Document VGJVjgdynQ9jjeydgLONOy0Q8

Memorandum for the Record of a Telephone Conversation Friday Morning, August 29, 1975 Between: Mr. Ray Krammes Whittaker, Clark and Daniels 1000 Cooledge Street South Plainfield, NJ 07080 Phone: 201/561-6100 and Dr. Raymond E. Shapiro Epidemiology Unit, HFF-108 I called Dr. Schaffner,.earlier in the morning, to ascertain if he had any specifications for food grade talc. He suggested calling Mr. Fred F. Roesch, a vice-president in the above company. Whittaker, Clark Daniels are big jobbers of minerals, colors and chemicals. Mr. Roesch was in conference when I called and X was referred to Mr. Krammes. Mr. Krammes told me that, the talc they sell for the polishing of rice is 98% through a 100. mesh screen. They call -fr-ic talc White Snow and he thought it came either from South. Korea or China; probably South Korea. I told Mr. Krammes that Dr. Fred Pooley, Cardiff, Wales, had examined two talcs from Asia used commercially in the U.K. * -one from South-Korea and one from India. Since company had not* imported any talc from India, Mr. Krammes was quite' sure now that "White'Snow" came from South Korea. As for the U.P.S. talc used in the dusting of capsules and in the tableting of pills, Mr. Krammes told me that the product they sell for this use was called Alpine talc from Alpine, Alabama. This material is ground so that 100% goes through a 325 mesh screen. I remarked to Mr. Krammes that with all the talc mines in this country, X was surprised they were importing talc for the polishing of rice. Mr. Krammes then remarked that with the controversy of "asbestos" in talc, and possible health' implications, many talc mines in this country had closed'.and'they'were "using "an overseas .source, for this food purpose. I then thanked JSfr. Krammes for this-Information-and-his assistance in this matter. PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT WCD-208 HHS00000004 The Ontario Research Foundation (ORF) supplied chemical and size character istics data throughout the milling program, and the assistance of R. W. Glass, D* R. Hollingbery, B. J. Ferguson, and E. Brown, 'all of ORF, is gratefully acknowledged* Numerous analytical personnel assigned to Avondale Research Center and student assistants from the Department of Geology, University of ,, Maryland, provided mostu of the data summarized in this report* Their assist ance is acknowledged in the sections of the report to which they contributed* SAMPLES Tremolite Twelve hundred pounds of nonfibrous tremolite, containing approximately 25 percent serpentine plus minor amounts of talc and other minerals, was collected from veins at two levels in the Vanderbilt mine, Balmat, N*Y* This sample was milled by Vanderbilt to minus 325 mesh in a Wheeler mill*5 Because of slight variations in the mineralogy of the samples at the two levels in the mines, the sample was blended, using the NBS sample preparation facilities. Blending was performed in a 10-cu-ft V blender (fig. 1), but because of the limited capacity of the blender, approximately 960 pounds was blended, using a four-stage blending procedure* The blended tremolite was repackaged in 38 virgin cardboard drums, containing about 25 pounds each* Homogeneity of the samples was verified by fluorescent X--ray spectrography for samples collected from six randomly selected drums, which were being filled for shipment to NIEHS, No significant differences were detected by the various characteriza tion procedures. Chrysotlie Two chrysotile test materials were purchased in quantities of approxi-- mately 1,000 pounds each. The short-fiber chrysotile, identified as COF-25, was purchased from the Union Carbide Corporation, Niagara Falls, N.Y* This sample was obtained from the New Idria serpentinite mass located in the southern part of the Diablo Range in southwestern San Benito and western Fresno Counties of California. The ore body is unusual because of the virtual absence of long fibers and the high chrysotile content of the ore. To check for homogeneity, samples of COF-25 were randomly selected from nine drums of the material shipped to NIEHS* No significant differences were detected in the nine lots by the various characterization procedures* A broader range fiber-length test material, identified as Plastibest-20, was obtained from the Johns-Manville Jeffrey mine, Asbestos, Quebec, Canada* Plastibest-20 is a particularly clean grade of chrysotile used by the plastics Industry* To check for homogeneity, samples of Plastibest-20 were collected from 10 drums of the test material supplied to NIEHS. No measurable differ ences in composition were observed, using the various characterization pro cedures* ^Reference to specific Trade names or equipment does not imply endorsement by the Bureau of Mines. HHS00000005