Document gb5d34mNVRE5O346VQj5JLezV

] ' , I i. ( Turnrr A Newell Umlted Poard Meeting 33th May,~TH7 Aaboles and Health * I'ubllelty Problems PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT CEL-1275 13(a) o u- 1 was ashed le make a report to the Hoard on the current situation on this topic, I think ths Hoard may appreciate a summary of the backf round first. History As the Hoard la aware, aabeatoaia (dlffuae flbroais of ths lung) has (teen a recognised problem slnre about 1030, ami since tlien a very lar|e amount of Group capita I, revenue and managerial effort haa been expended on controlling and diminishing the Incidence of thla dlaaaae. No rure has yet been found; the dtsraae, once begun, le Irreverelble and almoat Invariably ahortena life, aacapt where some other quite distinct cause of death aupervenes. There la good evidence that In our factortea condition# are now auch that vary few new caaes are now being cauaed, but as the disease cat, take 30 or even 30 years in develop caaea will continue to be Initially diagnosed fur a good m.tny years to come. At present new notifications in the U.K, are occurring at the rats of about 80 a year, with a tendency still to Increase, The annual numlter of deaths haa risen to 64 in the laat two years, compared with 40 a year from 1961 - 1064 and only 28 a year tn lh ten years from IBM - I960. The total number of deaths from 19*3 to the end of 1968 was 778, The reasons why the Improved conditions tn factories which data back. In part, for over 30 years - have not caused*ths number of new diagnoses to paae the peak by now are four-fold. Firstly, because the tnauiatlon contracting aide of the industry was not subject to Regulations and did not realise ita danger in.time; moat of the new caaea are now arising on that aide, cauaed mainly by conditions 10-20 years ago. Secondly, because the population employed tn the industry Increased rapidly during the 1930'a and this ' population is now getting older and more liable to develop dlaeaae of one kind or another. Thirdly, because of the striking fall in tits Incidence of tuberculosis and the death rata from pneumonia and other cheat diseases, so that more people liable to cheat trouble live longer and get aebeatoeie. And fourthly, because methods of diagnosis re getting steadily keener and are causing the Medical Panel* to diagnose disability at an earlier stage than before. Even if no new caeea were being diagnosed, the number of deaths of aebestoaia cases la bound to rise for a good many .years yet, because the existing caaee cauaed by exposure years ago are 'getting older and when they die - many of them well after retirement age Inquests are held and their deaths are associated, at least partly, with aabestosis. o Continued 0 y A further factor whlrh allrerta medical attention and advene publicity la that an Inrreaalng proportion of aabestoale eases now develop lung cancrp aa a secondary effect. This increase, oddly enough, la partly do# to a substantial rla# In tha aapactatlon of Ufa of aabaatoala caaaa du# lo Improved cnndltlona. Aa a r#auil oflhre# farla, morh medical research In many parla of th# world ha a h#rn foruaanl In th# laal |>n yeara nn th# health problems of aehratna, leading In Inlrmnllonal madlral conferences and Ih# puhlloatlnn nf many paprra, all of whlrh errata unfavnurahl# publicity, av#n whn lha r#a#arrh#ra lhamaalv#a ara nol actlvaly hoc lilt to tha Induatry or courting personal fama, at aoma of tharn art. A piara of madlral raararrh In Capetown In 1063 Indicated that many lunga of Ih# urhnn pnjwilnt Inn I'untalnrd bo>ii#a whlrh were, or looked vary Itk#. th# "ferrugltume lindlea" whlrh ara found In tha lunge nf asbestos workera, Although Ihraa bodies ara harmlaaa'ln thamarlvra - and II haa alnr# bern shown that vary almllar bod I# a eu ba rauard by many different duala whlrh ara praarnt In uKian Ufa Ih# suggestion waa mad# Hint asbestos may h# a "general urtian haaard*', and thla haa bran much written and talked about In I*ubltc Health ctrctaa, Finally, what really raught (he public attention In llrllalp waa tha dfarovery - firat In Africa and then In and around tha Capo Aabraloa Company`a fartory In Harking - of an association between aahestoa and the rare form of ranrer railed meaolhellnma. While thla dlaraae - which kllla rapidly la predominantly aaaoclated with crocldollte, there ia acme evidence of an occaalonal aaaoclallon with chryaotllt, and thla cannot It# abaolutely denied. a Ihla aummary may aeem long but It It a vary brief and aatactlve dlgrtt of an enormoua subject. It will, porhapa, aarvo to ahow th# magnltuda of our probtam. Research Problems Tha main difficulty la that th# #aact causation of th# pathology la not y#l understood, and an no one can say why aome types or origins of asbestos may be more dangerous than olhrre, or why tha range of susceptibility in individuals seem* to range from almoat-oil to quite rapid Involvement; there la even aome evidence, recently, that tha troubles may be mainly caused not by tha aabraloa itself but by Infinitesimal trare elemenla of metal from tha beaters of tha opening machines in the mllla. (This might eaplaln why diseases are relatively rare among the miners. | These problema are now being tudlrd in almost every major industrial country. Publicity in Ih# U.K. Tha allegation mainly in regard lo mesothelioma, and even thla la very questionable - that quite alight eapoaure to asbestos dust could ba dangerous haa led to alarm among dockers and also to very damaging and alarmlat atalemente about the dangers of using Continued %e  I 37 I1 ' ^ I . * n ahealns products or even of living In aabeatoe-cement buildings. Much of this Is ludicrous bul some of It Is bring put out by hospital and university authorities whoa* word carries weight, and the asms distortions reverberate and are picked up and repealed with a snowballing effect. The Industry's products are being "smeared" directly and Indirectly In many wove and this Is almost as difficult to combat as McCarthy's political smear campaign on Individuals in the U, H. A. ten years ago. Every sub-editor now knows that tha danger of asbestos dual Is news, and unfavnursbl# articles and alarmist headlines are appearing almost evsry day, particularly In local papers and in Trade Union journals, whenever any event such as a medical lecture, an Impieat nr a Common l-aw settlement comes up. Questions In rarllament have been rnming up at ths rats of two or three a week, but the Ministry of lalmur has been parrying these very well. II, II. C. T. V, put out s vary Irresponsible programme in "Jl-Ilnurs" In February. * * * The attitude of labour In the docks, building sites and the contracting Industry (though not, fortunately, in any T. 4 N. Group factories, so far) has naturally become restive and there have bstn stoppages of work, and threata nf more, nn building sites and ship yards where aabeatna insulation or fire-restating partitions are being Installed, Dig customers such as I. C, I., Hospital Authorities, the Navy and the C.K.G. It. are tending to turn to non-asbestos materials where possible; British Hallways or their Unions . have quite accidentally made matters worse by widely publicising the decision (which they had In fact made about a year ago) to cease using sprayed Limpet Asbeetoa on railway coaches, Everything possible la being done through the Medical Adviser to the T. U. C.. through the Medical Officers and officials of the Nationalised Industries and by technical and commercial contacts with other customers, to allay alarm and establish practices which will eliminate risk, but the problem is becoming not so mueR one of convincing management but of calming down their workers; even If there is no risk contractors and users will tend to avoid asbeitos If they fear that its use will give yet another opportunity for troublemakers to make trouble. This makes a new problem lor the salesmen of ell companies to surmount. * * Ths most serious situation currently la in ths docks; every important port In the country except Avonmouth, Manchester end Glasgow Is now closed to asbestos unless It Is not only in Impervious bags but alao palletised or in containers. Palletisation la being carefully Investigated by the Canadian and now the African Mines, but this will lake many months to become ths general practice. a Action Wlttout still further extending this long report much of the action being taken must go un-mentioned here. On the publicity front a email Asbestos Information Committee haa been formed, consisting of myeelf ee Chairman with Senior Directors of Cape Asbestos Co. Ltd., Continued, 4 the Mrlllah HflOnf 4 Asbestos Omip and ORfCO Ltd., and tilt la>ndnn branch of an American firm. Hill A Knowlton International, haa born appointed aa Ihibllc Hr laIlona Conau It ant a, Their job will be to combat and, If pnaaibie, to forratall adverae publicity la II ijuarlers, A I'rraa Conference haa been arranged on 19th Majr and the Preaa llrleaae will have been teen by the T. A N. Director* before thla report la circulated. Codec of I'rartirr have been publlahrd for the Insulation and Ihjllilfni Construction Induatriea, A pamphlet addreaaed to dor hers haa been cnmfa*eeii, with rnllahnration from the l*ort of loniltm Authority, the National Aaeortation of Port Kmployere, the Unions, the Mlnlatry of t^itanir aod varloua medical authoritiea (every word haa to be cherked and agreed with many people an arduous and time* consuming proreaal and will have been publfahad before thta report appeara. A programme of getting thla leaflet arroea la being planned by Mr. Howe of T.A.K, Ltd. and by Mr. W. 1*. Howard, our Ihiblic llelationa Offtear. Meetinga are being planned with Interested M.T. ' and conlaeta have been or are being made not only wtth the academic reiearrhera but with University and other authorities who maybe likely to emit damaging pronouncements. All the Group's btf customers and their medical adviser* have been confected by the Unit Companies concerned or by the Group'a Medical Adviser, Dr. Kook, but until it can bn proved that no risks arise from ueing the Group'a products the tendency nf customers to play for safety by looking for alternative materials can be combated only by very active celling of the superior attractiona of asbaatos. John Waddell