Document dYkZj5rV5pB9qDoK44eEOOkwB

June 7, 1973 Key Bridge Marriott# Turlington# Virginia In Attendance AMATEX CORPORATION W. Maaskant K. J. Scanlan B. E. Walter BELL ASBESTOS MINES LTD. T7. H. Smith GARLOCX INC. S. G. Dixit A. Kuzmuk LTXE ASBESTOS OF QUEBEC LTD. E. A. Farrell ( R. Lcfebvre C. E. Stiefken (Asarco) ........- -- - JOUHS-MANVILLE CORPORATION C. G. Guerin T. P. Jackson J. P. Power (C.J-M) W. B. Reitze W. C. Streib KRNUF7.CTURAS MULTIPLES S.A.* R. Amal Olivo CADWALADER # WICKERSITAM & TAFT E. J. Leff UTCOLET INDUSTRIES, INC. E. W. Russell J. K. ITiittaker A12RICA1! SOCIETY FOR TESTING AMD MATERIALS P. O. Hicodemus H. K. PORTER COMPANY, E. C. Bratt D. E. Childers J. W. Echerd L. E. Moody IIIC. ASBESTOS TEXTILE INSTITUTE D. M. Facan, Executive Secretary RAYBESTOS-MAUHATT7kU# IIIC. M. M. Brooks J. W. Franpton# Jr. J. W. Hawkins R. T. Matthew II. Q. Scowcroft I. H. Weaver UNIRQYAL W. D. Bittinger B. E. Carden L. F. Dieringcr E. A. Morris GUESTS OF THE A.T.I. Asbetit S.A. Marchello Cattaneo Adorno Asbestos Information Association/ North America - - Matthew M.~Swetonic --'-------------------- Industrial Safety Equipment Association Charles II. fumwalt# Jr. _ ASBESTOS CORPORATION LTD. P. E. Leclerc U.S. Bureau of Mines Robert A. Clifton . ** ` Total attendance during tho two-day meeting was 48 people# including '10 v/caon and 38 men - representing 18 companies or associations. * Pago 2 --. ATI General Meeting -- -6/7/73 . MI nU T E s 1. The General Zleeting of the Asbestos Textile Institute was called to order by President K. Q. Scowcroft at 1:00 P.M., June 7, 1573. 2. President Scowcroft welcomed the menhers and guests in atten dance and introduced four guests; namely, Matthew M. Swetonic. Executive Secretary, Asbestos Information Association/north America; Marchello Cattaneo Adorno, Asberit S.A.; Robert A. Clifton, Division of Monmetallic Minerals, U.S. Bureau of Mines; and Charles M. Sumwait, Jr., Secretary/Treasurer, Industrial Safety Equipment Association, and member of its Safety Wearing Apparel Product Group. 3. `Following past tradition, President Scowcroft asked each member xn attendance to rise and state his name and company affiliation. ' 4. President Scowcroft called for the reading of the minutes of the Tast stated General Meeting. It x;as moved by A. Ruzmuk, seconded by T. P. Jackson, and so carried, to dispense v/ith the reading of same. 5. Treasurer S. A. Morris presented the Report of Funds'of the Institute as of April 30, 1973. C. F.. Stiefken moved the report be accepted. The motion x*as seconded by S. G. Dixit and so voted, unanimously. A. copy of the full Report is attached to these Minutes. . In the absence of H. Q. Alcorn, the Legal Counsel address was given by Eugene J. Leff of Cadwaladar, Wickershan & Taft. The full text of his report is attached hereto. Mr. Leff discussed two cases -- one concerned with the illegal division of the narkot, and the other noting a connection botweon anti-trust violations and the private exercise of governmental power. 7. If. H. Smith, Technical & Salc3 Representative, Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd., delivered the Fibre Producers' Report (see attached). Mr. Smith stated that crudes and ultra-long spinning fibers continue to be in short supply but medium and short spinning fibers from Grades 3F to 32 are in fair supply from most producers. t!o shortagein these grades is foreseen for the remainder of this year and a change in the situation is not indicated, at the present time, for 1974. 0. Pursuant to calling for Committee Reports by the resoective Chairmen, President Scowcroft advised that C. G. Guerin had replaced I. Barnett on the A.TI Technical Committee. The following reports of A.TI activities at the Committee level were presented by the respective Chairman to the general membership. A. copy of each Report is attached hereto, i.e.: "3 - --a** ' f 1 . ..-a `-page 3- --' ATI General Meeting . fi/7/73 ' Mr Hygiene & Manufacturing - B. E. Carden, Chairman; . . Asbestos Advisory - E. W. Russell, Chairman; Technical - J. W. Echerd, Chairnan; Fiber Research Testing - C. S. Stiefken, Chairman; Environmental Health - L. F. Dieringcr, Chairman. ' 10. It was related by President Scowcroft that recent technological breakthroughs in basic yam production techniques have influenced the Institute to seek wider representation in its membership. It was reported that as a result, the ATI Board of Governors had approved a change in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Institute involving Associate Membership requirements. Article III, Para graph 2(c) 'Of the Constitution has been revised as follows: "those weavers of asbestos-containing fabrics and tapes, for resale as such, who do not manufacture the asbestos-containing yarns used in ..same, shall be eligible for Associate Membership in this Institute. 11. President Scowcroft referred to the net; identification cards that had been given to each member in attendance, asking that they ,be returned to the Executive Secretary for use at future meetings. 12. As stated by President Scowcroft, there seens to be some diffi culty with the postal process in that some reservation cards are no arriving at ATI headquarters. In an endeavor to avoid undue problem at future meetings, it was advised that each member who makes a reservation with the Executive Secretary would receive a brief acknowledgment within approximately ten clays' tine. If same does not arrive in due courses, it would be well to so advise the Secre tary. 13. The next General Meeting of the Asbestos Textile Institute will be held: October 3-5, 1573 tJyc!;nere Harbor Club, Mnrvichport, Massachusetts Guest Speaker will be Ur. J. Corbett McPonald, Epidemiologist, McGill University, and Medical Adviser to the Quebec Asbestos Min ing Association. 14. President Scowcroft advised that evgry effort is being made to oblige the wishes of the membership-at-large by scheduling, when ever possible, future General Meetings of the Institute so that they end on Fridays. Loginning in 1974, future meetings will ho: February 7-0, 1574, at the Mills Hyatt House, Charleston, touth __Carolina; Juno 6-7, 1974, at .Twin Bridges Marriott, .'.Tar,king ton,___ D.C.;"September"25-27, 1974, at The Cloister, F.ca Island, Georgia; February G-7, 1575, at Holiday Inn-Independence flail, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tentative future meeting sites include Ponte Vcdra Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in October 1275 and the Marriott in Hew Orleans, Louisiana, in February 157 P........................... ....... `^5. Before introducing the Guest Speaker, President Scowcroft re- . furred to five booklets that %*ere distributed prior to calling tha  . i . 'jgtWiti*- ' !**i. SU< ":' .^cSSW.:.4 Pago 4 -- ATI General Ileeting 6/7/73 meeting to order. Just off the press, the booklets were published by the AIA/HA and are entitled: The Asbestos Information Association/Eorth America, rihat Asbestos Is--!lov And IThere It Is Used, .Asbestos And Health,* Questions and Answers--Asbestos And Health, and Protecting The Asbestos TJorkar. Tingle copies of the booklets are available from the AIA/ITA, 22 Hast 40th Street, Tiew York, Mew York 10016 [bulk-.rates on request]. " w"- 16. President Scowcroft introduced the Guest f.peaker: Matthew V. Swetonic, Executive Secretary, Asbestos Information Association/ ' North America. Mr. Swetonic (whose profile is...attached) discussed the AIA/IJA, its formation, its history and the work it is doina on behalf of the asbestos industry in the United States. Eo also talked about the impact of OCHA and EPA regulations to control the amount of asbestos dust in the atmosphere. He discussed the guns-* tion: Way has the Asbestos Industry been singled out by government, the press and various conservative groups? Ee stated that the . . industry is passing through a crisis period in the U.S. and that /Closer ties between trade associations would be beneficial. Ilr. Swotonic advised that he has been talking with the press about asbestos and health since I960 and that out of 150-175 reporters, only 2 were over 35. lie are dealing with a young and idealistic group, he said. From a survey taken of the awareness and attitudes toward the use of asbestos, it was discovered that asbestos is relatively unknown to the general public. The situation changes little between urban and rural areas. It was interesting to note that the survey indicated that those in the 10-25 age bracket knew little about asbestos but that awareness increased in those inter viewed who were between 40 and 43 years of ago. A copy of Mr. Swetonic's presentation, in its entirety, is attached, to these Minutes. 17. There being no further .business to be brought before the membership, the neeting was adjourned at approximately 3:00 P.M., as per a motion by IJ. A. Farrell, seconded by r. A. Morris, and. unanimously approved by the attending members. respectfully subnitted, jS^er'TU-S //'/> Cisr-LS Doris II. Fagan, ^ Executive Secretary NOTE: Enclosed herewith is your copy of the Constitution and By- Laws of the Asbestos Textile Institute, revised as of June 6, 1973. Paragraph 9 of the Dy-Lav/s (page 7) is subject to approval by the Internal Tlevanue Service. T -4 1;asbet.tos "te::tile institute :~v V "Vrrrrr---------:---------:--------------------------->i- i n. .`v* '.Report of Funds asof April^30,Tl Balance on Hand January 2, 1973 -- / General Fund Reserve Fund Potty Cash Fund s * 1,396.93 8,092.90 loo.no Total on Hand .....................................................................$ Receipts ~ To Reserve Fund -- Interest adjustment to 13/31/72 Dues for Year 1973 To General Fund -- Book Bales Insurance Credits ? .01 14,250.00 115.29 37.00 9,533 _ Total Receipts ..... ........................... .. $ 14,402 _ 8 23,996 Disbursements J_________ " , Rental of Office Space (5 months) $ .270.00.* ....._____________ Telephone (4 months) 135.97 N.J. Employment Tax (4th Qtr 1972) 33.75 Federal Income Tax (4th Qtr 1972) 78.00 Federal Unemployment Tax (Year 1972) 15.09 Federal Income/FICA Taxes (1st Qtr 1973) 162.fi?. Pa. Unemployment Tax (1st Qtr 1973) 5.25 ------ Pa. Income Tax (1st Qtr 1973) 12.09 Secretary's Net wr.cas (4 months) 508.00 Insurance for New Office quarters 145.00 Postage, Printing, Office Supplies, etc. Revision of Fibre Tent Manual* 213.99 2G.32 Legal Services ft Expenses (4th Qtr 1972) 007.40 Secretary's Travel Expense (2/7?. meeting) 175.1? Petty Cash Vouchers 01-10 ________92. 05 Total Disbursements ......................................................fi 2.586, ? 21,302. Miscalculation from last Statement ................................................ 7. BALANCE ON HAND APRIL 30, 1973 ......................$ 21,316. Tunds as of April 30, 1373 -- , General Fund Reserve Fund Petty Cash Fund 5 1,46?..06 19,846.91 7.?5 TOTAL AVAIL7J>LT^ HEPS ... ..... ___________________________________ Isnets as of April 30, 1973 -- Total Funds ns listed \abovc> Accounts Pjeceivable. (Book Rales) Furniture Equipment(nominalvalue) f. 21,31r.92 6.90 1.0? ... '.T';- TOTAL ASSETS . . . . . . . . 21,323.< . *4 Respectfully submittacIT loris M. Fagan tvfat. mri' voir:1:! . .# $ 21,323.! ===== FIBRE PRODUCERS' REPORT (Tresanted at ATI General Meeting, June 7, 1573, at r.cy Bridge Harriott, Arlington, Virginia] There has been an increasing demand throughout the world in 1373 for a number of fibre grades, notably in 4 Group and 7 Group. After the fall-off in 1972 in 5 and 6 Group fibres, this market has begun to recover, although not to the sane c::tent as the previously-mentioned 4 and 7 Groups. Of sain interest to menbers of the A.T.I. are the spinning fibre Group 3 grades. Crudes and ultra-long spinnings continue to be in short supply, hut the medium and short spinnings in the 3F to 3Z range are in fair supply fros cost producers. ?lo shortage is foreseen in these grades during 1973, although individual produ cers may be tight in some specific gradings. There are no indications at present that there will be a marked change during 1D74 in spinnings; however, in short fibres, the current oversupply of 6D fibres may be closer to balance nert year. One or two new nines in Canada are scheduled to come into produc tion in 1975, but there is no likelihood that they will.produce any spinning fibres. The same is true of new sources in Australasia. V7r.lter II. Smith Technical h Salas hepresentati Bell Asbestos Hines, Ltd. AIR HYGIENE 6 MANUFACTURING COMMITTEE Asbestos Textile Institute June 7, 1973 - - Key Bridge Harriott, Arlington, Virginia The Committee met with sixteen members and guests in attendance, representative of ten companies, as follows: Amatcx Corporation n, K. Halter, Morristown, Pennsylvania Asberit 3.A. *1. Cattaneo (Adorno), Rio dc Janeiro, Brazil Cadwolader, Wickersham & Taft E. J. Leff, Hew Tor): City Canadian Johns-Manvillo Company Ltd. J.; P. Power, Asbestos, Quebec Garlock Inc. S. G. Dixit, Palmyra, Kew York Johns-Hanville Corporation C. G. Guerin, Manville, Hew Jersey . *1. B. Reitcc, Denver, Colorado Lake Asbestos of Quebec Ltd. E. A. Farrell, ITeu York City R. L. Lefebvre, Black Lake, Quebec 11. K. Porter Company, Inc. E. C. Bratt, Charlotte, north Carolina L. E. rioody, Charlotte, Ilorth Carolina Raybestos-Jlanhattan, Inc. R. T. Matthew, north Charleston, Couth Carolina 1. II. Heaver, Hanhoin, Pennsylvania Uniroyal, Inc. W. D. Bittincer, Hinnshorn, Couth Carolina 2. E. Carden, Hognnsville, Georgia ______L._ F._Dieringar, Jliddlehury., .Connecticut___ Thu meeting included discussions in the following areas: dust (fiber) counts improvements, special checking, etc.; and recent experiences with OCHA inspections. When taking dust counts, one company now is U3ing a method of -placing the filter intaku valve near the person1s mouth and .nose Page 2 - Minutes of the ATI Air Hygiene 6 Kfg. Committee - S/1/12 * and in sosxs cases will use two units with the second on the enployee's shoulder. Also, it was pointed out, again, that the height of the person being checked has some bearing on the dust count. Dust on fiber samples, when checked by different people, shows a difference or a variation of as rauch as 5 to 1 and an average of 40% variation, plus or minus, with more variation on higher counts. Spacing of equipment using a larger area and using a second unit to recirculate the air has shown sonc reduction in dust counts. *4hen stripping cards, use hoods placed as low as possible over the area and strip with a brush attached to a vacuum. Some plants utilize the Abington system when stripping cards. f One plant reported the use of a light spray (T-E-X) on mixes using roughly 2%, while another plant sprays carrier only with a mixture of water and ban-set. Doth plants report soma reduction in dust as a result of using the sprays. In a recant plant inspection by OSH?., one company received several fines for the following items: 1) Some employees with no respirators; 2) Company had not provided protective clothing in required areas; 3) Citations resulting in two 5700.00 fines for exceeding five (5) iibers in one area and a time-weighted average of over ten (10) fibers in another area. In some recent canes the or-IA Agency has reduced dust counts by 25%' before actually issuing n citation. Some plants are using rental uniforms and lockers both furnished by the rental uniform people. 'The uniforms, two per employee each week, averages about 52.50 weekly. * In most cases the rental uniform is a short-sleeved shirt and pants only, and this has been acceptable.' Respectfully- submitted, Duel F-. Carden, Chaiman . TV - ** MINUTES ASBESTOS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Asbestos Textile Institute Juno 7, 1973 -- Key Bridge Marriott, Arlington, Virginia IN ATTENDANCE: E. V7. Russell, Chairman 7. P. Jackson ~ A. Russule M J. Scanlan H. Q. Scowcroft D. 14. Fagan, ATI Executive Secretary E. J. Leff, ATI Legal Counsel / -- The Board of Governors of the Asbestos Textile Institute took action at its September 1972 meeting to change the Institute's Constitution and By-Laws. The change permitted weavers of asbestos-containing fabrics and tapes, for resale as such, who do not manufacture the asbestos yarns used in same, to be eligible for Associate Membership. In light of this action, the Asbestos Advisory Committee was requested to determine a method of extending membership. After considering several alternatives, the Committee ac cepted the offer of !1. Q. Scowcroft to prepare a news release for insertion in the July 1*73 issue of AGDESTOS magazine. The release trill state the By-Law change and will publicly extend Membership to those qualified afld interested. T. P. Jackson of Johns-Manvilla Corporation will servo as Membership Chairman. Respectfully submitted, E."T7. Russell,"Chairman \ . - -V r HIHDTES TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Asbestos Textile Institute June 6t 7, 1973- - Key Bridge Harriott, Arlington, Virginia IH ATTENDANCE: J. V7. Hawkins, Iiayhcstos-Mnnhnttan,. Inc. V7. Maaskant, Jsnatcx Corporation P. 0. Hicodemus, General Electric Conpany/ASTM C. G. Guerin, Johns-Manvillo Corporation J. 17. Echerd {Chairman), IT. ". Porter Company, Inc. Carl G. Guerin, of Johns-.Manville Corporation, was welcomed as a new member of the ATI Technical Committee, replacing Irvin Carnett. A special meeting of the Committee was hold on June fith to revie'* the 7*STM Standards for Yarn, Roving, and Lap. The Committee's ^proposed statements on precision and accuracy were approved by the Editorial Committee of ASTM D-13 as being editorial.' However, tho statements were rejected by the ASTit Standards Editor who spe cified they must be put to letter ballot after assigning a schedule for inter-laboratory testing. The samples of yarn, roving and lap will be analysed by Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., Anntex Corporation, General Electric Company, Garlock Inc. and II. XI. Porter Company, Inc. Testing should be completed prior to the Spring 1974 meeting. Tho Johns-Ilanville tumbler-test procedure was dismissed as a means to determine tho relative dustiness of various asbestos products. J. U. Hawkins will determine if this equipment is available for ATI evaluation. The feasibility of building a similar tester also will be considered. ASTI1 Subcommittee .013.14 has been requested by the IJ.S. Navy to change D-315 Asbestos Tapes to conform with Federal Specification EH-T-17R2 so it nay he used for direct procurement purposes. Re vision would require the addition of a quality assurance provision, a section on packaging ana an obsolete table on tape styles. The ATI Technical Committee feels that this jjnfomntion should not be included in a "Material Specification.M P. 0. Nicodemus will re view the objectionable items with ASCII before replying to the Navy. A draft of proposed Military Specification MIL-I-3053F.--"Insula tion, Electrical, Asbestos-Fiber, Treated and.Entreated"_wgs............_ submitted "for'approval. The Chairman wan instructed to request an extension for comments until after the October 1973 Committee meet ing. * V Respectfully submitted, J. U. Tcherd, Chairman  MINUTES FIBEH RESEARCH & TESTING COMMITTEE Asbestos Textile Institute June 7, 1971 -- Key Bridge Marriott, Arlington, Virginia IN ATTENDANCE: w. C. Streib, Johns-Manville Corporation rJ. H. Smith, Eoll Asbestos Mines Ltd. O. E. Childers, !I. K. Porter Company: Inc. C. E. Atiefb.cn (Chairman), American Exalting c Aofining Co. The meeting was totally devoted to discussions of the progress of the 3rd Edition of the Chrysotile Asbestos Test Manual. It was noted that the AGFA (Asbestos Cement Products Association) / has become defunct and all references to that organization have been removed from the new manual. It was decided that for future test deletions, a substitute page would be inserted into the manual, containing the previous test number with an explanation of the reason for deletion. It would be indicated that the test could he obtained from ATI, if required. Since AC?A is defunct, the ATI has, for the record, agreed to sponsor an original ACTA test --; Strength in Asbestos Cement Products, P-3. Test G-2, TSIT Magnetic Mating, has been approved for sponsorship by the ATI. The Test '.lanual has been assembled in rough form, requiring some editorial changes. This draft '.rill now bo reviewed by tlie ATI Fiber Research & Testing Committee. tlhcn approved, the draft will be submitted to the printer for a reasonahly-accurato cost .estimate. All original typing, shetchos*and photographs will then be assembled for printing, hopefully hy the end of this simmer. It will be helpful for the membership to submit copy requiroBsnts_to. Do ris -Fagan. as -soon as nos sib lo.-------------------------------------: V respectfully submitted, C. E. Sticfhen,' Chairman ^ - 7 Vv- -- : v ' 4S ' : ' *. ; \7--:".:Y 7 EyVUlOITKENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE Asbestos Textile Institute June 7, 1973 -- Key Bridge Harriott, Arlington, Virginia ?*o formal meeting of the Committee was held, and the three nenhers sat in on the discussions of the Air Hygiene. & Manufacturing Committee. As of meeting time, the following is the status of various pro posed OSIIA occupational health standards which are of interest to camber companies: 1) Hoisa -- A Department of Labor Standards Advisory Commit tee is meeting periodically to consider this standard. At its meeting in Boston on 'lav 21, 1973, the American Confer ence of Governmental Hygienists (ACHII!) recomnonded the adoption of a notice of intent to change the IToise Threshold Licit Values to C5 d3A for an G-hour-n-day, tine-weighted exposure. At the C5IIA Standards Advisory Committec meeting in Washington, D.C., on Hay 30, 1973, Dr. V. II. Hildyard, Committee Chairman, stated that the level of exposure to . noise for employees will probably remain at 90, dEA. i 2) Heat Stress - ACCIK ad so recommended at its Boston meeting the adoption of the Heat Stress Threshold Limit Values which were published as a notice of intent in 1972. It differs slightly from those recommended by MICE!! in its criteria package in that permissible work-rest regimens are specified. The status of the proposed standards is clouded by recent criticism that the ITJGT index- in not an adequate indicator of heat stress. Proposals have been nade that sweat rates and heart rates are more indicative of heat stress. Accent articles of interest from the Annuals of Occupational Hy giene, Volume It, 1973, house organ for the British Occupational Hygiene Society, are: 1) Pages 1-5, Hygiene standards for* Airborne Anosito Asbes tos Dust - "The subcommittee, (on asbestos) bar, reviewed the information on human exposure to airborne Annsite dust and animal experiments. Che subcor.inittae believes 5.t has insuf ficient knov.'lcdge of the relationship between airborne _______Aaosite.clust .exposure and the ris):-of-anbestosis -to-permit-----an accurate statement of the degree of protection afforded by a specified hygiene standard, nevertheless, on the basin of comparisons between the affects of Arjonitn and Chrysotile dust on men and aninals, it is recommended that the standards on Anasitr. should he no les3 stringent than those for Chryso- . 2) Page 7, Uoview of the Hygiene Standard for Chrysotila . - Asbestos Bust - Eased on information r>f. Quebec mortal ity .and Page 2 - Minutes of the A"I Environmental Health Committee - 6/7/72 morbidity data,.no new reported adverse comments and initia tion of nev; studies not available for a number of years, the subcommittee on asbestos stated, "It is therefore recommended that no changeji he mads at the present tine, but that the standard he kept under review." 3) Pages S-17, Eiolocical Effects of Cancer - P.cpcrt of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos Cancers to the Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer - Report divided into two parts, the first a question-and-answer section devoted to the latest thinking on the relation of ashentes exposure and cancer, and tlia second to recommendations for future research ir. epidemiology, pathology and physics and chemistry of ashestoo-related cancer. _____ ... ___ Respectfully submitted, A. F Dieringar, Chairman \ N REMARKS OF C01B1SEL Asbestos Textile Institute General .'tenting June 7, ID73, Arlington, Virginia At the February General Meeting in Atlanta, Uendsll Alcorn `presented to you remarks of counsel dealing with illegal divisions of ' territory among competing sellers. The cases ho referred to then dealt with explicit agreements in which the nap was carved tip among the soiling companies involved on thn principle of "ens region one company". The decided cases have hsld such agreements to be unlawful, with a few limited exceptions. A recent case has focused attention on the division of markets where the. agreement cr plan is not clearly spelled `out. In Hobart Erothers Company v. Ilalcoln T. Gillianfl, Inc. , *171 F.2d 854' (5th Cir. 1S73), c>art. aenied, 41 U.d.L.W. 3^22 Clay 25, 1973), a distributor of welding equipment was assigned by the manufacturer "primary responsibility" for distribution in northern Georgia. The natural ^commercial instincts of the firm, however, led it to begin selling in Tennessee, which was not only outside the northern Georgia territory, but was within an area supplied directly by the manufac turer. Eventually, the distributornliip agreement was cancelled by the manufacturer, and the distributor sued the manufacturer, charging an illegal division of territories. The defense emphasised the absence of a written contract prohibit ing the distributor fren selling in any particular area. Thera had bean such an agreement years earlier, but counsel had remedied, that problem by drafting naw contracts assigning "areas of primary responsibility", which did not on their face limit sales elsewhere. Thn courts nevertheless held the arrangennnt to be illegal. The Fifth Circuit Court cf Appeals stated that "A silent understanding can be shewn by the course of conduct of the parties." The chief* damaging evidence was an intra-office mono from the Tennessee dis trict representative of the manufacturer to the hone office which reported the distributor's sales ir. Tennessee and urged the manu facturer to "counter" by selling directly ir- the distributor's territory., northern Geor*gia. # * One of the important teachings of this case is that compliance with the antitrust lav/s - whether the issue is prices, distribution schemes, refusals to deal with certain companies, or ar.y other sensitive trade regulation natter _y_is not .achieved.ky.ncrolv _________ "avoiding'the obvious,'spelled"out forms "of transgression. Care muwt lie taken not to lessen competition indirectly or through unexpressed understandings as well. N Having mentioned violations of the law through ncro devious means, which sucr;s to me appropriate at this gathering, so close to the hatergate building, I would like to note another connection be- twaen antitrust law and politics. . r'.t - *-. 4 Page 2 - Jtenarhs of Counsel - arz General Meeting - 6/7/73 -/ Trade associations as veil as other commercial groups can run afoul of the lax*; by assuming power in their private activities which pro perly belongs to the government. The early price-fi:cing cases reflect the view that privata parties should net be permitted to regulate sc sensitive a feature of the economy as prices. Pirailarly, any joint action which excludes certain companies from important commercial benefits is viewed by the courts as the imposition of a punishment - which is a power reserved to the courts. .. In Pashion Originators1 Guild. Inc, v. Federal Trade Commission. 312 U.S. 457'(1341}, for example, a combination of manufacturers cf women*s garments and manufacturers of textiles tried to prevent the copying of their fashionable clothes by so-called "style pirates". The fashionable clothes group refused to sell their products to manufacturers or retailers of garments who dealt with the competing "style pirates". The Supreme Court rejected the defense that such a practice was justified by the necessity of ridding the business of unscrupulous garment designers. The Court said: "... the combination is in reality an extra-governmental agency, which prescribes rules for the regulation and re straint of interstate commerce, and provides extra judicial tribunals for determination and punishment of violations, and thus 'trendies upon the power of the national legislature and violates the statute' [i.o., the Sherman Act]." 312 t'.E. at 4G3. So long as private companies retain their competitive individuality, however, and restrict their joint efforts to constructive objectives which reasonably serve that individuality, there is little danger of antitrust difficulties. Eugene .7. I.cff, Attorney CTiDTTrjJvDr?., 17XC3E?.5:'AM & TATT V s ABOUT THE SPEAKER The names Matthew M, Swetonic and Asbestos Infor mation Association/North America are synonymous. It was Matt who developed the original AIA/NA Prospectus in the Fall of 1970 and who prepared the presentations for both the introductory and the organization meetings. Upon J-M's decision to move its corporate head quarters to Denver and Matt's electing not to make the move, he was employed as AIA/NA*s first full-time Executive Secretary. For the first- three months of 1972 he handled two jobs: Manager of Environmental Affairs for J-M and Executive Secretary for AIA/NA. During this time he orga nized the industry effort for the EPA and OSHA hearings and wrote for others or presented himself six major presentations in a period of 45 days, a record which he states he hopes he "will be never asked to break." Matt is 30 years of age and is married. He is a native New Yorker, was reared in Easton, Penna., and now resides in Manhattan. He holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and an M.S. in Journalism. Following a tenure as Feature Writer for The Eas ton Express, he joined J-M in July 1965 as Associate Editor of News/Pic, an employee maga zine. He was promoted to Editor in January 1967 and one year later was named Coordinator, Special Projects. This is the job that granted him the expertise to superbly fulfil his duties as Execu tive Secretary of the AIA/NA as the major respon sibilities "included writihg"J-M asbestos^ealth position papers., preparing speeches on asbestoshealth for top ir-M executives, working with J-M public relations counsel and learning asbestos- health literature backwards and forwards. WHY ASBESTOS ? A Presentation Before the Asbestos Textile Institute Arlington, Virginia - June 7, 1973 By: Matthew M. Swetonic, Executive Secretary Asbestos Information Association/Morth America X am sure that many of you have asked yourselves, as I have asked myself, why has the asbestos industry seemingly been singled out as the prime target for so many assaults by government, labor, the press, certain segments of the medical profession, and by various environmental and consumer activist groups? Why us? Can asbestos really be all that bad? Are the products we produce truly going to kill millions of Americans, as some experts have predicted? Or is there some sort of nefarious conspiracy ' ' afoot to destroy the asbestos industry? * The answer to the question of "Why us" is both complex and simple. Complex because it is a combination of three interrelated but separate factors. Simple because each of the factors is, when considered by itself, quite obvious. The three factors are (1) asbestos can cause disease, (2) a spokes man arose to champion the need for asbestos control, and (3) a cornucopia of new government agencies were set up to control materials and products that can cause disease. Let us look at each of those factors in turn. First, there is no doubt that the inhalation of substantial amounts of asbestos can lead to increased rates of various types of lung disease, including two forms of cancer. These are facts which can not be denied, even if they do not apply in all circumstances and under all conditions. The medical literature is full of solid evi dence linking asbestos to disease. In my office, I have on file more than 2,000 medical papers dealing with the health risks of asbestos and hundreds more are published every year. # Secondly, the spreading of concern over the health risks of asbes tos has as its prime spokesman one of the most talented medical publicists of the age -- Dr. Irving J. Selikoff of New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. Hot cnly is Dr. Selikoff capable of arousing the ire and moraL_indignation-of-the most-conservative-reporter'or politician with his graphic descriptions and predictions of the ravages of asbestos, but he has also surrounded himself with a 9^ouP of similarly talented associates who have carried the Mount Sinai message to the far corners of the nation. While Dr. Selikoff has, in his zeal, unquestionably painted a fax darker picture than the facts warrant, we should air/ays remember . .. ym his defense that the insulation workers he hn bc*n study! ng for ' -Page 2 - Why Asbestos?, by H. !i. Swetonic, AIA/HA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 more than a decade were and still are dying from asbestos related disease at an appalling rate. Such a situation would be sufficient to make a crusader out of the most conservative of scientists. Finally, in the past decade there has been a tremendous growth in public and governmental"interest in environmental and occupational health xaatters. This interest has been translated into a series of far-reaching laws affecting industry in a manner hitherto unknown in this or any other country. I believe it is accurate to say that these new laws, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the Consumer Product Safety Art, and others, have forever altered the concent of the free enterpr a system as it' was known in this country for a hundred and fifty yc--:s. Thus, in combination, these three factors created a situation in which a cadre- of freshly created federal agencies, with strong statutory authority, were prodded into assigning priority status to asbestos by Dr. Selikoff and his followers, who achieved these ends through skillful use of the great wealth of negative asbestos-health data contained in the medical literature. In short, the asbestos industry was singled out because it was vulnerable to attack, because there was someone willing to lead that attack, and because Congress had graciously provided the vehicles for such an assault. ' The background of industry efforts to deal with the asbestos-health problem as a national issue goes back nearly a decade, to Dr. Selikoff's now famous 1964 seminar on asbestos disease at the New York Academy of Sciences. XThile this seminar did much to prick the industry's conscience about asbestos and health, the problem still remained one of limited public and press interest until around 1967, when the media began beating the medical bushes searching for stories that would graphically portray American industry's supposed disregard for the environment and for the health and safety of its workmen and the American public. The asbestos-health problem was found to be tailor-made for such stories. As a result, starting with Paul Brodeur's infamous Hew Yorker article of March 1966, asbestos has since grown into an item of majgr press interest. In those years, industry efforts to combat the spate of negative press articles on asbestos were carried on primarily by the Johnsflanyille Corporation, which set up a task force of specialists in various-fields-to-do-what-it could-*to portray the problem in' its proper perspective. Uhile some minor successes wereachieved, it was found that no one company acting independently could adequately or effectively represent an entire industry in dealing with the press and with government officials. As a result, in late 1970, eight companies gathered in New York City to launch the Asbestos Information Association of North America,' Page 3'- Why Asbestos?, by M. 1-1. Swetonic, AIA/IJA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 which was patterned after the British Asbestos Information Commit tee, which had been established some three years earlier. In our original concept, the Association would limit its activities to providing accurate, unbiased information on asbestos and health to the press, to the public and to interested politicians and other government officials. It must be remembered that at this particu lar time, the enormous problems that would later develop with regard to OSHA and other Federal regulatory agencies were as yet on the distant horizon and basically unrecognized by the industry* Fortunately -- and properly -- the Association has had the wisdom to alter its original limited concept of its. proper functions, and now endeavors to assume whatever activities and responsibilities it deems necessary to protect the interests of the asbestos manufac turing industry in the United States vis-a-vis asbestos-health. From this rather narrow initial public relations concept, the Association has grown in the last tv/o years into an organization with priorities in eight major fields of endeavor. These are: Iledical Affairs, Legal Affairs, Environmental Control, Customer Relations, Employee Relations, Inter-industry Relations, Publicity and Public Relations, and Government Affairs. . To take these activities one at a time, let us start with medical affairs. It is an obvious fact that if an organization is to speak authori tatively on a medical matter, it nust not only be steeped in the literature of that particular medical subject, but it must also keep itself constantly informed of new discoveries and developments. This we have accomplished in a number of ways. For example^ by sending representatives to important medical meetings, such as the 19.72 Lyon, France, international conference on the biological effects of asbestos, which was sponsored by the T'orld Health Organi zation. We also meet on an irregular basis with various medical experts in the field, both from the United States and abroad, to review and discuss recent developments' and discoveries. Our literature research is eased considerably by receiving the monthly medical paper distribution of the Institute of Occupational and _Enviranmenta1 Health ..in .Montreal, which ..is funded -by -the -Quebec Asbestos Mining Association. This year,.for the first time, the AIA has elected to sponsor medical research of its `own. Currently underway is a completely AIA/NA funded study of chest sounds, which is being conducted by Dr. Raymond Murphy of the Harvard School of Public Health. The purpose of the study is to find a new nethod of determining an individual's potential susceptibility to asbestos disease. Page 4 - Why Asbestos?, by M. M. Swetonic, AIA/NA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 The Association has also recently decided to contribute to some ve: exciting research into a possible cure for mesothelioma through electromotive treatment. This study is being conducted at Somerst Cospital in New Jersey. In the legal affairs area, the Association participated in an amicus curiae capacity in the lav/ suit brought by the Industrial Onion Department of the AFL/CIO against the Occupational Safety anc Health Administration on the asbestos standards. In our brief the Association supported OSHA against the IUD, somewhat of a unique position for an industry to find itself in vis-a-vis a governmental regulatory agency. Oral argument on the case was held April 4 in Washington. While a decision has yet to be handed, down by the Coui of Appeals, we sure confident that the case will be decided in our favor. * The Association has retained the services of a special technical consultant on environmental control affairs. At the present time, he is working with the AIA/NA Environmental Control Sub-Committee on the development of a series of five Association compliance manuals on the OSHA standards. Last year, because of the well established unreliability of the membrane filter method as a monitoring tool in the asbestos industry, the AIA undertook the sponsorship of a study at a research laboratory in California to determine the effect of certei variables on the overall accuracy of the method. The results of the study showed an error factor of plus or minus 50 per cent under the most favorable of measuring conditions. These results were sen to both OSHA and to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. A number of the recommendations contained in the study for improving the accuracy of the method have been incorporated inti a soon-to-be-released revised NICSH operations manual on fiber counting. In the customer relations area, the total effect of negative press publicity and government regulations on industry customers is still today rather poorly defined. Some members of tdie Association have reported serious problems in this area, while others have experienced few or no difficulties thus far. # Where customer problems do exist, they normally fall into one of five categories. First, the customer has Jthoroughly investigated-his-situation and -- lias found "that he can no longer afford" to continue using asbestos or asbestos-containing products, either because the cost of control is too high or because he would have to raise the price of his product to a level that would make it non-competitive with non-asbestos containing substitutes. Second, the customer has not thoroughly investigated his situation and only thinks that he can no longer afford to continue using .asbestos. . . / -Page 5.- Why Asbestos?, by H. M. Swetonic, AIA/HA -Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 Third, the customer has read one or more negative articles on asbestos in the public press and has made the snap decision that "we ought to get that dangerous stuff out of our plant." Often, decisions of this nature are forced on top management by illinformed medical advisors or safety and health directors. ' Fourth, the customer has neither a control problem nor is he parti cularly afraid of using asbestos in his own plant. However, he is fearful that those of his competitors whose finished products do no contain asbestos will stress the adverse health effects of asbestos in trying to take business away from him. Customer fears of this nature arc essentially "gut" reactions and ure hence extremely difficult to deal with. Fifth, the customer has none of these problems or fears but he has been advised by a government official or inspector that he would be better off if he quit using asbestos or asbestos-containing product: in his plant. While this problem does not appear to be widespread, we have learned of a number of situations where it has occurred. 'Actions, of this nature by government officials sure totally uncalled for and* should be dealt with promptly and decisively. The best solution is to obtain complete details on the incident and then tc register a formed complaint with the offending official's immediate superior or with the government agency involved. The Association's first reaction to the overall customer relations problem was to approve funds for a series of four regional seminars at which industry customers would be given a number of . basic presen tations on the various aspects of the asbestos-health problem. The seminars were tentatively scheduled for the Spring of 1973. However, the experiences of a number cf our member companies showed that general "catchall" typo seminars of the type originally contemplated would not bo effective in dealing with the majority of customer relations problons. In order to do the job properly, it was found that customer presentations have to be tailored, to the needs and problems of the individual custoner. As a result, the /association cancelled its scheduled series of seminars and. instead elected' to* develop a number of packaged slide presentations on such topics as "The Facts About Asbestos and Health," and "Understanding the OSHA Regulations," which could be used by member companies as part of a tailored presentation to individual customers. _____ _____ As with customer relations, the /issociaticn feels that employee relations is a problenvbest handled by the individual member companies. Thus far, the /iIA's sole contribution in this area of .industry concern has been tc prepare thu draft of an Employee Safety and Health Guide on Asbsstos-Hoalth. The. draft was made available to the member companies for their own use and at least one has ^r?^uce<^ in booklet form for distribution to all its employees. Page 6 - Why Asbestos?, by M. M. Swetonic, AIA/NA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 X personally believe that the employee relations aspect of the asbestos-health problem is one that has been sorely neglected by most companies within the industry, and that it could develop into a major problem area- in the near future and that steps should be taken now to deal with it. V7e knew that various organized labor groups axe planning a full scale campaign to bring their interpre tation of the asbestos-health problem to the attention of asbestos industry employees throughout the nation. If the industry permits this interpretation to be disseminated without rebuttal, the consequences could be grave indeed. Inter-industry relations are best defined as keeping the industry informed about important new developments on .the governmental, medical and press relations fronts that affect asbestos. This is accomplished within the AIA by periodic distributions of documents and information to the member companies and to others on our mailing list. -The value of this activity can be gauged by the fact that our overall mailing list increased from approximately a dozen names in 1971 to more than 60 a year later, tlhile we have had to trim the list somewhat this year for logistical reasons, we assume from the frequent requests we still receive to be placed on the list that the'material we send out is being read and is of considerable value to those receiving it. Next to government affairs, our public relations and publicity activities constitute the single largest consumer of time, effort and money within the Association. Those of you who are familiar with the treatment that asbestos has been receiving in the public press over the years can readily understand why this activity ranks so high on our priority list. VJhat ycu may not understand are the reasons why cur extensive efforts in dealing with the nation's press have been so unsuccess ful to date in producing the theoretical "balanced" or "positive" story on asbestos and health. The'simple fact is that frcm.the standpoint of today's young activist reporter, industry is *thc bad guy, and nothing we do, say or achieve can ever change this impression. If we spend $100 million dollars on environmental control, the press either says we ought to have done it ten years ago or that we should have spent $200 million. _..If we sponsor medical research, they say we are ---------- trying to buy favorable results. If we are opposed tc ridiculously stringent standards, they say we are in favor of letting our employees die. v A television executive in Minneapolis described this new breed of reporter as being "so intent on demolishing the establishment that they would blindly destroy the credibility of the media in the bar- . gain." Another TV executive, this time in Chicago, stated "they . Page 7.- Why Asbestos?; by H. M. Swetonic, AIA/UA Presented to the ATI at Arlington; Virginia - 6/7/73 want to make moral and political and social judgments on their assignments and then take sides. Never mind getting the facts straight." As a result of this "industry is a monster" philosophy; asbestos will remain a hot news item only so long as the news is bad.- The "good" that asbestos does in protecting lives and property is of no concern to the press. Likewise; industry efforts to protect workmen and the general public from asbestos exposure will always be given minimal coverage, since such information is directly contrary to the portrait of an irresponsible industry producing a "killer" product that is the sole element of news worthiness in the asbestos story. The press relations battle will therefore be won, not when the media starts to print positive or balanced articles about asbestos, but when the press ceases to print anything about asbestos at all. As long as negative news on asbestos-health continues to be generated, the media will continue to eat it up. The media will only cease to carry such stories when the generation of, negative news ceases. It is as simple as that. Positive or.balanced stories are a chimera, since they are, by definition, not newsworthy. Let me give you a very specific example of this last principle in action. As most Qf you already know, the Association is currently engaged in an extensive campaign to interest the trade press in articles on the benefits of asbestos and on industry accomplish ments in the environmental control area. The trade press, unlike the national or public media, is much more receptive to articles of this nature and we expect to be seeing a number of positive stories in the trade press in the next few months. In any case, we also from tine to time put out press releases on various subjects relating to asbestos-health. A few weeks ago, we issued a release on the report of the advisory committee .on asbestos cancers of the World Ilealth Organization. In brief, the report concluded that the general public is not in danger from asbestos.in the environment. Thus far, we have received nearly two dozen press clippings from trade publications that carried the story. To the best of our knowledge, not a single newspaper, news magazine, radio or TV station,, or any other segment of the public media ran the story, with the solitary exception of a French language paper in Toronto. 7vs I said before, if the news is good, -the press simply isn't'interested.' -- Nonetheless, the Association has no intention of abandoning cur efforts vis-a-vis the national media. We will continue to issue appropriate press releases, cooperate with feature writers doing stories on asbestos, write letters to the editor when those stories appear,-and in short, do all we can to present the press with a balanced view of the asbestos-health situation. ...... Page 8 - Why Asbestos?, by M. M. Swetonic, AIA/UA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 Our most recent effort in this regard has been the preparation and printing of an Asbestos and Health Information File, which we have mailed to some 3,000 newspapers, magazines, trade publications, radio and TV stations, science writers, etc., across the United States. Basically, the file contains copies of five industry position papers on asbestos and asbestos-health, as well as a number of important medical papers and a pair of photographs illustrating the benefits of asbestos and industry efforts at environmental control. Uhile we don't expect our information file to change the whole attitude of the press toward asbestos, we are hoping that the media will make use of it to accurately report the industry's position when doing stories on the subject. t And now, having heard the bad side of the public relations problem, it's time for some good nev/s. And the good news is that despite all the negative articles on asbestos-health that have appeared in the press over the pest halfdozen years, very few people have been paying attention. Let me explain. In February, the Association undertook a personal interview research survey of the American public to determine!its attitude toward asbestos and its awareness of the health issue. The survey was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation during March and April. More than 2,00C denographically selected Americans wers interviewed. Without going into enormous detail, the results show that only 22 per cent of the American public are aware of the health hazards of asbestos, and that 60 por cent of these consider it a hazard only to those who are occupationally exposed, h mere three per cent of those interviewed stated that they considered asbestos a health hazard to the general public, and less than one quarter Of one per cent considered it the most dangerous material on the list they were given to choose from. Surprisingly, the college age youths of America are no more a\*are of the hazards of asbestos than their parents and grandparents. These results should be reassuring to those industry customers who fear that the general public will stop buying their products because they contain asbestos.______ ____________________________ *.................. Before going on to describe our activities in the government relations area, I think it might be interesting at this point to take a very brief look at the manner in which Dr. Selikoff and his supporters have used his research results to dramatize and exaggerate the seriousness of the asbestos-health problem. I have two charts which point this out rather conclusively. ... Page 9 - Thy Asbestos?, by Ji. is. Evetonic, AIA/ITA Presented to the ATI at Islington, Virginia - <5/7/73 The first chart shows the actual results of Or. Selikoff's four mortality studies of asbestos workers. The numbers in parentheses beside the figures for total number of workers indicate those who have so far died frora all causes. The percentage figures .alongside the total number of deaths from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma are based on the total number of deaths from all causes, not on the number of workers in the study. The most important study of the group is the second from the top, shoving the deaths from asbestos-related disease among all members of the insulation vorkers union, regardless of length of exposure. You will note that 34 per cent of those workers who have died thus far have died from one of the three asbestos-related diseases. These, then, are the facts Dr. Selikoff works fron. This is what he knows from his ovm investigations, How let us take a lock at what he has done with these figures in order to dramatize the problem................................... .. - -- Chart number II shews Dr. Selikoff's predictions about -asbestesrelated deaths in the United States. Without going into details. Dr. Selikoff has arrived at his projections by the simple procedure of multiplying the percentage of deaths from asbestos-related disease among his insulation workers by the total number of employees in the entire industry. You will also note that he has raised his projected death estimate to enormous heights over the past year by simply increasing the base figure of employees exposed, while still retaining the percentage multiplier of 34 per cent being experienced by the insulation workers. I night point out that this tactic, hov/evcir deceptive, has been an enormous success sines each raising of the estimate has earned Dr. Selikoff correspondingly greater coverage by the media. >Io finer example exists of the total gullibility of the pross than the manner in which it aileved its prejudices to bn manipulated and played upon in this situation. Please don't get ne wrong. .1 have no doubt that the insulation workers are in fact dying as rapidly as Dr, Selikoff says they are.' The problem is that he has translated their mortality experience to the rest of the entire industry, which is completely erroneous. -In the first place,-the estimated number of employees in the -------- industry is too high -- five tines.too high to bo precise. Even more important, according to an analysis by the Association cf core than a dozen mortality studies, including those of Dr. Rclikoff, our prediction is that approximately 25,000 past .and present employees in the asbestos industry have died or will eventually die of asbestos-related disease. This is loss than nno-thirteent*h CHART NUMBER I * DR. I. J. SELIKOFF------RESEARCH DATA NO. OF WORKERS DESCRIPTION OF COHORT TOTAL DEATH FROM ASI3ESTOSIS, LUNG CANCER & MESOTHELIOM MORTALITY STUDY OF TWO LOCALS OF INSULATION WORKERS UNION MORTALITY STUDY OF ALL MEMBERS OF INSULATION WORKERS UNION 625 (423) 17,800 (1092) THOSE WITH A MINIMUM OF `20 YEARS EXPOSURE ALL WORKERS ON ROLLS 1/1/67 149 (35%) 368* (34%) MORTALITY STUDY OF WORKERS IN A WORLD WAR II AMOSITE INSULA TION PLANT 933 (484) EXPOSED ONLY TO AMOSITE ASBESTOS ' 107 (22.1% MORTALITY STUDY OF . WORKERS AT JOHNS- MANVILLE CORP. HANVILLE, N.J., PLANT ** . 689 (199) THOSE WITH A MINIMUM OF 20 YEARS EXPOSURE 66 (33%) * 340 OF THESE DEATHS ITERE 'AMONG T1IE 5,119 EMPLOYEES WITH GREATER THAU 20 YEARS EXPOSURE **UNPUBLISEED DATA TAKER FROM ARTICLE IN ------------THE"NEW YORK POST, MAY 1972 ----------- ---------------- Page 9-A CHART NUMBER II DR. I. J. SELIKOFF -- PREDICTIONS NO. OF WORKERS ARTICLE IN WALL STREET JOURNAL - 6/8/72 "STUDIES BY DR. SELIKOFF... LEAD HIM TO PREDICT..." 250,000 ARTICLE IN TEE NEW YORK TIKES - 6/13/72 - (5 DAYS LATER) "IF OUR EXPER IENCES. . .ARE A GUIDE..." 500,000 TESTIMONY AT TOXIC SUBSTANCES HEARING - 2/21/73 - "OUR STUDIES INDICATE..." 1,000,000 AP STORY ON TOXIC SUBSTANCES HEARING 1,000,000 DESCRIPTION OF COHORT TOTAL' DEATHS FROM ASBESTOSIS, LUNG CANCER & MESOTHELIOMA ALL WORKERS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED IN TEE ASBESTOS . INDUSTRY 85,000* ALL WORKERS CURRENTLY & PREVIOUSLY EMPLOYED III THE ASBESTOS INDUSTRY 170,000 ALL WORKERS CURRENTLY, PREVIOUSLY & WHO WILL BE EMPLOYED II] ASBESTOS INDUSTRY IN THIS CENTURY (AS ABOVE) 340,000 1,000,000 (MIS--QUOTE) * ACTUAL QUOTED PREDICTION WAS 95,000, BUT THIS INCLUDED DEATHS FROM GI CANCER, WHICH I HAVE SUBTRACTED FROM THE TOTAL. Page S-B ' Page 10 - Why Asbestos?, by f'. Swetonic, AIA/HA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 of Dr. Selikcff's most recent estimate. In addition, our figures show that 20 of the 25,000 deaths -- or 80% -- will occur among those in the insulation trades. While these estimates should be reassuring to those in the mining and manufacturing areas of the industry, we should not forget that 5,000 of our workmen are still going to die of asbestos-related disease and that, all things considered, there is absolutely nothing that we car. do to prevent it. The only thing we can do is to clean up cur plants to assure that those entering the industry in the future will not have the same experience. Within the past year and a half, the main thrust of Association effort has shifted to the government affairs front. The principal agencies in Washington with which ve have been dealing are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Food and Drug Administration; the Bureau of nines; and, to a lesser degree, the national Institute of dccupational Safety and Health, and the national Institutes of Health, both of which are mainly involved in research efforts. In addition, a few weeks ago we were contacted by the Federal Trace Commission, which had received a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest requesting an investigation of consumer uses of asbostes for the purpose of determining whether certain products ought to be labeled as hazardous and whether warnings should be required on all advertisements for those pro ducts. On the basis of a preliminary mooting with an investigator from the FTC it would appear that we have little to worry about in this particular area. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been of enormous concern to the industry over the past 12 months. As nest of you already know, the Association expended tremendous efforts during the six month period leading to the promulgation of last June's OSHA standards on asbestos. I think it is a gauge Of the effectiveness of the total industry involvement in this moot crucial matter that of eleven main requirements in the standards, the industry position was accepted totally by OSHA on nine of the . eleven, about fifty per cent on a tenth, and totally rejected on only one. OSHA is new planning to redo the standard package and we are, work ing-closely-*yith them on this project.~~The'~first~5tep will be the formation of a 15 nan advisory committee to review the current standards and any additional medical and technical data that has become available in the year since the standards were promulgated. Working in cooperation with nine other trade associations we have : selected four individuals as industry-wide recommendations to OSHA four so-called "employer", spots on the advisory committee. > \ '**.*,'*4-* *-V i` ,;S X* 1% * .... #* 'Page 11Presented Why Asbestos?, by II. II. Cwetcnic, to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia AIA/PA - 6/7/73 II In discussing the formation of the advisory committee with John .. O'lleill of the 05IIA Standards Development Section, we were ashed to add a couple of names to the list so that OSIIA would have more of a selection to choose from. This we have agreed to do. The committee will be given up to nine months to complete its................ deliberations and prepare fer C3HA a revised standard package. This will be followed by public hearings, approximately a year from now. ITe do not expect to see a new standard promulgated . .. . before the Fall of 1974. -* It is of course impossible to determine at this time what the new-----standards will look like, however, I would venture to say tdiat ...... they will certainly net he less strict than the ones we have today, although they will probably he less confusing and leave less room for employer interpretation. Something will unques tionably be done to improve the current difficulties .with the ______ monitoring requirements. he main function of the national Institute for Occupational Safety and nealth is to conduct rssearch and to prepare so-called Criteria Packages, which are essentially, recommendations to OSIIA for stan dards on various materials,. chemicals and activities. Such a package on asbestos was prepared by ITIOSH at the tine of the OSIIA proceedings last year. J7ICSII will not he preparing a new or revised criteria package for the upcoming review of the asbestos standards. I do not believe it would be unfa-ir to say that of all the agen cies in Uashington dealing with asbestos, Dr. Selikoff has had his greatest influence on the young idealistic scientists and doctors at 1IX0SII. Consequently, industry influence is v/eakest in this agency. It was I7I0CJI, after all, that made the original recommen dation for a two fiber standard in the United States . asbestos industry. Next to OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency has the greatest potential of any federal agency for adversely affecting the future . of the asLestos industry in this country. Hot only is the EPA responsible for developing and enforcing air and water pollution standards, but the Toxic Substances Control Act, now pending in Congress, vfill also become an EPA function after passage. For this reason, I an pleased to he able to say that the asbestos industry has an excellent relationship with the EPA. 17c finer_________' proof "of "this exists than the fact that "there was not a single major industry recommendation node to the EPA at the public hear ings on tiie proposed asbestos onission regulations that was not ac9Pta^ either in toto or in principle in the final standards, ;- which wore published in early April of this year. i. .We ar presently working with the EPA cn the development of waste ''T ;-;./watcr effluent standards for asbestos manufacturing plants. !'c . V Ml>' ' . : t. ' s I . - . Uf....i .......... 'z l - . i * g Page 12 - Why Asbestos?, by II. M. Suetonic, AIA/HA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - fi/7/73 v certainly hope that these standards will turn out to be as reason* ' able as the air pollution regulations. The proposed effluent standards are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register sometime this Summer,' to be followed by public hearings, with the final standards being promulgated in the Fall, perhaps as early as October. ??e are also planning, in the near future, to meet in Washington with representatives from the standards development and enforcement *' branches of the EPA to discuss with then questions cf interpretation and compliance policy with regard to the new air pollution - regulations. We have already resolved one interpretation question that is of special interest to the asbestos tortile industry. Approximately two weeks ago I was asked by a member company of the Association .................to find out whether the EPA was planning to require the canufac--------------- turers of asbestos safety clothing to register as potential emission sources under the lav/. .. ' "'In discussing the situation over the phone with EPA compliance officials, Z argued that the producers of asbestos safety clothing * * were net manufacturers as defined in the regulations but were instead only fabricators of an asbestos product, and as such, should not , have to register as potential emission sources. After our phone conversation ended, a brief meeting was held among the EPA compliance people. I was then called back and informed that they agreed with me that the safety clothing producers should not be required to register. . a While this rather minor problem tool: approximately an hour and a half and two or throe phono calls to resolve, it is indicative of the type of day-to-day services that the Association provides fer its member conponies. Over the past year the Food and Drug Administration has shown cm .increased interest in asbestos as a possible hazardous contaminant . in various foods, beverages and drugs. Lata in 1072 they set up an asbestos task force to revievr the situation and to propose regula* tions and guidelines where appropriate. Thus far they have concentrated their efforts in tiro areas ---------------------on_.thc .use of asbestos-contaminated talc in food packaging and------------- in cosmetics, and secondly, on the use of asbestos celulnso filter . pads in the beverage ar\d drug industries. ____ : In our first mooting with' the FDA task force last November on the - -^."`...filter problem, they demonstrated and admitted to an appalling . ignorance about the. health hazards of asbestos. Since then, they have.gotten one heck cf n lot smarter, due at least in part to the ;. '_ tremendous amount of data and information which the Ass^oiation 4 Page 13 - YJhy Asbestos?, hy M. li. Swetonic, AIA/ITA Presented to the ATI at Arlington, Virginia - 6/7/73 has been.supplying to them. As a consequence, the PDA is today less panicky about asbestos and therefore less likely to propose foolish, unsupportable regulations. Spokesmen from the PDA have, in fact, defended the filter industry against environmentalist attacks in the press and elsewhere in recent months. This is, quite obviously, a healthy sign. Our activities in the area of Congressional relations have been quite minimal to date, although wo are preparing for the upcoming struggle in Congress over vjorknen's compensation reforo, at which time asbestos is unquestionably going to be racked over the coals by Dr. Selikoff and by representatives of organized labor. Unfortunately, the Association has neither the manpower nor the time to embark on a full-scale legislative information program. We have met on occasion with the legislative and legal assistants to various Senators who have attacked asbestos, however much more needs to be done in this area and I an afraid individual member Companies are going to have to be the prime ball carriers and not the Association. For essentially the sane reason, our government activities at the state and local level have declined to essentially zero over the past year and a half. This has not been too serious a deficiency as most of the authority of the cities and states in asbestos con trol has been usurped by various Federal regulatory agencies, nonetheless, more individual company activity is required at these levels of government. In conclusion, I thin): we can all be justifiably pleased with what we have been able to accomplish in the past few years in resolving the cornucopia of interrelated problems that constitute the asbestoe-health situation. Our plants are cleaner and our workmen better protected; `The gene ral public has been shown to be in no danger from asbestos, if it ever was. While we have been regulated extensively, for the most part the standards that have been developed have not been as bad as we feared they might be, and i'n some cases they turned out far bet ter than we ever dared hope. In addition, while we are still taking . our lumps in the public press, the not effect of all this adverse publicity has boon shown to be surprisingly small. * -V7e have sweated a lot and x/e have groaned'a lot, but we are still standing and we are still viable. I sense today within the indus try a greater feeling ofvconfidence in the future than at any tine in the past few years. But.we must not rest contented. . * -- -v- ' ' ; ` . . , __ * - * Ue must remember that Dr. Selikoff has to date boon far less sue- cessful than our industry has in influencing the decisions of the ^various governmental regulatory agencies. This will make him try.. U*'*' .