Document aB8oO6zy3vr4aDeBEZq6Ja2rR

FILE NAME: DuPont Remington (DRM) DATE: 1971 Feb 17 DOC#: DRM005 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter to M.W. Kordas, Jr. from James Morga RE Toxicity of the Primer and the Projectile in Rimfire Ammunition .i/v.beot'r : >%.u. r February 17, 1971 11. w. Kordas, Jr* > flupervisor, Applied Research t hemington Anna Company, Inc. Bridgeport, Connecticut 06602 or THE PRIHER ABD THE P. II M l - I Your letter of January 19, 1971 to Dr. John 1,1 Zapp, Jr., was given to ate for comment. Lead. ... . | Based upon the analysis given in your letter, the amount of i.ead in one rimfire primer will be 5,2 milligrams. Whan multi plied by the number of rounds estimated to be consumed in one activity period, which is 250, we find that a total of 1300 milligrams will be consumed. Host of this will entpx the air of the space within which the firing is done. 1 assume from ihe prior discussion that the firing is expected to be dons within confined quarters, such as a basement range. The amount of air theoretically necessary to dilute the 1300 milligrams of :.ead to the Threshold Limit Value of 0.2 milligrams per cubic meter of air will be 240,000 cubic feet, A safe atmospheric concentration can be maintained if the space in which the firing ils done is supplied with air at a rate of approximately 25,000 cubic feet per minute, if the firing is done in 10 minutes or n correspondingly lesser rate when the firing is prolonged over an extended period of time. For example, if the firing is all done within one hour, the rate drops to about 4,000 cubic feet 3>er minute. > The weight of the projectile is not given in your letter. On the basis of 36 per cent by weight of asbestos in the pro jectile we estimate (assuming projectile weight of one gram) that 250 rounds would probably contain 50 to 100 grams of asbestos as a minimum. The projectile is described as "friable", ife judge from this description that the asbestos could be reduced by friability to discrete fibers and disperse et least 1 a partial extent in the air of the enclosure in which the iEiring is done. DUP 0972732 DRM0000161 M, W. Kordas, Jr, February 17, 1971 Page 2 A sbestos in the Projectiletgpntld). ' w' The danger of inhaling asbestos fibers has received a lot of attention in recent years, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Bygieniets now recoanends a Threshold liait Value of 5 fibers per ailliliter of air (fibers greater than 5 microns in length counted by a phase contrast method following collection by e membrane filter technique), This lew level of concentration reflects the concern that is felt for the health effects of inhaling asbestos fibers, In addi tion to the fibrotic disease called asbestosis, which has long leon i&eogfii&ed, it is now known that persons who acquire the disease asbestosis are more likely to develop lung cancer than rates for th general population would predict. It would b veil to seek a suitable substitute for asbestos in the friable projectile. In the building construction industry, where asbestoscontaining insulation has been sprayed on steel structural isstbers, it has been necessary to seek substitutes for asbestos. Various compositions containing fibers from steel ill slag have been used in the insulating of steal sseasbers of Imildings. This might be a starting point in a search for an adequate substitute for asbestos in the friable projectiles. ^ O R IG IN A L S IG N E D S': 7 A M E S H, M O R G A N James ?. Morgan ,'rvM/bjd 1 DUP 0972733 DRM0000162