Document b5DEbOnOL02384qn3pVGDrnOO

nSZ* TV bcc: Executive Committee hi Hans Weill, M.D. AS3EST0S INFORMATION] ASSOCIATION Lii_)iiiiiriMiwiiirnniirriri~irirr~rrTirririM'rTiiT--rivT-~-'~~~`*~"-- 1835 K Street. N.W.. Washington, DC 2OC0S (202) 223-4835 27 December 1976 Mr- Howard Cohn, Editor MEDICAL WORLD NEWS 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, N. Y. 10020 Dear Sir: The article, "Threat of Asbestos Disease Widens," in the October 18 issue of MEDICAL WORLD NEWS contains several statements that are misleading, highly speculative and not in accord with factual data. In the latter instance, for example, on page 45 in regard to world production of asbestos the statement is made that, "... now it is over 400 million tons..." The current figure for world production of asbestos is five million short tons according to latest statistics (1975) by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. More importantly, however, are a number of statements in the article and conclusions to which the reader is drawn relating to asbestos-health issues which do not represent majority scientific opinion. These are reviewed in the order they appear in the article. The comment atributed to Dr. Anderson of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine that one day's exposure to asbestos fibers is enough to produce pleural fibrosis is highly speculative. We know .of no adequate data in scientific literature on which to base such a statement. It is stated that "Studies from Britain and South Africa have found traceable asbestos exposure in- the backgrounds of 85% to 97% of mesothelioma cases studied." These high percentages are either misquoted or exaggerated. The largest mesothelioma study from the United Kingdom (Greenberg and Lloyd Davies) clearly showed that one third of their mesothelioma cases had no definite occupational, family or residential exposure to asbestos. The comment attributed to Dr. Nicholson that to studv a single sample of asbestos requires a day's use of an electron microscone is questioned for fact and relevancy. The standard government approved procedure (U.S. Public Health Service/ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) for measuring airborne asbestos concentrations is the membrane SPNY 003412