Document V75KZ0mzYVO4k8OgYybXjDQK

ff^M^ann^ddn-, HALTH SERVICE Health Services- add Menial Health Administration National institute for Occupational Safety & Heattt 1014 Broadway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Director *fv sate: September 24, 1971 01 vision of Field Studies A Clinical Investigations S wmom t Harry N. Donaldson ' Itesearch Industrial Hygienist #>I - WsjrcTi Trip _Rep' or.t BARBER v. PITTSBURGH CORNING CORF ASBESTOS LITIGATION 'C? : r w ,1 Place Visited: Pittsburgh * Coming Plant at x legacy, Pennsylvania tt sr?-iTV B*- * % * f. Purpose of Trip: Persons Contacted: To make a walk thru Industr, plant. yx ene Survey f the Richard Murray - Persowiehv Richard Lanfcden - PI ah* Engineering George Gregory - SafetyXU rector 7`4 i Fj|- -fxJ im; ' Data of Trip: September 16 - J7,N97I AB'^V b-A*vVi# . r!S'-' rVe* *-** r.* A. 1 * p- ? ` V ` ifc-- t. lF, ' v< . PPG INDUSTR^TINC%I^0T A RECOrD of ,T'S FILES and cannot o.N0r C0ME from BY PPG industries0,^AUthnticated "I p-` ^ r ,V ,< n ,?' --t. -- k j ' k < -. %* - -*.,i.-.*j -`*-.*-* v^-' -* i i^;-c v. v\- - - - '._ V J-* m* / ^ M . t ** *' v -v'-vr- . ,f ; . f *&&&%&&* ti * t- ",7: \ . n V I f it v- l* ^ 7 I'M SURVEY OF THE PITTSBURGH COWING PLANT *T . BARBER v. PITTSBURGH CORNING CORF PORT ALLEGANY* PENNSYLVANIA ASBESTOS LITIGATION SCPTEHR 16, 1971 > * 'T . . Introduction! t General Oownent* ki ` * > ; v; es/ -t.& |f- ^ I - ** " '3 :'': ' T- * - m ** 1 ; . tf /r4' \ The plant l located In a town of about 3,000 populeflony2V*j ley Bradford, Pennsylvania end nas at present epproxImetoIvyaQO etS() 323 of which are hourly workers. \ The plant occupies about 100 acres and consists of epprVpMtely 13 Buildings with a confined floor space of 440,000 fwt iqiiufco. With the exception of the polyurethane and unltostosrtylshlng operations, the plant works throe shifts. \sy The company has a full tlao Safety 01 retdf^Th w/slaff. There Is no doctor or nurse, but a forty bed bospltafi Is nearby In Port Allegany. There Is a corporat "edlctl consultant IhsTlttirburgh, Or. lee Grent, whono services ere available. Chest km^vsN^w") ere teken yearly on all production personnel. fteginnlpg thlsS$*r 14" x 17" plates are to he taken biennially. At present flea wdartng of respirator# la roncatory on e full tlaa basis In the unlb^stob^erea. Safety igulp^nt conslats OrTncIpnlty of gloves, herd hats dnd Met shields end respirators. Currently the ftenagoment *s (ro-hthe Introducelo* ?r e core any puweeied eye fr*Oltiu* proO^r, which would ' -as ,"r>C 0-rse-- |e* ptero at well as prpeesjJ^R? safety gl?r s aarv wrr'rsinp In ecrea^etn-^h Po svfplied iMijifrws.J t ' . rt ` - s!/" " %r* .'iPwf .`*Vr*:. * r " ^r*'**^h* * iv Sew. by Wa anpleweo. J ;*r,r fcf >2 r- pler.f has tojr evjr duct !-Ot. !1 PSont I Ctes/Mock! Rtenf 7 6 3 Yoa<Class had 6 Myurtttafw loan Pfwvt f thfbesto* .t o -ca. t -* r"'ploy*- * 33 (M*lnt c crer p1- .tNr' 3 service reo^lc f "* v to rest o* hourly rate Sf' popular Ion.) TH/S DOCUMENT WAS Mnr . ,, PPG INDUSTRIES iNr n,hm A RCC0R& OF IT'S FILES AND CANNOT BE a?i^?M FR0M BV PPG INDUSTOTM INC T ',TICA,E0 r* i AA 194 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .w `Mf, J BB 0008667^1 , , ,,-p. -.1. 'w - > - -- * -- .!- '* ' ~ -v>w 'Tr V- '-f- i *v " Wttsbwgh - Corning Plenty SoptMb#r 23| J97I < 1: : '** " '+ r ^ J S*(1 > Is BARBER v.. PITTSBURGH CORNING CORP. ASBESTOS LITIGATION' 'l`V: ^ * A , J ** v- *m* L *$ - ' *' . ^' * ^ vWt.7',Vf * '- * ' *T * *i-'o.; L` 1 f. <# HM Qlas} food stock, for plant Cl) and (2) for the producing of glass block nd foam glass. Is mado In Batch House (1) and (2). Major Ingredients of (x for plant (!) are: Silica Sand In addition minor amounts of: NaNQj Soda Aeh Fluorspar Dolomite Sodium Sulfate Nephallne Syenite Ant Imy Oxide ftasorlte #1 Batch A list of rax materials used In all the plants Is appended. Description of Manufacturing Processes 1- To make glass, the Ingredients tabulated above are Batch tank. In plant (I) glass blocks are made by pressing a globdfmolten glass. The pressing of the glass Is done In a metal form wingt ha I flit a block is pro* tfuced at a tlmo. Tnen tho two halvas are weldod THgethor in a subsequent operation to form the completed block which /% coplob^on tho edge wllh ground lime stone In a vinyl rasln so to e^sb^c mortar tc hold to tho glass. Blocks are decorated with spray typo efrwt.o \/ In paint spray booths. In plant C2) the foam glass operation {art* oyt with the molting of the .(. * X glass making Ingredlants In a batch batch took IIko viscous cold moles The/moI ten glass is run from tho a lube of glass which is con- eyed as e continuous tubo all the top of the building to iho K * first floor. Here the tube Is ground up to < 100 mosh powder, -i ! mixed with carbon,*put In a s Steel pan which has been duMed with an AI20j parting compound and an oven for ebout an hour, (where It rises like bread) reeoved nd annealed for about II hours. At this point the foemgless bi aro faced, trims,cd and In some Instances ground to shape In hotted* men enclosures. Glass foam blocks aro further fabricated to/make fbom last beards. This Is done by asphalt coat- lr.g glass blocks end the coated sides win-, Kraft peper. Went 6 MyOTithw*' fbl yurwthano foafl'+s-manufsvlured on a snl continuous b:<s(r. fry mlxlnp at 99mf tmu streams ihet contain Ingredients consisting f tpl, a rosin, a catalyst end a fluoro certort. those chemicals begin to polymeriic almost Immediately to produce heel which vapor Ires tho fluoro carbons end the mass rises like e loaf of breed to produce o **bun" Cf-proxlmalely 7 foot high fry THIS DOCUMENT WAS NOT A RECORD OF PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. DID NOT COME FROM IT'S FILES'AND CANNOT BE AUTHENTICATED BY PPG INDUSTR'ES. INC. AA 195 77~8B~ 00 03668*" 4 <5-s * *- * ^ ; *v }^&`. ? .'** ' " ^-'T"'!' *s,'i- *' v 1 -T ~ "'4r '< 4~ \t; ^-i-' *.*->*. 'fc ^ . '! * f* * -.*< ' ! *V / ^-V^' * - . f nr ", ^ * f > r * * A > . `< ;:.^t^C^V*^'*a?? i Xs7-fi^.f^X^~^. 'Tv vit? .t *?: 4#6flg*WS' Uv^Tr. . '; ^, " *y v,r-,**.,-'*** i^ '* ww 1*>J - . *?,,*. *. -a?.** ijf Pittsburgh - Coralng Plant September 23, 1971 : tag* 3 - -V.t>V * -v y;. ' BARBER V PITTSBURGH' CORNING CCfRP. A ASBESTOS LITIGATION iS-'rA^V '1, . *j.. ' 1 - _- ' <Jvn feet wide which eftor a curing period Is cut to desired sires ov hot _^j u wires under a canopy hood. Some of the material Is further febrlcetMSjjyf *"t Is sold to the customer In huge chunks end In slices of vS^PTows^lhickness. ;. T^'>j -I v r; - Plant 6 llhlbestos *' *_ thlbestos, an Insulation material. Is manufactured pri .from emoslte asbestos which arrives In Port Allegany vie rail, packed'' plastic lined burlap bags. Bags are opened In a hooded enclcsur *ers the bln and feeding mechanism. In the processing the asbestoses wetted with sodium silicate. Diatomaceous earth Is then mixed with It.enWhe material Is .rolled end dried. The dried rolls of Insulatleo are trimmed and silt with a bend saw and the finished roll may be fabrlcetedNKurfy`r# or wrapped In Kraft paper end shipped. All scrap asbestos genefaT&tt InSfne trimming process Is reintroduced Into the processes thru thefeeder foods. General Impression of the Plant Housekeepingi The housekeeping InVgonet^l was good. The floors are cleaned with e sweeper that has a vacuum plcfrsyp which exhausts thru a bag filter which appeared to be doing a tjqod JOB. Materials were piled so that passage ways were not obstructed. Sqmowgngest Ion was noted In the area where glass blocks were decorated butatffiTTnana^ement Is eware of this and plans to Improve this area. r' Respirator Protection; ^ ry pro .`cell on Is probably necessary only In the Uni hostos pTant 'as the only place whore respirators were used end here their use ' jatory for a full eight hour day ----* cloth dust masks were worn In Ind areas whore chemicals wero fed Into glass pots but these type mask1 no respiratory protection. The type respirator used In the Unlbestci Is made by Mine Safely Appliances and equipped with an ultra filter which Is adequate for asbostos. Poten.lei Health Hazard; Based on observation only, there appear to be 1!c jfollowIng potentlal health hazards; f Free silica from handling sand and dlelomaccous earth 2a Lead from spray painting blocks 3. TOI from the manufacturing of polyurethane foam 4. Amos I to asbestos. , THIS DOCUMENT WASJTqt fR0M * ! fSnD CANNOT BE AUTHENTICATED * BY PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. 4. AA 196 I_flB 0003669 J $f* if *r^rv.' t; *~ r - - , nwr.' a. EgSS^fr.*^' ^7?'',':; *'*">*-^-a.Vr . e<y *! > iy *7 v'V , *. _ - < _ Of fc;5 r gBp^-1 * Pittsburgh - Corn ing Plant M9N*W? \ ---w'* September 23, 1971 BARBER v. PITTSBURGH CORNING CORP. ...... J%353*H *hii<. : * ' ASBESTOS LITIGATION A Ths ^nly raal hazard that exists appears to be from exposure to air borno fcv"'; >' ': M P:. jaoslte asbestos In the unlbestos operetlonr, and this opinion appears to be In agreement with thav of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Detriment of Environmental Resources, Occupational Health Division, June 17^(971.. (copy of report appended) Xssvr i^fiS * f)<#jr-*"y**j;?,i J.A.*-;fc-. !v tea* U ~f'"' Potential Safety Hazards; Though a complele safety survey wawiofmaBo there were the following I toms worth mentioning: \V 1. There exists a hazard' In cutting some of the sariva^e gla?$ blocks . with a band saw trttlch could possibly result i/IS^he ampliation of a finger or hand, though there Is no sure way tiKguard a band saw, some of the suggestions in tho Nat ionoN^afety' CouncI I *s book, "Accident Prevention Manual For Industrie..Operation" Fifth Edition, Page 25-10 thru 13 woutdttw eppHlfcable. 2. The chain drive on the polymerIzetionyStCfb^f the polyurethane "bun" production equipment should be, 3. The compressed air outlets should a removed from the plant so that the men can no longer use comp sop air to clean clothes or equipment. / \ "i* Ventilation >9 A. general Comments: VcntJIIboVKWdhh s! yslems running to dust collectors are "present fa foam glasb^faoNcai Ion (plant (?) and foam glass finishing (plant #5) and afsp In the unlbcr-tos (plant #6). In al1 there are In tho foam gle. plant houses consisting of two 30,0C0 cfm units ns and two 15,000 cfm units In tho unibestos No air Is racy duel Ion no stake In tho d ef)/this Is good from tho view point of rclntroerlal Into the plant. Howovor, since thc-rp is ng supplied, this could cause a deficiency of air when tt.e plant Is buttoned up and this could Interfere efficient functioning of the ventilation system during since the blowers will bo slarved for air, end will be pulling cold elr by Infiltralton from the out of Coots ot .from other unhealed areas, hence, erecting excessive draflines;. "f,r * ' * * W' B. Ventilation on llnlbcstos 0tjratIons: There Is ventilation of ktc sort on* wosi unfbcslos opcrdlionr. A skr-lch of the venf Mellon on the feod end as described by Mr. Leman ond Mr. Wallingford Is appended. \. THIS DOCUMENT WAS NOT A RECORD OF PP*G INDUSTRIES, INC. DID NOT COME FROM IT'S FILES AND CANNOT BE AUTHENTICATED f BY PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. AA 19A -j-jrMossTMj. jI T'T H A"? *1 r t&v - V ^jjr* ^*w* A* a. , ^ - * ** ' * `4v ,,^'i. .- ^ *"*'*t:'"' T^'*-J*L -*T*-**-*^ . jTn -Pittsburgh - Oomtt.g Plant September 23, 1971 i . ***= f*St 3 * `.W < r BARBER v. PITTSBURGH CORNING CORP. ASBESTOS LITIGATION Iam %4*&.*':'* ** -t The ventilation at feeder bln hoods was found to be more than adequate with faoe velocities In which one reading ran as low as ISO fl/mln with all others from 200-275 ft/mln. This Indicated that the ventilation design was good and thatth ventilation was working properly but It does not guarani that the dust levels will meet current TIV's. ^/t.av;-1 J,?"^-:-yJ *f * 5 -i ^ x !/] P (/) O ;S 2 C *> ft 9 g-?|c ' ?fe So 2m S- . ^ O -4 SIol 4 o 5Bms2|a7 : ll> X O 73 ' v. 5 ft t- 3SS* l 3^ fc s* Openings or. the large scrap bln Viowod a velocl which again Indicates-good vent11atIon. J-Z75 ft/mln On the finishing operation ventilation was sohdy lacking. Th re was definite lack of hooding and vent Marlon as^ciatod with th so operations. The band saw oporation is not nroded. It docs have two 6 Inch ducts beside tho band saw^ju'l 11ng-Wlth a face velocity of only 90 ft/mln. Such low veiqdllIc^do little or nothing to pick up asbestos dust or any other loverty dust. V, The drying hoods have at thj enopyVmn^raanco 100 ft/mln ventilation which appears to be low bi eoutrfvbeYdequale. Tho adequccy of the ventilation can only bovdo^ rmlneq by monitoring for air borne asbestos. Thera Is a practIce<fef dropping the finished roll of unibestos from the teble onto a\JJpunH of polyurothanc foam and this produces dust (It produced eqro a^jst when ft was dropped di redly on th floor). Piot}eUL)Lthds.ro(I should be lowered to the floor mechan ically and In TMd!tlon*lt should bo set on a grating equipped with down dratii^qntrietlon for the purpose of preventing loosely held dust frymi becohiing^alr borne. W* ` * r-t e^dTcon Smwary arid Conclusion Though there aryfrotentlal hoalth hazards In the operations of the PittsburghComing, POrT-tfllegany plant and these Include silica, Iced end TDI, tr.e only serious health problem Is apparently the handling and processing of amosilc asbestos In the unlbostos plants. The company recognizes Ihoir problem but since they plan to be out of the amoslte asbestos Irsul alloc. business In mid 1972, Iht-y hesitate to spend near $100,000. for hooding and ventilation which their engineering study Indicates Is necessary to control this hazard. As a result they have applied to the Labor Oopartmont for a variance (copy attached). e BlT0003671 l 198 - - - - - - - - - - - Jf -4 V- - 9 * *,4- .* . ^. /*_j5* > f'\#T ^-C -*V3* h a \* Jv .... 4. ^ : ^4- I, -**;*e~,,',*,?i*--* * *i * -* y '* ' A- V'irT '4f,'^--"'*2'*'.".. Mr-'<+Aiit++..,w<wr fc^,. ... - ,, t*, V? t. 4' r.va Pittsburgh - Cornf^' plant September *3, #7I Ipg Pbge *r **r^rk,*-< -f- f - - , , --* BARBERY: PITTSBURGH CORNING CORP. :. ' ASBESTOS LITIGATION m '^: * : ms&i S-+-$i^*1>" r\Arw1* ***V **! ill vi *'t. >Vi. ^*% +*?+ ~ . i.|T `FT T : .S.twvv*' (*< w ' .-. 5 '-' . ^-' -'-*> 6 rv.:.; 'though the amoslte feed end of the process hes a well designed ventilation eystem which pulls air through hood openings at recommended velocities, the finishing end where the unibestos rolls are trimmed and split wlTke band saw, has for all practical purposes no ventilation at all. The fim^hl/fg and Is operating as a non-control led operation. ^ An heroic attempt has been made to protect personnel frot\elrVTrne asbestos by making It mandatory to wear respirators In Plant 8 for a* loqg as one Is In-the area. In most cases this amounts to a workmapntaarlngs^ respirator for practically his whole 8-hour day, which Is not a deshMble practice end Such practice may not be affording the respIratory ^hmtectton that it is thought to, since respirators ere easily defeated. FOK^xample, It was noticed In one Instance where only one strap waSEULUU on-^+he respirator. In ` another Instance the respirator was repeatedly irKed off face so as to carry on a conversation. Most Important of>al I,.respjrators are made so that theoretically they fit everyone, but tnqy/ron'J. Some people con not get a good seal with a respirator becausgJtheTnvfaces don't fit the normal pattern. / Ht-s >;'- In addition to the above, respirators aha fat/gulng due to high breathing resistance and on an 8-hour day basisS^ho^/s bound to be a tendency In an atmosphare lacking Irritant apses osHq Plant 8 to wear the respirator In *u<Ji way as iw dwfwdi II by*ai lowing air to leek in around Ihe face seels. In summary, I ballavo thatrSuctuUS^of respirators on an 6-hour basis is no guarantee that the desired respiratory protection 1$ being achieved. A greater confidence Xn guaranteeing respiratory protection could be achieved with supplied air respirators since the breathing resistance would be practically eliminated and whore a positive air flow would prevail. However, no resatrtoNl&~r substitute for local exhaust ventilation and the best gueradree of adequate respiratory protection would be to install adequate locAl(axhsurt|venttlotion and hooding on Ihc finishing operations. Then TLV's shoold be approached more closely. t irk .** w Another point that should be considered Is that In working with isbestes there could be a potontfe! oi'tplant problem from the women laundrlng the en*s work clothes at home and from asbestos dust taken herre on the hair of the workmen. This can be prevented by company furn I sited work clothes and compulsory showering at the ond of each shift. Clothing should be eupplied from the skin out and must be laundered on the plant site or at a commercial laundry facility especially sot up to wesh work clothes con taminated with toxic chemicals. ** ** THIS DOCUMENT WAS NOT A RECORD OF PPG INDUSTRIES* INC. DID NOT COME FROM IT'S FILES AND CANNOT BE AUTHEWPCATED BY PPG HDUSV-t: r? tNC. * l BB 0008672 l -* 4*4 A .... 1 - K * , A/ - M*a '/v ^jr' Pittsburg Comi09 Went `w s September 23, 1971 f'dge 7 - -.>. v' - fi'*' - recommendations * 'wArtBER;v. PITTSBURGH CORNING CORP. ASBESTOS LITIGATION 'g^v^jsw.*' !--' i *4fL$<>\ view of the feet that there Is essentially no local oxhaust ventilation or hooding on the finishing operation In the wnlbostos plant whei enoslte asbestos Is processed end since the use of 8-hour rps"~ protection should not be tolerated oyer a prolonged period ILipfme, It Is recommended that the company be given some reasonable th toMnstel I ventilation and hoc-ding on the unlbestos operation or eIseHh* operation should be terminated. S*. If after the Installation of ventilation and hoodirijv TLV* are not met, thpn further hygienic measures should be Instigated soH^ to meet cu; rent i4.fc- *4 >J i* yU *. -< m Mr**"* THIS DOCUMENT WAS NOT A RECORD OF PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. DID NOT COME FROM IT'S FILES AND CANNOT BE AUTHENTICATED BY PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. 7 BB 0008673 | ' AA ,-200