Document XypjyXeDpbRxOqdjgzYK4d4

Asbestos ris| inflated, latest By Rebecca Kolberg Dr. B.T. Mossman of the Universi-. United TYess International "* . ty rof Yermbrit-'MedUfaPSchooI arid WASHINGTON - Asbestos`found ; his colleagues'said they based their in schools and other public btiildihgs assessmentte'ri a'Heview of tfie! latest poses little risk for lung diseasei^hd scieotificrfata'bn akbAstos. Thb study "asbestos panic" may be leading-to did/not' recerve*,funding from the costly and unnecessary removal asbestos industry, they said. >! efforts, scientists said Thursday:*' * " -Asbestos,'- a/Tibfwis -'mineral* used In a study published in the journal for'insulation and'fireproofiiig, be- Science, a team of medical experts comes hazardous,-when, it crumbles- concluded,. "Chrysotile asbe-sfbs,-the .and;its fi&crs are inhaled- Ex'posure type of fjber found predominantly in _ to rasbestos -'can 'cause lung caiicer U.S. schools and buildings, is not a andptfief-fespiratory diseases.; health risk in fte hon-wcupational TJe 'En^ironmentar Protection environment." *' ' Agedcy estimatesnp to;12j(XK} Amer- "Clearly, the asbestos paxiic in the;, : kans'diS^of'asb&fosretated cancer United States - must'be- curtailed, / .armuaUy/lwith/mbst cases related to especially because unwarranted otethtejob'exposure. : - '*' ; poorly controlled ; asbestos abate- / ' The EPAjfequires schools to be ment results in`unnecessary risks to inspectedfteyhmnbling ;or"friable" young removal 'workers who may aste^fctAstrsuiximeriit imposeda' develop asbestos-related cancers in : total ban bn the:use of asbestosthat-;. later decades," they wrote. iZf * s^^sbestos/a-# THE TiMES UNION' 1- c-V"* -... --rr-? Albany, N.Y.. Friday, Jan. 19, 1990 panic if asbestos is found but on that does not threaten health. the other hand to write it off as an Robert Percival,. a professor of insignificant risk is misleading, be- environmental law at the University Continued from -- : _ cause the risks are there." ; of Maryland, said the Science article will be phased in over seven years. . Elkins said some research has contains "the same old/arguments Mossman's team argues EPA actions have failed to take into account * studies/that' indicate different forms of asbestos may have 'differing: power to cause disease./ The scien-._ tists said most lung .diseases appear/ hinted at differences in cancer- that have been made by a. lot of the causing potential among: various/ types of ; asbestos. But - the EPA/ ,^Pn''.'i,tlte:IEPA'/`-Janjw `'/bp; .its official said no studyhas proven any -. asbestos policy, government experts type to be totally harmless, so "we concludeC. scientifsc evidence was consider them all hazardous." *&'. not strong enough to back up claims linked to a type of asbestos called amphibole, which flakes off-In rod . Gee . and his colleagues 'contend that-one form' of asbestos is safer asbestos should not be ripped out or thaa another, he said;" ^ '/ -c* ;,.;/ like fibers, rather than a type railed covered up simply because it is Percival also said air 'tests for cftryso'tile, which prodoces ctifly crumbling; but tests should be con are unreliable.^./. . particles thattheysaJdappearless ducted to see what type it is and if it is., entering, the air. Presently, the sSTbeproblem with air; monitoring iSs-fitet/you ;can come*sp with,' a "Dr. Beroard Gee,;cd-anai/of the EPA relies mainly on visual inspec .reading/that makes you think the s|iidy.and:a;;yale^me<Scal professor,*/ tions of-asbestos to determine if it is area is safe, and two minutes later, sgidf; "Nine*/times out of 10, the a problem, Gee said.. inythe/same place, you can./get. a asbestos yoip$nd''In :Anjaica'b-tfie;. r*f{The \cost^oi^ removing asbestos wildly different reading," be said. benign (harmless)form."- /_.' ti*'. ' from , the estimated 730,000 public Percival- conceded there ' have ^The study noted the chance a child : /and commercial buildings: contain- been instances in .which risk of exposed to asbestos for' five /years :*-ing it ranges from $S0 billion to$150 asbestos- exposure has - been over will eventually die of asbestos- bilfion; the'sdentists saidl/ 1 blown. ^ . /* : '/ : . related disease is at least 300 tines dess than his/,risk;of drowning''or Wing hit bya car before age 14. ^Charles Elkins, director of'the, EPA's Office/of Toxic Substances,^ said: "We agree people should not' /./Some ..people -.have. argted/lthat S^slng^ asbestos actions, on. air, tests rather, than visual checks would take tbo.much work. But .Gee said he thinks it is more foolish to spend time and money containing asbestos But be added asbestos.remains a serious threat because do one has found a safe exposure level, and "all asbestos becomes a health, hazard, at some point because U all eventually deteriorates." I b CP ti c d c i i RAQQV meeting between the .mayor and an unidentified friend in. a downtown " * - - -*!,)* nK/miF c his schedule at the hotel Thursday night. "' 1-- --nrertei* HWBUI0000288