Document gYMpbe6MgKYRpm4wma70zozG

FILE NAME Manville JMA DATE 1975 July 3 DOC JMA381 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Letter from Union Carbide to Dr. Selikoff with Attached Report on Health Hazards of Asbestos 5446A Bcc W.B. Reitze 5446A W W UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION METALS DIVISION 270 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK N.Y. 10017 July 3 1975 Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Mount Sinai School of Medicine of The City University of New York Fifth Avenue and 100th Street New York New York 10029 Dear Dr. Selikoff Enclosed is a copy of a report just issued by our Technology Group which deals with the two questions you raised in our recent conversations regarding the potential health hazards associated with the spraying of asbestos On the basis of simultaneous sampling and duplicate dust counting by Union Carbide and by a laboratory approved by the American Industrial Hygiene Association no signficant differences in dust counts were obtained This supports the comment which I previously made to you that if anything our people tended to count on the conservative side The data also indicate that in terms of fibers less than 5 microns not counted by the conventional procedures we found no significant differences between spray textures using Canadian asbestos and textures using liberated refined Calidria fibers I would also like to offer some comments on your June 3 1975 letter to Mr. Roy Steinfurth of the Asbestos Workers Union My comments follow in kind with the three points enumerated in your letter . In conversations with Mr. Steinfurth I indicated that we would be willing to establish in any new exemptions to the Marks Bill that the field mixing of spray texture be precluded although in our experience this operation can be handled with appropriate work practices I felt that such a proposal would alleviate a major area of concern which both you and Mr. Steinfurth had expressed to me in previous conversations This proposal was offered in spite of the fact that the OSHA asbestos regulations contain specific provisions directed toward the proper handling of such materials in the field Philosophically I find it unpalatable that the entire industry should be penalized either for the shoddy work practices of a few or the failure of the government to enforce its own standards Nevertheless in the interests of moving this matter forward I have made this suggestion Dr. Irving J. Selikoff -2- July 3 1975 2 Your letter indicated that one should not be asked to evaluate the dimensions of a problem for which data are incomplete am a little puzzled by this statement since I feel that we have presented a wealth of data obtained under field conditions using a variety of asbestos source materials using a variety of application and application manipulation methods and with measurements made by several different sources Results of approximately 100 tests have been provided If the data showed wide variation I would understand and share your concern however all of the dust counts are well below ceiling values of 2 fibers per cc Early in our activities in this area we recognized that such a criticism could be leveled against our data even though we felt it was sufficiently encompassing to define the environmental situation Therefore the proposed additional exemptions to the Marks Bill were narrowly drawn to cover only those matrix systems binder levels and ranges of asbestos concentrations on which we had developed specific information Given these narrowly drawn limits technical considerations would preclude the use of these materials in applications other than those tested . We are not suggesting that anyone buy a pig in poke 3. The final point in your June 3 letter deals with the matter of fiber length distribution for those fibers less than 5 microns long obtained from different oresources As I mentioned previously the attached report indicates no significant differences between Canadian asbestos and our material designated as Calidria HPO HPO incidentally is our most highly liberated and refined product Further we did not find any fibers less than about 1 micron in length in any of the samples I believe that our Mr. Chopra has discussed counting procedures with one of your electron microscopists and we would be happy to provide your staff with samples for duplicate determinations should you feel it appropriate. After you have had the opportunity to review and analyse this report I would look forward to the opportunity of again sitting with you to further discuss this To that end I will call you in the near future As always I find our discussions stimulating and useful Very truly yoursyours WCT enclosure cc Senator M. Marks R.J. Steinfurth E.H. Story U. Af ae William C. Thurber Product Manager - Asbestos 52980 INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION ON THE HEALTH HEALTH HAZARDS OF ASBESTOS AND HOW TO USE ITSAFELY Material Safety Data Sheet & Typical Chemical & Spectrographic Analysis of Calidria Asbestos Testimony & Testimony by George W. Wright M.D. before U.S. Dept. of Labor Occupational Safety Health Hearing on Proposed Occupational Asbestos Standard March 14-17 1972 by J. Corbett McDonald M.D. - same as above OSHA Regulations EPA Regulations Airborne Asbestos National Research Council 1971 Airborne Asbestos - Summary Airborne Asbestos - References Asbestos Bulletin Asbestos Information Committee London - 9/72 CIBA CEIGY - UK 2/72 QAMA Folder WHO Report - 10/72 Dust Counting - S. G. Bayer R. D. Zummalde T. A. Brown - Feb. 1969 NIOSH Dust Monitoring Equipment & Costs - 2/19/73 Instructions for Sampling of Airborne Asbestos Fibers Procedure for Pump Calibration used for Monitoring of Asbestos Dust Emissions AIA - Protecting the Asbestos Worker - Asbestos and Health AIA - The Asbestos Information Association America AIA - Asbestos and Health Questions and Answers - What Asbestos Js How and Where it Is Used AIA - What Every Employee Should Know About Asbestos - 2/74 AIA - Asbestos In the Atmosphere AIA - Asbestos in Water AIA - Molding & Fabrication of Containing Plastic Products Work Practices Partnership for Prevention - The Insulation Industry Ilygiene Research Program Asbestos - Reprint from National Safety News - 10/73 Asbestos Health Question Perplexes Experts C & EN - 12/10/73 Disputes on the Safety of Asbestos - New Scientist 3/7/74 JLM - Chrysotile Asbestos in Plastics Asbestos & Silica Dust in the Drywall Industry Part 1-Nov./Dec 1975 Asbestos & Silica Dust in the Drywall Industry Part 2-Jan./Feb 1976 Detection of Chrysotile Asbestos in Airborne Dust from Thermosetting Resin Grinding - 1975 Calidria Asbestos Pellets Health and OSHA Information Calidria Asbestos 244 Health and OSHA Information Calidria Asbestos 600 Health and OSHA Information Calidria Asbestos Pellets JLM ASBESTOS - 10/71