Document Rpp8BZqzarGpYyYyk7OmGNKen

FILE NAME: Friction Materials Standards Institute (FMS) DATE: 1973 June 27 DOC#: FMS031 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Address by M. Weaver of RaybestosManhattan, Chairman of FMSI Asbestos Study Committee to the Annual Institute Membership Meeting \ Hr. I . LT* le a v e r o f R .aybestos-l!anhattan, l a c . , who s e r v e s as Chairman of Che F r ic t io n M a te r ia ls Standards I n s t i t u t e A sbestos Study Committee addressed the Annual Membership fleetin g o f th e I n s t it u t e . Hr. W eaver's address was d e liv e r e d in V a il, Colorado on Wednesday m orning, June 27, IS 73. Hr. W eaver's a d d ress fo llo w s : When Ed (D r is la n e ) asked me t o atten d y o u r annua l m eetin g la s t y e a r , I had to d e c lin e , w h ich may have been j u s t as w e ll in v iew o f the confu sed s t a t u s o f b o th OSEA and EPA r e g u la t io n s at th e tim e. T his year th ings^ are o n ly s l i g h t l y l e s s c o n fu se d , bu t I -'aa g la d to be able t o b e h ere anyway to attem p t to f u l f i l l my r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n rep o rtin g to you a s your A sb estos Study Committee Chairman, la th e r than p r e se n t a d e t a i l e d sta tem en t co v erin g Committee a c t i v i t i e s fo r the y e a r , I sh o u ld l i k e to u se my tim e t o rev iew some, o f the more co n tro v ersia l and confused elem ents o f the Federal A sbestos R egulations, a ' , ^ iv c recosr>etidacions as to what I th in k the stan ce o f the F r ic tio n H ateria Is Indu stry sh ou ld be in regard to them. In. l i e u o f a d e t a i l e d rep o rt co v erin g th e p a s t y e a r 's a c t i v i t i e s , I have prepared a page and a h a lf summary o f the Committee's work from June '7 2 thru Jun e 1, 1973. Mr. D r isla n e w i l l c ir c u la t e c o p ie s o f th is sunnary to anyone who may be in t e r e s t e d I n i t , and i f any o f you have q u estion s or recommendations concerning our past work or fu tu r e in t e n t io n s , p l e a s e f e e l f r e e to b rin g them up h e r e, or i f you p r e f e r , tr a n sm it them t o Ed fo r our review l a t e r . Probably the s in g le most s ig n ific a n t e v en t th at occurred during the p a s t y e a r on th e s u b j e c t o f a sb e sto s h a za rd s was the m eeting o f th e I n te r n a tio n a l A gency fo r R esearch on C ancer th a t was h e ld a t Lyon, France l a s t O c to b e r . This m eeting was a tten d ed by more than a hundred , and t h ir t y m e d ic a l r e s e a r c h e r s and r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f government, in d u s tr y and la b o r from v i r t u a l l y ev ery m ajor a sb e sto s consuming or producing co u n try i n the w o r ld . For fo u r days in t e n s iv e s e s s io n s on a s b e s to s were h e l d by th ree d if f e r e n t p a n e ls , each made up of te n to tw en ty -fiv e o f th e foremost medical and s c ie n t if ic experts operating in Che v a r io u s f i e l d s o f a s b e s t o s - h e a lt h r ese a rc h . F ollow ing th e m eetings the com m ittees is s u e d a cawbin&d report on a sb e sto s c a n c e r s . I chink the f o lie w in g fiv e item s summarize th e ir most important c o n c lu sio n s: (1) A ll m ajor commercial types o f a sb esto s can cause cancer. (2) Zvicance su g g ests t h a t excess lung cancer i s not d e te c t able .when o c cu p a tio n a l exposure has been lew. (Ju st what i s meant by ''low " was n o t s t a t e d . ) CYUISIT 1/ . T tt PLAINTIFFS 0 EXHIBIT ( H O .& * A sbestos and The F r ic tio n I-iacerial Industry (c a n t'd ) ' (3) - Evidence has been greatly strengthened that a l l co m er c i a l typ es o f a s b e sto s e x c e p t A n c h o p h y llite may b e respon s ib le for m esotheliom a. (Risk is g rea cest v ith C r o cid o lite , l e s s v i t h A m c site, and ap p aren tly s t i l l le s s w ith C h r y s o t ile .) (4) C ig a r e t t e sm oking i s an im portant f a c t o r en h an cin g lung cancer risk in asbestos workers. (5) Surveys of occu p ation al groups have shewn a sm all, excess r is k o f typ es o f cancer o th er than b r o n c h ia l and m e s o th e lia l, e sp e c ia lly chose of the g a sczo -in tescln a l tr a c t. The most im p ortan t ite m h ere i s tie in c r im in a tio n o f a l l major ty p es o f a sb esto s as causal agents for carcinoma, p a r tic u la r ly m esotheliom a. Host of che ocher iteres only confirm or su b sta n tia te p reviou s co n clu sio n s. S in ce most o f us use s u b s ta n tia l amounts o f C h r y so tile a sb e sto s in our fo r m u la tio n s, a s s o c ia t io n of t h is m a ter ia l w ith m esotheliom a and ocha.* ty p e s c f c a r e e r i s o f s e r io u s con cern . A. number o f in d iv id u a ls who a tten d e d the DL\C m eetings came away w ith the d e f in it e im pression chat government reco g n itio n o f a sb esto s hazards has been acco m p lish ed and h e n c e fo r th sh ou ld b e taken f o r g r a n te d . We can now lo o k to th e n e x t major e f f o r t b ein g geared coward w orker educa tio n regard in g o ccu p a tio n a l h ea lth hazards. . The O ccupational Safety and H ea lth A ct r e q u ir e s in fo rm a tio n b e g iv e n by em ployers t o wodeers concerning the degree of th eir exposure along with in str u c tio n in ways fo r m inim izing exposure. T herefore, i t i s incumbent on allem p loyers whose w orkers handle or come in c o n ta c t v i t h a s b e s to s -c o n t a in in g m a ter ia ls to p rovid e same kind o f in s t r u c t io n or tr a in in g to educate th e w orkers co n cern in g p o t e n t ia l hazards and means o f a v o id in g them wherever p o s s ib le . A ccordin gly, i t would b e prudent fo r a l l f r ic t io n m a te r ia ls m anufacturers to develop programs to a ssu re adequ ate com m u n ication w ith t h e ir employees regardin g a s b e s to s d u st h a z a r d s, and *. to in fo rm them o f m o n ito rin g r e s u l t s , good work p r a c t i c e s , and t h e ir r e s p o n s ib ilit ie s in com plying w ith OSEA r e g u la t io n s . I f such m easures are n o t taken prom ptly and p ro p erly by management,in d u str y w i l l le a v e i t s e l f '.ride, open fo r in c e n s e , and in my o p in io n j u s t i f ie d , c r it ic is m by organized labor, as w e ll as p o te n tia l severe enforcem ent a c tio n by government, and a tta c k by any number o f s o c i a l and e n v iro n m en ta l a c t i v i s t o r g a n iz a tio n s . I f we d o n 't do> t h is o u r s e lv e s , be a ssu re d th a t someone e l s e w i l l jump on th e bandwagon sad do i t in a way t h a t w i l l c o t be to our b e n e f i t . We can e x p e c t more and nare ' a c t i v i t y by org a n ized lab or toward e d u c a tin g and t r a in in g workers reg a rd in g h e a lth and s a f e t y problems and i n p o in tin g out t o workers what t h e ir em ployers' r e s p o n s ib ilit ie s are concernin g th e se m atters.  3- A sb esto s and The F r ic tio n l i a t s r i a l In d u stry (c a n t'd ) liaay union a c t i v i s t s .are r e a lly furious w ith govem raent's fa ilu r e to pu rsu e the p r o v is io n s o f s a f e t y and h e a lt h r e g u la tio n s to th e l e t t e r , and th er e ap p ears to be a good o p p ortu n ity fa r in d u s tr y to r e le a s e r e lia b le in zo ra a cicn concerning asbestos hazards both to th e ir esrployees and t o th e ir custom ers b e fo r e more inflam m atory in fo r m a tio n o f t h i s type i s aired i n the media under organized la b o r's banner. These r u le s and r e g u la t io n s p o se much aore s e v e r e problems f o r o th e r segm ents of the asbestos industry, p articu larly asbestos t e x t ile m anufacturers, than they do f o r most f r i c t i o n m a ter ia l m a n u fa ctu rers. I have Veen in v o lv e d in a sb e sto s products m anufacturing fo e over tw entyf i v e years and have v i s i t e d dozens o f p la n t s and am av a re o f o n ly a fear fr ic tio n m a teria ls products manufacturing operations th at I consider to r e p r e s e n t m ajor problems i n a c h ie v ein g conformance to e i t h e r OSHA or . ETA r e q u ir e m e n ts, in c lu d in g th e 2 f ib r e p e r cc c h e r e sh o ld l i m i t v a lu e . S in c e s i g n i f i c a n t p o la r iz a t io n may b e e x p e c te d alw ays to e x i s t betw een management and la b o r and b etw een management and en v ir o n m e n ta l groups concerning a sb e sto s-h e a lth su b jects, and sin ce c o n tr o l or conformance t o bo ta E?a and 0S2A r e g u la t io n s appears to be g e n e r a lly f e - s s i h l e , as f a r as f r i c t i o n m a te r ia ls are concerned, my recommendation to f r i c t i o n m a te r ia l m an ufacturers i s th a t they proceed as r a p id ly as p o s s ib le tow ards ccaform anca 'w ith Che r e g u la t io n s . A lso I recommend a v o id in g in c lin a tio n s to m isin terp ret provisions where the in te n t o f the r e g u la t io n i s c l e a r , bur th e wording may be s u b j e c t t o q u e s tio n . There has been c o n s id e r a b le d isr eg a r d of a number of p r o v is io n s m ainly i s th e areas o f la b e lin g , m onitoring, employee ed u ca tio n , personal pro t e c t i o n , w a s t e d is p o s a l, and use o f w arning s ig n s b y segmen t s o f . a s b e s to s p r o d u c ts m a n u fa ctu rin g , and I b e lie v e t h i s a p p lie s to f r i c t i o n m aterial to some e x ten t. One o f th e m ost o b vio u s ite m s has to do w ith in d u s t r y 's r e lu c ta n c e to accept, a s b e s t o s p rod u cts la b e lin g as r e q u ir e d by OSHA. There has been much a d v e r t is in g o f a s b e s t o s t e x t i l e p rod u cts c i t i n g th e b e n e f it s o f treatm ents or coatin gs th a t purport to lock the fib r e in to the product l a such way t h a t i t cannot become a irb o rn e during u s e . W hile th e se cla im s p ro b a b ly are tr u e t o varyin g d e g r ee s depending ett th e n ature o f th e p ro d u ct, i t s u s e , and th e way in w hich i t I s h a n d le d , I do n o t think th is claim Is at a l l applicable to fr ic tio n m aterials. I knew o f no way any o f us can be a b s o lu t e ly su re t h a t h is f r i c t i o n p rod u cts, r e g a r d le ss o f w hether they are sold as o r ig in a l equipment or on th e* r e p la c em en t m arket, w i l l n o t be s u b je c te d to a d d it io n a l operations or a lte r a tio n s in the f ie ld that could r e s u lt in ex cessiv e exposure of w orkers or bystanders to airborne a sb e sto s f ib r e . I have b een a p p a lle d to le a r n o f a number o f in s ta n c e s w here t h is problem has o c c u r r e d , and some o f th e se c a se s in v o lv ed p e o p le th a t c e r t a in ly might have b e e n e x p e c te d to know b e t t e r . - 4'Ashes to s and The F r ic tio n Wat e r i a l In d u stry ( r e n t 'd ) I f t h is kin d o f chin"?; occu rs in f a b r ic a t io n o p e r a tio n s o f major OS cu stom ers, i t appears to me th ere can be no argument about th e need far educational m easures-to reduce chances of unnecessary exposure du rin g g r in d in g , d r i l l i n g or c u t t in g o p e r a tio n s . To th e s e who argue th at la b e lin g or other types of v a m in s need not apply to rep lace ment m a teria ls because fa b r ic a to r s or"appliers h a n d lin g replacem ent q u a n tities are exposed r e la tiv e ly in ter m itte n tly , I say em phatically t h is j u s t a i n ' t n e c e s s a r ily s o ! Large volume rep la cem en t u se r s p r e se n t major p o t e n t ia l h azard s, and even sm a ll job shops n e e d le ssly expose people to high fib r e con cen tration s i f o p era tio n s axe performed w ith o u t c o n t r o ls . That th e se may be in t e r m it te n t and o f s h o r t d u ra tio n does not preclude p o s s ib ility for occurrence o f adverse h ealth e ffe c ts in h y p e r -s u s c e p t ib le in d iv id u a ls , or in le s s s e n s i t i v e in d iv id u a ls who may r e c e iv e e x c e e d in g ly h ig h d o se s o f sh o rt d u r a tio n b u t who may be sm okers, o r who may e x p e r ie n c e e f f e c t s b ecause o f s y n e r g ism w ith ocher m a te r ia ls to w h ic h 'th e y may b e exposed e i t h e r a t w ork o r e lse w h e r e . To me, la b e lin g a l l c o n ta in e r s or packages o f a s b e s t o s - c o n t a in in g fr ic tio n m aterial is the very le a s t the industry can'do to f u l f i l l moral o b lig a tio n to i t s custom ers, th e ir em ployees, and the public and a t th e same tim e . conform w ith minimum req u irem en ts o f th e O ccupational S afety and H ealth A ct. ' I s e r io u s ly q u e stio n whether mere la b e lin g i s enough to f u l f i l l th is requirem ent. I t h as been suggested by others as w e ll as m yself sev era l tim es in th e past chae a d d itio n a l in s t r u c t io n s , o f a more com prehensive n a tu r e than i s p r a c t i c a l t o p ro v id e on a l a b e l , b e in s e r te d i n s i d e e a ch package where a p o s s ib ilit y e x is t s that' th e product might be used in such manner ch at an airborne d u st problem could b e c r e a t e d . A number o f resp o n sib le asbestos products manufacturers already are follow in g t h i s p ro ced u re, and th e r e i s a good p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t i t may b e made mandatory in fu tu re r e g u la tio n s. (A dcpcion o f th e s e m easures by in d u s tr y would shew good f a i t h reward com pliance and" sh o u ld 'r ed u c e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f fu tu r e c r i t i c i s m by consumer p r o te c tio n g ro u p s. I doubt very much ch a t i t w ou ld have any s ig n if i c a n t e f f e c t on s a le s or consumption o f a s b e sto s f r ic t io n m a t e r ia ls . I know o f no s u b s t i t u t e fo r a s b e s to s in norm al autom otive f r i c t i o n m a te r ia l s e r v i c e , and I know o f l i t t l e or no n o t ic e a b le e f f e c t la b e lin g has had on o th e r products where c a u tio n a r y la b e lin g has been used 'thus fa r . Seep in send chat NIQSH and th e OSIIA A dvisory Commicmee recommended a much more s e v e r e la b e l than the one we are t a lk in g a b o u t. This s u b j e c t was h e a te d ly debated d u rin g th e QSHA A d v iso ry Committee .d e lib e r a tio n s , and t h e i r f i n a l recommendation c a lle d , f o r use of th e word "Danger" i a s c a a d o f "Caution" and s p e c i f i c a l l y mentioned chat b rea th in g a sb e sto s cau ses can cer. Very fr a n k ly , I was ex ceed in g ly \ ... ' ;-5- A sb esto s and The c r l c c i c a M a te r ia l In d u stry (c a n t'd ) . s u r p r is e d when th e f i n a l OSHA Standard cause out in 'favor o f c o n s id e r a b ly m ild er w o rk in g . V.ou I am perp lexed th a t In d u stry r e s i t s th e OSHA la b e lin g req u irem en t as v ir p o r o u sly as i t d o es. Many o th er e lem en ts o f th e CSHA R egu lation s came out more fa v o r a b ly toward in d u stry than th e recommendations th a t were subm itted by .NIOSE and th e A d visory Committee, and s t i f f r e s is t a n c e by In d u stry w i l l be needed t o p r e v e n t OSHA from s tr e n g th e n in g the r e g u la tio n s i n months to c o n e . We can e x p e ct c o n s id e r a b le e f f o r t to be made by a n ti-in d u str y elem en ts o f the medical p r o fe s sio n , by organised la b o r, and by en viro n m en ta l groups who want th e a ir b o r n e sta n d a rd low ered f r o a 2 fib r e s , p e r c c to 1 f ib e r per cc o r _ev en l e s s . Sooe in d iv id u a ls even sp e a k ,o f a sb e sto s in terms of zero'TLV, w h ic h ,'o f course, i s com p letely im p r a c tic a l and would r e s u lt in v ir t u a l banning o f m ining and u se o f a s b e s to s fo r a n y th in g . A nother c o n t r o v e r s ia l s u b j e c t i s f ib r e m o n ito r in g . T h is i s p r e t t y much o f a d is a s t e r a r e a b e c a u se o f la ck o f c o n fid e n c e in th e membrane f i l t e r method lo r sam p lin g and a n a ly z in g fo r a ir b o r n e c n b e s tc s . Much o f t h i s problem i s a ttr ib u ta b le to the nature of th e op era tio n , which in volves co n sid era b le judgement in ad d ition to tech n ica l competency on the p art o f th e p e o p le performing th e t e s t s . Even when perform ed by p racticed in d iv id u a ls under the b e st p o ssib le co n d itio n s, th e method i s s u b je c t to w ide v a r ia tio n s in r e s u lt s . H eed less to s a y , when performed by r e la t iv e ly inexperienced person nel under th e w id ely varying c o n d itio n s th a t e x is t in the f ie ld and between d if fe r e n t la b o r a t o r ie s , r e s u l t s can be extrem ely v a r ia b le . In my o p in io n , th e method i s t o t a t a l l s u ita b le for enforcem ent purposes, b u t can be used to good advantage by in d u str y fo r p o li c in g i t s own o p e r a tio n s and fo r d e te r m in in g w here to devote c o n tr o l e f f o r t s w ith maximum . advantage or p o t e n t ia l fo r improvement. In s p ic e o f i t s d e f i c i e n c i e s , I th in k th e mens race f i l t e r neth od w i l l p e r s is t f o r q u ite some tim e, b u t I w i l l not be a t a l l s u r p r ise d i f fu tu re em phasis by OSHA s h i f t s toward work p r a c t ic e r e g u la tio n s rather chan m on itoring to a numerical standard. Another c o n tr o v e r s ia l item has been the p r o te c tiv e c lo th in g req u ire ment. T his h a s c r e a te d co n sid e ra b le q u e s tio n and c o n tr o v e r s y , p a r tic u la rly in the t e x t ile industry where c e ilin g lim its are d i f f i c u l t to c o n tr o l on c e r ta in o p e r a tio n s . D iff e r e n t OSHA regional o ffic e s have applied d ifferen t in terp retation s to the p r o te c tiv e c lo t h i n g req u irem en t, and i t ' s hard fo r re to s e e how some o f th en can be as l i b e r a l on in t e r p r e t a t io n as they a r e. The r e g u la t io n s p e c i f i c a l l y c a lls fo r f u l l body cover in c lu d in g g lo v e s, h a t,- and fo o t c o v e r in g , where l e v e l s ex ceed the c e i l i n g A sb estos and Hie r f i c t i o n ila c e r ia l Industry (c o a t'd ) . l i m i t . l a s p i t e o f t h i s , c e r ta in OSVA r e g io n a l o f f i c e s ta k e the p o sitio n th at any p r o te c tiv e clo th in g , even as scanty as a short sle e v e s s h ir t and tr o u s e r s , is adequate, provided th is c lo th in g is changed b efo re the employ leaves the p la n t. P erson ally I b e lie v e th is le n ie n t in te r p r e ta tio n provides e f f e c t iv e p rotection for nose ` e x p o su r es, and I concur th a t the im portant th in g i s to Bake sure the employee d o esn 't cake the contaminated c lo th in g out o f the p la n t. Other OSHA. o f f i c e s s t i c k to the l e t t e r o f the req u irem en t, which c r e a te s a major problem on many o p e r a tio n s where d isc o m fo r t from f u l l cover c lo th in g can'have a very s ig n ific a n t e f f e c t on operator e f f ic ie n c y . This requirem ent i s under vigorous a tta ck by companies th a t are h a v in g problem s w ith i t . i.'o doubt some judgem ent by th e O ccu p a tio n a l S a fe ty and H ealth Review Commission o r the F ed era l co u r ts w i l l be fo r th c c c in g con carm ine th is elem ent o f the r e g u la tio n s , and i t i s to be hoped th at fu tu re r e v is io n s o f the ru le w i l l perm it more f l e x i b i l i t y than th e e x is t in g wording, does. Waste d is p o s a l has c r e a t e d problems -.id b o th 3SEA nad ETA r e g u la t io n s , and some f r i c t i o n m a teria l nan ufactu rers alread y have e x t e n s iv e f a c i l i t i e s i n th e works to cope w ith th e s e p ro b lem s.' Of p articu lar in te r e st i s the p e lle tisa tio n of fr ic tio n m aterial w aste to reduce d u st to a fora that avoids n e c e ssity fo r bagging or otherw ise c o n ta in e r iz in g the m a teria l. This a lso reduces or elim in a tes g e n e r a tio n o f f u g i t i v e du st dinring d is p o s a l in l a n d f i l l s . S everal manufacturers have In sta lle d exten sive p e lle tiz in g system s to so lv e t h e i r w a ste d is p o s a l problem s, and t h i s approach appears to h e a c c e p ta b le to b oth SPA and OSHA as w e ll as s t a t e en viron m en tal c o n t r o l a g e n c ie s . Other approaches have been to u t iliz e wet d isp o sa l methods end, of c o u r se , some m an ufacturers are b aggin g and la b e lin g th e dry w a ste, w here w et methods o r p e l l e t i z i n g are im p r a c tic a l. Where bags or other contain ers are used for waste d isp o sa l, they should be la b e le d in acco rd a n ce w ith OSHA. M edical exam ination requirements have presented problems, p a rtic u la rly c-he one o f d e te r m in in g what c o n s t it u t e s " a sb e sto s exp osu re" . Some companies have adopted the a ttitu d e th at a l l workers, in clu d in g o f f ic e and resea rch p e o p le , even though they are not norm ally considered to be exposed to a sb e sto s, should be included in the n ed ica l su rv eilla n ce program. On. th e o th e r hand, many se e n to fo llo w the ta ck chat anyone ex p o sed to one f i b r e per cc or l e s s need not be in c lu d e d , tty a d v ic e would be t o check everybody where th ere i s any doubt about a c tu a l exposure. I could d w ell at c o n sid e ra b le length on o th e r problems and in c o n s is o f th e TSHA R e g u l a t i o n s end t h e i r v a r i o u s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , b u t b e l i e v e I p ro b a b ly have expounded on t h i s enough f o r th e noment. However, th e one main po in t I want to get a cro ss is t h a t any \ - 7- Asbestos and The F r ic tio n r a t e r i a l In d u stry comparison o f th e e x is tin g regu lation s w ith in d u str y 's p o sitio n as sta te d in th e ir input to the government p rior to prom ulgation o f th e r e g u la t io n , and compared w ith th e recommendations o f NIOSH. and- th e OSHA A dvisory C oral t r e e , w i l l r e a d ily in d ic a t e ch a t the e x i s t i n g OSHA sta n d a rd , w ith the one s e r io u s e x c e p tio n o f th e two f ib r e s p er c c lim it to be imposed., in 1976, fo llo w s in d u s t r y 's p o sitio n rath er c lo se ly . I f I appear to be defending the present OSHA A sb esto s P e g u la t io n s , i t ' s only b eca u se I am very much aware of how much more s t r i c t th e s e r u le s w ould be i f the- recommendations o f 17IQSS and Che A dvisory Committee had been fo llo w e d . I doubt th a t many i n th e in d u str y r eco g n ize or r e a l i z e j u s t how c lo s e th ey may h a v e come to b e in g r e g u la te d o u t o f e x is t e n c e . Future o c c u p a tio n a l s a f e t y and h e a lth l e g i s l a t i o n probably w i l l r e c t i f y numerous in a d eq u a c ie s in p r e se n t r u le s and may a m e lio r a te some a s p e c ts o f e x is t in g o c cu p a tio n a l s a f e t y and h e a lth sta n d a r d s. However, I s e r io u s ly doubt chat much r e la x a t io n i f anv i s to b e e x p e c te d i n rr^ard to th e A sb estos R e g u la tio n s . I chink' th e in d u s tr y I s g o in g to h a v e to mount a v e r y determ ined e f f o r t to p rev en t th e s e r e g u la tio n s from b ein g tig h te n e d i n the fu tu r e . The EPA r e g u la t io n s -concerning ambient a ir c o n t r o l o f a s b e s to s are another n a t t e r . Although i t was r esp o n sib le fo r i n i t i a l l y taggin g a s b e s to s as a hazardous p o llu t a n t , s in c e d oin g s o EPA has b e e s much l e s s d ilig e n t in pursuing i t s announced in te n tio n s coward r e g u la tio n o f th e m a t e r ia ls i t d e c la r e d h azard ou s. EPA f i r s t d e c la r e d a s b e s t o s a hazardous a ir p o llu ta n t on harch 3 1, 1971, and p u b lish ed proposed r e g u la t io n s December 7 o f the same y e a r . H earings were h e ld and much in d u s tr y in p u t'w a s a c c e p te d and v ery d e lib e r a t e ly review ed by EPA b efo re th ey fin a lly issu ed the n a tio n a l Emissions Standard os A pril 6 o f t h is y e a r . This r e g u la tio n was prom ulgated n ea rly a y e a r l a t e r than c a lle d fo r under the requirem ents of the Federal Clean A ir A ct. For t h is EPA has been under c o n s id e r a b le - c r it ic is m e v e r s i n c e . i In a d d itio n C o-being la c e , the EPA stand ard i s a lo t l e s s s t r in g e n t th an I or any o th er in d u s tr y p e o p le , who have fo llo w e d i t s d ev elo p ment, expected.' N early a l l the o b jectio n s vo iced by induscy concern in g the o r ig in a lly proposed standard were removed before they issu ed th e f i n a l r e g u la tio n s . In a d d itio n , they m od ified some requirem ents to the e x te n t chat no one in in d u stry exp ected , or even would have had the tem erity to req u est, in m eetings where these su b jects were d is c u s s e d betw een in d u str y r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s and EPA. .In e s s e n c e , the stan d ard b o il s down to th e fa llo w in g sta te m e n t as fa r as em issio n s are concerned: There s h a ll be no v is ib le em ission s to o u ts id e a i r from any .a s b e sto s m ill or n a n u fa ctu ria g o p e r a tio n ex cep t when a s p e c if ie d method of a ir c le a n in g , a lso part o f the sta n d a rd s, is used b efo re the em ission escap es. In gen eral, the a ir clean ing system s s p e c ifie d , f i l t e r asbestos em issions to the p oin t that v is ib le e m issio n s, other than p o ssib le condensed w ater vapor, would not be produced anyway. A sbestos and The F r ic tio n -la c e r ia l Industry Other requirem ents concerning use of ta ilin g s for su rfa cin g roads, th e r e g u la tio n o f d e m o litio n a c t i v i t i e s , and c o n tr o lle d a p p lica tio n of spray-on m aterials are of l i t t l e concern to fr ic tio n m aterials p r o c e sso r s. Our b ig g e s t concern l i e s w ith the am ission standard, which w i l l r e q u ir e th e t ig h te n in g up o f dust c o l l e c t i o n f a c i l i t i e s and w aste d isp o sa l p r a c tic e s uherever fu g itiv e dust problems occur. The b ig g e s t problem w ith EPA r e g u la tio n I have found th u s fa x has been non-uniform in te r p r e ta tio n of what c o n stitu te s a v is ib le em ission. I know th e E?A' p e o p le who d r a fte d the r e g u la tio n in te n d e d t h i s to mean j u s t what i t ' s a y s . I f. i t ' s v i s i b l e under any c o n d itio n whatso e v e r , and TPA approved a ir c le a n in g system s are not in u s e , th e em ission Is in v io la t io n . Since oost fr ic tio n m aterials manufacturers a lrea d y are em p loyin g bagh ouses th a t meet EPA stan d ard s fo r c le a n in g t h e ir exhaust a ir strea m s, i t i s u n lik e ly th a t any se v e r e impact w i l l occu r to th e in d u s tr y as a w hole on account o f th e EPA r e g u la tio n s as they new sta n d . Those few m anufacturers who are r e ly in g an v e t du st c o l l e c t o r s th a t do n o t meet th e EPA sta n d a rd may have problem s. The b e s t way to b e sure o f m eetin g EPA req u irem en ts i s to sharpen up on m aintenance and o p era tio n o f e x i s t i n g bagbouse f i l t e r s and rep la ce e x is tin g wet c o lle c to r s w ith baghouse f i l t e r s to elim inate v is ib le em issions. In summary, th e OSEA and EPA A sb estos R e g u la tio n s a re a l o t more l e n ie n t than many in t e r e s t e d and concerned p a r t ie s w is h , We can e x p e c t p r e s s u r e t o have them tig h te n e d . F r ic t io n m a t e r ia ls manu fa c tu r e r s sh o u ld support A sb estos Indu stry e f f o r t s to have them m itig a te d in h o p es th ey a t l e a s t a r e n 't made more s e v e r e . I n the meantime, we sh ou ld conform to the reg u la tio n s to p r o te c t our employees and our custom ers and to av o id c r it ic is m and enforcem ent actions-, Tour A sbestos Study Commictee w i l l contin ue to fo llo w th e in te r p r e t a t io n o f e x i s t i n g r e g u la t io n s , the trend o f proposed ch a n g es, and th e developm ent o f oev m ed ica l and s c i e n t i f i c study m a t e r ia l th at nay a f f e c t fu tu r e r e g u la t io n o f a sb e sto s p r o d u cts. He welcome your q u e s tio n s and any in p u t you may be a b le to make con cern in g our. a c t i v i t i e s .