Document RpKaxMj4B97my1rRjQ47KkKE7
FILE NAME DuPont DUP
DATE 1970 Feb 2
DOC DUP117
DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Memo from James F. Morgan RE Asbestos
Dust Inhalation
-
1902
I. PONT E.
DU
DE NEMOURS & COMPANY
INCORPORATIO
WILMINGTON DELAWARE 19898
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
HASKELL LASOR^ TORY a
INDUSTRIAL
FOR . . TOXICOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE
cS
'
|
February 2 1970
C. L. DICKINSON JR
S. M. HIRSTY P. R. JOHNSON
D. B. FORMAN A. F. CHADWICK M. F. ACKEN A. B. NASELOW I. F. PEAKE
R. W. LUCKENBAUGH
D. SANTMYERS
J. L. QUINN
C. W. MAYNARD A. B. JENNINGS E. GONICK P. D. GRAHAM JR
J. MITCHELL JR C. T. HANDY
CENTRAL RESEARCH
ELASTOMERS ELASTOMERS ELASTOMERS
ELECTROCHEMICALS EXPLOSIVES .
FABRICS & FINISHES FILM INDUSTRIAL & BIOCHEMICALS INDUSTRIAL & BIOCHEMICALS INDUSTRIAL & BIOCHEMICALS ORGANIC CHEMICALS
- PHOTO PRODUCTS PIGMENTS PIGMENTS PLASTICS TEXTILE FIBERS
ASBESTOS DUST INHALATION
Attached to this letter is a proposal for a Company
Conference to discuss the health effects of inhalation of
asbestos and the means of measuring and controllitnhge hazards
This letter is an invitation to you to attend the conference and to arrange for attendance by all persons in your department who
have a need to know about these matters
There are several reasons for arranging this conference at .
this time
The following quotation illustrates in industrial medical circles 1
the
concern
.
that
exists
With the increasing use and indispensability of asbestos
minerals there has come realization of some very real hazards that must be better defined and controlled | Present standards for dust control do not appear adequate to prevent asbestosis over a working lifetime and many
segmentosf industry aggressively attacking the problem
have already been using more rigorous standards The associations between asbestos minerals and malignancies
Asbestos as a Hazard
W. C. Cooper Arch
Sept. 1967
BETTER THINGS
to Health Fact and Speculation
Environmental Health 15 285-290
.
FOR BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY
o-
A
ae
|.
ASBESTOS
DUST
INHALATION
February 2 1970
a
sO
kent
.
oe
of
the
lungs pleura and peritoneum have become convincing Current efforts must be
increasingly
directed toward better definition of the importance
of type size of fiber and the importance of
factors
.
y
w
f A
\V
kent/
at Wlong
Wlong
146 1466 workp ing o
As you well appreciate
within
asbestos and asbestos products are Pont Company There has been a lack
and for
widely used
for the appraisal of dustiness
of a unified program
of asbestos Now there is an
controlling inhalation
interest on the part
of
governmental
agencies
in
all
increased
health and safLe ast t yy ear new regu-
aspects of occupational
the Healey Public Contracts
lations were published under
includes the adoption of
Act and a part of these regulations
dust in the air In
for concentration of asbestos
the limits this action there was proposeidn Congress during
addition to
act should regulate the
the last session that a federal
in the air in work places
amounts of contaminants that occur Legislation failed of passage
but undoubtedly will - come
in the
This
and it is anticipated by persons
again before
Congress field
that
there
will
be
federal
legislation
health protection
So
?
afraid
widespread Concerning the
use of asbestos in the Du Pont
asbestos is
is a fact that in chemical processing
it Company
in insulation for vessels and
almost ubiquitous
It occurs
and continuing to the present
pipelines In the past
used insulating material Insu-
asbestos has been a commonly
is fabricated within shops
lating
material
that
is
purchased
and
eventually
is
removed
a on Du Pont plants
is installed
demolition may presernistk
Removal of old insulation as in
are not commonly used
>
encountering types of
encountering
types
of asbestos that acknowledged
com only acknowledged
to
be
used
par-
- today including crocidolite whichto isthaeckcnaouwslaetdiognedof meso-
ticularly dangerous with respecBtesides its use in insulating
thelioma thelioma
a type of cancer
and used an additive
asbestos is also purchased
in some products
material
material to perform special functions
will not be limited in
at the Conference
of the numbers
Attendance
will inform us in advance
numbers provided you who will attend so that arrangements may
from your department
you - you
"-fl
tilf
tilf by
morning
morning morning
morning This This morning
stiff 4
stiff
stiff
Ae
ae|
poe
be made
there will be some expenses involved
is anticipated that
in obtaining the best possible
It
in arranging the Conference and
will have to ask
Haskell Laboratory
scientists for the program
sending participants
that
the
costs
be
borne by
the
departments
fees
for
any
professional
in a manner similar to the registration
conference
001567
.
of
ASBESTOS
February Page 3
DUST INHALATION 2 1970
.
. . In deciding upon participation by representatives of your
department we would urge that anyone who needs to have a good understanding of this problem and how to handle it in order to fulfill the obligations of the departments and plants should
have an opportunity to attend.
It is requested that prompt attention be given to this matter so that in thirty days we may have the names of prospec-
tive attendees A date has not been chosen yet but we expect to arrange to hold the Conference no more than sixty days from now The date will be given you as soon as it can be fixed
JFM
-Attachment
:
at
JAMES F. MORGAN
CONSULTANT
INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
GJ SJS 001366 001366 001366 001366
ASBESTOS CONFERENCE
It is proposed that a company conference be held on the subject of the possible risk of injury to the health of employees arising out of the use of asbestos and asbestos products and on
the means of effectively eliminating the risk
Reason for the Conference
Mankind's knowledge of the health effects of inhaled asbestos including asbestosis pulmonary carcinoma and mesothelioma has been and is being appraised in the light of new knowledge
and evaluation of older facts Standards that have been
developed and used over the years for the control of inhalation
and its health effects are undergoing reappraisal
guide for the control As an engineering of dustiness the
Threshold Limit Value of five million particles per cubic foot
of air has been useful in reducinthge occurrence of cases of
the type of pneumonoconiosis known as asbestosis The modern
of an dayappreciation increased incidence of pulmonary carci-
noma among persons who have asbestosis and are cigarette smokers and the recognition of mesotheliomas among persons with histories of asbestos exposures have brought about extensive re-
examination of our standards It has become necessary to crit-
ically review and examine the levels of control of dustiness in
Du Pont shops
Persons having responsibility and concern in these
matters representing several of the manufacturing departments have contacted Haskell Laboratory for advice on the levels of
fibrous dust control that is necessary and on the methods of
evaluating
others are
the effectiveness of control measures They faced with the necessity of making decisions
and involv-
ing choices of methods of proceeding
Purpose of the Conference
The Conference would be expected to satisfy the needs that have emerged by bringing together people with specialized knowledge of the asbestos problem with those in the Company who bear the responsibility of defining for Plant Management and Departmental Management the needs that exist and of recommending the means of controlling the hazard
There has been intelligent concern in this country about
put the health problems of asbestos since the decade of the
thirties This has been apparent from the efforft ors th by
the medical profession industrial management labor unions
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001560
001560
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ASBESTOS CONFERENCE CONT'D
government agencies and independent scientific investigators There are experts on each of the major aspects of the problem
1 The mineralogy of asbestos
2 Disease conditions produced by inhalation
of asbestos
3 The epidemiology of health effects from
asbestos inhalation
.
d^'compos
whatwhat
d^'compos
Sain
what Sain
You .
4 The measurement and control of exposures
may
to asbestos inhalation
of se
ro
compensated
5 Compensation of employees for disease
people
compensated
produced by asbestos inhalation
a people compensated
The Conference would present an exposition of the first four
of these aspects so that Du Pont needs could be recognized
and dealt with in a unified manner
Po
Structure of the Conference
The Conference would consist of two principal parts
A 1
the tos
A presentation by experts of the facts concerning the nature and extent of the health problem 2
relationships between degree of exposure to asbesinhalation and health effects and 3 methods of
controlling asbestos inhalation and for measuring the
effectiveness of control
B
the and
A discussion among Du Pont personnel representing various departments covering 1 things to be done 2 a consensus agreement on methods
In order to obtain the advice and views of experts who have
devoted major portions of their time and attention to the asbestos problem in its several aspects it would be desirable to invite scientists and engineers from outside Du Pont to partici-
pate in Part A.
for in Part B It would not be necessary them to participate
limiting
in fact advantages are
foreseen
attendance at Part B
to authorized Du Pont personnel
.
.-
ASBESTOS CONFERENCE CONT'D
PROPOSED AGENDA
Part A
The types of asbestos minerals
Mineralogy sources uses quantities used
History and description of diseases produced by
the inhalation of asbestos
The incidence of bution of cases
asbestos
diseases
and
distri-
The measurement of asbestos fibers and particles in the air of work places
Acceptable concentrations of asbestos in the air in work places
Part B
Panel Discussion
1 The occurrence and use of asbestos and asbestos
products in Du Pont operations
2 Should there be a standardized method of collect-
ing and evaluating air samples for asbestos con-
centrations If so what is the method of choice
years ( forfor
5 years years
What should be regarded as acceptable concentra-
tions of asbestos in the air in Du Pont work
places
stoppi
ju
this
this
spoke of 4
1964 =
Medical studies to correlate environmental conditions with the health experience of Du Pont
workers
bjd 2/2/70
3
001570011571