Newspaper & Magazine Articles (NMA) DATE: 1958 Feb 22 DOC#: NMA009 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: The Nashville Tennessean - Pipe-Cancer Tie Stirs Furor THS HASKVUXt TtHHtSSEAH. "thumijy. TcV>. I I . 1SSS Pipe-Cancer Tie Stirs Furor; i By FRANK RITTER I Metro cotincilmen and a ; . Vanderbilt University profes- sor clashed verbally ycslcv-! day over what prompted the professor to Infer recently'^ that asbestos cement pipe7-} might cause cancer. Dr. James Snell, assistantprofessor at the Vanderbilt'-: school of medicine was ques-.: tioned at length by Council man James Hamilton about c tetter he wrote recently in : which he raised the cancer question. ! ' " T H E IMPLICATION of your letter," Hamilton told Snell during a council com mittee meeting, ``was that Metro Council, u nder. the . guise of saving a few cents, was going to place hundreds - of thousands of people in danger of getting a dread; disease--cancer. " We certainty don't want to do that. And coming at the time it did. and in the alarm ing way it was written and distributed to the public, if would seem to me the letter : was unfair." ' The meeting, a joint session of the Huance and public works committees of Metro ( Council, was called to con s i d e r whether the city should permit asbestos pipe com' panies to bid on Metro pipe contracts. Cast iron pipe -has been used exclusively, although it is more expensive initially. than 'asbestos pipe, (or at least 40 years in the Nash ville water system. HAMILTON asked Snell yes terday if there have been any studies to determine if iron oxide from cast iron pipe might cause cancer. Snell re plied that there have been no such studies, to his knowledge. "There has been no re search,".Hamilton asked, "on whether asbestos cement pipe or cast iron pipe can cause cancer, has there?" Snell said there has not been. Hamilton said if Snoit was sincere in raising the question about asbestos pipe, he should have raised the same ques tion about cast iron pipe. "I think it is perfectly rea sonable to raise such a ques tion" about cast iron pipe, Snell replied. " WOULD YOU r a i s e the - question, doctor?" asked Coun cilman James LaPenna. " 1 would be very happy I (Turn to Page 12. Column ?) (Continued From Page One) to write the Public Health Service about it," Snell an swered. "The whole question of contamination of food and .water should be raised, in my opinion." Snell sent his letter last .November to Robert L. Law rence, Metro w a t e r w o r k s d i r e c t o r , supporting Law rence's decision to prohibitasbestos cement pipe manufae-turers from bidding on Metro waterplpe purchases. The professor said he would { consider the use of asbestos pipe "a medical hazard of ; significant degree" until the . Public Health Service has cheeked it out completely. EXPLAINING TO the couni oilmen yesterday that he had . no ulterior motive in writing the letter, Snell said: "I regret the vindictive at* titude that some people have against -me, merely as a re sult of my raising this ques. tlon." ' "I'm not vindictive against ; you, doctor," Hamilton interrupted. "In fact, I had never met you until now. It Just seems to me that a scientist is under a requirement to state all factors in a ease." "I don't think you under' stand how this came about," Snell said. "1 simply raised thought that before Nashville undertakes to buy large amounts of asbestos pipe, this : question should be raised. "IF YOU DESIRE to raise the same question about cast iron pipe, then I think it is very reasonable. I have no po litical motive. 1 have no fi nancial Interest in these pipe .companies. I am not aligned politically with any group." Hamilton reacted angrUy at this statement by Snell .and declared: ; "We're not inquiring, doc tor, into your political align ments, your religion, or any thing else." The exchange hotween the councilmcn and Snell fnitowed ' presentations by representa tives of b o t h Clow Corp.. . which has supplied all Xl-.-ir ; waterplpe the past four years. and Johns-Manvilte S a l e s <Corp.. ah asbestos pipe dool- !cr seeking to bid on pipe pur chases here. K. RAYMOND Augst, assis-: tant district sales manager for Johns-Manvllle, told the coun-' cilmen that there are strong; indications Metro could save , 34% on its pipe purchases if the city permitted the asbes tos pipe firms to bid. ! Augst said Metro bought ` $13 m i l l i o n worth of ` cast- iron pipe from July,.- 1BGS, to September, 1037. As*' beslos pipe, Augst- added,- would have cost only $364,000'- -- giving Metro a savings of-: $459,000. i Lawrence has defended buy-. ing the more expensive pipe ! on grounds it is better and - has "a greater f a c t o r of.' safety." However. Johns - Mamillet representatives, insisted y es-' terdav that their product will - - serve" the city equally as good ' as cast- iron. pipe if it is in- ' stalled properly. j SHORTLY AFTER S n e l l 4 wrote his letter last year to . Lawrence, raising the ques- : tion of whether asbestos pipe could cause cancer, the Metro I Health Board took a similar stand. I The board voted Jan. 17 to : "not approve the use of asbes- ' tos pipe" until sufficient in* * formation could be obtained to prove If it is medically safe. . *. Yesterday, at an e a r l y . morning meeting, the board ' . voted to reconsider Its stand* - on the basis of evidence sub mitted by Johns-Manvitle Co. . representatives.