Document dQypnrEX6NBNn0zaYB6705vpR

VVRG 0 l- 110 U 7137527 / (mill filllll lRB5^ GfFSUM COMPANY 1 EXECUTIVE OFFICES 325 OELAWARE AVENUE BUFFALO. NEW YORK U202 \ 1 Mr. Iteau Sagan W. l. Grace Oo^any Construction Products Division 62 Whettenore Avenue Canbridge, Musacbusetts QSlllO Dear Tom: We recently ran across this article and thought you any find it of interest. Best personal regards. Sincerely yours 0. L. Shank Industrial Sales tfcnager B2:ak cc: I Mr. Joseph Scbaehter, Director of Barcbases 1 V. 1. Grace Coovany Construction Products Division Vbetteaare Jtarone Cambridge, Massachusetts OZlUO 25126312 Principal Divisions: AMERICAN OLEAN TILE HURON CEMENT ALLENTOWN CEMENT SOLD BONO BUILDINS PRODUCTS PREVENTION IN THE INSULATION INDUSTRY 7137528 This is one of the conclusions in on exhaustive stud) by Dr. Irvine J. Selikoff on preventive measures in the insu lation industry. He is Director of the Environmental Sci ence Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and an expert in Asbestosis and other forms of occu pational lung diseases. This study is the United States' first cooperative effort by an international labor union {International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers), indus try and Sprayed Mineral Fiber Manufacturers Association (johns-Manville Corporation), medical science (Environ mental Science Laboratory at Mount Sinai School of Med icine) and government (U-S. Public Health Service), -- to conduct a preventive hygiene research program far in sulation workers. PREVENTION OF OUST DAMAGES The Program has three major goals: the prevention of dust formation; the control and Imitation of dusts that are un avoidable; and preventing inhalation of dust by those ex posed to it The main material which has io be cuntrulled in die work of insulating workers, is tubistor. Asbestos is the name given to a series of minerals composed of silicates of magnesium and iron. It is silky and fibrous in form, and damage by inhaling depends largely on the size of the fi bers. Dr. Johnstone concluded from clinical investigations that workers exposed even to high concentrations of ex tremely fine asbestos dust did not suffer asbestosis, a lung cuudition caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust ! MirauLS eenrraamc awl 1971 For all kiwis of working with asbestos hmvevor, proteotimi is needed. More than 50X of asbestos U(d to Industrv goes into the constructiau industry. Most of this land ut asbestos is locked in' -- bound with consent or plas tics m that there is hardly any relraaa of asbestos filer. **' Attention therefore was tailed to thorn insulating prod ucts which are capable of generating dust on tbs job through handling, sawing fabricating, applying mixing as with loose asbestos cement, spraying and waste dispos al. And the primary concern of the study was with the to rulatkm worker. U his exposure is brought under control, problems of other workers handling asbestos and similar dust-producuig materials will be resolved automatically. NATURE OF WORK Asbestos and insulation workers in the United States ai* estimated at about 22,000. They are expected to tocroem moderately through the 1970's. Their principal work is to cover pipes, boilers, and other related equipment with to sulating materials such as cork, felt, aanestos. fibwgkta poh urethane, and magnesia. These materials are installed by pasting wiring, taping stud-welding spraying or oth er methods. Insulating materials are used to retain hast . and thus to save fuel On the other hand insulation of pip ing in refrigeration systems prevents best absorption In Dr. Selikoff's study immediate protection dpd** dust inhalation was one at the most urgent problems. Since so many workers do not use masks at all working time*, at ever, be turned his efforts toward developing a new ripe of respirator. It should be effective against toe fib*** and dusts generated in insulating work, of course. Bid *" more important was it to create a respirator that w meet the workers' requirements of comfort, coovenieace and good vision. 25126313 7137529 * t * Canvas enclosure* to contain emissions from spray insulation. The bolding shown is the World Trade Center, Sew York City. This work has not yet been completed. But Dr. Selikoff is confident that the result will be a respirator that will be more acceptable to insulation workers and that may be adopted for manv oilier occupations where lireuthuig masks are required. l*it too seldom wom. He rightly quotes a word by Dr. Cuvier Hammond: "It is far better to liave a mask that is 1W? used, even if not fully effec tive, than one that is fully effective but never used!'* CONTROL OF OUST -- PRODUCTION What Dr. Selikoff and his associates aim to achieve is a working environment in which dusts are so fully controlled that respirators inav never be necessary. Olio difficulty has been that in installing insulation it ia necessary to mix some asbestos cement on the job site. This is spread and applied to seal joints and to fill in comers where pre-fabheated material is not practical. At present, two different metluids of packing an asbestos-cement mixture are tried out by tlie Sclikoff-group. Bv these methods the water can be poured into the container and wetted down into the so-called "mud'* without generating dint, -- two new methods which seem to work. Many insulation fittings are packed and shipped in con tainers that are opened at the job site. These fittings are shedding during the handling, so that the containers are emitting dusts and the fittings continue to shed during handling. A method lias been developed of spraying these fittings with a wax-like substance before packaging. This method, developed at the Johns-Manville Research and Engineering Center, prevents the dust trmn shaking loose. It has, tlierefore, provided a new means by which genera tion of dust can he prevented -- the ultimate goal of pre ventive industrial medicine. There is still need for quite some sawing on the insu ring job site -- either with hand or power saws, which do nut have dust collectors. Now pilot models of power saws have been constructed with suction attachments that are nearly 100% efficient in dust prevention. APPLYING SAFETY MEASURES TO 0AILY WORKING PROCEDURES New methods and safety techniques are of value only t they are applied for daily working procedures. Dr. seli koff got excellent response from contractors and contract ing groups, and the participation of union members is as sured. Each union member contributes $10 to help sup port the program. Now a quarterly repost of psepess is published which is sent to all people and organisations in terested in the problem. This partnership for research into prevention of the oc cupational health hazards of the insulating industry", says Dr. Selikoff, "forged bv labor, industry, science and gov ernment -- has proved useful It is possible that it will provide a key to similar partnerships in other industries where occupational health problems exist." Since treatment for the asbestos diseases is still a diffi cult problem, every effort should be made to decrease ex posures to safe levels. Dr. W. D. Sorwood, of the Council mi Occupational Health of the "American Medical Associ ation". points iKit that exposure in the asbestos and insu lating industries should be minimised. through improved working conditions; through medical supervision of workers, including health education; by substitution of less-toxic materials where poKibte; through enclosure ventilation and respiratory protective devices which keep exposures as near zero as pomible. The threshold limit for asbestos proposed tor 1970 by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hy gienists is five fibers (length 5 micron) per milliliter of air. in the work place. In England fibers shorter than 15 microns are considered to bring no danger. The earliest svmptum of asbestosis is shortness of breath. All asbestos workers, according to Dr. Norwood, should have annual x-ray films of the chest and pulraooaiv function tests. They should not smoke cigarettes, and with tlie early development of asbestosis should either be en couraged to change to otlier work, or exposures should be extremely low. kxxzxals raoexssma me 1971 17 25126914