Document e73vOda0zRQpbpjmZoDpvGm2g

2 A- 0 0 0 i i2 <- PP. -2 TP TICK /?J 73 . __ /}SZ.S TCS /x7-/e. Ttjrs. I am sure chat 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 assuits by government, labor, the press, terrain 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 scf.e experts have predicted? Cr is there .=cse sort of nefarious conspiracy afcct to destroy the asbestos industry? The answer to the question of "Why us" is both'comp lex and simple. Complex because it :s a combination of three interrelated but separate factors. simple because each of the factors is, when considered by itself, cuaos ooviour.. The three factors ere (li as.V' - -- - '1 ;/.a c a (2) a spokesman arose to champion Li:c need assures control. a -3- nw K5/. ITT and"*(3} a"cornuCopia of new government agencies were sec up^no: conncroi things' that Caus'e'disease.--'Let us lock at each-of these 'factors in-turn.' " ------ - - ...... ' "First, there is -no doubt that the inhalation of substantial amounts of asbestos can lead to increased rates of various types ci lung disease* including two tarns of cancer. These are facts which car.nct be denied, even if they do not apply"in' all"circumstances-and- under all conditions..;The medical literature is full of solid- evidence linking asbestos to disease. In my office, I have on file more than 2,C3C fL medical papers dealing with the health risks of asbestos an hundreds more are published every year. Secondly, the spreading of alarm ever the health risks of asbestos has as its prime spokesman cr.e of the rr.es t talon ted medical publicists of the age------- Dr. Irving J. Selikorf z; Kew York's Mount Sinai Hospital. .Voc only is Dr. Selikoff- --.TOi *a capable of arousing the ire and mcral indignation of the tost conservative ^reporter or.politician with his graphic description. jmd j?re_diccions of the ravages of asbestos, but he has also surrounded himself with a group of similarly talented publicity- conscious associates who have carried the Mount Sinai message :o the fnr corners of. .the nation. While Dr. Selikoff has, in his zeal, unqueStionally painted a far ddrker picture than the facts warrant, we should always remember, en his defense that the insulation workers he *has been studying for more than a decade were and still are dying froa asbestos related disease at an appalling rate. this would be enough to cloud any man's chinking. Finally, in the past decade there has beer, a cremancsuus grcwth in public and governmental interest in en; vtronmer.tii and occupational health matters, this interest has been translated into a scries of far-reaching laws arfeettner ___ _ ire-ft jnnPB~ unknown in this or. any ocher country, t.-heiiaxe :i.c.cis accurate. j:o_ say that chase new laws, such -pccupa signal Safety ,and .Health Act, che Clean Air Acc, the.Consumer.frgteetion Acc, and_o.chers, have ferever altered the concept;.o the free enterprise system as ic was known in this country, for. a hundred and fidey years. Thus >_ in ccrrbinacicn, these three factors created a/situatipn in which a,cadre or freshly created federal-agenc * with strong, statutory authority, were prodded into assigning priority.status to asbestos by Dr. Selikcir and his rollovers, who used and in seme cases misused the great wealth of .negative asbestos-health data contained in the medical literature to achieve these.ends. - - - In- short, the asbestos industry was singled out .because.. it was vulnerable to at*_a ck, because there was someone willing. d.sosc aruciouu, to _ead chut attack. ana because Congress had gracious!y provided che veniala* ---- such an assau 6 How much of what Dr. Seiikofi says about: asbestos i true, and the manner in which he has abused the available med data in order to blow up an essentially occupational problem into a national calamity are topics which we shall examine a - **r- ' rev-* ** bit later. The background c: industry efforts to deal with the asbestos-health problem as a national issue goes back nearly o a decade, to 2r. Selikoff's now famous 1964 seminar on. ashes to: disease at the New York Academy of Sciences. While this sernin: 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 complete disregard for the environment and for the health and safety of its workmen and the American public. The asbestos-health oroblem- was found 7 to be cailor-:iuba for. such stories ar.d Dr. Selikcff was r.oc hesitant in-1 catering-to. the sensationalist whins of the press. As a-result,-sxa.rtine_with. Paul Brodaur's infamous New Yorker ar-i^e of h43rc.h.-1963,_ asbestos has since grown into an iten . of major cress interest. In those years, industry efforts to ccrhat the spate of negative press articles on asbestos were carried on primarily by the Johns-Manviiie' 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. While scr.e error successes v/ere achieved, it was found that no one company acting independently could, adequately or erroctivaiy represent an er.tir industry in-dealing with-the press and with government officials A* a result, in lata 1970, eight companies gathered in New York City to launch the Asbestos Information Association of"Nortk America, which was frankly patterned after the Drttish E2K_-. Asbestos Ir.for.tecion, Corn!tree, which hud been established scse three years earlier. In our original concept, the Association would limi: its ac tivities to providing accurate, unbiased information on asbestos and health to the press, to the public and to interested politicians and other government offiicals. It oust be remembers that at this particular tire, the enormous problems that would later develop with regard to OSHA and other Federal regulatory agencies were as yet on the distant horiron and basically. unrecognized by the industry. Fortunately --- and properly ----- the Association has had the wisdom to alter its original limited concept 6: its . proper functions, and now endeavors to assume whatever activities and responsibilities it deems necessary to protect the interest: of the asbestos manufacturing industry i.n the Cnited Stat as vis-a-vis asbestos-health. J.l-W 9 From our rather r.a row init ,al public relations ccr.ce? the Association has grown in the last two years into an organisation with priorities in eight najor fiel ds_of endeavor.' These are: . .* .: Medical Affairs Legal Affairs Government-'Affairs ...................... ......... 1 :"rr_'.\r rr;...: Environmental Control Publicity and Public Relations "Customer Relatione- ' Employee Relations, and Inter-industry Relations . In briefly discussing AIA activities in each of these fields, I will leave government affairs for last, not because- it has a low priority within the Association----- i- fact it is currently the test important --- but because it is the most complicated and requires the most discussion. *<mi onr.i.M - -- -" Tina 10 To taka our activities one at a time than . kmedical affairs. It is an obvious fact chat if an organiration is to speak authoritatively on a medical matter, it must not only be seeped in the literature of that particular medical subject, Bite- but it oust also keep itself constantly informed of new discover and developments. This we have accomplished in a number of way; For example, .by sending representatives to important medical ' meltings,'Such as the' 1972 international conference on the biolcgicai effects of asbestos held at Lyon in France, which v/as sponsored by World Health Organisation. .Both John Marsh, the President of the ALA, and Z attended that .cqnferer.ce.cn behalf .cf. the Association. We also, meet an an irregular .basis with various medical .experts in the field, both from the United States end. abroad. to review arr*.cr> .J * Cuss r*sc2nz duvs 1 cr.Li end diccv3rit.i .1 11 Our literature research is eased considerably by receiTting^.the .monthly medical paper distribution of tne Inscitute,.of Occupational and Environmental Health in Montreal, which is jfunded by the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association. .... ...This year, for the first tine, the AIA has elected to sponsor medical research of its own. Currently underway is a .. completely A2A/NA funded study of chest sounds, which is being conducted by Or. Raymond Murphy of the Harvard School-of Public Health. The purpose of the study is to find a new method of determining an individual * s potential susceptibility to asbastc disease. - The Association has also recently decried, to cor.tribu to..some very exciting research into a possible cure icr '* mesothelioma threugn electromotive treatment. This study is -being conducted at Somerset Hospital in Hew Jersey. In the legal affairs area, the Association particaoc ir. an'ami cut cur ai capacity in the law scat brought by the 12 rr: Industrial Union Department of. the AFL/CIC against the Occupational-Safety'and Keaith Administration on the asbestos i ;* standards. --In our brief ," which was considered by the Justice Department to be"the'best one filed, the Association supported OSKA.against'the 2UD, somewhat of a ur.icue position for an industry to find itself in vis-a-vis .a ..governmental-regulatory--'- --jj-J* agency. Oral argument on_the_ease vas held April 4 in Washington. PiWhile a decision has yot to he handed down by the Court of Appeals, ve are confident that the case will be decided in our favor. The Association has retained the services of C. L. II-: ! I;-* ! i:-! HP Shecfcier, with whom many of you are familiar, as cur special consultant_cn environmental control affairs. At the present lf ncc**. is*. time. Cliff is vorbir.g with the AIA/:.'A Dnvironmental Control Suh-Corsr.ittee on the development of a series of five Association compliance manuals on the OSHA standards. We expect to have if! 'V ! -H these manuals available wtcnin a short oeried of time. I" i'l I I 12 *** >>> 'last -bfrcause of* the-well established ur.reiiabili the-membrane* fiitsr*nethod-Tts--a-mor.-itor-ing tco-lth* the asbest u- c-iAdtstry, the~ AIA*-undertook che-s?cr.sorsh*ip~ of a-study at a : research laboratory n California to*'deterraine the effect of '" certain"variables- on the overall accuracy of the method. The .j; ' . . .. . ." - ^ *"ir'e*sults"of* "the study shoved an error factor or plus dr minus " *50 per' cent under the most favorable of measuring conditions* '"These results were sent 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 into a sccn-to- ' be'-released revised NICSH operations manual on fiber ccuntinc.- In the -customer relations area, the total effect of negative'press publicity and government regulations or. industry customers Is still today rather poorly defined. Some members of the Association have reported serious proolema in this, area, while others havc experienced fev* nr r.c difficult! es thus- far. u- - where customer problems do exist, * ' * -** * -fc V . % ; ".'*.'**** * --- - ei-'^- - into one of five categories. they normally"fall t First, the customer has thoroughly investigated his situation and has found chat 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-if non-ccmpetitive with non-asbestos containing substitutes. Second, the customer has not thoroughly investagated his situation and only thinks that he can no longer afford to continue using asbestos. Third, the customer has read one or more r.egatave articles on asbestos in the public press and has made the sr.ao decision that "we ought to get that dangerous stuff cut of cur plant." Ofen, decisions of this nature are forced cn to? management by ill-informed m.edaoal advisers or safety and health directors. Four# the customer has neither a control problem r.cr is he particularly afraid of using asbestos in his own plant. However, he is fearful that those of his ccmpetitiors whose finished products do r.ct contain asbestos will stress the advers health effects of asbestos in trying to take business away from him. Customer fears of this nature are essentially "gut" /' ^ reactions and hense extremely difficult to deal with. And .... Five, 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 asbesto containing products in has plant. While this problem does not appear to be widespread, we have learned of a number of sicuatic where it has occurred. Actions of this nature by government officials arc totally uncalled for and should be dealt with promptly and decisively. The best solution is to obtain comp!; details on tr.s incident and then to register a formal complaint with.the offending official's immediate superior or with the i .government agency.involved.. .................The Association!s first reaction to the overall customer relations.problem was to approve funds for a - ries- of four regional seminars at which industry customers would be given a number of basic presentations on the various aspects m 4 of rhe asbestos-health problem. The seminars were tentatively scheduled.for the Spring of.this year. However, the experiences of a number of our member companies shewed that general catchall type seminars of the type originally contemplated wouid.net be effective in dealing ' . **... with the majority of customer relations problems. In order to do the jcb properly, it was found that customer presentations have to be tailored to the neeas and problems of the individual 17 As a result, the Associatcn cancelled its scheduled series of seminars and instead elected to develop a nunder of packaged slide presentaticns on such .'topics as "The Facts About Asbestos and Health," and "Under standing the OSHA Regulations," which could be used by member companies as part'-of a tailored presentation to individual custoners. . These slide presentations are still in the works, but should be available shortly. As with customer relations, the Association feels that employee relations is a problem best handled by the individual member companies. Thus far, the AIA's sole cor.tri .bunion in this area cf industry concern has been to prepare ..the draft of an Employee'Safety and Health Guide or. Asbestos- Health. The draft was made available to the member companies for their own use and at least one, Raybestos-Manhattan, has produced it in booklet form :or distribution to all its antic I personally believe that the employee relations aspect cf the asbestos-health problem is one that has been sorely. . neglected'by most companies within ehe industry. I feel that this could develop into a major problem area in the near future "and that steps should be taken now to deal with it. We know that Or. Selikoff and various organized labor groups are planning a full scale campaign to bring their interpretation * of 'the asbestos-health problem to the attention of asbestos industry employees throughout the nation. If the industry permits this interpretation to be disseminated unchallenged, the consequences could be grave indeed. 19' - . _____ 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 ci documents and information to the member companies and to others cn our mailing list. The value of this activity can be gagued by the fact that our overall mailing list increased frem approximately a dozen namas in 1971 to mare than 60 a vear^later. While"we have had to tram the list somewhat this year fer logistical r. 20 reasons, we assume from the frequent requests we still receive . *--- ,,-- -- *** ~ ^-- -t to be placed on the list chat the material we send out is being read and is or considerable value to those receiving it. Next to government affairs, our public relations and publicity actitities 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. What you may not understand are the reasons why cur extensive efforts in dealing with the nation's cress have been unsuccessful to dace in producing the theoretical balanced** cr *cesicive* story cr. asiesres and health. **"~*ti i r ii --- - - ^ SX-f-'. 21 sample. .fact;Ls. tiia: ;fron the standpoint of *" * today* s;young. activist.-reporTer'/ -industry- is the bad guy/ and nothin? . we do, say or achieye: can ever change-this' impression. ii* 5*; So If we spend 5100 million dollars on. environmental-control, * the press either says_we_ought, to have.done-it tan -years ago - |T'or that we should .have spent 200 million. If. we sponsor firr %; medical research, they say we are.trying to buy favorable 'results. If we are opposed to ridiculously stringent standards, & they say we. are in favor of letting our employees die. 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 bargain." Another TV executive, this ; time in Chicago, stated 'they want to make moral and political * and social judgments cn their assignments and then take sides. Never mind getting the facts straight." ^ 22 ~'Ajs'a' resuit of this* "industry is-a-.mcr.ster" philoscph ., asbes.tc"s~viil're:r.ain 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 pres*.- Likewise, industry efforts to" protect workman and the general oublitf frcn 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 elementof*hews 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 stcries when the generation of negative news ceaseo ... 23 it is as simoie as chat. Positive or balanced stories are a chimera, since they are, by definition, not newsworthy. Let me give you a very specific exanpla of this Last principle in acticn. As most of 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 accomplishments 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 expec: to be seeing a number of positive stcries in the trade press in the next few months, Cn any case, we also from time to time put out press releases on various subjects relating to asbestos-health. A few weeks "ago, we isaused a release cn the report of the advisory committee on asbsstos cancers cf the World Health Organization. In brief, the report concluded that the general public is not in danger from asbestos in the environment. Thus far, we have .i WT'.'ff?-r - 24 - received nearly two dozen press clippings from trade publications W w m m - * ... that carried .this story. To the best of our knowledge, net a newspaper, news magazine, radio or TV station, or any other segment of the public media ran the story, with the single exception of a french language paper in Toronto. As I said before, if the news is good, the press ain't interested. Nonetheless, the Association has no intention of m abandoning our efforts vis-a-vis the national'media. We will 4. continue to issue appropriate press releases, cooperate with feature writers doing stories on asbestos., write scathing letters to the editor when those stories appear, and in short, do all we can to present the press wich a balanced view of the asbestos-health situation. Cur most recent effort in this regard has been the preparation and printing cr an Asbestos and Health Information Fil-e, -which -we--have mailed to seme j.CCO r.c'v. spapers, magazines. 20 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 actitities 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. What you may not understand are the reasons why cur extensive efforts in dealing with the nation's press have been so . unsuccessful to cate in producing the theoretical "balanced- cr "positive* story on asbestos and health. >.i rest-Che -s-t'andpeint of . dUsssy is die bad _g_uy_,- and -"^errch-aage' this' impression. 'I environmental-control, ::ife*e-dtae-it-ten-years ago- -' . %.lioar.. It. we sponsor ce buy favorable 1; lott&ly stringent standards, . :^arrejs?lcyees die. ':^J.inna?*oii5 described this ,3S.t*. on demolishing the X' Jr-,- <i j - -. .?r< .SI?;-*.' destroy the credibility ' %trTV*/executive, this H mafces ttrai and political res: and then take sides. 22 as "As 'a'result of this'"industry is .a.mens car- phiioscci -'^asbestcs^wili'remain a'hot`news-item only so. long, as the news e.c.ne giv is'Cbad/ The*"good" "that asbestos does--in- protecting lives and i action. - property is of no concern to the press.- Likewise, industry .. efforts to protect workman and the general public from asbestos trade p: exposure will always be given minimal coverage, since such try acccr information is directly contrary to the portrait of an ride cm irresponsible industry producing a "killer* product.that is' receptiv the sole element of*news worthiness in tho asbestos story. . - Che press relations -battle will therefore be won, . not when the media starts to print positive or balanced wo oisc i articles about asbestos, but when the press ceases to print anything about asbestos at all. As long as negative news or. : c a rale asbestos-health continues to be generated, the media will rears cf continue to eat it up. The media will only cease to carry .such stories when ere generation cf negative news ceases 25 trade publications, radio and" TV stations/ science'writers'etc a a * ^ ^ ^* across the United States. -I have'brought'a"half-dozen files i * . _ along with me that you can take'a look at'after the neeting. Basically# the file"contains copies of the five industry position papers which were distributed'eariler# as well as a ntrier of important medical papers and a pair of photographs illustrating the benefits of asbestos' and industry efforts at environmental control You may be interested to know that ' tha item chosen to illustrate the benefits of asbestos is a fire-proof asbestos suit.' While 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. And new, having heard the bad side of the public relations problem, it's time for tha good news. 26 And the good news is .... despite all the negative articles .on asbestos-health that have appeared in the press over the past half-dozen years, very few people have been Mying 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,OCC demographically selected Americans were interviewed. I have here with me sufficient copies for ail of you of a summary of the results. { COMMENT FROM.SUMMARY J Sefore going cn to describe cur activities in the government relations area, I think it might be interesting at this point to take a very brief loch at the manner in 7 which Dr. Selikoif and his supporters have used his research results tc dramatise and exaggerate the seriousness of the ------ ----- ' - i--- asbestos-health problem. I have two slides which point this out 'rather'conclusively. SLIDE: 1------- RZSIARCH DATA The first slide shews the actual results of Dr. Seiikof. four mortality studies of asbestos workers. The numbers in * parenthesis beside the figures far total number of workers indicate these who have so far died from ail causes. The percentage figures alongside the total number of deaths frea asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma are based on the total number cf deaths from ail causes, not on the number of workers in the study. The most .portent study of the, lot is tha second from the top, show g the deaths from asbestos-related disease among all members -..e ..sn wo.^xers unoor., regardless \ 2a of length of exposure. You will-noce 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 from. This is what he knows fren his own investigations. Now let us take a look at what he has done with these figures in order to dramatise the problem. SLITS 2------- PREDICTIONS 4 This slide shows Or. Selikoffs predictions about asbestos-related 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 er.tira industry. 29 You will also r.oce chat ha 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 precentage multiplier of 24 per cent being experienced by the insulation workers. I might point out that this tactic, however improper and deceptive, has been an enormous success since each raising of the. estimate has earned Dr. Selikoff -correspor.din A grater coverage by the media. No finer example exists of the total gullibility of the press than the manner in which Dr. Selikoff manipulated and played on their prejudices to gain publicity. I can readily envision the let of them up there at Mount Sinai laughing themselves silly over the ease with which they bamboozled the press with these trumped-up predictions IP> r*: EjyBSS&etfr*^* HKUmMMS !'< '' Bg8|Gg2^" iwHaTOSy^- *\ Please don't get me wrong, gentlemen. I have little BBSaBb^gSwKj^^yT*r^ SMSB^jSEfTSiKgTanrganvf^snf-ril-f- - ~ doubt, .that .the insulAtion ..workers are in fact dying as rapidly .-as Dr.. Selikoif says .they .are. .The. problem is he has translated E&&Sm&r&i^%.* jBBSTyrj^-"* - their mortality experience to the rest of the entire industry, slip jupKWnUaSErbU<'1*t' , ..which is absolutely ridiculous. .In. the..first place, the estimated number of employees MaBjajrNM-vir^y^ gMjuUgfuigBeHggAHj1l',vt^rf^- in the industry is too high --- five times coo high to be ' __ - - " itgpgc?* precise. . Even more important, according to an analysis by the HpESjj 4 ..Association of more than a dozen mortality studies, including sgsS> |S|p. .those of Or. Selikoff, our prediction is that approximately t 25,000 past ar.d present employees in the asbestos industry SJ^Sy-.'' gSB 9 ar^' - h' ave* "*d*" i*ed' or will eventually die of asbestos-related disease. ^ This is less than cne-chirtaenth of Or. Seiikoff's most recent 11 5-` ^estimate. In addition, our figures show that 20 of the 25,000 deaths ---- cr 30 per cent-----will occur among these ir. the insulation trades. 31 While these estimates should be reassuring to these --- - -n,, -.a. ^.of us in the raining 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 Retn- considered, there is absolutely nothing that we can do to ^ prevent it. The only thing we can do is to clean up our K. plants to assure that those entering the industry in the future will not have the'same experience. SLITS 3------- COVZB.NMENT ACSUCISS Within the past year a i a half, the main thrust of * Association effort has shifted to the government affairs front. The principal agencies in Washington with which we have been dealing are, of course, the Occupational Safety and Health SS-'&ss Administration; the Environmental Protection Agency: the Feed and Drug Administration; the Bureau of Mines: and, to a lessor - degree, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, - 32 - And the National Institutes or Health, both of which are mainly involved in research efforts. In addition,-a few weeks ago we were contacted by ^ -- - r- * "' ^ the Federal Trade Commission, which had received a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest requesting an investigation of consumer uses of asbestos for the purpose of determining whether certain products ought to be labeled as hazardous and whether warnings should be required on all a advertisements for those products. On the basis of my meeting with an investigator from the ETC I would say that we have little to worry about in this particular area. SLICE 4------- OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been of enormous concern to the industry over the past 13 months. As most of you already knew, the Association exrended tremendous eftorts during the six. month period leading to tho promulgation of last 'June' s GSHA standard's on asbesto's-.--I think it is a'gauge of the effectiveness of the total industry involvement in this most cruciai matter that of eleven main-requi'rimencs 'in the standards, the'industry position"was'accepted totally 'by'OSHA oh nine of the eleven^ about fifty pe-rceht~ch a ;tc77thy~ar.d totally rejected oh only o --Nowyof course,-OSHA is planning t redo the standard package and we- are working closely with them on this project. a The first step-will be- the-formacion*ci'a IS man'advisory committee-to review"the current standards and any additional data and.information that has been developed in the year since the standards were promulgated. Working-in cooperation-with`nine other trade asscctat including your own, we*have selected four individuals as Indus * wide recommendations to OSHA for the four so-called employer 24 spots on the advisory ccmtree. The rcur people selected were Guy Gabrieiscn, President of Nicolec; Ike Weaver of Raybestos-Manha.tcan; Dr. Fred Pundsack, Vice President for Research and Development of Johns-Manvilia; and Cliff Sheckler Zn discussing the formation of the advisory committee with John O'Neill of the OSKA Standards Development Section,' we were asked to add a couple of names to the list so that OSKA would have at least the semblance of a selection. This * we have agreed to do. The committee will be given up to nine months to complete trs deliberations and prepare for CSKA a revised standard package. This will be followed by public hearings, * . approximately a year frem new. Wo do not expect to see a new standard promulgated before the Fall of 1 974 . 35 It* is of course impossible to datern r.e at this tire vh ~t.be_r.ev standards will lock like, hcweve , I would ventur e to say that they will certainly not be less strict than the ones we have today, although they will probably be less contusing and leave less room for employer interpretation. Something will unquestionably be done to improve the current difficulties with the monitoring requirements. SLIDE 'S -------NIOSH * These slides, by the way, are merely simplified organization charts of the various agencies with which we deal in Washington. Tho main function of the National Institute for 'Occupational Safety and Health is to conduct research and to prepare so-called Criteria Packages, which are essentially * recommendations to CSHA for standards on various materials and chemicals. Such a package on ashesccs was tretared < - 36 by KIOSK At the time of the.OSHA proceedings last year. KIOSK i will.not be preparing.a new or revised criteria package for the upcoming review of the asbestos standards. I do not believe it would be unfair to say that of all the.agencies in Washington dealing with asbestos. Dr,.Selikoff has had his greatest influence on the young idealistic scientists and doctors at KIOSK. Consequently, . industry influence is weakest in this agency. It was KIOSK, - * after all, that made the original recommendation for a two fiber standard in the asbestos industry. SLUE 6------- E?A Next to OSKA, the Environmental Protection Agency ha. the greatest potential of any federal agency for adversely affecting tha future cf the asbestos industry in this country. Not only as tne IPA responsible for developing and er.iorcanr ear and water pollution standards, but the Texas Substances 37 Control Act, new p'ending in Congress, will. also, become an EPA function after passage. - ------ --------. . ... For this reason, I am pleased to be able to say that the asbestos industry has an excellent relationship with the EPA. No finer proof o'f this- exists than the fact that there was not a single major industry recommendation or suggestion made to the EPA at the public hearings on the proposed asbestos m emissioan regulations that was not accepted either in toto or' in principle* in the final' standards^,' which, were published in early April of this year. We are presently working with the EPA on the development of waste -water effluent standards for asbestos manufacturing plants. We fully expect that these standards will turn out to be as reasonable as the air pollution regulations. The proposed effluent standards are scheduled to be published in. the Federal Register in early July. This will be followed by' 3S public hearings, probably in lace July or August, with the final standards being promulgated in che Fall, pe haps as *- early as October. We are also planning, in the near future to meet m Washington with representatives from the standards development and enforcement branches of the E?A to discuss with them questions of interpretation and compliance policy with regard to the new air pollution regulations. 4. We have already resolved one interpretation question that is of special interest to the asbestos textile industry. Approximately two -weeks ago I was asked by a member company c the Association to find out whether the Z?A was planning to 0 require the manufacturers of asbestos safety clothing to register as potential emission sources under the law. * i J ! i*i [iil; e -*.!] I I t.! I i || li'i'i b ; i, :S! J. A: 39 - ! In `discussing the situation ever the phene with I?A ' compliance 'officials,"T argued that the producers of asbestos safety clothing were not manufacturers as defined in the regulations'-but were instead only fabricatiors 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 baclc and informed that they agreed with me that the safety clothing producers should not be required to register. While this rather minor problem tooJc approximately an hour and a half and two or three phcr.e calls to resolve, it is indicative of the type of day-to-day services that the Association provides for its member companies. 40 SLIDE 7------- FDA Over the ?as: year the Fcod and Drug Administration has shown an increasing interest in asbestos as a possible hazardous contaminant in various foods, beverages and drugs. Late in 1972 they set up an asbestos task force to review the situation and to propose regulacions and guidelines where appropriate. Thus far they hava concentrated their efforts in two areas ----- on the use of asbestos-contaminated talc in food packaging ar.d in cosmetics, and secondly, on the use of asbestos celulose filter pads in the beverage and drug industries. In our first meeting with the FDA task force last November on the filter problem, they demonstrated an appalling ignorance about the health hazards of asbestos. Since then, they have gotten one heck cf a lot smarter, due at least in part to the tremendous amount of data ar.d information which 41 the Association has been supplying to them. As a ccnsecu: the FDA is today less panicky about asbestos and therefore less likely to propose foolish, unsupportabie regulations. Spokesmen from the FDA have, in fact, defended the filter in against environmentalist attacks in the press and elsewhere recent months. This is, quite obviously, a healthy sign. SLIDE 8 ------- INTEREST GROUPS Sinca our contacts with the National Institutes of Health have been quite minimal, and since the health and safety section cf the Sureau of Mines is presently being reorganized, we can now proceed to take a brief look at the i various interest groups that have been in the forefront of the assault on asbestos. These are the groups end erganirati: that constitute "the other side." As you can see, there are a lot of them, and between thorn they can exert powerful pressure-on legislators and administrators at all levels cf government. \ 42 Since time is not available to discuss each of their activities and philosophies'in detail, I would like to say that we keep a close watch on all of them and are always prepared to take whatever action is appropriate when they step out of line. SLIDI PRCJ-CTOR CFF ------- LIGHT ON Our activities in the area of Congressional relations have been quite minimal to date, although we are preparing for 4 the upccming struggle in Congress-over workmen's compensation reform legislation, at which time asbestos is unquestionably going to be racked over the coals by Or. Selikoff and his compatriots in organized labor. Unfortunately, the Association has neither the mantcve nor the time to embark on a full-scale legislative information program. We have met on occasion with cho legislative and --cgal assistants to various Senators vno have attacked asbestos ri~- - -u however much .ro;.needs to* be dona-in this area-and I a.?, afraid individual ~ember ..companies-are going, to have to he the prime ball carriers* and. not the-Association*. r: . --- - For essentially the same 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 m/ the cities and states in asbestos control has been usurped 4. * by .the .various Federal regulatory agencies. Nonetheless, mere individual company activity. i3 required at these levels of government. .In conclusion, I think we can all be justifiably pleased with what, we have been able to. accomplish in the past few years in resolving, tha cornucopia, of interrelated problems T that constitute the asbestos-health situation. \ 44 3 'Cur-plains are-cleaner-and our wa;Umen bc::c: protected The'general public has-been-shown to:be in. no danger froa asbestos;'--lx it ever was.- While-we have been regulated extensively, dor the nose part the standards that have been \ developed have not been as bad as we feared they night be, and in' "sene cases' they turned cut far better than we ever dared hope. In addition, while we are still- taking our luaps in the public press, the net effect of all this adverse publicity has-been shown to be surprisingly snail. We have sweated a lot and we have groaned a lot, but we are still standing and we are still viable. I sense teday within the industry a greater feeling of confidence in the future than at any emu in the past few years. 2ut we nust not' rest contented.- .vs V *VJ -^ 45 :t it l // / Wamust remember that Cr. Sclikoff has to data been far lass successful than our industry has in influencing the decisions of the various governmental regulatory agencies. This will make him try harder. Just last weak I saw a speech \ of his in which he purposely misinterpreted soma data by a distinguished Sritish scientist in order to prove that even two fibers is not a sufficiently safe level for occupational exposure to asbestos. Tha struggle is far from over. Wa must not only continue but indeed expand cur activities in the various areas of concern if wa are to assure the future well-being of tha asbestos industry in the United States. TharJ: you very much. iHimeii -if i-' H >: : i* * * ' 4. i t nr. !t