Document e5vMX57JOZRKY81jw0dypOONy

FILE NAME: Eternit (ETER) DATE: 1977 June 10 DOC#: ETER012 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Committee Meeting Notes - Labeling of Asbestos Products MR. J. M. ATKINSON T urner & Newall Limited Operations Com m ittee Meeting 10th June 1977 Labelling of A sbestos Producta r isk warnings, aspects of which have given ris e to legal disquiet. As the Com m ittee knows, Havelock and Bell Mines have fo r some time in co rp o rated the United S tates OSHA w arning in th e ir s a le s docum en tation and on bags. The u n ilateral decision of Lake A sbestos may fo rce Bell to go fu rth e r in th e ir w arning than p re s e n t US leg islation re q u ire s . A tlas also u se s the OSHA w arning, except fo r p r e s s u r e pipes. In the United Kingdom, s. 6 of the H ealth & Safety at W ork Act re q u ire s us to warn custom ers of potential danger in using Croup m ate ria ls. Since the end of 1974, all catalogues, sa le s lite ra tu re and documentation have included reference to this statutory obligation. Since October 1976, p ro d u cts have been m ark ed on a voluntary b a sis undor the schem e which the AIC has ag reed with the H ealth & Safety E xecutive and the D epartm ent of P ric e s and Consum er Protection. The wording of the "Take care with asbestos" W arning Breathing asbestos dust can damage health Observe the safety rules The products covered by the schem e a re m ost of the asbestos-containing products m ade by the Group, but exclude asb esto s-c e m e n t p re s s u re p ip es, g askets and jo intings. (Notwithstanding this exem ption, TAC h a s decided to m ark p r e s s u r e p i p e s .) The UK in d u stry hopes that im p o rte rs of m a te ria ls containing a sb esto s will get th e ir o v erseas su p p lie rs to use the AIC lab el. Other countries are looking at the question of labelling, notably Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland the the EEC . In this context, the m eeting of leading international asb esto s com panies, held in London in January 1977, agreed that if there was a danger of a Governm ent Introducing a sta tu to ry schem e it would bo d e s ira b le fo r the In d u stry in that country to prom ulgate its own schem e firs t. M oreover, and w ithonly Bolgian dissent, the m eeting was in favour of adopting a label sim ila r to the B ritish design, although the p rec ise wording might have to vary according to local circum stunces. Legislation apart, there seems to be a strong case for T&N to intro duce a standard practice for labelling products and warning customers. To do so would be consistent with Group policy as stated in the Code of Business Practice (paras 2(b) and 5(a)). Moreover, in our public statements we deny that we have lower standards for the developing countries than for our UK operations. f The purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussion on the topic, and to give that dlscupsion a finite framework I recommend that Divisional Chief Executives should now initiate discussion with the Chief Executives of the asbestos companies overseas proposing that 1. literature and sales documentation should include the following words: Warning l". iv. ^ i *- ' ^ .. V --~t 2. Many asbestos based materials are subject tdT regulations in different parts of the world which require precautions to be taken to ensure that they will be safe and without risks to health when properly used. Except when the fibres are so well bound that asbestos dust cannot be given off in potentially dangerous concentrations, users ought to observe those precautions, and they are set out in the Company's sales literature. If you have any doubts, please apply to --.... . for your copy. a they should adapt the AIC label for use within their own country; 3. they should endeavour to persuade other asbestos com panies in their countries of operation to go along with them in the use of such a label, but to make it quite clear that in the event of failure to agree by a specific date, the T&N subsidiary will act unilaterally. i -s' 11 TM 5 4 Ur. 1.' ..U J 7. 5.77. H.D.S. HARDIE