Document RjzgdOpvdKDQ1reaZd8kbZwjz

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION, INC. 1901 North Moore Street Arlington, Virginia 22209 Safety Wearing Apparel Group Meeting Thursday, January 13,'1977 Chicago Marriott O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois MINUTES The Swag Meeting was called to order promptly at 10:30 a.m. by Chairman Wheeler. The following were in attendance: CT L. Grossman E. H. Smith L. E. Goldstein L. Fullen R. M. Thomas L. J. Bruce J. Gauerke L. P. Frieder C. A. Richmond B. L. Shepard J. A. Casey W. W. Clay W. H. Revoir D. Houston R. Sager A. Sisson R. Treveiler T. McGurk, Jr. R. Mi. nnette D. 'Schmidt H. L. Wheeler A'-Best Products Co. Boss Manufacturing Co. Durafab Disposables, Inc. Edmont-Wilson Edmont-Wils on Encon Manufacturing Co. Fyrepel Products, Inc. Gentex Corporation .Gentex Corporation Gentex Corporation Granet Div. ESB Inc. Granet Div. ESB Inc. Norton Company Safety Clothing and Equipment Sager Glove Corp. Standard Safety Equipment Co. Standard Safety Equipment Co. Steel Grip Safety Apparel, Inc. 'Steel Grip Safety Apparel, Inc. Wheeler Protective Apparel, Inc. Wheeler Protective Apparel, Inc. The minutes of the meeting held March 18, 1976, were unanimously approved. Subcommittee reports were read, and the following is a summary of the contents: a) Chemical Test Standards - In George Dickson's absence, A1 Sisson gave the following report: In an effort to initiate standards for chemical clothing, it is imperative that we interest other organizations such as the ASTM to perform further tests. Criteria should be estab lished indicating fabric performance based on excellent, good, fair, and questionable. It was indicated that there was a great necessity (need)-to establish uniformity in testing. Barry Shepard suggested we contact the Coated Fabrics Association. A meeting has been scheduled with ASTM the last week in January, and SWAG will receive a report. John Daugherty's letter and Hazardous Material questionnaire were dis tributed' to the members for their approval. John is to be contacted directly if changes are suggested or required. DKS 267 2- - b) Safety Clothing Standards - Hud Wheeler reported that the development of standards for safety clothing -will be very difficult. ^Reference , was made to work done by many members of our group at the L-l8 meet ings during the late 1960,s and early 1970's. Hud referenced the HFPA standards' and said that they have made one step forward for organizing a set of standards. Arthur, D. Little Company has performed tests and evaluation on fireman's gloves. Hud suggested we contact the Arthur D. Little Company to determine what clothing specs they are writing. Hud was of the opinion that a contract has been awarded to MSA for the development of some standards. We will endeavor to contact MSA to determine their progress. c) Asbestos Standards - Dick Sager's report was extensive. Mr. Sager's bibliography of information documented the fact that medical people throughout the United States were of the opinion that the two particle requirement for asbestos is safe. Dr. Silicoff met with John Marsh of the Asbestos Information Association, and during their conversation, Dr. Silicoff stated that the present two particle limit apparently was safe. Even the unions are requesting that asbestos not be banned for Safety Clothing! "The economic impact of reducing the- two particle requirement to .1 or .5 would be disastrous, affecting all types of industries." It was pointed out that asbestos is a remarkable material from a safety point of view, but on a political basis, asbestos could be a problem. Presently, there is no adequate substitution. Presently, the asbestos task force includes other manufacturers larger than the garment manufacturers. Jack Casey suggests that members of the SWAG group attend the government hearings in force. Jack stated that no one knows the threshold for asbestos exposure, and that'an entire industry could be destroyed on theory. Even the AEL and CIO are pushing for a revision of the standards. Dave Houston stated that our industry .may be able -to obtain an exception by proving that asbestos is protective. Dick Sager pointed out that if the asbestos standard of two particle is reduced, the only people that can supply asbestos will be the Japanese and the Taiwanese. Dick indi cated that 210 cases of Asbestosis have been documented, but they were caused during the ship building and construction days dating back to World War II. Also, Dick stated that much of the information that we have today is derived from England, and England was not very well organized during the War. The British Occupational Hazards Society has stated that the two fiber level is not adequate, according to Dick Sager. Mr. Wheeler pointed out that the real danger seems to be where asbestos is mined, milled, or processed. It was pointed out that most of the garment manufacturers keep records for twenty years, and that each of their personnel involv ed in "working with" asbestos is monitored twice per year, plus X-rays at least once a year. Dick Sager pointed out that tests were perform ed at McGill University by the asbestos industry and that the test results were quite favorable, except for the use of asbestos fabrics in hoods. Dick stated he would advise all members of the date of the hearing to be held in Washington. DKS 268 -- jft -3- d) Foreign Corn-petition - In Bill Franklin's absence, Bill Clay of the Granet Corporation read the report. Bill indicated that competition was -very tough in both the leather and cotton work glove industry, 8foand that it is estimated that 4 of all domestically used gloves were imported. Coated gloves are presently being protected by tariffs, and the tariffs have held imports down. The Granet Glove Corporation met with the International Trade Commission to establish Quotas, but Granet failed. Hoke Smith stated that the government will allow people to obtain compensation if they are displaced by international competi tion. Hud suggested that, as a group, we should promote U.S. made products. But it was pointed out by other members of the SWAG member ship that many of the U.S. manufacturers are importing. e) Membership - Barry Shepard reported that 120 letters were sent to can didate members of the ISEA. As of our meeting date in, Chicago, no positive responses have been received. It was suggested that George Mack at Best Glove be contacted to determine if he is interested in rejoining the ISEA. It was further suggested that Tony Weese at Heese Industries be contacted. f) Disposable Clothing Report by L. E. Goldstein. Lynn Goldstein stated that disposables were intended for special use. The disposable clo thing industry would like to get away from the name "disposable". The main fabric used is Dupont's Tyvek. Tyvek with various coatings is well suited for the chemical industry. Tyvek sews quite well and is strong. The major drawback is that Tyvek is not flame retardant. Lynn pointed out that paper can be made flame retardant but Tyvek cannot. Paper garments, although flame retardant, are generally weak and should be considered true disposables. Tyvek can be cleaned and used in atomic reactor checking, and made sterile for clean room use. The major uses are pharmaceutical, hospital and general clean room. Most disposables are manufactured in the conventional way'by sewing, but some gluing is done for hospital use. Such'manufacturers of the glued product include Johnson & Johnson and Kimberly-Clark. The major problem facing the disposable market is how do you "market" the product? The safety distributors, in Lynn's opinion, have the best methods for distribution. Lynn pointed out that only Edmont and Dura-Fab are adver tising disposable garments. Other Business As discussed at the General Mid-Year Meeting of ISEA, Hud asked for the names of two SWAG members to serve on the Ad Hoc Committee for OSHA Liaison. Jack Casey was nominated by Leonard Bruce and seconded by Barry Shepard. Dave Houston was nominated by Jack Casey and seconded by Bob .Thomas. DKS 269 -- Jt 4- - New Business Frank Wilcher indicated that Batelle Labs and NASA were awarded contracts for the development of clothing specifications under the term "Life Support and Communications". Adjournment There being no further business to come before the meeting, a motion to ajjourn was' adopted at 12:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, BLS:af Acting Secretary DKS 270