Document jm185vbZomRDZDN6rmp5grLjN

FILE NAME: Ford (FD) DATE: 1977 DOC#: FD135 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Internal Report and Memos RE Development of Asbestos Substitute Inter Office Engineering and Research Staff April 11, 1977 To: S. Gratch M. Humer.ik, Jr. S. S. Labana J. E. Mayer, Jr. Subject: Non-Asbestos Friction Materials In view of the uncertainty of future regulations regarding asbestos in friction materials and the. economics/availability of quality asbestos, we are proposing an expansion of our current friction material program (R6120) to include non asbestos friction materials. A program proposal is attached, along with a copy of the Vehicle Materials Engineering Key Issue Report, Asbestos Usage -1. jg Attachments A. E. Anderson M. H. Weintraub / \ R. L. Gealer / 004196 m PRODUCED B Y FORD The sticky note shown below was written by Barry Castleman and attached to the page immediately following this one along the right margin at the spot marked on the next page with an -1 - N pw Program Proposal Non-Asbestos Frictional Materials Objective carry out tribo- To develop and to evaluate non-asbestos friction material. To aluainum drums logical studies of non-asbestos brake linings on cast iron an and rotors. Introduction Asbestos is the major constituent in brake linings that are useei for all of Ford's passenger vehicles. Airborne asbestos fibers can ^ generate! in * work environment during the manufacturing and/or servacxng of brakes- The allowable 'OSHA concentration for asbestos is Presently 2 fibers/ a and is expected to be 0.5 fibers/cc air in early 1978. There also has been suggestions by NIOSH that this limit be lowered to 0.1 fibers/cc -. To reduce asbestos levels to 0.1 fibers/cc air or even to 0.5 fibers/cc air from the current levels (about 1.2 fibers/cc air), Ford's bra^ SUP pliers will be forced to redesign existing equipment and/or install new n-ocessine equ< oisen" which will demand a large capital investment 0n_ of ^ r : ^ ; i - s indicates that a level of 0.8 fibers/cc air cool. b.* achleved by modifying current processing equipment. There will be a relucta y I n i their ebility to .it the. Alto ^ available that will be satisfactory for normal customer usage. -- rs appear to require different brake designs to provide optimal performance. 1 help ensure th.t eeteptehle is recommended that Research expand tua friction material P S R e s e arch the development of non-asbestos brake linings. This will enable ^ e a r u h Staff to gain the necessary expertise to assist m developing ^ o p r i a . lining quality control tests, to determine failure modes and C lining Jendor when appropriate. Also this program would include stadie of the best lining and brake geometries for use with the resultant non asbestos linings. Technical Approach A. Survey Options Wet Brakes Full Metallic Resin-Bonded Metallic Resin-Fiber 004197 PRODUCED 3 Y FORD -2 - B. Evaluate Vendor Submissions United States Foreign C. Selected Laboratory Studies Carbon Fiber Metal Wire Filled Fiberglass Fiber Tit anate Fiber Polymer Fiber D. System Optimization Lining Size and Shape Vented on Solid Rotor Rotor Material and Surface Finish Project Requirements The investigation vill require the effort of 1 additional person in Polymer Science Department, 1 additional person in Machining and Wear Department, and 0.3 additional person in Technical Services. 004198 PRODUCED B Y FORD 011449 MEMO TO FILE ! 1 May 10, 1977 Subject: Asbestos Substitute Materials Meeting Materials Strategy conducted Staff and HAAO Purchasing to regulations reduce allowable O.Jj/cc. a meeting May 6 with Engineering and Research clarify Ford plans for replacing asbestos if OSHA airborne asbestos fibers in the work place to Clutches R. A. Majeske, Chassis and Powertrain Purchasing - surmised that H. K. Porter could meet 0.5/cc but at prices that would reflect additional processing costs. There is also a possibility that H. K. Porter may go out of the clutch facing business or that it would not invest additional money for capital equipment if OSIIA regulations increase the complexity of working with asbestos materials. John Gkrbina, Engine Controls, Chassis Engineering - stated that H. K. Porter is working with Borg and Beck (a supplier of clutch assemblies) to develop non asbestos clutch facings. Performance of the first samples presented to Ford was unacceptable. Additional evaluation samples are expected to be submitted late in 1977- If new clutch facing material were immediately available, required engineering changes would preclude use of them until the 1980 program. J. D. Wells, Chassis Engineering and Clutch - stated that the Company does not have nn alternative to asbestos clutch facing materials and that it would probably be three to five years before a viable substitute for asbestos could be developed. Brakes E. F. Clough? Brake Engineering - stated that almost no development work on non-asbestos brake linings is in process. Ford is relying heavily upon its suppliers to develop new products. Ford budgeted*little or no. funds for nonasbestos brake evaluation. He would appreciate budget support for non-aBbestos evaluation. . ... p, , If an acceptable substitute for asbestos brake linings were available, it would be the 1931 Model Year before it could be used on even a limited number of cars. ihe pioblem is more difficult with drum brakes where no knom development is ' ' in process. Each brake supplier has a different material composition which seems to work best for certain applications. Developing new materials is likely to be by trial and . error. ' Marvin Wctntraub, Friction Materials, Engineering and Research Staff - reported . that Thiolcol recently submitted non-asbestos disc broke linings for evaluation. " The prototype linings functioned satisfactorily at first but under extended testing developed unacceptable noise and wear. '' Dealerships and brake repair shops may have problems with high levels of air- ' ; borne particles as they work with asbestos linings. OSHA may propone additional - -- '' rules to address this condition. ' PRODUCED BY FORD MIMO TO FILE -2 - Subj: Asbestos Substitute Materials Meeting Moy 10, 1977 Automatic Transmissions ' F. II. Abar, Transmission and Axle Engineering - knew of no substitutes for asbestos in automatic transmissions. It would require three years to develop acceptable substitutes. As many as 15 asbestos compositions used in trans missions would require an extended period to recertify replacements if they were available. It would be difficult to simplify compositions in transmissions. Gaskets E. J. Duda, Engine Materials - cited communications from Raybestos-Manhattan (attached) and Armstrong advising that both can meet existing and proposed OSHA asbestos regulations. Ford has initiated no effort to replace asbestos gaskets. It would require two or three years to develop substitutes. Summary A consensus was that suppliers do not have intensive programs to replace asbestos. They are looking to Ford for direction. There was also an agreement that problems with asbestos are urgent. Development programs inside^and. outside Ford should be pushed. They should have more visibintv than t,kv havh had. J1 Attachment D. P. Cratty 011450 PRODUCED BY FORD Inter Office May 13; 1977 E. A n derson ^ D . Compton L. G e aler Gratch M. S. " J. H u m e n ik Lab ana Mayer Engineering and Research Staff Subject: Raybestos-Manhattan Asbestqs Meeting A p r e s e n t a t i o n was mad e b y R a y b e s t o s - M a n h a t t a n (RM) personnel, M a y 11, 1977, regarding their company's position on asbestos. It was stated that their overall development programs are directed towards elimination of asbestos in t h e i r friction materials (RM p o l i c y statement a ttached). The RM p e r s o n n e l also i n d i c a t e d that they c o m m i s s i o n e d R. F. Weston, Inc., to study the technical feasibility and economic impact on reducing the fiber count from the current level of 2 fibers/cc. The report, which RM indicated was ' presented to OSHA, stated that the proposed standard of 0.5 fibers/cc was not feasible for asbestos manufactured products. I have requested a copy of t h e report from RM. It also was stated that O S H A has commissioned Consad Research Corp. to re-examine the asbestos standards. We should determine if Consad personnel have contacted Ford,.if not perhaps Ford personnel should contact the Consad group. Comments made by RM personnel indicated the following. . No k n o w n r e p l a ce m e n t for a s b e s t o s and at l e a s t 5 to 8 years to develop production non-asbestos brake linings. Semi-metallic linings are not as yeat suitable for customer usage. (Design changes' tha t may' b e n e c e s s a r y t o u tilize n e w materials was not addressed.) ' . Replacing asbestos with glass fiber looks promising for manual transmission clutch facings. . Reasonable degree of confidence in replacing or eliminating - asbestos in most automatic transmission4 friction elements, however, some elements may be difficult to replace directly with new materials without some modification to the transmission. 011431 PRODUCED BY FORD A. E , Anderson -2 - May 1 3 , 1977 At the conclusion of the PI-1 meeting, it was suggested b y S u D p l y Staff that a "Ford on l y " ' m e e t i n g be held, June IS, 1977 in which v/e * (A. Anderson and myself) present an A s b e s t o s O v e r v i e w to various p e r s o n n e l involved with asbestos containing friction materials. ao Att. 'st-L- . ^ M. W esrinnttr a u b Polymer Science Department f r I ! 01U32 PRODUCED b y FORD o fetor ortie ****rtuti July 12, I T T I Mr.YD, T . Axon / / Subject: Development of Hon-Aabeatos Products Por your information, Materials Strategy received a request to reviev HAAO Purchasing forward year plane. Au lutereating topic in the plan is asbestos, vhich reads "Proposed new OSHA standards (0.5 to 1.0 fibers/cc) for airborne exposure may force many ford suppliers to cease production of asbestos brake and. clutch linings and cachet materials. HAAO Purchaslnc and Product Engineering have established a program to expedite development of alternate materials." After reading the HAAO statement, I contacted various Engineer ing activities this morning to identify the names of individuals developing asbestos-free gaskets, brake linings, clutch facings, and transmission clutch plates. In each instance the design engineer advised that he vas aware of proposed OGHA rules to limit airborne asbestos contaminants to .5 fiber/cc but that vork was continuing on the asbestos products and, to their knowledge, o assignments to develop asbestos-free parts were not expected. I discussed development of oabestos-free parts with Frank Abar, Manager, Program Control and Planning Department, TSsC Division, and he advised that development of asbectoG-free products will not be initiated until funds are authorized for development. Abor said he requested funding for a minimal advance transmission program with asbestos-free parts but the request would have to be approved by some "mythical" central Engineering activity and he does not expect funding. Abar said he did not believe much, if any, vork vould be initiated until funding was authorized. Additionally, ABar stated that suppliers do not appear to be concerned with meeting .5 fiber/cc and, in his opinion, there is little need to proceed vith a development program . until there ore better indications that development expense is Justified. cc -.B. B. Murray 003120 PRODUCED BY FORD ENGINEERING ASBESTOS PLAN PURPOSE To establish an engineering plan anticipating the effects of proposed changes in the federal regulations governing environmental exposure to asbestos. BACKGROUND On October 9, 1975 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) pro posed (among other regulations) a lowering of the permissible occupational exposure 'imit for asbestos from the current 2 fibers per cubic centimeter to .5 fiber/cc.* The actic'i was based upon known links between asbestos exposure and certain diseases (asbestosis and several forms of cancer). Since that time, the proposed standard has been attacked by asbestos and mining interests as being too restrictive, and by some medical authorities as not being restrictive enough. The latter propose .1 fiber/cc as a standard. These developments have contributed to OSHA's delay in scheduling the formal hearings that normally precede issuance of a final standard. In the interim, both government and industry have sought supDort for their positions through studies and conferences (see example in Attachment l). The hearings are unreliably reported to be scheduled "this fall or next spring." . ASSESSMENT Despite firm evidence that the current standard is inadequate, our survey of the regulatory situation over the past few months leads to a conclusion that tighter environmental restrictions on asbestos will be promulgated. Timing and level are uncertain, but a staged tightening, as has been done in Sweden, is possible. (See Attachment 2 for foreign situations.) Since a fairly restrictive standard already exists, and asbestos legislation has a long history and organized lobbies (partic ularly the construction industry which uses a large percentage of the asbestos mined), no emergency standard of a disruptive nature is probable. Instead, we expect an orderly process of increasing restriction that will raise the cost of asbestos-containing products but not otherwise restrict the supply. If we speculate that the orderly process would result in a standard of 1 fiber/cc on January 1, 1979, and .5 fiber/cc on January 1, 1981, the following results can be expected: ' _ . No court challenges, or a small effort by the construction industry. . Mines in Canada not affected-- no supply shortage. . A few marginal users curtail production. . Friction materials suppliers install controls; prices rise on finished components. . Auto industry continues to use asbestos-containing friction materials. . R and D effort on substitutes determined both by initial price increase and by future pricing projected for meeting .5 fiber/cc. * These values refer to the 8-hour, time-weighted average number of asbestos fibers longer than 5 microns in length collected on a micropore filter in the breathing zone of workers exposed to airborne asbestos. 011434 produced by ford -2 - A5SESSMEHT (continued) " " The foregoing can be compared wit'' the different results expected if the standard is abruptly set at .5 fiber/cc by January 1, 1979- This is judged unlikely. . Court challenges delay implementation for at least a year. . Investments in new or old mines curtailed, but supply not immediately affected. , Prices rise on related components---some parts suppliers inform auto industry of impending curtailment of production. . Costly crash programs on substitutes initiated in auto industry, target Job 1, 1980. Even less likely is a standard of .1 fiber/cc because it is very near background level. IMPACT ON FORD A study of the engineering uses of asbestos has shown that Ford is directly concerned only with the friction materials segment of the asbestos industry (as outlined in ^ Attachment 3)* Ford purchases transmission bands, brake and clutch friction mauerials that contain asbestos, and thus would be affected by the impacts^of regulatory action. These impacts are of two types: internal, and in the supply cnain. Ford has no internal compliance problems because purchased parts contain only bound asbestos fibers that do not contaminate the environment.* Supply-chain^compliance problems^ were recently investigated by NAAO Purchasing (Materials Planning Department). This study assumed an orderly tightening of the standard and concluded that. , Major parts and materials suppliers are just now reaching compliance with the 2 fiber/cc standard and have plans or active programs to meet the proposed standard. . . The severity of the problems depends on the standard* ^ t . Nearly all suppliers wish to continue to supply Ford with asbestos-containing products. ' Our assessment of the supply situation is that asbestos products will continue to be available for the next several years, but that costs will rise^as suppliers install control equipment. Ford should continue to rely on suppliers to solve their compliance problems and supply parts to Ford. ' RECOMMENDATIONS The above assessments predict an orderly tightening of the asbestos standards and a resulting cost increase in asbestos-containing parts. It is concluded that the Company must respond to this situation with programs in the following areas to ensure that it remains cost competitive. 011435 * Wear debris from brake and clutch friction pads are nonfibrous and therefore noncarcinogenic. Some monitoring of brake and elutch repair areas for loose asbestos fibers may be necessary. PRODUCED BY FORD -3 - RECOMMENDATIONS (continued.) . . 1. Continue to monitor supplier compliance programs and results. Responsibility: VMD&P and NAAO Purchasing. 2. Continue to monitor costs of asbestos-containing components and compare these . with those for alternate materials. Responsibility: NAAO Purchasing and VMD&P, 3. Initiate first-stage Advanced Engineering projects for 1978 in Chassis and Transmission and Axle Engineering Offices to assess the costs and problems associated with alternate materials for clutch and brake linings and transmission bands. These projects would rely on significant supplier input coordinated through Supplier Research. (The suppliers are interested.) They need not be targeted for specific model years but may be seen as insurance projects to protect against costly crash programs later. They should include studies on friction materials compatible with aluminum drums, discs and clutch plates. Responsibility: PEO's (Advanced Engineering). If. Support the engineering effort with parallel projects within the alreadyexisting friction materials study group within Research Staff. Responsibility: Engineering and Research Staff. 5 Review supplier asbestos compliance and engineering programs, cost comparisons, and Ford programs prior to the 1979 advanced budget allocations to determine course of action for 1979. Responsibility: .VMD&P. 011436 Vehicle Materials Development & Planning August 26, 1977 PRODUCED BY FORD