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FILE NAME: National Gypsum (NG) DATE: 1972 DOC#: NG072 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Testimony at the Dept of Labor Hearing i t \ 'I . J Ul^TTD STATTE UEFAKIT-ZCT OF LAHCF. ViASHTrGTO:*;, 2 . 0 . t P1AI 1 EXHIBIT fpre72 ' M In the Hatter of: STAHDAFD F OF EXTCFUIiE TO ASBESTOS DUST, PROPOSED" RUIS KA.KIHG PUBLIC HZARIRf. Conference Roon 3 Interdepartm ental Audito ISth & C onstitution Ave. Washington, D.C. Thursday, March 16. 197? The a b o v e-en titled n a tte r cane on Tor fu rth er hear: . pursuant- to r e c e s s , a t 9:CO o ' d och e . a . , Thursday, March C 1978. BEFORE: ARTHUR M. GOLDBERG, Hearing Examiner APPEAilNCDS: ( As heretofore n o ted .) C fe y ery on ssse a s t v. n AirrrturooN sessio n ( 2:00 p.a.) Z&&2IEE5. GOLDBERG: Oa C h e 're co rd . * l ^ *i s V H r. Fey 2nd Mr. 5w etonic -- excuse ms, i s , Doctor T etric k in the roes? -- A ll r i g h t , Mr. Fay and H r. SueConic.* I 22L. FAY: My nsae is* A lu e r t E . Fay. I am Vice i: 3 }i P re s id e n t ox Che Gold Bond B u ild in g P roducts D iv isio n of tla i M otional Gypsum Company in B u ffa lo , Ret; Y ork. I am a p p e a r! h ere today i n ay c a p a c ity a s p r e s id e n t *o the A suestos I l I; I n f o r m cion A s s o c ia tio n o f n o rth A m erica, lo c a te d in New Yo: C ity . The A su esto s I n f o r a a tio n A s so c ia tio n i s co ap rised o f twelve oz the n a tio n 's la rg e s t m in ers, sa a c fa ssu re rs and M I a o o rte rs o f a s u e sto s and a s o e sto s-c o n ta in in g p ro d u cts. The co m e r companies' o f the a sso c ia tio n are lis te d on a fe e t I sh e e t, which 1 w ill s u e s it w ith ay testim ony. As an in tr o d u c tio n to in d u s try testim ony th a t w i l l fo llo w , 1 would lik e to u rie fly ' sk etch for-you a general #* p ictu re o f the s it e and scope of the cso esto s industry in the United S ta te s , the types o f products produced, the ntraoer o f t * people employed, and o th e r fa c to rs th a t w ill help p o sitio n tl asu esto s m anufacturing in d u stry in the economic and s o c ia l stru ctu re of th is country: * I should mentioned uefore proceeding thac the nsj o r icy or the data time I presen t re fe rs only to the Q^ 4 ` c. r . \ o .1 m anufacturing sid e of the in d u stry , and does not include d e ta ile d inform ation, on in d u stry using fin is h e d a su e sto s . products, such as the construction industry or the in s u la t 4; i a p p lic a tio n and removal tr a d e s . r, Asbestos is the generic nese given to a group of { | . in o rg a n ic hydrated s i l i c a t e m in e ra ls th a t have one common r l a t t r i b u t e , namely, th e a b i l i t y to be sep arated in to reiati% 1 s i s o f t , s i l h y f i b e r s . The th re e most commonly used v a r ie t ie s - ; o f a s b e s to s a re 5 . io : amosite. |i 'll . I t is x. c h ry so tile , c ro c id o lite , o r blue im portant to note th at ch ry so tile f ib e r and accounts r more th an 9S7. o f th e t o t a l annual D o ite d .S ta te s consum ption o f a sb e sto s. In the p a s t, c ro c id o lite and am osite were uset f a r more e x te n s iv e ly i n th e U n ite d .S ta te s than they a re tod* . The lead in g producers o f c h ry s o tile n ic e r a re Canada and the S oviet Union, u ith sm aller d ep o sits being found in South A frica,. 2hodcsia, China, the United S tates and I ta ly . C ro c id o lite and am osite a re -mined alm o st e x c lu siv e ; v in South A frica. -- The t o t a l annual t;o rld production o f a s b e s to s i s around it m illio n to n s , w ith Canadian p ro d u c tio n a c co u n tin g fc t . ab o u t 30Z o f the t o t a l , and the U nited S ta te s about 31. * - j: The p ro p e rtie s os a s b e sto s th a t giv e i t commercial . V. !| ' v a lu s a r s i t s fib ro u s s t r u c t u r e , th e g re a t t e n s i l e s tr e n g th ,t t H o f the f ib e r s and i t s re s is ta n c e to high tem peratures and to D c e rta in types of chemical actio n . As a fire p ro o fin g m a te ria l, asb esto s has over th y ea rs saved untold liv e s and many b illio n s of d o lla rs in ' property damage. I t i s used in products ranging iro n asbestos-cem ent sh in g le s, panels and s id in g 'to fire p ro o f c lo th in g , in s u la tio n s , flo o r t i l e and f r i c t i o n m a te ria ls. I t has been estim ated th a t -soma 3 thousand d if f e r e n t produc in - d a ily use around th e `world co n tain a sb e sto s. Most of tk p ro d u cts, even though the percentage o f asb e sto s in them oa be sm all, cannot adequately perform t h e i r fu n c tio n w ithout one o r more o f the unique p ro p e rtie s th a t asb e sto s im p arts. For most o f these pro d u cts, no adequate s u b s titu te fo r asbestos is available today. I t would take me an hour to enumerate fo r you the m ajor uses of aabestoc f i b e r . In ste a d , I .am subm itting w ith my testimony a l i s t i n g from The Asbestos Fact Book, a p u b li cation o f Asbestos Magazine, of some o f the primary uses of asb esto s in our msdem so c ie ty . I think i t w ill become q u ite c ic s r a f t e r read:.r.g th is l i s t why a sb e sto s has o fte n been ceiled the indispensable m ineral. In tlx- United S ta te s , the consumption of raw asbestos fib e r over the pact decade has remained f a ir ly 5.ta b le a t an average of approxim ately 775,000 tons per year,, w ith an estim ated value of $90 m illio n . Of th is annual t o t a l approxim ately 125,000 tons valued a t $10.5 m illio n i s 'producci d o m e stic a lly , the r e s t being im ported, p rim a rily from Csna Based on Bureau o f the Census^ m anufacturing s t a t i s t i c s and o th e r d a ta , the estim ated value of a sb e sto s containing products manufactured in the United S tates la s t y ear mas roughly 1 b i l l i o n . Only around $35 m illio n worst o f f i b e r and p ro d u cts mere exp o rted , the r e s t being consume dom estically. These p ro d u c ts mere made in w e ll over 500 d lffc re m anufacturing f a c i l i t i e s , both `la rg e and s m a ll, throughout the United S ta te s , m ith a work force of a t le a s t 50,000 employees, and a p a y ro ll .approaching b illio n . I t should be remembered th a t these employment and s a le s fig u re s r e f e r o n ly to companies and in d u s tr ie s i n mhic asbestos fib e r is converted in to fin ish ed products. In most cases, these products a re not sold d ire c tly to ultim ate con* su re r, but are used in the manufacture of other products, such as autom obiles, e le c tr ic a l appliances and fire p ro o f clothing. In other in stan ces, the finished asbestos-contain ing products pass through a dealer or d istrib u to r to an a p p lic a to r o r some o th e r craftsm an mho i n s t a l l s them. T his is obviously the case in the construction industry. Thus, pro d u cts c o n tain in g asb e sto s f i b e r may pass through three or fo u r le v e ls of trade or manufacture before they are purchased.by the ultim ate consumer. For th is reason, i t is quite d iffic u lt to accurately judge the to cal economic value o f the a sb e sto s in d u stry t; the n a tio n . T;e firm ly b e lie v e , honev e t, .th a t Che A rthur l L i t t l e Company eecnoaie study now under uay, w ill show I t be s u b s ta n tia l. For example, i t has been es t i n t ted that: : in s u la tio n tra d e s alone inv o lv e 40,000 men who spend a t 'lc a q u arte r of th e ir d o e working w ith asbestos-containing p ro d u cts, e th e r employees whose liv elih o o d depends a t lea to* some e x te n t on the* use o f a s b e sto s-c o n ta in in g products include o th er types of construction workers; siding, ro o fi and t i l e i n s t a l l e r s , pipe la y e r s , salesm en, d i s t r i b u to r s a: dealers in asbestos products. Zt is inpossible to calculai the t o t a l incone derived by th ese workers frcox the use o r sale of asbestos-containing products, but i t is certainly i the hundreds of m illions o f d o lla rs . I f one adds in the value of se rv ic e s, machinery, raw m a te r ia ls and o th e r commodities purchased by the a s b e s t manufacturing industry each year fo r use in the production shipment of fin ish ed asb esto s products, the to ta l econcmic c o n trib u tio n o f the in d u stry to the n a tio n 's economy would re a c h , perhaps, $3 b i l l i o n , and would in v o lv e ,to some degret the liv e lih o o d of a t l e a s t h a lf a m illio n wage e a rn e rs and t h e i r fa m ilie s . tfe b e lie v e the economic and s o c ia l c o n trib t t:.on o f the asbestos in d u stry to the nation is s u b s ta n tia l. In a d d itio n to the many and v arie d life s a v in g uses o f a s b e s to s , they p lay an im portant ro le in our modertjy 1 technological so c iety . For these re a s o n s the e sta b lish e s o f re a so n a b le And f e a s ib le o c c u p a tio n a l "h e alth sta n d a rd s f asbestos is a m atter of g reat im portance, not only to the : whose h e a lth we a re tr y in g to p r o t e c t , but a ls o to th e ind and to the country as a whole. Our in d u stry i s cooperating fu lly w ith the Arthur * ' --I J L i t t l e Company i n th e economic- s tu d y th ey have been r e ta in s I* 1 2 l to sa k e by-GSEA. He a r e a l l w orking hard to develop p re c is fig u re s as to the p o te n tia l economic e f f e c t o f th e proposed * r e g u la tio n s on o u r in d u s t r y . T o'd a t e , we have been a b le to sak e only rough e s tim a te s . In g e n e ra l, they show a c o s t to th e in d u s tr y o f a p p m r ia a te ly $200 ra il l i e n i n new equipm ent to comply w ith th e proposed s ta n d a rd o f two f i b e r s .p e r cubic It 4. c e n tim e te r i n th o se sections* o f th e in d u s try where we be lie ? a tr o - f ib e r standard i s te c h n o lo g ic a lly fe a s ib le . The proposes re g u la tio n s would a ls o produce a Iocs in s a le s o f a t le a s t $400 m illio n because of th e la b elin g requirem ents and th e s h u t dc:;n o f o p e ra tio n s where two f i b e r s i s te c h n o - lo g ic a lly u n fe a s ib le . A number o f companies have a lre ad y v , in d ic ated th a t they do n o t b eliev e a tw o -fib er standard i s fe a s ib le in cany o p e ra tio n s, and th a t i f such a standard is prom ulgated, they w i l l c lo s e down th o se o p e ra tio n s im m ediate! ra th e r than spend m illio n s o f d o lla rs in a vain a tte a o t to .. // j' achieve the u n ach iev ab le. The lo s s o f jo b s w ill be sub- l* j star-rial. ii f. :i i " Y esterday, there was a statem ent cade here th a t ; i* ' ij i: j] - are plant can meet the standards, then a l l can. This is : tru e . There are v e s t d ifferen ces in the various manufact: In d u strie s and the d is s im ila rity makes i t im possible fo r c to duplicate the oth er. III One o th e r p o in t. Y esterd ay , i t was s ta te d th a t coking su b sta n tia lly increases, the r is k o f d ise a se . Sine V we. a rc a l l concerned about th e h e a lth o f those a s s o c ia te d w ith th is b u sin e ss, we would l i k e to recommend th a t the *f U > proposed stan d ard should p r o h ib it smoking during working h on the job and th a t the warning signs required to be pos should prom inently d isp lay "no smoking." Precedents f o r :. e x is t in reg u latio n s a t the Department of In te rio r,' fo r example, in uranium mines. In c lo s in g , i t i s our hope t h a t CSHA w ill take a; o f th ese c o n sid e ra tio n s in to mind i n developing the stan d a: I f th is i s s o t done, i t could w ell s p e ll the demise o f a t le a s t In I f of the asbestos in d u stry in the United S ta tes an in time, perhaps, a l l of i t . Thank you, Mr. Goldberg. 1 want to subm it two e x h i b i t s . This e x h ib it i s a l i s t of the members o f the A sbestos A sso cia tio n o f R orth / . America. EMMIiETl GOLDBERG: The l i s t o f members o f the A sbestos A sso cia tio n w ill be E x h ib it 3c#. - (11X 2 document above r e f e r r e : was narked a s Exhibit Ko. 2 fo r id en tificatio n .) EX/tiHEr/ GOLDEZEG: A H r i g h t . ` 2SU FAY: And th e second one i s th e A sbestos Fa; Sheet concerning the uses o f asb esto s and asb esto s product m 2 E S IS . GOIDEBLG: T h a t w i l l be E x h ib it 39. (The document above re fe rre d was marked as E x h ib it ilo. 39 fo r id en tificatio n .) EX&GSEZ1 G3LD2ERG: Thank you. E x h ib its 38 and 39 a re re c e iv e d . (The documents p rev io u sly id en f le d a s E x h ib its l b s . 3b and 1 were received in evidence.) ZTJ&uSlL GOLDBERG: In tro d u c e y o u r s e lf . !2L. SHETCIIEC: ely n s re i s Matthew Id. See to n ic , cud I an Executive S ecretary of the Asbestos Inform ation Ascocia tic n o f n o rth America and a ls o canager o f sp e c ia l p ro je c ts in the* P u b lic A ffa irs S e c tio n f o r the Joh n s-H an v iile C orpora tio n . * Ilr. Fay has alread y described the a sso c ia tio n , and i d e n t i f i e d th e companies w hich i t r e p r e s e n ts . I*:s a r e b a s ic a l! an inform ation dissem inating o rg a n isa tio n and the f a c ts or opinions contained in cy p rese n tatio n ere supported in the M A Y 1965 U.S DEFAfiMcNT. OF LA303 -3 ;* ! ! ; H. P- / RECORDS AUTHENTICATION CERTIFICATE I HEREBY ATTEST. That the annexed copy, or each of the specified number of copies, of each d< listed belo is a true copy of a document in the official custody of the Department of Labor. 1 copy each of; Transcripts from March { ,1 5 ,1 6 , and 17 Comments and hearing e x h ib its of: W.J. Nicholson, American Petroleum I n s t it u t e , D.A. Holaday, Brand Inxu] l e e . , L .J. B ib r i, B .J. P h illip s ( C ertain -teed ) , M.W. Borov, J.D. Moran(I b o te ), F.L. PundsackiJ-M), J.W. Rawlings, W.M. Hancoek(Oov), W.K. Hesse E.M. Fenner(J-M), E .J. K illia n iN a t. Cypsua), Cetuir? A sbestos Products C H.M. Key, C.E. B est (MCA) S I6 f)* T U R E ft NQ* O F F IC IA L T IT L E OlVISION ANO BU REAU DATE Daniel bytiarsxek TuchnioaZ Information S p e c ia lis t Docket O ffiee/T ech n iea l Data Center/Occup. S fty & Hlth Ada/ U.S. Dept, o f Labor 7 S e p .78 1HEREBY CERTIFY. That D a n ie l J . H a rsicR migacd the fotegoing ettestetioe, is now and was at the time of signing (title) Technical Information Specialist .... ra(udr of the official records of 'the Ueited States Department of Labor therein ntt .ated and chat fall faith and credit should he given to his act as aach. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, 1 J . J . L a f ra n c h is e _____________ uly-designated by the Seeretnry of Labor na Authentic atioo Officer of the Department of Labor, have here unto subscribed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Labor to be affixed this S ep tem b erL_11D9 7'8v^?' day of .V . / Authentication Officer J r /r Department of Labor __ U-1- . MAY 1965 IIS ' U.S DEPAFi MENT OF LABOR W nhinytM RECORDS AUTHENTICATION CERTIFICATE I HEREBY ATTEST, That che annexed copy, or each of the sp ec ified number of c o p ie s , of each documct listed b elo is a true copy of a document in the o ffic ia l cuatoidy of the Department of Labor. 1 copy each o f: T ra n s c r ip ts from March 1 ,1 5 ,1 6 , and 17 Comments and hoaxing e x h ib i ts o f: W.J. N icholson, American Petroleum I n s t i t u t e , D.A. H oladay, Brand I n s u l a t o r I n c . , L .J . B ib r i , B .J . P h i l l i p s ( C e r t a i n - c e e d ) , M.W. Borov, J.D . MoranC FI ir,ck o te ) , F .L . P undsack(J-M ), J.W . R aw lings, W.M. Hancock(Dow), W.K. Hesse(J-M ) E.M. F en n er(J-M ), E .J . K illia n C N a t. Cypsum), Cetac'*: A sbestos P ro d u cts C o., M.M. Key, G.E. Best(MCA) ' SIGNATURE ANOl OFFICIAL TITLE DIVISION AND BUREAU OATE ..J D aniel IK/ lia rsic k Docket O ffic e /T e c h n ic a l Data C en ter/O ceu p . S fty & H lth Adm/ .yi Tuchniaal Inform ation S p e c ia lis t U.S. Dent, of Labor 7 Sep 78 1 HEREBY CERTIFY. That D a n ie l J . M arslsk , lgned the foregoing attestation, is no and as at the time of signing (title) T ec h n ic a l In fo rm a tio n S p e c i a l i s t h,, ,egal CM. lody of the official records of the United States Department of Labor therein att.sted and that full faith and credit should be given to his act as auch. IN WITNESS VHERROF, 1 _____ J . J . L a fra n c h is e _____________ uly designated by the Secretary of Labor as Authenti* ation Officer of the Department of Labor, have here* unto subscribed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Labor to be affixed this J ^ i l d a y of C '( . Authentication Officer j / j / Department of Labor