Document daDq8m7RNq15edodDNGVNNn9

FILE NAME: Avondale (AVD) DATE: 1969 Apr 2 DOC#: AVD156 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Meeting Minutes - SCA - Safety Committee Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Shipbuilders Council of A m erica Anril 2, 1969 *0*3 Mshiffis Dr" 1 liinhti tu t;tu .7 ..E ii'-..it-inl ?2iiiuihT The S a fe ty C o m m ittee of the Council convened a t 9:30 A. M. April 2, 1969. P resen t w ere: H arry H. H oward (C h airm an ) Lloyd B eers G. M. B ryan John P. C arey Vernon Duke - John F . F itzgerald David A. Lavalette W illiam F . Metts Harold J. Morgan Lloyd J. Piccin M. P. Redford Linwood Tem ple G. P. W alls . .. Bethlehem Steel Corn. Bath Iron Works Corp. Ingalls Shipbuilding Div. /Litton Bath Iron W orks Corp. Alabam a Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Jack so n v ille Shipyards, Inc. General Dynamics/Quincy N e w p o rt N ew s S B Sc DD Co. General Dynam ics / Groton Sun Shipbuilding & DD Co. N o r fo lk S h ip b u ild in g Sc DD Co. Bath Iron Works Corp. M a r y la n d S h ip b u ild in g 8c DD Co. Edwin M. Hood, P re sid e n t Edward P. Ruddy, Secretary Shipbuilders Council of A m erica Shipbuilders Council of A m erica While the following statem ent w as m ade by a m em ber of the C om m ittee la te r at the m eetin g it w as pertinent to a ll su b je cts d i s cu ssed and, th erefo re, reported at this point. The m em b er of the Com mittee stated; . "T h e m oney involved in the su b je cts d is c u s s e d at the 'A cciden t P revention C om m ittee' m eetin gs go fa r beyond that involved in p rac tic ally every other com m ittee that is functioning within the Council. There is nothing that is d iscu ssed by other groups that re a lly approaches the po tential co st to sh ipyards of A m erica like that involved in the subjects d iscu ssed by this Com m ittee. " At the invitation of Com m ittee Chairm an Howard, the P resid en t of the Council opened the m eetin g with b r ie f com m ent on s e v e r a l item s of current interest: " P L A IN T IF F 'S EXH IBIT | S..B C.A... 5016.. 1x 0/ s_______________ J 2 CHANGE OF NAME TO "ACCIDENT PREVENTION COM M ITTEE" Mr. Hood noted that the Council had adopted re v ise d B y Laws which, am ong other things, m ade changes in the Council's com m ittee stru ctu re including a reconstitution of the "Safety Com m ittee" a s the "A ccident Prevention Com m ittee. " This change, su bject to B o ard ap p ro v al, is to take p lace in June. R eactio n of the Com m ittee m e m b e rs w as unanim ously favorable with com m ent by se v e r a l p a rtic u la rly en d orsin g the elim ination of "S a fe ty " fro m the Committee nam e. A SBESTO S F IB E R H EA LTH HAZARDS IN SHIPYARDS The Com m ittee had before it p re ss clippings which pointed up a potentially serio u s problem involving asb esto s fiber health h azard s in sh ip y ard s. Apparently recen t m ed ical studies among ' a sb e sto s w orkers of the incidence of a sb e sto sis and a type of lung can cer a sso c ia te d with exp o su re to a s b e s to s , had led to re c o m m e n d a tions that the acceptable "T h resh old lim it" be reduced fro m 5 m illions of p a rtic le s p er cubic foot to 2 m illio n s. A lso, th e re has been wide publicity of autopsy findings of "asb e sto s bodies" in the lungs of a high percentage of the general population. The im plication was that a sb e sto s fib e rs a r e becom ing an im portan t pollutant in the gen eral atm osphere (See attached article fro m the WASHINGTON POST dated Decem ber 4, 1968). Mr. Hood reported that a m em ber of the C ouncil's Board at its M arch m eeting had stated his opinion that the F e d e ra l safety . ru les and regulation s on this su bject now being co n sid ered for adoption, probably constitute one of the m ost im portant a r e a s for Council a c ti vity. The B oard m em b er had proposed further that the safety and health problem of a sb e sto sis (and also industrial d eafn ess) might best be dealt with by the C ou n cil on an in d u stry -w id e b a s i s . In o r d e r to be effectiv e the B o ard m em b er su g g e ste d that the Council co n sid e r estab lish m en t of a highly skilled technical and m edical group to cope with these prob lem s. M r. Hood rep o rted furth er that the B o ard had a g re e d the m atter should f ir s t be review ed by the Safety Com m ittee with a view to subm itting its reco m m en d ation s to the B o ard . Council P resid en t Hood noted that David Swankin, D irector of the B ureau of L ab o r Stan d ard s, had d isclo sed an intense in te re st in the in d u stry 's handling of this potentially se r io u s health p ro b lem and had pinpointed a s b e s t o s is a s an a r e a to which he hoped the sh ipyard industry would d irect clo se attention. His b a sic thought appeared to be 3 a d e sire that a situation such as the recent ''black lung" controversy in coal mining be avoided. One m e m b e r of the C om m ittee re fe r r in g to the p ro p o sa l that this problem be dealt with by the Council on an industry-w ide b a sis by m ean s .of a highly sk illed technical and m e d ic a l group suggested that com panies having these talents am ong their em ployees should appoint them to such a group. To get things started , he p ro posed that a th re e -m a n group, including two techn ical men fro m the industry and one fro m the Com m ittee rep resen tin g the m anagem ent a r e a be appointed. The th ree-m an group would study the situation and re p o rt back to the C om m ittee with its su g g e stio n s. H ow ever, su b sequent d isc u ssio n d isc lo se d a lack of clarity as to how se rio u s the problem really i s . and also that som e yards alread y have studies under way to determ in e the situation both fro m the standpoint of industry use of a sb e sto s and a s to the m ed ical p ictu re. Additionally, L ab o r D e p a rt ment in d u strial h ygien ists w ere rep o rted to have approached se v e ra l sh ip y a r d s to d e te rm in e what action is bein g taken by in d u stry . T h ere w as mention that D r. Irving Selikoff nam ed in the WASHINGTON POST article, has also contacted some yards. D r. Selikoff w as reported to be D irector of Environm ental M edicine at Mt. Sinai H ospital in New Y o rk and a p a rt of a joint venture . between Mt. Sinai, John s-M an ville Corp. and the International Pipe C o v erers and R efrig eratio n W orkers Union. Others mentioned as having an in terest included the International Office of A sb esto s W orkers, Aetna Insurance and the A rm stron g Company. 'A feelin g w as e x p r e s s e d by s e v e r a l m e m b e rs of the Com m ittee that it is unwise for the yards to refu se a c c e ss by these in te re sts. In th is c o n te x t, atten tio n o f the C o m m itte e w a s d ra w n to an a r tic le in the W A L L S T R E E T JO U R N A L dated M arch 17, 1968, which d isclo ses that Hill & Knowlton, Inc. , national public relations firm , is now rep re se n tin g Jo h n s-M an v ille C orp. on health p ro b lem s connected with a s b e s t o s is and other d is e a s e s w o rk e rs develop fr o m inhaling a sb e sto s dust. Ensuing d iscu ssio n convinced the Com m ittee that there are a lot of things going on and that at this tim e rath er than appointing the roup of tech n ical people that had been p ro p o sed , it would be ad visab le to f i r s t d ev elop fu rth e r in fo rm atio n . The c o n se n su s w as that the p ro b le m n e e d s c l o s e w a t c h in g w ith c o o r d in a tio n of t h e ^ a v a ila b le in f o r m a t io n and __ p r o m p t ac?iorT" ''rYhe ^ C o m m itte e a g r e e d th at the C o u n c il sh ould i m m e d i a t e l y take'steps~to develop what is taking place in the v ariou s a r e a s , catalogue all of them, and determ ine w here the Council can coordinate and fit into the picture. 4 As one step the Com m ittee agreed the Connell should a s k a ll m e m b e r s to p ro v id e an y in fo rm atio n they m a y have such as studies being m ade, v isits from re se a rc h groups and so forth. C oncern w as e x p r e ss e d both as to the a s b e s to s and the h earin g p ro b le m "that the A m e rican M edical A sso ciatio n se e m s to be left out. Mention w as m ade that a D r. Howe.who heads up the Industrial M edicine D ivision of AMA,--is the proper p erso n to _ approach for coordination with that group. Mr. Hood agreed that he would e stab lish liaiso n with the Hill and Knowlton concern to further develop the activ ities under way ana that the AMA would be contacted. During the d isc u ssio n there a lso was com m ent that so long a s a s b e s to s is used in industry it will p re se n t a health p ro b lem and that at le a st fro m the shipyard industry point of view the eventual solution m ay lie in the use of su b stitu tes. One proposal w as that re c o m m e n d a tio n s be m ade to the N avy, M ar Ad and the sh ip owners that a sb e sto s containing products not be specified for v e sse l construction . It w as r e c a lle d that in san dblastin g the safety and health p ro b lem had led to substitution of shot blastin g and synth etics. The thought was ex p ressed that there m ay be a substitute for asb esto s. In a n y ev en t, the u s e o f m a s k s w a s r e c o g n i z e d a s q u ite o b je c tio n a b le " from a worker efficiency standpoint. ^ C om m ittee d isc u ssio n indicated a lso that the p ro b lem has not arise n suddenly and that recent publicity has resulted from suggestions for surveys by the labor unions. It w as re p o rte d that a p ap e r onthe p ro b le m is sch eduled to be presen ted at the N ation al Safety Council m eetin gs in New Y ork on A pril 16th. F u rth er, as to whether the a sb e sto s p roblem is new, it was pointed out that as long ago a s 1964 the Council had received a letter fro m the then D irecto r of the B ureau of L abor Stan dards, Arthur Motley, listing a number of item s of this nature which the B ureau intends will, as a m atter of evolution, lead to som e regu latory action in the future. F u rth er Com m ittee d isc u ssio n of variou s bits and p ieces of inform ation led to a recognition that b a sic a lly a national rath er than a single industry problem is involved and that at this point the Council would not be ju stifie d in r a isin g a fund to m ake a study on behalf of the shipyard industry. ' 5 The Com m ittee recognized that the shipyard em ployer is at a p a r t ic u la r d is a d v a n ta g e b e c a u s e u n d er p r e s e n t l e g a l p r in c ip le s the la st em ployer is being held responsible for all dam age to a worker even though his exposure m ay have been during previou s employment p erio d s. The le g a l situation a p p e a rs to be quite like that in the h e a r ing c a se s . At the conclusion of the Com m ittee d isc u ssio n . Council P r e s i dent Hood stated he would contact Hill and Kn owlton and in fo rm the C o m m ittee a s to h is fin d in gs. S A F E T Y ADVISORY C O M M IT T EE M EE TIN G - F e b r u a r y 24, 25, 1969 M r. Ruddy reported that the P resid en t of the Council, as a m em b er of the new Safety A dvisory C om m ittee to the B ureau of Labor S ta n d a rd s had attended the f i r s t day of that g r o u p ' s tw o-day m eeting in late F eb ru a ry and that he (M r. Ruddy) had attended the second day in place of M r. Hood. He reported that a good part of the m aterial made a v a ila b le to the a d v is o r y gro u p at the m e e tin g had been a lr e a d y r e produced and d istr ib u te d to the C o u n cil's C o m m itte e and that he would continue this p ro ced u re to keep the C om m ittee in form ed as to the activ ities of the A d visory C om m ittee. M r. Ruddy reported that one im portant recen t outgrowth of the g e n e ra l in d u stry expanding dialogue on sa fe ty m a t t e r s h a s been an i n te r e s t by the U. S. C h am ber of C o m m e rce , the NAM and s im ila r n a tional bu sin ess groups in the Lon gsh orem en 's and H arbor W orkers C om pensation Act. One reflection of gen eral industry concern with this law is seen in the scheduling by the N ational A sso c ia tio n of M an u factu re rs of a sym po siu m fo r high le v e l policy m a k e rs on the pending Burton B ill which p ro p o se s to in c r e a se the benefits under that A ct fro m $70 to $105 per week . The NAM sym posium is scheduled for late A pril and M r. Ruddy p ro m ise d to r e p o r t b a c k to the C o m m itte e in due c o u r s e a s to the outcom e of the d isc u ssio n s. HAZARDOUS M ATERIALS DATA SHEET The Com m ittee w as inform ed that this final regulation is expected to be issu e d by the B ureau of L ab or Standards in a m atte r of days and when av ailab le co p ies w ill go to the C om m ittee m e m b e rs and all y a r d s. While the final text has not been d isc lo se d to industry, it is expected that the re g u la tion and the d ata sh eet w ill follow the fo rm a t a g re e d to by the C oun cil's Safety Com mittee some time ago. The m em b ers of the Com m ittee agreed that it would be u sefu l if a standard form of tran sm ittal letter is developed for u se by the yards in forw arding the data sh eet to their su p p liers. M r. Ruddy indicated he would 6 coordinate such a developm ental effort if Counsel for the Shipbuilders Council agreed that this is a proper activity. HANDLING OF PO TEN TIA LLY EXPLO SIVE SHIPS B Y U. S. R E P A I R Y A R D S The C om m ittee had before it a req u est by the Council's B o ard that it rev iew the ship r e p a ir in d u stry 's o v e ra ll policy as to handling v e s s e ls that a r e in a potentially explosive condition whether due to th eir not being g a s fr e e d or b e c a u se of other f a c t o r s . The . b a sic thought which prom pted the B oard to d irect this review was that if yard s continued to handle these tankers it would be only a m atter of tim e before a m ajor catastrophe occu rred with lo ss of life and pro p erty both in the shipyard and enviorns . The C om m ittee w as inform ed that at its m eeting on M arch 5 m em b ers of the B o ard had indicated their agreem en t with the principle that no v e s s e l should be handled in a ship re p a ir y ard until it has been gas freed or oth erw ise rendered safe , and that it w as the apparent sen se of the Board that this m atter should be review ed by the Council to d e te r m ine what should be done to elim in ate poten tial d a n g e r s . A s a f i r s t step, the B oard had agreed that the Safety Com m ittee should consider the problem at its m eeting A pril 2, 1969, and subm it its recom m en da tions to the B oard. Subsequent to the B oard m eeting the P resident of the Council re c e iv e d a co n firm in g le tte r on the su b je c t which s t a t e s , in part: ''As you can ap p reciate, the co st and tim e involved in gas freein g a tanker can be an im portant cost facto r to a ship o p e rato r, and a s a consequence, this question of gas freeing becom es a part of the com peti tive atm osph ere surrounding the procurem ent of ship rep air work. As I indicated at the D irectors Meeting, it is not in our m utual b e st in te re sts to in ject safety considerations of this type into the com petitive aren a and you will r e c a ll I proposed to m ake our position c le ar, on an individual company b a sis, to the Coast Guard and the D epartm ent of L ab o r. P rio r to taking this action and as a resu lt of the d iscu ssion s and a s s u r ances that the Council would consider this m atter in som e depth and take reason able prom pt action, I a g r e e d to d e fe r m y ap p ro ach to the g overn m en tal a u t h o r it ie s on th is s u b j e c t . '' ` **I a m not unaware that the m o s t e f f e c t iv e a c tio n could p ro b ab ly be taken on an in d u stry w ide b a s i s by the Shipbuilders Council, and I h eartily en d orse the purpose which such action is intended to achieve. However, as you realize, this m atter has been con sid ered for se v e ra l "years and no action has been forth coming. " I would ap p re c ia te your e a rly advice a s to a p r o g r a m the Council m igh t p ro p o se that would effectiv ely solve this problem . " _ M r. Ruddy re c a lle d that in 1963 a sp e c ia l Ad Hoc C om m ittee of the Council had been appointed to develop gu id e lines for deliberation with the National F ir e P rotection A ssociation in the form ulation of re v ise d regu lation s dealing with the handling of non g a s - f r e e d v e s s e l s in sh ip r e p a i r y a r d s . At that tim e the problem stem m ed from various legal problem s which had arisen out of the MISSION SAN FRA NCISCO episode - a tanker which had collided in the D elaw are R iv e r with another v e s s e l and the ensuing explosion and fire had alm o st destroyed the tanker and there w ere num erous crew deaths and injury. L egal opinion at that tim e indicated that shipyards could be fully re sp o n sib le for any catastrop h ic incident resu ltin g fro m the p re se n c e of an ''ex p lo siv e v e s s e l " in a sh ip y ard. The 1963 Ad Hoc Com m ittee had considered a p roposal that N FPA Code 306 "Standard for the Control of G as H az ard s on V e s s e ls to be R e p a ir e d " Section 4, should be am ended to g re atly r e s t r ic t the handling of th ese tan kers by ship repair yards. C o m m itte e d i s c u s s i o n h igh ligh ted a n u m b e r of things to co n sid er if furth er re stru c tio n s a re im p o sed on the sh ip y a rd s, including: (1 ) I m p o r t a n c e o f the w o r k to the i n d u s t r y (2) D am age to custom er relationships (3) Im position of additional re stric tio n s on yard m anagem ent (4) Im pact depending upon a y ard 's geographical location (5) P ro sp e c ts of sh ore shops acquiring w ork now done by integrated yards. 8 As to the g eo g ra p h ical p ro b le m it w as explained that, if a tanker in a n o rth east United S tates port is found to req u ire re p a ir yard s e r v ic e , but the m an agem en t of a y ard r e fu s e s to accept the tanker u n le ss it is g a s-fre e d , the v e s s e l will probably leav e the port anc clean at se a while enroute back to the Gulf so that when it a r r iv e s at the Gulf it can enter a ship re p air facility in clean condition. It w as rep o rted that d iffe re n ce s of opinion had developed on this question and in o rd e r to d eterm in e what p osition should be taken by the Shipbuilders Council, a su rvey had been m ade of all m e m b e rs. At that tim e the outcom e b ased on volum e of tanker w ork w as about 10 to one a g a in st further r e s tr ic tio n s . After d iscu ssio n , the Com m ittee agreed that as a first step a su rv ey som ew hat along the lines of that in 1963 should be m ade to determ in e the p re se n t position of the individual m e m b e rs of the Council on this im portant question. BUREAU OF LABOR STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION OF SA FE T Y REGULATIONS The Com m ittee entered into a round robin d iscu ssio n of recent experien ces with adm inistration of the safety and health re g u lation s by the B u re a u of L ab o r Stan dards with p a rtic u la r em p h asis on inspection procedures and instances of legal action. O verall comment indicated a hardening of attitude am ong the m em b er y ard s. There w as agreem en t that it is of p rim e im portance that in all c a se s shipyard legal counsel should be called in very early when problem s a rise . There is som e disenchantm ent with the pro ced u res which a re being d e sc rib e d by the G overn m en t a s " in fo r m a l. " In one c a s e it w as r e counted that the s o - c a lle d in fo rm al h earin g actu ally turned out to be a full d re ss legal proceeding. B ased on the d iscu ssio n , it w as the se n se of the Com m ittee that if possible an inform al conference should be set up with Bureau of Labor Standards D irector David Swankin, so that the yards could d isc u ss these p rob lem s with him without his staff being presen t. The m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee a lso ag re e d to subm it by letter to the P re sid e n t of the Council any p ro b le m s that m ay a r is e in the interpretation or a d m in istr a tio n of sp e c ific r e g u la tio n s so that they can be taken up with the B u reau rath er than w aiting for the B u reau to com e up with its own r e v is io n s to the re g u la tio n s. 9 EM PLO Y EES' COMPENSATION COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION OF COMPENSATION ACT The m e m b e rs of the Com m ittee w ere unanim ous that a m ajo r facto r in the la r g e in c r e a s e that has taken p lace in W orkm en's Com pensation in su ran ce p rem iu m s is due to the a r b itr a r y pow ers which re sid e in the Deputy C o m m issio n e r. One m e m b e r of the C o m m ittee su ggested that perh aps in place of the Deputy C o m m issio n er, a h earin g board ought to be e stab lish e d . O thers pointed out that the cost in cre ase is due in large m easu re to averaging by insurance com panies with a rb itra ry prem ium and aw ard determ inations. B ased on the d iscu ssion , it w as agreed that this m atter sh ould be r e f e r r e d to the L e g a l C o m m i t t e e o the C o u n c il to d e t e r m i n e what m ig h t be done to ch an ge S e c tio n 21 of the L o n g s h o r e m e n 's and H arb o r W o rk ers C om pen sation Act so a s to im p ro v e c la im s a d m in istra tion. The thought w as e x p re sse d that when the C on gression al Com m ittees sch ed u le h e a r in g s on the pending le g is la t io n to am en d the L o n g s h o r e m e n 's and H arbor W orkers Com pensation Act this m atter should be brought to their attention and a sp e cific p ro p o sa l m ade on behalf of the shipyard industry, if the L eg al Com m ittee so determ in es. W ALSH-HEALEY SA FETY REGULATIONS The Com m ittee was inform ed that revised W alsh-Healey Public C o n tracts Act Safety and H ealth Stan d ard s o rig in ally scheduled to becom e effective F e b r u a r y 17, 1969 had been delayed fo r a period of 90 days as a resu lt of urgent req u ests by industry association s for their review by the Nixon A dm inistration . A letter interposin g objections to a num ber o f new p r o v is io n s on which in d u str y had not had an opportunity to c o m m ent and strongly requesting such a delay w as subm itted by the Council to Secretary Schultz. Among new problem a r e a s in the regulations are, of c o u rse , the sectio n s dealin g with n o ise le v e ls and a s b e s to s threshold levels. The Com m ittee agreed that the Council should again distribute the Ja n u a ry 17, 1969 re v isio n along with a copy of the existin g regulation and the two position le tte rs previously subm itted to the L abor Departm ent with a req u est that M e m b e rs subm it additional com m ent. The Com m ittee agreed that a s a m inim um , the S e c re ta ry of L ab or should be asked to fu rth er d elay issu a n c e of the regulation in so far a s the h earin g problem and asb e sto s is concerned. The Com m ittee w as in agreem ent that the sh ip yard industry will have m ost serious problem s of compliance unless some change i s m ade in the stan d ard s a s now pending. *` - 10 STANDARD UNIFORM ST A T E SA F E T Y LAW One m a j o r s u b j e c t b e in g c u r r e n t l y d i s c u s s e d within the D epartm ent of L ab o r and which has been taken up with in du stry and lab o r on the agenda of the A d v isory C om m ittee, is a p r o p o sa l fo r a Standard U niform State Safety Law. Kir. Ruddy reported that the specific proposal for a uniform act before the A dvisory Com m ittee had been rep ro d u ced and fo rw a rd ed to the C om m ittee fo r th eir r e view. After b rief d iscu ssion , it was decided that all legislation dealing with the F e d e r a l and State W orkm en's Com pensation and Safety law s including the F e d e ra l Occupational Safety and Health Act are m atte rs that can b est be handled by the L e g a l Com m ittee and that the S e c re ta ry of the Council should take w hatever action .may be required to bring these m a tte rs to the attention of that C om m ittee, T here w as agreem en t that the Council should testify before the C on gress again st the in c r e a se s in the lev el of benefits being proposed in the Burton Bill, H R-6949. GEAR CERTIFICATION Mr. Ruddy rep o rted that no com m ent had been receiv ed fro m m e m b e rs of the C om m ittee on the B u reau of L a b o r Stan dards regulation, P art 1505, Gear C ertification, published in the F E D E R A L R EG IST ER , M arch 4, 1969 and forw arded to the m em b ers of the Com m ittee for final com m ent on M arch 12th. The assu m p tio n is that fr o m the viewpoint of the sh ipyards, this regulation is acceptable. There w as som e d iscu ssion a s to whether sh o re sid e cra n e s now re q u ire ce rtificatio n . No action was taken. A D JO U RN M EN T The m e e tin g ad jo u rn ed at 3;00 P . M. ? .r . Edward P. Secretary Ruddy