Document YrnjKQ7G0ZXxa9BZ8gy7L44D0

30 7. "Industrial Aspects" 1 , Dr* B*C* Lswlnsohn Chirf Indutrlal K*dla*l Dfflmr, Tum.r Brvtban iabwto*, Ltd., loshlal*. 9 C(115 The commercial exploitation of asbestos In the United Kingdom can be said to have begun In about 1860, following the discovery of ehrysotlle aebeetoe deposits In the Province of Quebec. Ite uee waa dainly confined to textile processes at that time. Chryeotile - which le the white asbeetoe - comprises more than 9 per cent of the World's production and le the type of fibre with which 1 aa aoet faalllar. I ehould say at the outeet that ay sain Interact is related to the asbeetoe textile Industry, and 1 will confine nyself to it. Croeldolite blue asbestos - has been used In textiles In small quantities, and In the faotory In which 1 work, between 1911 and 196% some of this material waa handled* Chxysotll* is mined In Cub, Southern Rhodesia, the D.S.S.fi. and there Is also a mine In Cyprus* Croeldolite, which Is the blue fibre, oomes from the Vorth Vest Cape Province In South Africa and also from the North Eastern Transvaal* The biological offsets of the fibres from these two regions are apparently different and thio ls considered by many people to be very significant. Aaoaits com is solely, at the present time, from South Africa. In fact Aaositm stands'for tba Asbestos Hines of South Africa* Z believe -V , ;;v there are deposits. In Xndla which are now being exploited* Anthopfaylllte -1 ' ' 1 oomes from Finland, U.8.A. ,. Africa* ,/ There are large deposits In Africa and they are not modi exploited* Thio la another fibre which haa very interesting biological effeoto in sea* Although pleural plaques have been associated with Anbhophyllli* In Finland, mesothelioma has not. Asbestos exposure Is tbs Pcmmon aetlological factor in the production of the pulmonary fibrosis known as asbestosls, la lung oanoer and smllgnant mesothelioma of the plsuro-perltooeus* Tbs first case of asbestosls was dAagnSssd in 1900 by Montagus Murray who reported it in 1906 before the Departmental Committee on Compensation of Industrial Disease* Animal experteonts which ware conducted by Professor Beattie at the - 5- Industry which to son* sxtsnt hu bssn fulfilled In the textile process hut which hes, unfortunatsly, not come true In other eectlons of the Industry due to failure to reeognlee the Importance of theme concluding remarks. With regard to Fart II of the Report, this detailed at least twelve engineering measures which were required to prevent the excape of harmful dust. As a result of the recommendations which were contained In the Merewether and Price Report the Asbestos Industry Regulations were made la 19J1 and these became effeotlve In 19JJ. The Regulations required exhaust ventilation on carding anginas and looms. In 1959 applied damping In wsavlngi this waa a great advance. In 1942 dust Battling chaabars In tha ventilation system wars replaced by sleeve filters. In 1946 damping was extendsd to yarn doubling. It was not until 1991 that. In this factory, routine nsssiirausut of the environment scmmandsd. This was largely .because until that tins there wars no tmohnleel means whereby It was possible to estimate the environment. *etween 1955 and 1997 s lumber of Improvements were eade. Tha ventilation syatamm were redesigned, fibre-mixing an the floor was abolished and the prooeee enclosed, and a solvent entrusted mineral ell was Introduced Into the flteo mixture to iqfma teat during forth** proomli^e . Id 1961 tbs s*tho4 of test estimation Shiah is new in ns* vs* first applied, l*e. tbs osteons fUtsr method. Id 1964 impermeable bag* for transport of flbrs In tbs factory wsrs Introduced* These vsr* nylon ta^a 00*ted with FTC bmriae a nylon sip fastener* la 19$5 flopping was extended to intermediate eplmlag. Tbs point Z * trying to asks is tbst Imprcw--ots Aid Dot oooor all it 0D0* In 1933. Thoy took a long time to Implement - orer a period of 20 years, if not Boro. In foot modification* an atill being nods to tbs process* As * result, tbs industry on a wbols fans improved grsstly. It did attempt to sdhsro to tbs 1931 regulations. Unfortunately, ths 1931 regulation* which wsrs known u tbs Asbsstos Industry Regulations, did not provide for ths University of Sheffield In 1912 confined that the Inhalation of asbestos duet would esuee a slid decree of flbroela. Purther cuei ware reported in 1924 end 1928 end this led to sn investigation in 1929 by Dr. Mersvetker of the Medical Inspectorate of Factories and Kr. Price* an Engineering Inspector of Factoriee. They published their report In 1930 and thle report concerned iteelf with the aedlcal evidence ermllable froei the textile branch of the induatry and som# preliminary proceeeee in other branches, and with the etudy of the aethode of manufacture of ssbsatos products* Herewether examined 3^3 workers of whom 26*2 per cent showed definite flbroela tea to asbestos dust. Even Herewethcr bad difficulty in diagnosing ssbestoels because be excluded 21 workers with what h# called "precorelve signs" where a diagnosis ooold not deflnltsly be established. Furthermore, the worst experience was tbst of workers with twenty years or mors exposure, of whom 61 per cent developed pulmonary fibrosis. In Ms report Hsrswstbsr also demonstrated that age was not a factor in ths protection of this ooodition, and be mads It apparent that (before tbs antibiotic sxa) respiratory disease* *ueh as'pneneonia and tuberculosis often left their mask, thus ooaplloating radiological findings* fie stated "To mm up, therefore. It appears probable that concentration of dust and length of arposure as fsotors Id the production of flbroela are interdependent within oertaln limits,*. Herewether oonoluded that the neoessazy preventive measures should firstly* be dlreeted speoifloally toward* the suppression and ' control of tbo dust evolved and seoondly, personal pzoteetlcn of tboef anploysd la the Industry. Bo suggested that the disease could ba controlled by periodical medical examination of the workers, by excluding those unfitted by health reasons from enteric the Industry * by detecting pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary tuberculosis at tbs ear11setaonent. Hs ftzrtber stated that tbs ultimate and only reliable test of tbo effectiveness of tbs preventive measures adopted In the Industry would be found in the statistics derived from the records of periodical examinations of the workers* Be ended his section of the Report on a note of optimum regarding the outlook for the control of certain processes, one of the exclusions being that* ao long as aueh a process or work vaa carried on occasionally only and no peraona waa employed for sore than eight hours per weak the provielona did not apply. The operatlona to which the regulations applied were itemised in a schedule which appeared at the end of the regulations, and those areas to which they applied became known ae."aheduled areas". The scheduled processes were solely in aanufacturing and. In particular, they failed to Include lagging and insulation work. It la interesting to compare Merevether's 1929 findings with the present position in the factory in which 1 work. If one regards all the currently eaployed new cases which hare been certified by the Fneuaoconlosia Medical Panel aa being equivalent to eases which Merewether diagnosed la a one-off study la 1929. where he found 99 oases of pulmonary fibrosis, we currently employ 6 asbestosla cases. Whereas Merewether had a group lnoldeaos of 81 per cent la this with 20 or more years' exposure, we had a group lacldenoe of 4*4 per cent and 3 of these ware exposed before the 1931 Begulatloo# took affect ao that they aay very well hare qualified for lnolusion ia Merevether's study# X think we can say that the 1931 Regulations la this textile fhotory bars been effective# Whether they baas besn as affective as they could bare bean Is another natter# The insulation trade vaa producing, in 196$. 48 per oent of the new cases of asbestosis diagnosed ia the United Kingdom# These were the people who were exeluded by that "let out" clause la the 1931 Regulations. A lot of people were excluded# ' The 1969 Regulations are called the Asbestos Regulations and the word "Industry" has disappeared# They apply to all areas where asbestos is need and where asbestos duet la given off in such concentrations ae is liable to -5be harmful to the health of exposed persons. One effect of these Regulations at our factory was the provision of changing rooms to prever.'. contamination of outdoor clothing with fibre end the taking of this clothing back into the home. Since 19&9 It has been forbidden to reaovs overalls from the factory premises and the reasons, of course, 1* the possibility of domestic exposure leading to the development of mesothelioma. V# have not, to our knowledge, had any such cases in Rochdale but, they have been described elsewhere. Since 1970# we have found a method of reducing dust on fibre rope which is used to wrap around pipes, ventilation systems have improved and we have developed a new process for making asbestos yarn. Carding engines are now ia group enclosures with no access permitted between the cards without personal proteotlon. The Plenum system provides air at the front of the card and the exhaust takes it away from the card and thus away from the card tester# This means that hopper-*fillers at the bmek of tbs oarde still have to wear reepiratory protection# It waa decided la. 19&9 that if va wars to keep our employees fhlljr informed cm all aspects of aabeatoe and health and pertinent legislation, wa needed to conduct seminars on the aubjeot for manegere, auperrlaora. shop stewards and other workers* representative. Ve also published aa explanatory booklet for the benefit of employees who were in the industry at the time and for the information of now atartere. In 1974, five years after ths 1969 Regulations, me bald a further aeries of seminars, this time with audience participation, enoomaged by the use of syndicate discussion and plenary sessions with feed-bmek from the syndicates# Aa a result it waa decided to hold regular refresher courses and produce visual aide for education of all operatives and others concerned. She Bealth Committee, which has been in existence for twenty years, was reconstituted la 1972 to include senior shop stewards and factory supervisors and all members of the Health -6Committee in kept fully informed of the duet lavele In the factory, the dlaeaae Incidence end the caueee of deeth in aabeetoe worker*. The dleease "aebeetoeie1** 1* doae-related end it ceueee dleablllty end ehortene life. It progreeaec after removal froa ezpoeure et e certain stage which le ae yet indefinable and the eeverlty le poeelbly related to the type of aebeetoe* It le almost certainly preventable by practical duet control measures. There aay be eoae individual eueceptlblllty facton whdoh have not ae yet been fully investigated. Fibrosis of the pleura aay oocur alone or ooabined with aebeetoeie. When it ocean alone it does not appear to be a oauee of severe dJmUllty. The piocnoals, btwmr, neede further etudy with regard to its aaeoeiatlen with poaelble malignancy. It la* however* alao probably preventable by practical duet control* ' The flnft aaeoolatloQ between aebeetoeie and lung oaaoer vae noted by Lynch and Smith in the United Staten of America la 1935* It war subsequently wrflfl by Herewether in 1943 and it in now wall known that there in an exoeaa Mortality froa lung eanoor in thoan aufferlng fzca ssbestosls. Tha view aoet widely held in Onat Britain la that tha sxosss of lung cancer la aaeooiated with aabeatoala and not merely aabeetoe ezpoeure* Zt haa been quite olearly abown that olgantte aaoklng vastly aultipllee the oaaoer rlek and the opinion haa been expreeeed by one reeearch worker that non eaokere who work with aebeetos have alaoet do lnoreaeed rlek of lung eanoer* 1 It haa been ehown by Doll that at our feotory the incidence both of aebeetoeie and of lung oaaoer aaeooiated with aebeetola haa been progreesivsly lean ae the number of yoaru during which man were exposed to the pre-193) oondltloee haa decreased. It baa also been ehown by Knox et al that aen and women whose ezpoeure at T*B*1. for 10 years or more ooemenoed after the let January* 1933 had a mortality experience does to the natlmal 25.X.I 9 -7verege. They pointed out, however, In 196a that firm conclusions could not be drawn because the data was Insufficient to estimate the extent of the remaining riek. On review of the "Doll cohorts" ae at 31at December, 1974 there still appears to be some possible slight excess lung cancer Incidence. This, of coune, le not entirely surprising. Conditions were still not entirely satisfactory efter 1933 end therefore this probably does not reflect In any way modem working conditions. However, it doee Indicate that the conditions in the factory have only steadily been improving and have not* even at this time* reached the beet conditions that could be practically achieved. At this particular time w# still have to be cautious and stats that the numbers are Mall and ws bars to follow up this cohort for a vary much longer period. Vs most be absolutely certain that tbs conditions under which people are vorfcix^ are safe. Vfaat ws also have to do* as well as test control* is to stop people emoting. X nearly brought the works to a standstill when X actually achieved tbs removal f cigarettes f*om the vending machines for 24 short-lived hours* but with the threat of withdrawal of labour and the breakdown of Jplnt consultation they wore put back in again. Tbs hygiene Standard for Chryeotlle asbestos la 2 fibre# par cm. ate in March 1973 t)re vers still a few areas where we were getting duet counts above this level. finally* aay I just aay that the control of a major hazard in induetry requires the beet use to be made ef available reeourcea. it T.B.A. the annual revenue coete for our entire health and safety programme amount to approximately 260*000. This aua includes expenditure on ths Medical Centre* Industrial Bygiene Seetlon, Engineering Design, and Dust Control plant* Capital expenditure on plant to control asbestos dust vs 41,000 Is 1974 and our average anmsl capital expenditure over the $ pears 1969 - 197? has been 44,000. Asbestos Is a dangerous substance when Its nanufseture and Its use are not properly controlled* The example of T.9.A. and the determination which this particular Company has displayed over the yours to control the baxard, and to continue to nee thle valuable material* oould well be followed by the rest of the World* If the funds are not available to pay the price of duet control then the Job should be left to those with the money and the skill to do so and not endanger the live* of employees umeoeeearlly* 1 PI3CPS310H (After Paper l) Q. (froa the audience). Dr. Levlasohn^has any work been done aln^g the lines suggested in the current Issue of Beelth Trends, where right at ths end of the article there le a refrzscoeto an excess of V27 antigen saong patients with asbeetoe? eto. Do you have any lnforaatlon on that and how does it relate to your statueent that the majority of personnel are actually susceptible? A* (Dr* Levinsohn)* Could I ask Dr. Evans to anew* that question, please? Dr* Brans t 1 will be pleased to. (More conversation in the audience) Dr* Lewinsolnl Whichever you prefer. It was s question. May Z Just say that the reason I asked Dr* Brans is because we are at the present time collaborating in a study on HLA antigens In our eases of asbestools and a eeotrellsd population, and hie knowledge of the subject ' is far greater than mine* ' ... . Q* Could I ask a simple question. When X visited TEA some yean age I earn asbeatea yarn made with the wet process and I made a point of -- this guest!nn la tendon the other day Bee the flea made any effort to extend that wet puoeee# through the whole of lie mmmfacturlagT .- . v A* Dr* tewlnsohni I don't think that at the present time It Is possible to extend At to the whole of the textile aanufaoturlng operation although in the oouroe of time we would hope that aanufsetaring yum by this process will allow as to do so* Them are technical difficulties* It is an aotirely dlffamnd yam| It baa different physical properties* Alee, a lot of the cue toners have to be ocnrlnoed that they can use it*