Document dQjXOM7JDar9bLy8NOeYKx2JR

Federal Register / Vol. 51, No. 119 / Friday, June 20. 1986 / Rules and Regulations 22651 airborne fibers during this operation. (It should be noted, however, that such exposures may be reduced through modern packing methods.) Fibers may: also become airborne when compacted asbestos fiber is removed from the supplier's sealed containers prior to mixing..Depending on the product line, the compacted fiber may be ''widowed" or "fluffed" to facilitate mixing. . . Asbestos fiber may become airborne due to leakage or spillage during mixing, mixer unloading, or processing operations. In a dry-mix process, fibrous asbestos may become airborne as the batch is weighed and additional materials are added. Once the fiber has been wetted with water or other substances, encapsulated, or bonded with other materials, fiber release is significantly, reduced. In product finishing operations, asbestos fibers become airborne when they are torn loose from the parent product a9 it is cut. sawed, drilled, texturized, shaped, or otherwise modified to form a finished product. Occupational exposures may also occur after the finishing operation or in the handling and disposing of asbestoscontaining wastes. The number of plants and the number of potentially exposed workers are presented in Table 7. Secondary Manufacturing Secondary fabricators are defined as establishments that receive products from primary manufacturers and further process or fabricate these products to ' produce other intermediate or finished products. Primary asbestos products that undergo significant secondary processing include flat asbestos-cement (A/C) sheet, friction products, gaskets and packings, plastics, and textiles. Secondary processing involves sawing, pressing, slitting or drilling of asbestoscontaining materials and, hence, produces some relatively high exposure levels. The number of plants and workers are presented in Table 8. Service Industries and Construction In the service sectors two industries are affected: (1) Automotive brake and clutch repair and (2) shipbuilding repair. The number of sites and the number of potentially exposed workers in these ' sectors are shown in Table 9. Table 7.--Annual Production and Estimateo Number of Establishments, Workers Exposed, and Exposure Levels for Primary Manufacturers of asbestos Products Product Une Annual production Estimated number of workers exposed Estimated number of estab&slv - mentg Estimated 6-hour TWA exposure levels . (te) A/C pipe............................... ............... -- 258,060 tons......-..... -............... ..... ........... Friction materials____-_____ _________L_. 260,000,000 pieces..............--........ ........ ToxtBes..................--........................... ....... Flooring................ 750 (10*) ft*_______________ _____ ____ Gaskets........--.........-....... -....................... 35.6 (10) lt--........ ________________ 612 5.104 276 214 6 0.01-1.21 51 N/D-7.9 3 N/D-OJ3 MB 0.03-2.06 Coatings___________ __ -............... ......... 177 (10*) gallons..................... ...... -........ Plastics___ -........ - - . 0,409 tons........ --.........--............. ........ Total--........... ......................... .... ..........................--.......... .... 1,327 324 6,661 76 N/O-3.3 4 N/D-1.11 191 The same plants make both gaskets and packings. N/D Non-Detectable. Sources: RTI 1964 Survey Data'[Exhibit 84-473]; OSHA MIS Files; OSHA Hearing; and ICF Inc.. Asbestos Products end Thotr Substitutes. Appendix C. December 1963. Table 8.--Estimateo Number of Plants, ' Workers Exposed, ano Exposure Levels for Secondary Fabricators of Asbes tos Products' Product line Estimated number ol eslabksh- , ments. Estimated number ol workers exposed Estimated 6-hour TWA exposure levels (1/ cc) . Gaskets/pachings..... Automotive . romanuiacturing..... Plastics...................... Friction materials----A/C sheet................. Textiles----- ------------ N/0 Norvdetectabfo. 289 9,972 N/0-0.77 161 4.750 N/D-1.6 245 2.450 N/D-0.29 40 1.504 N/D-0.75 23 345 N/O-3.2 51 .. 172 N/D-1.8 19.193 Sources: RT1 1684 Survey Data (Exhibit. 64-473 J; OSHA MIS Film: OSHA Hearing: and ICF Inc.. Attestoa Products and Their Substitutes, Appentfix C, December 1983. Table 9.--Estimateo Number of Establish ments, Workers Exposed and Asbestos Exposure Levels in Service and Repair Industries Sector Number of Number ol 8-hour TWA establish' workers exposure moots exposed levels (f/ccj1 Automotive brake and dutch repair.....___ -__ Shipbuilding end repair.... Total____--. 285.188 400 285,588 526.998 15.000 541.998 N/D-0.94 N/O-1.42 ..... 1 These data do not Include nuclear ripeul where wet melhoda are not permitted. The ILtiour TWA exposures during nuclear ripntut range Irom 0.2 t/cc to 72 l/cc. N/DeNondelectable. Source: U.S. Oepartmont of Labor, OSHA Office of Regu latory Analysis, based on RTI 19S4 Survey Data. Phase t Report, Regulatory Analysis o! the Proposed Standard on Asbestos (Exhibit No. 64-473); Management bdormatlofl Systems (MIS) Files: OSHA Hearing, ICF Inc., Asbestos Products end Their Substitute* Appendix C, December 1603. Asbestos exposures in the construction industry occur during . various activities (see table lOJ. For example, such exposures occur when installing A/C pipe and sheet, finishing drywall, sanding vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, installing build-up roofing, removing old insulation, removing or repairing drywall, demolishing buildings containing asbestos products, and . removing old built-up roofing. Workers involved in the maintenance and repair of pipes, boilers, or furnaces in a wide variety of buildings are also exposed to asbestos.' Availability ofSubstitutes The extensive tort litigation in the area of occupational exposure to asbestos and the awareness of the health effects associated with asbestos exposure have provided a strong incentive for producers and users of asbestos products to utilize substitutes. For example, approximately 50-75 percent of. producers of phenolic molding compounds have substituted other materials such.as clay or fiberglass for. asbestos. Similar success has been achieved in the production of floor tile, where non-asbestos fibers arid petrochemicals are being used, and.in friction materials. Fiberglass has been used successfully as a substitute for asbestos fiber in many products. Roofing felts, pipeline felts, and asphalt coatings have all been produced using fiberglass in place of asbestos fibers. In the past, the price of substitute materials has been much higher than the price of asbestos. The "full price" of using asbestos, which includes the potential cost of control methods, tort litigation, etc., however, has increased significantly in recent years. .. Consequently, the difference between the cost of using asbestos and the cost. of using other substitute tnaterials. has diminished greatly and in many instances, has disappeared enjirely. Table io.--Estimated Number of Workers Exposed and Asbestos Exposure Levels in the Construction industry ' Sector- Estimated No. Ol workers exposed Mean 6> hour TWA exposure lovois (l/cc) Now construction...--.! Abatement......... -........ ....... ...... Demolition............... --..... ........ General building renovation......... 29.320 61,366 24,455 133700 013 i.es 0.61 2.8 GLEASON-000899