Document b5RjK1QRJyMbvOLJO9nV3BrZD

A/C Pipe Producers Association 1600 Wilson Boulevard. Suite 1308 Arlington. Virginia 22209 (703) 84HSS6 March 16, 1982 Mr. Dell Smith Vice President Ohio Water Service Company Lake Erie West District P. O. Box 319 8644 Station Street Mentor, Ohio 44060 Dear Dell: It was a pleasure meeting you at the March 4, 1982 briefing at the Quail Hollow Inn. As requested, please find enclosed twelve (12) copies of the briefing packet on medical and scientific evidence regarding the safety of A/C water pipe. Your name also has been added to the mailing list for future issues of "A/C Advisory." If the Association can ever be of any assistance to you or your colleagues, please do not hesitate to call. Very truly yours, A/C PIPE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION JFW/ajb m, Esq. irell V' A01OE21101 Chrono John F. Welch Vice President CAPCO JEN 0023266 e Producers Association Public Affairs Committee to International Affairs Committee --t J. F. Welch, Director, Public Affairs Internal Correspondence DATEApril 29, 1981 tField Problem - Brick Township (Ocean County, New Jersey) SUBJECT. ACTION REQUIRED: Review for information Background On March 27, 1981, Ed Hughmanic (Superintendent, Toms River Water Company) called to advise that an article (Attachment 1) had been published in the Asbury Park Press stating that Brick Township would retain Carl Cahill "to discuss his findings" on the A/C pipe and health issue. AACPP had responded previously to inquiries from the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA) (Attachment 2). Staff contacted BTMUA Executive Director, Andrew Ciesla to determine status. BTMUA no longer purchases A/C pipe, although approximately 30 miles is in place in the system. Their contacts with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were characterized as "passive"; no contact has been made with EPA Region 2 officials. Ciesla stated that an activist group in Sutton Village is convinced that A/C pipe is carcinogenic and "does not want to be confused with facts". Their feeling is that the system simply should be removed. Fiber counts have been done and one test showed a level of 70,000 fibers per liter. All other tests have been negative, including a retest of the 70,000 f./l site. As far as the Cahill situation is concerned, the City Council members apparently were embarrassed into action under heavy public and political pressure. However, the Township attorney recommended that Cahill's credentials be solicited prior to retention. These have been requested from Cahill's attorney. Ciesla solicited additional character references on Cahill, and Staff recommended that Allan Hammer (Director, Water Supply Engineering, Virginia Department of Health) and Bud Allen (Director of Public Utilities, Chesapeake, Virginia) be contacted. Current Status On April 8,1981, the Ocean County Reporter published another article (Attachment 3) on asbestos in Brick Township drinking water. This article made erroneous reference to a 1979 statement from EPA to AACPP that "there is now some direct human evidence that there is a relationship between asbestos in drinking water and increased cancer risk." This statement was used by the activist group as a rationale to replace the thirty miles of A/C pipe in place. On April 29, 1981, Staff contacted Ciesla again. He advised that Cahill's credentials had been received and that it was apparent that he was a journalist who relied on the "sometimes expert opinion of others." Ciesla recommended to the City Council that Cahill not be retained. This recommendation was received favorably, particularly in view of the $3,000 price tag attached to Cahill's services. Ciesla plans to formally agree to have BTMUA keep abreast of all developments regarding A/C pipe and health so that immediate action can be taken, if necessary. He, of course, does not i i CAPCO JEN 0023267 expect the need for such action. Ciesla believes that the problem is going away, although at a painfully slow pace. Action Required 1. Routine monitoring by AACPP Staff. 2. Special counsel will attempt to obtain the formal complaint filed with DEP and DEP's response to same. JFW/ajb cc: A. Kahn, Esq. N. Rahn, Esq. M. Greenberg, Esq. N. Battle copies to: Public Affairs Committee International Affairs Committee H. Olson I. Adams B. Cook W. Perrell J. Woods J. Baker T. Dougherty D. Stinson W. McCallie R. Dorner E. Van Der Rest B. Giboin R. Hobbs C. Walters A. Saoulis R. Jalan V. Pattabhi H. Hudson C. Barton S. Al-Tarkait E. Costa ii CAPCO JEN 0023268 -j rx Ocean ATTACHMENT 1 AOmry Park Prcss/Tnurs, March 25. TPzl nrr .. BRICK TOWNSHIP - A Virginia man who claims to have helped in the successful effort to ban asbestos cement water pipes in 'the city of Chesapeake will be hired to dis cuss his findings on the (natter before the Municipal Utilities Authority.* ** -'j Carl Cahill, of Chesapeake, Va., in a Jet- Mer to the authority's attorney, said he had ``assembled more than SO pounds of informa tion on asbestos cement pipes and the haz ards of ingested asbestos fibers. | *Tnc problem ol asbestos in water has been a concern of mine since 1S73 nnd par tially through my efforts Chesapeake -- in 1973 ---`became the first city in the nation to ban installation of A/C pipe because of health reasons," the letter said. . j `Also, and again partially due to ray ef forts, Connecticut in October IPS) banned in-. stallation of the pipes." Catiill also wrote in his letter.. -t \ In`approving the resolution to hire Ca-\ hill, authority attorney Charles E. Starkey v.ts authorized to research Cahill's back- acceptable for potable water coming into our homes through asbestos cement pipes,** the petition states. Andrew Ciesla, authority executive director, said last night that testing conduct ed by the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia showed that water tests at Amy Court in Sutton Village contained asbestos fibers longer than five mil:crons. ' ' Fibers longer than five milicroas are considered dangerous by health erperts be cause they sire more easily retained by, the body. Residents from Sutton -Village will have a public meeting 8 p.m. April 8 in the Sutton Village Clubhouse on Sutton Drive to raise increased pupil support for the removal of a!) asbestos pipes in the township. * In other action, the authority adopted Jts new 13S1-S2 budget of $t),335,C93, an increase of 1C percent from last year's budget of $3,015,353. * The new budget allocates $1,038,(50 in Ji- . -U. .. capital outlay costs; $1,93,735 in do:: : ice; $2,701,100 in temporary financlr.g; : $3,631,143 in operations. * They 2Iso gave preliminary apprrv_ a plan under which P.crr.t Tavcrr. condominium owners would receive ir.c:- al bills for water service. *:* * .'.* ' * The condomlnum is*the only c?\i 'ment in the township that had been rt' ` ing a single water service bill, aeveri:.*; Starkey. The condominium association, which : ed residents for water through the zr.cr `maintenance lee, h2S an unpaid bill $40,003, he said. *` Under an agreement with the cj::-*- tion, the unpaid halance will l>e paid a: . rate of $1,(03 a month at 1 percent ic:cr for the next 51 months, he raid. Individual homeowners will be b." quarterly for S51.5C* for minimum serrir? : the association wili pay for any excess vt used, Starkey said. * I! The decision to hire Cahiil for a $3,(09 fee came after a group of homeowners from Sutton Village condominiroum and the Holly wood Manor housing development protested to the authority last night that it had no! taken sufficient action on the possible haz ards of asbestos cement water pipes used to distribute the township's,water supply..,* Cahill will b? hired to speak at a special authority meeting to which representatives from the state Department ol Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency w*ill also be invited, ac cording to Warren Wolf,' authority assistant treasurer. * ` _ ... \ While authority officials said they share the residents* concern over the asbestos pijs, they said they have not y ct iveeived conclusive information that the pipes are potentially hazardous. . .2 , . ... . . ., An estimated 10 percent -- cr 39 mUcr. -- of the authority's water pij>cs arc made of zstiesios cement ...... ... Asl>cstos is a mineral that is cor-Mdcrvd to be a cancer causing ngi-nt when inhaled, but studies have not yet shown (hit ;slvsto$ * ' is cairinogemc when ingriled or inhaled, ac cording to the authority. Jn his icllcr, Cahill said that asbestos f:bc?r "pose an even* greater tJucal to health" tthrn they are emitted fitun curtain ' homeamdunces. .. **Often overlooked by 'utility companies *- 7-1."but an even greater threat to health -- * (are the (asbestos) fibers which are emitted ,from clothes dryers, home humidifiers and ivapori2cts. Inhaled * asbestos, as yea well ^ know, causes asbcstosei. lucg cancer and 'mi'othvlioma," Caliiil said.* " *l * ' [ Meanwhile, o'.er 400 residents have sign ed a petition demanding that the pipes be re- pfaceiL " '* \ - "Being aware that there is disagreement amorg exj-cru cn wfc.it Is a safe level of * asbestos fibers b dri.ucicg water.-we refuse * a -kv-di anv amount of nslestos fibers as CAPCO JEN 0023269 A/C Pipe Producers Association 1600 Wilson Boulevoid. Sulla 1308 Atbnglon. Virginio 22209 (703) 841-1556 ATTACHMENT 2 March 26, 1981 Mr. Andrew R. Ciesla Executive Director The Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority 1551 Highway 88 West Brick Town, New Jersey 08723 Zof- `fSS'- ?osco Dear Mr. Ciesla: Your February 9,1981 letter to the Director of Research, Union Carbide Corporation, recently was forwarded to this Association for appropriate action. It is the industry's position that there is substantial scientific evidence to support the conclusion that the use of asbestos-cement (A/C) water pipe does not create a public health hazard. The potential health effects of the ingestion of asbestos have been studied for at least 10 years, using data bases extending for up to 35 to 40 years -- well beyond the latent period for cancer -- in Connecticut, Duluth, Minnesota, Canada and the Pacific Northwest where large amounts of asbestos are present in drinking waters. All such studies have not shown that there is a cause and effect relationship between asbestos in drinking water and disease. Moreover, studies in which test animals have been fed monumental amounts of asbestos do not support the proposition that the ingestion of asbestos is harmful. The Environmental Protection Agency and all state health departments known to have considered the question have rejected a conclusion that the use of asbestos-cement water pipe constitutes a public health hazard. The Association has no reason to believe that this is not the position of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as there are no restrictions on the sale or use of A/C pipe in the State. Enclosed are the following materials: 1. An executive summary of scientific evidence on A/C pipe and drinking water. 2. "A/C Pipe and Drinking Water" (A/C Pipe Producers Association) 3. "A Study of the Problem of Asbestos in Drinking Water" (American Water Works Association Research Foundation) 4. The recently released results of a multi-million dollar animal feeding study being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 5. Correspondence from Environmental Protection Agencies Region 4 and 6, which state their respective views on the safety of A/C pipe vis a vis competitive materials. ii CAPCO JEN 0023270 A/C Pipe Producers Association Mr. Andrew R. Ciesla March 26, 1981 Page 2 6. Position statements of state health departments on the safety of A/C pipe. Copies of epidemiological and animal feeding studies referenced in the above materials also are available if you require them. If you have questions or require additional information, please call. Very truly yours, A/C PIPE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION JFW/ajb Enclosures cc: A. Kahn, Esq. N. Rahn, Esq. M. Greenberg, Esq. John F. Welch Director Public Affairs FP/1 Chrono % i CAPCO JEN 0023271 ATTACHMENT 3 RECEIVED APR 2 0 138? ft f a - By GtsME GATENS pipe group wants the 30 miles of a-c pipe in use in the township replaced immediate!). Politica! involvement in the asbestos- The group not only believes reports that the pipe, which emits tiny asbestos cement pipe issue in Brick Town grew last particles that flow through drinking week as one town council member con w ater supplies, is a cancer risk, but it also demned the use of the pipe. Moreover, says there are economic factors which another member and two council candidates dictate the immediate replacement of the a'.* expected to attend a meeting tonight of a pips. g'.'rv.p demanding the replacement of the Gjoup members say they don't wan: to n-pi in the township. continue paying maintenance costs on a Meanwhile, Bricktown Citizens for water system that they dir not feel safe Clean Water spokesman Paul Yancbosky about. They sav that they would rather pav charged the Brick Township Municipal to replace the pipe now than to be faced with Utilities Authority (BTMUA) with higher pipe installation and other construc "dragging its feet" in efforts to obtain tion costs in five, 10 or 20 years,", hen water information on the possible health . utilities may be ordered to be remove the hazards connected to the pipe in the hope pipe bv health officials. that public support will fade. Only 10 percent of the water system in Yanchosky also reported that he has filed Brick Township is asbestos-cement pipe. a formal complain! with the state Depart Brick Township Councilman Ronald ment of Environmental Protection tDEP) on Jones said he stands by all the points the use of the controversial pipe. The nearly 100-member anti-asbestos (Omtinu-jrf on Page 4-A) < 1I CAPCO JEN 0023272 (Continued from Page 1) mr.de by the group con cerning removal of the pipe, and noted that he belieies much of the pipe i question is 25 years old and should be showing signs of wear --a condi tion which could aid the !-r*-2king off of asbestos fibers into the drinking oarer supply. "There is no question that the pipe should be re moved," Jones said. Jones said he will attend a meeting of the clean water group tonight at 8 at the Sutton Village Clubhouse on Sutton Drive in Sutton Village in the township. Yanchosky said coun cil .-.Oman Mary Anne Bu tler and council candidates Atchony Nappe and Albert Ncuheua are expected to .'Pend also. The Sricktown Conof Concerned Citi- .os has also announced its support for the group. Yanchosky this weekend rhaiged the BTMLJA with "dragging its feet" in ef forts To contact a-c pipe ac tivist Carl Cahill. The authority voted unanimously at its Vfed- nesdnv, March 25, meeting to i#L>Li`ue, Oeurri attorney Charles St;>> key to contact Cahill far a check of his background and credentials. On Friday, Starkey said he had just returned from a three-day trip to- Mas sachusetts and that a letter to Cahill would be in the mail that day. Cahill, an advertising man by trade, conducted a successful,- one-man cru>ade in 1578 to have a-c pipe banned in his hometown of Chesapeake, Va. The information he gathered on the pipe was inter useful-in a move ment to have the pipe banned in the state of Connecticut. ' Cahill has told the group by phone that he would ac cept an invitation to present his information to the au thority tor a fee of S3.000 plus expenses: But at the time c! this writing he had not been contacted. Yar.chosky said he is not surprised that-it. has taken the authority more than one week to contact Cahill. "They (the authority) are trying to prolong things for as long as pos sible in the hope that the issue, and public interest, will die," Yanchosky said. "Well i've got news for them," Yanchosky said. "Public interest is grow ing." In other action, the group last week filed a lormai complaint with the state Department of En vironmental Protection (DEPj in Trenton on the use of the pipe in the township. Is; a letter to DEP Chief r-f PsiMir Participation P.*'chard Giineilo, Yan- ciiush;- rr.id that the fe<5- r-r-v Environmental Pro tection Agency's 1:775' c-t dement to the Asbestos Pic;* Vr-'-duccrs i.t- T--:>u th.it "mere f-> now some rth-pct hum '-n c.j- i.ji 15 it i'fc- `TaTTTr.ship between as bestos in drinking water and increased cancer risk" is, in the group's opinion, "reason enough to replace ihe^approxin:aTiJfy~-'h niilcT of a-c pine in use in <he township with a proven TuTfe pipeT* ""TahcKosky said he and other citizens question the accuracy of an S11,000 per year BTMUA estimate to maintain the asbestos pipe in the township. Calling the figure "a gross underestimate," Yanchosky stated the group's beliefs on why the pipe should be replaced now. Staring that the water system in Dover Township is nearly 100 percent asbestos-cement pipe, Yanchosky said he believes ''political pres sure could restrain the BTMUA from doing the rigid thing for its custom ers." Yanchosky said BTMUA-commissioned tests of water in areas of Brick Town where the pipe is used showed as many as 70,000 asbestos fibers of five microns in length in one sample taken. ` `We want no asbestos in our drinking water," Y'anchosky said in the letter. He said the authority's "reluctance to act ag gressively and responsi bly" in the Cahill matter "has resulted in the au thority's total loss of credibility in the eyes of citizens." According to authority chairman William Millet, "nobody on the fccrrd is opposed to replacing the p>pe. But we would firs; like evidence that there is something about it that i.hunnful." Miller expressed con cern over installing alter nate ty;v;s of pipe i:i the event `bar the autrorlty did re'-.'l'.e to replace the a c pipe. "Is somebody going to tell us there is somethng wrong with iron pipe or plastic pipe after we rip up the a-c pipe?" he askeu. Miller confirmed Jon-. belief that most of the a-c pipe in use in the township is 25 years old, but he explained that the ETMliA has never used the pipe for installation. He said the a-c pipe pre sently in use was installed before the authority purch ased the water system from another water utility. He said the authority uses only rfuciol iron pipe to replace .damaged asbestos-cement pipe. Miller included that the authority is trying to obtai: eaily the results of fedend En v i ron mer.t al Proi ectic-t. Agency (EPA) tests on :rebestos ingestion. Findings on the; tests, fit which rats are fed asbes tos with their dailj diet-* and then studied at Et'A research iabs in Cinciiiatti, are expected to be conclusive. Tests results are not ex pected for another year CAPCO JEN 0023273