Document gb5GqpdpnzvMvXEJw1465MEGJ

l/ Taking Giant Steps T"0 chemical process compnnfci took giant steps toward diversifying into .he oceanography field last'week, and two paper companies with com bined sales of nearly $1 billion/year reached a tentative agreement to merge. (1) Bendix Corp. (Detroit) ex panded its oceanic activities by ac quiring for an undisclosed amount of stock Marine Advisers (La Joila, Calif.), producer of oceanographic in struments for petroleum and utility companies, stare and federal agencies, and firms engaged in scientific pro grams. (2) Fluor Corp. (Los Angeles) and B. L. McFarland and Associates (Fort Worth and Midland, Tex.), a group of five companies involved in offshore and onshore drilling opera tions, have agreed to merge, subject to stockholders' approval. The Mc Farland group operates five offshore dulling rig* in ilia Gulf of Mexico. (3) A tentative agreement to merge has been reached by U.S. Plywood Corp. (New York) and Champion Papers, Inc. (Hamilton, O,). It is sub ject to both directors' and stockhold ers' approval. The corporate identities of . both companies will be preserved. Reducing Gas Rates The Federal Power Commission has ordered El Paso Natural Gas Co. and Tram,western Pipeline Co, to reduce by $17 million/year t! .v ice of na tural gas in the south,..u California market. The rate cut stems from the July 26 decision in which FPC turned down the application of Gulf Pacific Pipeline Co. (a Tcnncco subsidiary) to supply gas to the Los Angeles area (ClV, Aug. 6, p. 20). Gulf Pacific, last week filed for a rehearing. El Paso and Transwestern were tvhl they would have lower their ca:e> to reflect the lower costs result ing from the bigger deliveries poss. ble in the expanded system; At the ante time, FPC said it would conduct f'.'t'ter proceedings to decide if cust. ,..er, s.'.^ulJ get additional benefits re.di ng from more liberal deprecia tion ..'.lowancev, r/C l.as g,veu the companies 45 . 1 .h.ny cause why the reduction ....... - not taxe place. Sources of airborne asbestos Asbestos-lined ducts used in centrally air-canditioned buildings. Asbestos ducts and insulation in home contrai-heatlng plants. Motor vehicle brake linings and clutch plates. Auto undercoatings. Asbestos ceiling and floor tiles. Asbestos shingles and sidings. Construction and demolition Fitting, cutting, and removing asbestos-filled wallboards and floorings, piping and insulation. Incineration of asbestos-filled scrap. Improperly filtered effluent from asbestos processing plants. Asbestos: Awaiting `Trial' The asbestos Industry--whose end products are valued n( more than $500 miilion/ycar--may be in for a shnkcup. It could come in the form of federal legislation limiting the use of asbestos, bccnusc asbestos has been ac cused--though not yet "convicted"--- as a significant health hazard. Prob able contender for asbestos markets: plastics. Recent studies have convinced U.S. Public Health Service specialists and other medical authorities that about 40% of ah Americans have mild, chronic cas.-. of asbestosis, even though most of them never worked directly with asbestos. Unlike other airborne dust particles, asbestos fibers have the ability--al most as much as activated carbon-- to absorb polycyclic hydrocarbons and arsenteals. Furthermore, says USPHS,' in the pc..t 30 years the as bestos-related cancer rate has in creased sixfold. The Inferences: While the average asbestos worker is well protected, the man on the street is not. The 3x1micron asbestos fibers in his lungs can come from a variety of sources (.table, above). And medical experts say there's no way to assess hydrocarbon content in those lung deposits. American Cancer Society research ers feel certain '.here is a synergistic relationship among airborne asbestos, smoking and lung cancer., They reason that the nondegradable. hydrocarbonsoaked fibers may wen be t constant source of lung irritation. PHS officials think it may take them up to five years to establish asbestos' true role as an air pollutant. However, Congress may act before the research is finished. Says Repre sentative Robert Watkins (R., Pa.): "We've seen enough evidence al ready. Asbestos will never get a clean bill of health. With just a little more data well move for controls and strict ones." Some form of asbestos control is in the offing, public health officials are certain, if only part of a larger clean-ambient-air program. However, j there is the danger that Congress may 'J enact rigorous controls on the quanti- j ty of asbestos that could be used. In (hat case both Canada and U.S. asbestos products manufacturers would be hard hit. Of the five forms of asbestos mined today, chrysotile asbestos holds the predominant mar ket position because of its insulat ing and processing qualities. Canada produces more than 80% of the chry solite asbestos used .in the U.S. In both countries, a number of serious dislocations would occur. At present, there is no known ma terial that could fill ail of asbestos' strategic roles. On the other hand, should federal controls merely call for higher standards for-binders and shicldings, that would spark a rise of new products, with plastics taking the lead. Reason, say industry spokesmen, present polymer technology could easily turn up products to replace as bestos in most end-uses. ,,s,. -rs - DUP 1005419 DU 051056 .ETTERS Asbestos Safety Reaffirmed To the Editor: The article titled "Asbestos: Awaiting Trial"' (CW, Sept. 10, p. 32) contains many inac curacies. which havo led to erroneous assumptions and false conclusions. Qrielly, the facts are these: (1) Asbestos is a uniquely useful product serving the needs of modern man and society, and it is not likely to be replaced by economically feasible synthetic polymers, or anything else, in the foreseeable future. (2) No published reports, even the most speculative, support the general ized statements in your article regard ing health cfTccts of possible exposure to asbestos. (3) There is no basis for the sugges tion that Congress ``may act" regard ing asbestos use, for no such proposals are being considered by Congress. We are informed that the congressman quoted as predicting action disclaims any knowledge of health evidence relating to asbestos or of proposals to control its use. (4) No evidence exists to show that asbestos poses health risks for the gen eral public or to show that even 1% of Americans have "mild chronic asbestosis," much less the 40% figure you give in your article. (5) Regarding your list of "sources of airborne asbestos," there arc no daia to support the contention in your article that the "man on the street" is exposed to asbestos from these sources, or indeed that these sources eontributs asbestos to the ambient air. (6) We know of no data to support your claim of a sixfold increase in socalled "asbestos-related cancer." As you doubtless realize, the proper conduct of our business requires us to keep abreast of scientific developments regarding asbestos, both medical and technical. Is is our opinion that syn thetic polymers are not likely in the ! C'tV welcomes expressions of 1 opinion from readers. The only i requirements: that they bo per* | uncut, as brief as possiblo. Address all correspondence to: H. C. E. Johnson, Chemical i Week. 330 West 42nd St., New ! York, N.Y. 10036. | foreseeable future to completely re place asbestos in the many applications for which it is now used. Any syn thetics would have to prove superior to natural asbestos and be economical ly competitive. As to health aspects, in June of this . year the U.S. Surgeon General ap peared before the Senate Public Works Subcommittee on Air and Water Pol. lution, with Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as chairman, to discuss var ious problems relating to air-pollution abatement. Surgeon General William Stewart enumerated a number of sub stances in common use, including plastics and asbestos, ahout which he said: "The public health hazards that may arise from these aspects of en vironmental contamination have not been adequately documented. In each instance,further investigation is needed to determine whether health i* indeed threatened and what control measures ' may be necessary." In these days when all substances . in our nir and water and even the food we eat are constantly under scrutiny, as to their cfltccts on the pub lie, the fact that asbestbs is among the subjects of investigation is not surpris ing. In fact, we have always supported and will continue to support investiga tions by the U.S. Public Health Service and other research scientists. Roger Hackney Vice-President Johns-Manville Corp. New York To the Editor: In reference to your article, "Asbestos: Awaiting Trial'" (Sept, 10, p. 32), we know of no scientific evidence supporting the statement that "40% of all Amer icans have mild, chronic eases of asbestosis." Even in the asbestos industry, where more is known about exposure levels than among the general population, mere is imprecise knowledge about the health effects of exposure to as bestos. With me cooperation of labor and industry, the Division of Occupational Health has under way a long-range, in-depth study to answer this question, as well as to develop better criteria for the safe handling and manufacture of asbestos. In the meantime, however, the division will continue to promote the application of known control i methods so that the workplace, can, be kept as healthy as possible. / ' Murray C. Brown, M D. Chiof Division of Occupational Health Department of Health, Education it Welfare Public Health Service Washington, D.C. CW It pleased to set the record straight. Some of those Interviewed ' apparently drew unwarranted conch* sions from insufficient and dubious data.--Ed. j .i . MEETINGS j Also, of Official Analytical Chemists, I annual meeting, Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel, Washington, D.C., Oct. , 10-13. Tcchnicoa International symposium on automation in analytical chemistry, Slat- Icr-Hiltoa Hotel, New York, Oct;'17-19.' Drug, Chemical it Allied Trades Assn* ' , annual meeting, Hollywood Beach. Hotel, I Hollywood, Fla., Oct. 20-22. ; Commercial Chemical Development I Assn* discussion of packaging, Drake' / Hotel, Chicago, Oct 26-23. National Assn* of Purchasing Agents,, i Chemical Group, annual fall conference,' I Continental Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Oct. 27. 1 Society of Engineering Science, fourth technical meeting. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, Oct. 31-Nov. 2. i American Society for Metals,1 national metal congress and exposition. McCor- ' mick Place, Chicago, Oct 31-Nov. 3. Parental Drug Assn., annual conven tion, Statler-Hilton Hotel, New York, Nov. 1-4. Fertilizer industry round-table ccr ferenee, Mayflower Hotel, Washingto D.C., Nov. 2-4. The Society of the Plastics Industr llth plastics film, sheeting and coatc fabrics conference, Waldorf-Astoria He tel. New York, Nov. 9-19; conference o cellular plastics in transportation, Edgt water Beach Hotei, Chicago, Nov. 1S-T. 1 The Franklin Institute Research Lul' oratories, fourth annual symposium o the organic-solid state, Philadelphia, Nos 14. DUP 1005420 General Atomic Division of General Dynamics Corp* and Air Foret Office of, ' Scientific Research, fundamentals of gas- surface interactions, San Diego, Calif., Dec. 14-16. , October 8, 1966 CHEMICAL WEEK 7 DU 051057