Document jymKjNn1vBBzoXqGV1Zo700bN

Workers' Institute FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: FILES -- PORT ALLEGANY HIGH RISK PROJECT Knut Ringen \ff\f DATE: April 28, 1981 received: MAY 7 inP' OFFICE of: GSOSGC .Mi PAKKCRi SUBJECT: TRAVEL REPORT FUR APRIL 23, 1981 `* . . i i/ > .,,,.:o Un April 23, 19U1 Knut Ringun and Puul Addia went to Port Allegany for the purpose of meeting with the Advisory Committee of the Port Allegany Asbestos Health Project (PAAHP) and for the purpose of meeting with Congressman William F. Clinger, Jr. in whose district Port Allegany is located. We met Or. Holstein (Mt. Sinai) at Pittsburg, and we discussed ways in which the joint efforts of the Mt. Sinai and Workers* Institute staffs may be made most effective. As a general delineation, Mt. Sinai will coordinate the medical aspects of the project, while we will take responsi bility for the community aspects. Of course, all work is subject to approval by PAAHP. After an initial lunch with Jack Smoogen of the Flint Glass Makers, we went to the recently opened office for the PAAHP, where we were introduced to the full-time staff person that has been hired, Mary Lou Dunn. Mrs. Dunn has an extensive background in medical records administration for the local hospital and as an office manager for many physicians. She is a native of Port Allegany, and knows the community well. We then met with the committee members, and discussed a plan that Dr. Holstein had put together. We also reviewed a draft of an educational booklet that is to be sent to all of the members of the cohort announcing the availability of the program and actions that are to be taken. Specifically, we agreed on the following actions to be take/i during the next stage of this project: o Booklet development. Mrs. Dunn is retyping the booklet in accordance with comments agreed upon during the meeting. She will send this text to the Workers' Institute, which will provide for layout and printing of the booklet. Appropriate photos and illustration materials are being provided by local newspaper.people and the company. PAAHP will take responsibility for mailing the booklet once it is prepared by the Workers' Institute. The booklet will be approved by the Advisory Committee once the blueline has been developed by the printing service. THIS DOCUMENT WAS NOT A RECORD OF PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. DID NOT COME FROM IT S FILES AND CANNOT BE AUTHENTICATED BY PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. j BB 0000364 PHILIP MURRAY BUILDING 1126 SIXTEENTH STREET N W WASHINGTON. D C 20036 * (202) Port Allegany Travel Report April 23, 1981 Page 2 :T- THIS DOCl'Mf.'iT DID L NOT CG.\1 FROM PPG FILES o Cohortt^frddress update. The PAAHP will be responsible for making sure that the full cohort is placed in a registry with updated addresses. At the present time the cohort consists of 1127 members, but indications are that some workers should be added to it. The address update will rely on the following sources; volunteers, the address system for retired and current workers at the company, assistance from the local post office, and special searches for hard-to-find individuals, for which I offered Sandy's help. The registry eventually will also contain the names of all dependents for the purpose of household contact evaluation. However, it was agreed at this time that the registry should be updated as quickly as possible to include initially those workers who were most heavily exposed, so that the program can move forward in areas where the needs are the greatest. _ o Mt, Sinai visit. We agreed that there is an immediate need for Mrs. Dunn and the entire Advisory Committee to go to Mt. Sinai for discus sions about the entire program with the staff of Mt. Sinai and the Workers' Institute. At that time, Mrs, Dunn together with Mt. Sinai staff and Sandy will develop a format for a cohort registry, with all the necessary forms and reporting systems being generated. o Registry privacy protection. The Workers' Institute agreed to develop a plan for privacy protection of the PAAHP cohort registry and to send this information to the Advisory Committee. o Educational program. In addition to the booklet, Dr. Holstein agreed to develop materials for information to commuity physicians to allay any turf problems that may develop. PAAHP will develop a detailed plan for press and media relations. The American Cancer Society, through the local representative (Mrs. McCull?) has agreed to develop a stop smoking program for the cohort. o Video tapes. The Workers' Institute was asked to develop video tapes as educational tools for the various aspects of the project. Script ideas and plans are to be developed for initial approval by the Advisory Committee. Most of the footage that is needed is already available from the local TV stations that filmed the 1979 Mt. Sinai mass screening in Port Allegany, and from other educational materials that have been developed on asbestos disease. Thus, with little expense it should be possible to develop educational video tapes that have the local flavor that is desired. I BB 0000865 Port Allegany Travel Report April 23, 1981 Page 3 Overall, t|tis meeting helped focus the efforts in Port Allegany. It is obvious that all committee members feel a strong pressure to have a second round of Mt. Sinai medical screening in the community. They impressed on us the need to proceed as rapidly as possible to begin such a screening program. Additionally, we will now begin to develop mechanisms for an ongoing localized surveilance program that will rely on the medical resources in the Port Allegany community and surrounding towns, with the central coordination point being the registry established at the PAAHP offices. We also will begin a plan for the community network activities that various mental health and community groups have agreed to participate in. I was impressed by the sense of community that really exists in Port Allegany, and the ease with which it should be to develop a truly locally controlled prugruin that is oricntud to the nuedu of wurkuru and thuir families We spent about one hour with Congressman Clinger, a Republican from the district. Dr. Holstein gave an excellent overview of the medical and community significance of the program, and I gave an overview of the Workers' Institute programs on high risk and how Port Allegany fits into the work that we are doing. The Congressman appeared well informed about the asbestos problem and the program, and expressed strong interest in assisting in any way he could. It was noted by the committee that his help would be very valuable in establishing long-term funding for the program, once the initial screening is completed and the ongoing modicul uurveillance program is planned. The Congressman agreed to this. Mr. Clinger expressed the hope that once we develop from the various cohorts that we are following generalizable problems that need to be resolved through federal policy and legislative initiatives, we should prepare a report for the Congressman outlining problem areas that we have found based on our studies, and suggesting possible remedies. We agreed to do this. KR/dg cc Jack Smoogen Warren Smith Sheldon Samuels Joe Velasquez Paul Addis Sandy Tillett Edwin Holstein Andrew Hegyeli J BB 0000866