Document Xzej2v0OV7gwMEBeB5GDw0RnR

D-1013 JJLLUUCil Address Quebec Asbestos Mining Association, Room 412 - S Place Ville Marie, Montreal 113, Que.. For Information . , Matt Swetonic (212) 689-3378 For Immediate Release World Health Organization reports: Asbestos in environment not public health threat NEW YORK -- "Recent findings that levels of asbestos dust in the environment do not endanger the general public -- as reported by a World Health Organization agency -- confirm the position of the asbestos industry," says Matthew M. Swetonic, executive secretary of the Asbestos Information Association/North America. The findings are contained in a report of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos Cancers to the director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the WHO. They are conclusions of a specially selected panel of medical researchers convened following the IARC conference on the "Biological Effects of Asbestos" held at Lyon, France, October 5-6 i 1972. According . . . /2 to World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, the full proceedings of the meeting will be published sometime this year. Commenting on the IARC report, Mr. Swetonic calls it a major contribution by distinguished researchers from all over the world, and the most comprehensive presentation of facts available about the occupational hazards of asbestos and the relationship of asbestos to the general public. "The Lyon conference," Mr. Swetonic adds, "was attended by 130 participants from 20 countries -- including Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, The United States, The U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia -- and is representative of world medical opinion." .. According to Mr. Swetonic, the major conclusions of the IARC report can be summarized as follows: " The population at large is not threatened by asbestos fibers in the atmosphere. Surveys in a number of countries have shown that the concentration of asbestos dust in the urban atmosphere is about 10,000 times lower than the concentration known to be safe for occupationally exposed workers . - While a direct relationship between inhalation of excessive asbestos dust and certain diseases was confirmed, risks varied according to the type of fiber, the type of occupation, and the extent of engineering controls implemented in the workplace. */'> - No increased risk of disease results from asbestos fibers which might be present in the water supply, beverages, food, or in the fluids used for the administration of drugs. ' . - It is confirmed' that cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer among men and women exposed to excessive asbestos dust in their occupations. The IARC report also recommends that future research be directed at understanding the mechanism of disease production, at ways to control disease and protect workers from excessive dust levels, at methods to determine the quantity of asbestos fiber in the human lung and other tissues and at the standardization of diagnostic criteria. Much of the world-wide research into asbestos-related disease is supported and coordinated by the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, of Montreal. Established by the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association in 19GG, the Institute's goal is to support and coordinate medical research projects around the world aimed at identifying and eliminating asbestos-based health risks not solely for Canadian asbestos production workers but for all worldwide fabricators and users of finished asbestos products. -30 -