Document YG5y3r30KZB0OYxKGYpaVr5jE

CMoJaf ------------------------- - mCtO^O UAK Mg*9LCoLa 4M14 2nt fj ^ Legal Section industrial Comatission of Ohio 246 North High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 Attention: Judy Spencer RE: John Herald, OD 192112 Koppers Co. Inc. Koppers Building Pittsburg, PA 15219 John Herald, OD 192113 Wepco Construction Services 3400 Independence Road Cleveland, OH John Herald, OD 192115 Pollock Co. 913 North River Ave. Youngstown, OH 44503 Dear Ms. Spencer: As requested, an industrial hygiene evaluation was conducted of Mr. Herald's occupational disease claims. The evaluation consisted of a review of the facsimile file, pertinent industrial hygiene literature and visits or phone calls to the companies concerned. The claimant was also contacted by telephone on July 15,1988. The claimant has alleged that exposure to asbestos caused asbestosis. According to the facsimile file, Myron Friedlander, M.D. diagnosed simple pneumoconiosis, secondary to silica dust after examining the claimant. The claimant was employed by numerous contractors throughout the eastern United States from 1946 until 1985. He worked primarily as a bricklayer on the rebuild of steel mill blast furnaces, stoves, and coke ovens. This involved laying and cutting silica 1, John Herald OD192U2 OD192113 OD192H5 Page 3 asbestos. Silica bricks were used for repair of the coke oven walls. The general foreman remembered the claimant as a "hands-on" type of foreman. work History with Pollock Company According to the December 7, 1983 issue of the Youngstown Vindicator newspaper, the Pollock company closed in December of 1983. The company performed construction services, machinery installation, installation of laddies, hot metal cars, and heavy weldments for the steel industry. No additional information about the company or the claimant's work history was available. According to Mr. Herald, he worked in Ohio for Pollock Co. two months in 1930 and six months in 1934 repairing blast furnaces. In addition his records Indicate he worked two months in 1982 repairing coke ovens. The claimant Indicated all these Jobs involved supervision of bricklayers involved in masonry work. Asbestosis Asbestos fibers enter the body by inhalation and ingestion. The fibers are retained in the tissues of the host long after cessation of exposure. Fibers may migrate to other organs following Ingestion or deposition in the lung. Asbestosis and some cancers are associated with exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestosis is a progressive restrictive pulmonary fibrosis. The disease process often continues even after exposure to asbestos has ended. According to the National Institute for Occupational safety and Health, the onset of asbestosis is usually gradual, developing over a period of 10-30 years of exposure to significant concentrations of asbestos. (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, A Guide to the Work-Relatedness of Disease, 1979.) Malignancies associated with asbestos exposures include carcinomas of the lung; mesotheliomas of the pleura and peritonium; and neoplasms of other sites. Asbestos has a synergistic effect with cigarette smoking in producing carcinoma of the lung. Asbestos workers who are smokers have a much greater risk of developing lung cancer than non-smoking asbertos workers. A study of asbestos insulators by Hammond and Sellkoff showed that nearly all cancers occurred in cigarette smokers. (Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values. Fifth Edition, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, 1986.) Silicosis Silicosis is a disease caused by the inhalation of dust containing crystalline free silica. This disease is a form of pneumoconiosis characterized by the formation of small, discrete, fibrous nodules in the lung. However, even at the stage of , i .- *n n n* _i 1' u ic < _< / John Herald OD192112 OD192113 OD192115 Page 2 and fire bricks and the use before the nid-1970's of asbestos wool and asbestos paper. According to the claimant, asbestos was used is coke oven repairs to insulate the workers from the intense heat of the coke ovens. work History with Koppers Company Koppers Company, based in Pittsburg, designed, engineered and built coke, basic oxygen, and blast furnaces in this country and worldwide. Mr. Herald was employed by the Koppers Engineering Construction Division. The former Controller of the Koppers Engineering Construction Division, George Tanahlll, was contacted by telephone. He remembered the claimant working for Koppers for many years and in many locations in several states. According to the claimant, he worked for Koppers three months in 1943 and four months in 1949 in Ohio repairing coke ovens. He also worked for Koppers for nine and a half months in 1975, two months in 1976, and nine months in 1978 building new coke ovens in Ohio. Therefore, the claimant worked for Koppers in Ohio for a total of two years and four months. The claimant reported working for Koppers an additional twelve years in other states during his career, work records from the company were not available. Mr. Tanahlll described the claimant as a bricklayer who came up through the ranks to become a foreman and general masonry superintendent on many projects. According to Mr. Tanahlll, the claimant was exposed to everything the workers under his direction were exposed to. This Included asbestos rope used as insu* ition around joints in ovens and asbestos blankets used for insulation while working in hot ovens. The claimant frequently sawed bricks using a hi-speed circular saw with a water spray to reduce the dust, in Mr. Tanahlll's opinion, the claimant was exposed to brick dust on a routine basis, while asbestos was used less frequently. Respirators were not worn by Koppers employees until mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1972. work History with wepco Construction Services Inc. Wepco Construction Services Inc. performed coke oven, blast furnace, and boiler repairs and new coke oven and blast furnace construction for the steel industry. On May 11, 1988 the general foreman of wepco Construction Services, Inc. was Interviewed. Company records showed the claimant worked for Wepco from 6/21/84 until 11/23/84, 2/13/85 until 2/20/85, 3/11/85 until 3/22/85, and 9/30/85 until 10/11/85. This was a total of approximately six months working as a brick layer superintendent, on a coke oven rebuilding project. Both the claimant and general foreman agreed no new asbestos was used in this project although it was possible some was removed during the repair. Respirators were available and required in the vicinity of the coke ovens. According to the general foreman, ceramic wool was used for insulation from the heat rather than