Document kDZqKkMGpK2g5946J0BQe0YRB

FILE NAME Manville JMA DATE 1968-1979 DOC JMA158 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Coordinated Defense of Lawsuits - Letters Report Legislation Minutes with Attendee List 7/20/98 7/20/98 7/9/98 1979 Coordinated Defense of Lawsuits level public relations and legal legislation and strategy meetings . describing the full range of collective industry maneuvers Imported Italian coats White Owl cigars had fiberglass asbestos Ralph Nader Dr. George Wright reporting from all key government and scientific committees formation of AIA Sabourin flying around trying to get scientists to sign a statement that present asbestos levels are no problem Congressman R. Ottinger's assistant Mr. Solon continue to scare them the public you have every right to try and calm them down Dr. George Wright suggests thorough indoctrination course be organized for potential defense medical witnesses 8/20/68 industry legal coordiation originated by M 11/13/68 agreement to form a common industry legal problems committee accepted unanimously industry house counsel meetings covered everything governmental 5/24/69 industry defense against lawyer Ward Stephenson's asbestos case hiring of prestige law firm to direct industry defense nationally preferred to indirect industry control through insurers 8/15/69 efforts to persuade other asbestos products companies to hire a common outside counsel to fight health liability cases 8/18/69 Could be a conspiracy who knows Bendix request to M for help opposing union claim that 5 laryngeal cancer cases in one Canadian brake plant were caused by asbestos on the job EMVPA ON EMVPA ON OF MEDICINE SAINT LUKE'S HOSPITAL 113 SHAKER BOULEVARD CLEVELAND OHIO 44104 August 20 1968 Mr. Herbert M. Ball Vice President and General Manville Corporation 22 East Fortieth Street New York New York 10016 Counsel as we Dear Herb I've studied the memorandum written by Mr. Standel and the I believe something along best approach to handling this line would likely the overall problem of be liti- gation I would like to comment on some of the suggestions and make one or two of my own With respect to item 1 experienced Federal trial lawyers might not be extensive background too rare but in pulmonary to find disease one with an litigation would likely be quite unusual With the exception of Ivan Sabourin I know of only two and possibly three lawyers whom I would consider relatively competent with regard to their knowledge of pulmonary disease and in that respect it would be confined pretty much to silicosis One of these is William C. ~ Hartman of the firm of Squire Sanders and Dempsey here in Cleveland He had a great deal to do with developing the Workmen's Compensation Law in the state of Ohio and in the course of that became quite well educated in medical matters pertaining Unfortunately he has developed a greater current interest in labor relations negotiations The second man is Solon Stone of Buffalo New York I have testified a number of times for him and have always been impressed with his knowledge of silicosis and also with what would appear to be a very good legal approach The third man is a lawyer from Buffalo New York whose last name is McKay and who has in the past been primarily a plaintiff's lawyer He has examined me a number of times In addition to these men I have probably been in contact with approximately twenty other lawyers none of whom impressed me very favorably with respect to their preparation of cases or their knowledge of the pertinent medical factors involved I have received the impression from most of these gentlemen that they the loyal approach a case much aspects and hope for more strongly in terms of the best on the medical aspects It is cases my impression also that in the Workmen's Compensation they have small hopes of achieving anything from the 8- Herbert M. Ball Aug this ve and hence do not pursue medical approach the situation might be just the re IIn hajvue ry hacdaseosnly limited experience with jury cas to considering the developing With respect I have the followi competent legal personality that for the nextha _ little doubt but to ha sort There seems of this there will be problems years that we have every reas backlog of cases future of the will develop in the near now exist or is not very prudent to put a gr suggest that it older man and I pres of training effort into an has in mind It would seem to what Mr. Standel a man into their own c for M to either bring his major interests and biol or by retainer preempt trained in the thoroughly i that he becomes in the various per asbestosis as well as also that i of of the law itself I have in mind I indicated to you 2 are run by lawyers and as is of rela letter the most comtpheetelnatwyperhysiiscieaqnually compet use to you unless who is perhaps Morcover a physician more so still be a useful per versed in asbestosis can medice is examined by a lawyer havtirnaginesdpecainfdicinformed In addition the properly material can see the use of suitable reference well oriente his medical witness is reasonably by i There simply is no way legal appearance make up for an incompete physician can first requiremen the petent It would seem to me that the fully q one is to have the most important available to you representati to item 2 it doesn't seem With respect the use me the active member traeskprefsoerncteing It is in your asbestosis defensfeind someone in New 1 realm of possibility to the uti serve in this role Such a man plus of testify for the purpose chosen sphhoyuslidciparnosvide your legal at thi level If it is possible competent witness foci of anticip predict the major geographliacwsuits it should Compensation hearings or medical profession at th choose men from the the most desirable witnesses become Herbert M. Ball August 20 1968 tant With respect to to have someone item 3 I available would agree that it is to fulfill this role impor- I am not certain however that Mr. Sheckler is your best bet From what I know of the current developments in his department I think In addition I have his time is going to be some question about his fully occupied capacity to project himself as a witness I must say that I rather different kind of person in mind for this have a particular role although I don't know where he might be in your organi- zation at this time With respect to item 4 I find myself somewhat uncertain as to the full reasons for choosing an Insulation rep- resentative Possibly this cern about the cancer cases has arisen from your major con- in the insulation exposures I would predict that you will have problems also with your own textile employees and with respect to Workmen's Compensation with all of the Divisions of the Company Furthermore I believe you will be faced with cases of lung cancer and mesothelioma occurring spontaneously in employees from all divisions as well as people who are not your employees In saying this I would point out that I believe it might be a mistake to pick a man whose knowledge is primarily in the Insulation division alone Shouldn't you have someone whose knowledge is broader than this I cannot help saying that if I were defending a case and I needed a person to represent both items 3 and 4 and wanted to choose one from your present employees I would pick Sidney Speil I presume he would not be available for these things but I think he projects himself extraordinarily well and is fully knowledge- able in these various areas With respect to item 5 it occurs to me that a liaison and coordinating person might be needed but why not combine this role with that of the legal person to represent the things discussed in item 1. I suppose it is entirely possible that the liaison and coordinating person might be fully occupied with developing the task force and ultimately would detract from his attending to so many details that it for the defense possible role as the competent lawyer to in the actual litigation On the other hand it occurs that might combine the roles set forth under items 1 me you whole Your choice and S to the benefit benefit of the program as of man for this would be perhaps the single most important Herbert M. Ball August 20 decision of all and since I do not know Mr. Standel or any other I refrain member of your legal department from further comment than than yourself yourself I would like to make one other suggestion at this time time time If the personnel for this task force and I would for this particular thought the potential doctors as witnesses at the local level can be chosen in include include include include include thisserving servingserving serving serving serving near near course course future I would suggest a thorough indoctrination course course econmic organized to present the medical legal and economic aspects to these persons in depth I would that suggest that this group be kept relatively small but include those who those wouldbe active detail detail but presentation but likely site Such a course would involve nnotot of all of the information in in detail detail detail detail visits as well Those takingtaking part part part only only only but but should should to say should should able in the future at times of testimony say that that that to say seen first hand and studied first hand the the the things things things they they they might testify about This was the approach ap roach aproach aproach aproach approach approach approach used used used those involved in the silicosis problem I know that the main emphasis of the Saranac SymposiSympaosia was on the scientific aspects and I would not have in mind repeating precisely that kind of thing but I think you will agree that those symposia served as a training mechanism mechanism mechanism mechanism for those ultimately bearing responsibility of the legal aspects I have in mind in our instance a more restricted and definitely oriented approach to the actual legal problems I rather like Mr. Standel's suggestion that perhaps this could be a much broader affair and bring in the considerations of other companies who face this same problem have reason to believe you might find men of considerable skill and interest in the other companies and we of M might stand to benefit by their views It is likely that I will be in New York within the tunity next few days sometime tunity to discuss this and I would like in greater greater greater depth to have an with you already talked about this in in some detail with Ivan opporI have and since you have taken the matter up with Clint I hope it will be agreeable with you if I send a copy of our correspondence thus far to each of these people With With but with GWW kal kal kal ince yours ( Vos 07 George Wright W. W. HeaM d edical M.D. Research Department CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED ATTORNEYS COMMUNICATION Herbert Horton Ball 6070 | OFFICE OF THE - GENERAL COUNSEL o> 7 {| AUG 2 1968 HMB 1JP WPSB RRS WMD Box GHQGHQ Box 91 August 2 1968 . a wy ASBESTOSIS DEFENSE TASK FORCE You the the have asked me to elaborate on the constitution and concept of proposed task force My present thinking is that we should have following members litigation 1 A highly competent preferably competent an extensive and experienced experienced Federal background in trial lawyer pulmonary preferably ~ Preliminary inquiry as to the identity and possible availability of such a lawyer should now be initiated However until further litigation develops it might be premature to make any definite arrangement For the time being with respect to the Tomplait litigation now pending in Texas we have prevailed upon Travelers to procure a lawyer to aid Mr. Pate Mr. John G. Tucker He is 61 years of age a graduate of Harvard Law School and a partner in the largest firm & in Beaumont Orgain Bell Tucker Mr. Tucker is regarded by Travelers as the city's best brief man and has available to him the serviceosf junior attorneys to provide the man face requisite to prepare extensive legal briefs Inasmuch as this particular case will probably have to be won on legal points upon appeal Mr. Tucker would appear to fulfill our needs . Travelers has suggested to me the possibility of utilizing Mr. Leroy Vandeveer who as you know is our lawyer in the Bradshaw asbestosis litigation in Michigan as the overall attorney in the asbestosis cases While Mr. Vandeveer is indeed an experienced trial lawyer I have serious reservations as to his acting in such a capacity because of his advanced age among other reasons 2 A qualified and recognized medical expert on the disease of asbestosis asbestosis . Obviously the use of Dr. Wright suggests itself The question is whether he will be sufficiently available The point is that for the program to be effective all of the members with one exception discussed below will have to be available to travel around the country to meet with our various local defense counsel This will be con- suming While initially we may be able to get by by utilizing C. L. Sheckler in conjunction with Dr. Wright I do not think that this will stand up as a feasible working arrangement if any significant number of cases should develop Accordingly I suggest that we request Dr. Wright to give us the name of some other qualified physician that we might be able to employ on a consulting contract basis if the need arises That is we should be in a position empt a given number of days of such physician's time per month if and when necessary -2-2- 3 person A control with extensive knowledge of the environmental efforts of this company an of d the industry generally with respect to this hazard - At the present time C. L. Sheckler would appear to be our overall asbestosis expert It is imperative that he be available for educa- tional and possibly testimonial purposes If his function in the task force is to be adequately performed his responsibility in that area must be assigned first priority 4 person A ledge of from our Insulation Division who possesses knowthe asbestos insulation industry and of our insulation product lines lacluding the general chemical make of such products R. A. Stapleton would be the man here However it is contemplated that where sufficiently experienced and knowledgeable local people are available district managers contract unit managers salesmon etc. we shall utilize them with respect to any litigation pending in the locality of their responsibilities It would be r Stapleton's function to secure optimum cooperation from these people Mr. Stapleton would not travel with the task force except where adequate local personnel were not available although his services may be required from time to time as a witness The Division has indicated its will- ingness to make Mr. Stapleton available in such capacity until such time as this work would interfere too greatly with his other dutics at which time it will be necessary to consider some other arrangement 5 A member of the J Legal Department to act as liaison and coordinator You have indicated that the writer should continue in this responsi- bility In that event be tried in the Federal course in Federal Court inasmuch as most of these cases will probably Courts I recommend that the writor take a Trial Procedure Such a semester course is presently available at night at New York University Law School Graduate Division at a cost of 150 per semester A serious effort should be made to coordinate the efforts of our task force with the corresponding activities of other manufacturers in the industry who also are defendants in these cases It may be that in time a single overall committee will prove desirable I think that the task force with the exception of the outside lawyer described in 1 above should be formally instituted immediately The basic concept is that the task force will be available to meet with local attorneys for the purpose of educating and guiding them in these ca903 As experience in the defense of these cases is gained this cumulative knowlodge will be made available to our various trial counsel The task force will gather information generally useful to our defense including the nares of witnesses expert or otherwise best suited to testify in our behalf PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY COMMUNICATION C. B. Burnett Herbert Morton J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindoll A. B. Marchant A. C. Smith Ivan Sabourin Ball ~ Asbestos . - Finderne Montreal Dr. G. W. Wright -Cleveland November 13 1968 7 ce oy coe ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHI TASK FORCE ON REPORT INITIAL LEGAL TO FROBLEMS POLICY CONNITLER COMMITTEE COMMITTEE MEETING DATE AND LOCATION October 15 1960 at GHQ PRESENT FROM THE LEGAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE Herbert Ball Chairman W. W. Lanigan and R. R. Standel Jr. Morton PRESENT FROM THE POLICY Dr. COMMITTEE Herbert George W. Wright Morton Ball and PURPOSOEF MEETING Th principal purposoef the meeting was for Dr. Wright to begin the education of the committee members as to the medical and scientific aspects of asbestosis and mesothelion Among the major areas discussed by Dr. Wright were 1 the formulation and of the various types of commercial applications chemical asbestos thereof make and the 2 the nature of asbestosis including the causations symptoms detection diagnosis and prognosis of the disease 3 the present state of medical knowledge concerning asbestosiansd mesothelioma and the chronology of the historical development thereof and 4 Dr. Selikoff's work the conclusions to be drawn therefrom and the probable ramifications C. B. Burnett joined the meeting for lunch At general discussion of the legal posture of this had Among the things discussed wore that time a problem was -2- -2- 1 the present status of the common law asbestosis actions now pending against us 2 the probability of numerous similar cases in the future and the best means of preparifnogr them ee ~~~ and 3 the significance that medical testimoknnoy w- ledge will have in these cases and 4 the need for an industry approach to the problem vn CONCLUSIONS 1 Serious consideration should be given to os inviting other companies to join with us in an industry legal committee the purpose of which would be to maximize and ordinate the legal thinking of the various asbestos mining and efforts and ranufacturing companies 2 It will be necessary to set up a comprehen- sive system whereby counsel engaged to de- mee fend various asbestosis cases throughout the country on our behalf can be properly and effectively educated as to the medical and scientific aspects of such cases R. R. Standel Jr. CC W. W. Lanigan E. M. Fenner ~ Finderne C. L. Sheckler - Finderne H. M. Jackson DEAJ BD BD BD / PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY COMMUNICATION . January 15 1969 C. B. Burnett Herbert Morton Ball J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindell - Asbestos A. B. Marchant A. C. Smith - Finderne F. J. Solon Jr. Ivan Sabourin Montreal Dr. G. W. Wright - Cleveland ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TASK FORCE : REPORT TO POLICY COMMITTEE ON SECOND LEGAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE MEETING : F Sener, DATE AND LOCATION January 14 1969 at GHQ PRESENT FROM THE LEGAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE Herbert Morton Ball Chairman E. M. Fenner C. L. Sheckler and R. R. Standel Jr. PRESENT FROM THE POLICY COMMITTEE Herbert Morton Ball DISCUSSION 1. Tomplait vs. Combustion Engineering et al R. R. Standel Jr. reported to the Committee on the progress of the Tomplait asbestosis litiga- tri thea trl ial of which is to commence on March 24 1969 in Beaumont Texas The Committee was advised that it was imperative at this time that a list of witnesses to appear on behalf of Manville Products Corporation be prepared so that the witnesses might be interviewed etc. -2- Mr. Standel reported that after conferring with Travelers local attorney in this matter the over legal approach determined upon was to attempt to rebut any argument by plain- tiff that defendant Manville Products Corporation was not concerned with the welfare of the working man by showing the many steps that it had taken to improve working conditions health by cutting down dust concentra- tion in the air improved handling techniques etc. within M's own facilities While such a showing would not resolve the fundamental legal question of whether or not M was negli- gent in failing to extrapolate its knowledge of certain of the health dangers present in its mining milling and plant facilities to the employment situation of workmen such as plain- tiff i.e. field industrial insulation applica- tors employed by independent contractors and Manville Sales Corporation's Contract Units it would have value in showing that M was not heedless of the needs of workers where the dangers were recognized by it Accordingly toEGED strate what steps had been taken dust etc. in M's facilities -3- Mr. Sheckler pointed out that it might be most | meaningful to make this demonstration with respect to the steps taken in plants concerned with the manufacturoef industrial insulation products In this regard he suggested that Tom Eaton would be very helpful and Messrs Ball and Fenner concurred Daniel Gallagher was another person recommended for interview in this regard Other potential witnesses were discussed by Messrs Fenner and Sheckler Mr. Standel then stated that in view of these suggestions he presently contemplattehde following list of potential witnesses Personnel with Plant and Engineering Background T. H. Eaton Production Manager D. H. Gallagher ~ Plant Manager Long Beach Plant J. Gartshore - Industrial Relations Manager Jeffrey Mine J. O. Eby Plant Manager - Jeffrey Mine Industrial Hygiene Program Personnel C. L. Sheckler H. M. Jackson - Manager Occupational Environmental Control - Director of Industrial Relations & Management Development Industrial Insulations Division Sales Personnel R. A. Stapleton - General Sales Manager Distribution and Contracts M. C. Parmley - District Manager Houston District Medical Personnel To be determined in conjunction of the other defendants involved subject tion atorney ED ED with the 'attorney involvinvoleved d li itig -4- Those people on the above list with whom the case has not already been discussed will be interviewed in depth as to their relevant knowledge and suitability Rogers vs. Manville Products Corporation et al Mr. Standel then formally advised the Committee that a third common law asbestosis action in terms of those being primarily handled by the Office of General Counsel had been commenced in October of 1968 in Kansas City Mo. The Manville defend- ants have not yet filed their answer to this complaint but have been in contact with the firm of Rogers Field & Gentry of Kansas City Missouri which is handling the matter on behalf of Travelers Bill No. 707 - Massachusetts House of Representatives This proposed Bill was introduced by Rep David C. Ahearn and provides Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the con- trary no ducts for heating or air conditioning which contains sic.7 fiberglass inside shall be placed in any building The Committee recognized that while the Bill did not directly concern asbestos it involved a related problem and was fraught with the risk that its prohibitions might be extended to that it was one of the Officoef General Counsel to follow proposed legislation and accordingly he appointed Mr. Standeli work Standeli eG to -5- with the appropriate M responsibilities involved including the Industrial Health Public Relations and Government Departments on behalf of this committee and the Office of General Counsel All All R. Standel Standel Standel Standel CC W.W. E. C. Jackson" Lanigan Fenner - Finderne Sheckler- Finderne PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY COMMUNICATION C. B. Burnett Herbert Morton Ball J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant Ivan Sabourin Esq A. C. Smith F. J. Solon Jr. W. L. VanDerbeek Dr. G. W. Wright ox <eee - Asbestos - Montreal - Finderne - Finderne - Cleveland May 24 1969 ee - ay ae ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TASK FORCE REPORT TO POLICY COMMITTEE ON MEETING HELD IN LIEU OF FOURTH LEGALPROBLEMS COMMITTEE MEETING It was determined by the Legal Problems Subcommittee that in lieu of the meeting scheduled for May 20 1969 a meeting of house counsel of asbestos industrial insulation product manufacturers would be held Such a meeting was held at M's GHQ on the parties attending is attached In house counsel of U. S. Mineral Products but was unable to make it April 30 1969. A list of addition Milford Salney Co. had intended to come The following members of the M Legal Problems Subcommittee were in attendance Herbert Morton Ball C. L. Sheckler and R. R. Standel Jr. In addition J. B. Jobe of the Policy Committee was present for part of the meeting and made a presentation Attached hereto is an Agenda of the meeting which indicates the matters discussed The not primary purpose of the meeting was to determine whether or the house counsel of other manufacturers would be interested in forming and joining an industry legal problems committee The purpose of this committee would be to coordinate and maximize the legal efforts of the various manufacturers in defending future common law asbestosis and mesothelioma actions The primary emphasis would be on liaison and communication of developments coupled with the pooling of ideas All of the lawyers present indicated that they favored joining such a committee on behalf of their clients However Messrs Beck Fibreboard Suhre Picher and Morse Keene Corp. stated that they could not commit their clients would but advise recommend affirmative action to them us of their clients positions off hand They will It was recognized by all present that the ultimate structure of the committee and the possibility of the formation of various subcommittees would depend upon the volume of litigation that in fact develops PR Standel R. R. Standel Jr. I I I CC W. P. S. Breese E. M. Fenner H. M. Jackson C. L. Sheckler - Finderne ene ee eee tr Le eee cee co a me ceee ee crt ee ats AGENDA MEETING OF HOUSE COUNSEL CF ASBESTOS INDUSTRIAL INSULATION PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS AT MANVILLE CORPORATION ON APRIL 30 1989 1989 1 Introduction and Coffee 9:00 A.M. A.M. 2 Discussion of the Background of the Problem of Asbestosis in the Industrial Insulation Industry C. L. Sheckler Manager Accident Preven- tion and Health Administration Johns- . . Manville Corporation 9:15 A.M. A.DL. a om 3 Discussion of Present Industry Efforts to . et Cooperate with Organized Labor in Medical a Research Activities Directed Towards the Problem of Asbestosis J. B. Jobe Divisions Vice President Industrial Manville Corporation 4 Discussion of Common Law Asbestosis Actions Presently Pending . 5 Lunch 6 Discussion of Industry Legal Committee Approach 10:30 A.M. A.M. 11:00 A.M. P.X 12:30 P.M. P.M. a Possibility of Subcommittees i Clearing House Subcommittee re common law asbestosis actions in progress ii Medical and Scientific Subcommittees iii Legislative Subcommittee iv Subcommittee to follow developments in common law re product liability generally . 1:30 P.M. P.M. 7 Consideration of Possible Formation of IndustryPolicy Committee Herbert Morton Ball Vice President Secretary and General Counsel JohnsManville Corporation 4:00 P.M. P.M. MEETING OF HOUSE COUNSEL OF ASBESTOS INDUSTRIAL INSULATION PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS AT MANVILLE CORPORATION ON APRIL 30 1969 HOUSE COUNSEL Herbert Morton Ball Manville Corporation Robert A. Beck Fibreboard Corporation Nevin L. Bitner Armstrong Cork Co. Inc. Dale K. Little Combustion Engineering Inc. Robert Logan Corning Fiberglas Corp. Richard C. Pittsburgh Packard Plate Glass Company Richard R. Standel Jr. Manville Corporation Walter A. Suhre Jr. Picher Company OUTSIDE COUNSEL E. Judge Brobeck Counsel Elderkin Phleger & Harrison for Fibreboard Corporation Neil Morse Chadbourne Parke Counsel for Keene Whiteside & Wolff Corp. - Baldwin Div MANVILLE LEGAL PERSONNEL J. B. Jobe Vice President Industrial Divisions C. Sheckler Manager Accident Prevention Health Administration and M tepryss 7716 a Policy Committee Committee Meeting Meeting Environmental Headth Task Force August 18 1969 Large Board Room W. L. VAN DERBELK 1 W. L. Vanderbeck reported on progress to date re lowering lowering dust counts below TLV in Manville textile operation The possibility of making asbestos textiles from asbestos paper was discussed spinning and carding cost and feasibility this manner This would operations eliminate producing VanDerbeek to prepare data for manufacturing textiles in VanDerbeck suggested that profitability study should be made of Marshville textile operations a decision is reached on installing costly dust equipment before control VanDerbeck VanDerbeck VanDerbeck VanDerbeck proposed revised corporate Environmental a Control SStandards tandards It will be studied and final draft prepared by a committee consisting of the members of the Environmental Herb Ball Control Committee Dr. Wright and VanDerbeck distributed a report of fiber counts made in the vicinity of a number of Manville locations locations including Manville and Jeffrey K. V. Lindell will announce that M plans to take dust at the counts next meeting of QAMA at Thetford Mines Mr. VanDerbeek and Dr. Wright reported on a set up of the by the Bureau of Occupational Safety U.S. Department of Health Education program being and Health and Welfare to conduct ambient air sampling at selected sites around the United States for the purpose of arriving asbestos air pollution standards Dr. Wright asked along with Dr. Selikoff and others to at Federal has been serve on a committee of experts to review these standards and has agreed to do so Morc ... Policy Policy Committee Committee Committee tie fleeting fleeting 8/18/0 8/18/0 Dr. Wright eromemearterd tye Dr. Selikoff and others others are emphasiziempnhasigzing of counting electron electron microscopy microscopy Liber Liber because they on the only valid contand it in the method method sub- micron sized particles that catine the the most harm Dr. Wright recommended that M undertake animal experiments to test this theory which he does not believe is true Dr. Wright also mentioned that he had seen a copy of the paper on asbestos and health being prepared for the Surgeon General's office office by BOSHI and that it said that there is no evidence at this time that asbestos pipe poses a carcinogenic hazard A. B. MARCHANT MARCHANT 1 R. Marchant recommended that M not get involved with the IUD on a company or industry basis re asbestos It was agreed that M should strive to communicate better on a local basis with the various unions on what it is that M is doing in the area of environmental control M will identify and solve these problems in its own plants and mines without any outside help or assistance Ivan Sabourin Dr. Selikoff people agreed A. B. to communicate this Marchant will relay decision to it to the union It was decided that M will offer to take Dr. Selikoff on a tour of our Stockton and Lompoc operations in the near future and that we will open our Manville Plant to him and others as soon as our have been completed in about present control two months programs DR GEORGE W. WRIGHT 1 National Cyprum has expressed a reluctance to the general public portion of the New Orleans health study Present plans call for the plant study to begin this year with the decision whether or not to undertake the general public phase to be made at a later date More ,... MEH: Ine Prey herve ( Mond | fen MIUTER RTs ga % the K. ov, Teinebsd | K. Lindell SXPTOSEO Lhe opinion V. approve expressed the expressed necessary necessary opinion the QAMA is unlikely project this unlikely funds for year yaar but Bornebe Said Mr. Burnett that Manville Burnett said that will be willing for first Johns year year Johns Manville study project whether willing to not QAMA OANA J.B, er ares ee JOBE lL. J. B. Jobe reported on recent activities the Jobe reported Research Program Insulation Insulation Mey, beginning 2. Ne wil) report on the He will Present status of funding the Asbestos t for Union and thunederstanding understanding that that provide enAtsbiersteos Workers contractors will the first quarter of 197p0rovide the entire Eu. 'S. OLON ar. i. 2. 3. Fairleigh P. F. Solon F. the reported on Dr. Selikoff's health necessity of animal research through determine effects of water asbestos cement pipe Dr. Wright will passing passing William Smith talk perhaps others of and about this of perhaps others about this. Solon reported reported developments Trade Center begin spraying of the World . Mr. Sabourin showed slides given him Dr. Selikoff showing spraying being done Wall Street building done a new Wall will the Center plastering contractor that will bedoing the Center Center doing the too The decision the problems problems associated involved involved Center Center in that developments the Policy associated with kept up date Committee Committee kept up on . Policy Commitboe Treute developments be koepk up to date It It spraying matter matter spraying spraying a Matter of policy policy chart not favor asbestos . distributed a Chart of Upcoming medical mMoetings , More Policy Committees Committees 1 Meeting - 8/18/69 4 Approval was given for the E. M. printing in booklet form of Fenner's talk on the M Department delivered in Environmental Control Atlantic City May before a medical group in HERBERT HORTON RALLRALL 1 Efforts are companies to continuing to persuade other asbestos products agree upon a common outside legal counsel to fight health liability cases FJS mvds F. J. Solon Jr. > > > PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY COMMUNICATION C. B. Eurnett Herbert Morton Ball J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant Ivan Sabourin A. C. Smith Esq F. J. Solon Jr. W. L. VanDerbeek Dr. G. W. Wright - Asbestos - Montreal - Finderne - Finderne - Cleveland August 15 an 1969 ye _ af 4 a; ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TASK FORCE ON MEETING HELD REPORT TO POLICY COMMITTEE IN LIEU OF LEGAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE MEETING It was determined that in lieu of the Legal Problems committee Meeting scheduled for July 15 1969 a second meeting of counsel of asbestos industrial insulation manufacturers would be held Such meeting was held at the general headquarters of Manville on August 12 1969. were represented by The following companies in addition to M their house counsel and outside counsel Armstrong Cork Co. Inc. Certain Products Corporation Corning Fiberglas Corp. Fibreboard Corporation Combustion Engineering Inc. Picher Company Unarco Industries Inc. Keene Corp. - Baldwin Div Herbert Morton Ball and the writer attended on behalf of the M Legal Problems committee The morning portion of the program was devoted to a lecture by Dr. Wright on asbestos and health problems The purpose of this presentation was to hit home to the group the seriousness of the problem which confronts them It appeared that Dr. Wright's presentation had the desired effect After lunch there was a short discussion of the Tomplait case now settled and the new case instituted in Beaumont by Ward Stephenson Esq the same lawyer who represented Mr. Tomplait of Potter vs. Fibreboard Paper Products Corporation et al We were told that Mr. Stephenson has instituted a third case in which we are a named defendant this time in Louisiana The bulk of the afternoon discussion was best means of handling these cases on an devoted to devising the industry basis Everybody seemed to favor the formation of an industry committee of house counsel and indicateda general desire to cooperate in these matters Further the majority feeling was that if the litigation in this area becomes as extensive as is anticipated the most feasible way to conduct the matter on an+ industry basis would be through the retention of a single single large prestige law firm This firm would coordinate legal activities on behalf of all of the companies in industry and direct the conduct of the litigation by the various local counsel that would have to be retained in the different areas where individual suits are instituted from time to time The previous experience of the manufacturers in the electrical and tobacco industries in using such an approach and the consider- able success which resulted therefrom was discussed The essential concept underlying such an approach is that the use of one law firm will result in 1 economies of administration of the defense and 2 more efficient and unified defense posture on the part of all of the companies in the industry Such a law firm will develop expertise in handling the cases which in large measure will be essentially similar and this law firm will utilize its developed expertise to more quickly and cheaply educate local counsel and direct the activities of local counsel Among other things the law firm will develop ; such things as 1 memoranda of law and legal briefs which will be of general applicability 2 a library of legal and legal relevant information including the pertinent medical knowledge and 3 a list of medical and other expert witnesses best qualified to appear on behalf of the defendants The firm chosen will have a sufficient number of young lawyers to engage in the extensive legal research and brief writing that will prove necessary if any significant number of cases do in fact arise The fundamental thought is that the firm can perform these functions on behalf of all of the companies in the industry and that this will avoid a fold duplication of effort and expense which will result if each company has to prepare its own defense in each case and particularly if this must be done from scratch by various local counsel in each action instituted from time to time -3- A basic problem is one of the allocation of the costs of such an approach Mr. Logan of Corning Fiberglas Corp. asked if the people present were willing to participate on an equal- sharing basis and the response was negative The lawyers present indicated that they would need some kind of formula to present to their respective managements as to the percentage each company's participation No dollar figures can degree of presented be presented because it cannot be determined in advance how many law suits will be instituted and where A sharing formula based upon the company's respective percentages of sales trial insulation industry was suggested in the asbestos indusI indicated that such a formula based strictly on such an approach would not be accept- able to Manville The group requested me to prepare a proposal in September as to possible bases for the sharing of costs assuming that such an approach as discussed above will eventually be approved by the respective managements I agreed to do so and indicated that I would use as a starting point the respective sales of the various companies in the industry during the period 1940 - 1969 However there will have to be considerable negotiation from this point Insofar as the smaller producers are concerned the hard truth is that in a given case in which they are named as a defendant by the plaintiff or as defendants by one of the companies named as a defendant their legal fees generally speak- ing would be about the same as those of a larger company also named as a defendant in that case That is the expenses of defending the case would be about the same to a company which only contributed to % of the plaintiff's disease as to the company that contributed 40 Accordingly since the purpose of the use of a single law firm is to minimize the costs of everyone insofar as that particular case is concerned all companies would be benefiting equally vis what it would have cost them to defend the case individually without regard to their respective sizes Therefore an allocation of the costs of defense based on respective percentages of sales would not be realistic The difficulty in any industry approach is that the inter- ests of the different companies are so diverse For example Unarco Industries is no longer in the business and has changed its insurance carriers Therefore Unarco looks primarily to its old insurance carriers to take over its defense burdens On the other hand Corning while one of the largest com- panies involved claims the asbestos industrial that it had a very small insulation market during percentage of the relevant period business Further and does Armstrong indicates that it has sold out its not know to what degree it has an indemnifi- cation liability A further problem is presented by the fact that in the various insurance companies involved present a large measure complicating factor In view of the retrospective rating aspects of the insurance carried by the companies and the fact that expenses -4- actually incurred are in insured with a mark practice often charged back to the added it is questionable whether the presence of insurance companies in these cases is of net bene- fit The use of the type of counsel often employed by insurance companies would not appear optimum here The cases are too important and too uniquely complicated Moreover the writer and several others present expressed the view that it would be better if the defendant manufacturing companies could direct the activities of local counsel directly or through a single law firm without having to do so through the insurance companies A Committee composed of Eugene Anderson Esq of the law firm of Chadbourne Parke Whiteside & Wolff counsel for Keene Corp. -Baldwin Div E. Judge Elderkin Esq of the law firm of Brobeck Phleger & Harrison counsel for Fibreboard Corporation and the writer is to prepare a list of possible law firms to handle this matter if such an approach is ratified by the various managements 4 , ~ a? 7 re o r e if OL4 ^' / / / ae af & Meat 7 . ( oy ^' f R. R. Standel Jr. CC W. P. S. Breese E. M. Fenner Fred Ingham H. M. Jackson C. L. Sheckler - Finderne TO POLICY COMMITTEE C. B. Burnett H. M. Ball-- Bal- Ball-- mngg J. B. Jobe K. V. A. B. Lindell Marchant A. C. Smith Ivan Sabourin F. J. Solon Jr. W. L. VanDerboek Dr. G. W. Wright apy ee {" 3 CCKKGG7/11/6 7/11/6 7/1 /6 ; . - PRODUCED JM PRO83 DUCED 83 MENOTES MENOTES MENOTES ; Policy Committee Committee Meeting Environmental Health Task August 18 1969 Force Large Board Room DERVABN E DEREBEK EK 1 W. Vanderbeck Vanderbeck reported dust counts below on progress to date re lowering TLV in Manville textile textile operation The possibility of making asbestos textilen paper was discussed This woul woul spinning and carding cost and feasibility this manner operations. data for VanDerbock suggested that should be made of profitability Marshville textile operations a decision is reached on installing costly dust equipment oe aaa ; before control VanDerbeek VanDerbeek VanDerbeek VanDerbeek VanDerbeek Control Standards prepared by consisting the Environmental Control Committee Wright Herb Ball proposed proposed proposed proposed revised revised revisd revised revised It will a committee corporate corporate corporate corporate Environmental Environmental Environmental EnEnvvironmentail Envrironmentoal Ennvironmentaml EnvireonmentalnEnvirtonmentalaEnvirolnmental be studied and a final draft of the members of Dr. and VanDerbeck distributed a report of fiber the vicinity of a number counts made in of Manville locations including Manville and Jeffrey K. V. Lindell will announce that J plans to take dust at the counts next meeting of QAMA at Thetford Mines Mr. VanDerbeck and Dr. Wright reported set up by the Bureau of on a program being of the Occupational Safety and Health U.S. Department of Health Education and To conduct ambient air sampling at selected Welfare sites around the United States for the purpose of arriving at Federal asbestos air pollution standards Dr. asked along with Dr. Selikoff and Wright has been others to serve on a committee of experts to review these agreed to do so , standards and has More .., PRODUCED JM 83 Policy Policy Committee Committee 2 , w- Meeting - 8/18/69 Dr. Wright commented that Dr. Selikoff and others are emphasizing electron microscopy as the only valid method of counting fiber because they contend it is the sub- micron sized particles that cause the most harm ~ -- Dr. Wright recommendedrecommended that M undertake animal experiments to test this theory which he does not believe is true Dr. Wright also mentioned that he had seen a copy of the paper on asbestos and health being prepared for the Surgeon General's office office by BOSH and that it said that there is no pipe poses a evidence this time that asbestos carcinogenic hazard {2g See SS asbestos A. B. MARCHANT MARCHANT involved not 1 A. B. Marchant recommended that M not get with the IUD on a company or industry basis re asbestos It was agreed that M should strive to communicate better on a local basis with the various unions on what it is that N is doing in the area of environmental control M will identify and solve these problems in its own plants and mines without any outside help or assistance Ivan Sabourin Dr. Selikoff people agreed A. B. to communicate this Marchant will relay decision to it to the union It was decided that M will offer to take Dr. Selikoff on a tour of our Stockton and Lompoc operations in the near future and that we will open our Manville Plant to him and others as soon as our have been completed in about present control two months programs DR GEORGE W. WRIGHT National Gypsum has expressed a reluctance to the general public portion of the New Orleans health study Present plans call for the plant study to begin this year with the decision whether or not to undertake the general public phase to be made at a later date More ... . PRODUCED JM - 83 Po 3 Policy Comrari Less Meeting * 8/18/49 8/18/49 Lindel K. V. Lindell expresied the opinion that QAMA is unlikely to approve the necessay funds for the project this year but might well do so next year oe Mr. Burnott said that ilanville will be willing to #=- pay for the first year approve money for the of the study project project whether QAMA or not Se J. B. JORE 1 B. Jobe reported on recent activities the the Insulation Industry Hygione Research Program 2 He will report on the status of funding of the program for 1970. Present understanding is that the Asbestos Workers Union and the contractors will provide the entire cost beginning the first quarter of 1970 7 F. SOLON JR 1 J. Solon reported on Dr. Selikoff's recommendations re the necessity of animal research to determine the health effects of water passing through asbestos pipe Dr. Weight will talk to Dr. William Smith of Fairleigh and perhaps others about this Solon reported on developments to date re the soon begin spraying of the World Trade Center Center Mr. Sabourin showed slides given him by Dr. Selikoff showing spraying being done on a new Wall Street building by the same plastering contractor that will be doing the Center The decision was made that M should not get too heavily involved in the problems associated with the World Trade Center but That on developments developments the Policy Committee be kept up to date It was brought out that spraying as a matter of M does policy not favor asbestos 3 Solon distributed a chart of upcoming medical meetings PJ ROMD-U8C3ED More Dolicy Come for : Meeting - 8/18/69 8/18/69 7 4 ApprovalAproval was given for the E. M. Fenner's printing in booklet form of talk on the M Environmental Department delivered in Control May before a medical group in ~~" Atlantic City HERBERT MORTON BALL 1 Efforts are continuing to persuade other asbestos companios companios to agree upon a common products outside counsel to fight health outside legal ine liability cases Te mvds F. J. Solon Jr. TO POLICY COMMITTEE COMMITTEE C. B. Burnett Wie me wee ety, Dr. Thomas Davison J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant F. L. Pundsack Ivan Sabourin F. J. Solon Jr. W. L. VanDerbeek Dr. G. W. Wright vet 7182 OFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL CC W. P. Raines M. M. Swatonic Bert Goss Carl Thompson Jim Callaghan REPORT OF ARETI PUBLIC RELATIONS SUB ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH JUNE 2 1970 COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE TASK FORCE flflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflfl --- --- - flflflflflflflflflflflfl - ATTENDEES: .F J. Solon Jr. - Chairman , W. P. Raines M. M. Swetonic Carl Bert Thompson Goss - Hill 11 & Knowlton " Jim Callaghan 1 11 the Raines reported on the May 27-28 hearings held by the New York City Environmental Protection Administration on the recently established regulations on sprayed asbestos Raines reported that he believes the City plans eventually to completely ban the use of asbestos in spraying The thrust of questioning also indicated city is concerned about use of asbestos in all types of construction materials even called bound products because of the danger air pollution when the building is eventually demolished The use of fiber glass in some applications such as for duct lining was also questioned The and City's basic air pollution will be ready for hearings control by July code is 1. The being revised committee agreed that M needs to develop a position on demolition by or before that time Thompson commented that there are existing City regulations on demolition to reduce dusts but that asbestos is not specifically mentioned ACTION Raines to contact City to determine what the next moves are re demoliton and fiber glass and to offer M and NIMA cooperation in the drafting of the new code M people such as Fred Pundsack Ed Fenner and Dr. Davison among others could prove valuable in this regard Bo- cause of the very in New York could strong possibility that any be adopted by other cities code developed it is essential that M and NIMA take a strong stand in the areas of demolition and fiber glass oo" Raines reported on a recent newspaper article describing a six month crash study being undertaken by the National Air Pollution Control Administration to develop standards for asbestos pollution control Thompson commented that this study is one of 17 similar studies studies being being conducted conducted conducted through the National National Academy of Sciences by the NAPCA Salon said the contract to study the that he understood Mount air samples for NAPCA Sinai had ACTION Hill & Knowlton to get more information on this particular crash study Congressman Ottinger who is running for the Democratic nomination for Senator of New York testified at the EPA hearings on asbestos He called for a Federal study of asbestos uses including but not limited to spraying and attacked the Federal Government for its failure to act faster in the area of asbestos air pollution ACTION It was agreed that there is no benefit to be gained in trying to see Ottinger before the primary but that it would probably be a good move to a arrange meeting with him once it is over Political observers generally Ottinger will lose the primary and will probably think that not be able to run for his Congressionseaalt in November However Ottinger is a smart politician and will most likely in one way or another remain active on the political scene In recent months numerous people including Ralph Nader in commenting on the asbestos problem have quoted from the called of cancer Litton Report from asbestos as to a potential worldwide epidemic exposure This quote is taken from the Summary & Evaluation section of the report This section was not accepted by HEW which sponsored the study and was not included in their published version of the report The Department of Commerce however published the entire report including the Summary & Evaluation section and it is this version which is being continually quoted ACTION mt Raines to draft a brief statement explaining that the quote was not accepted by the Federal agency the report and quoting Dr. Wright from the sponsoring soon published Today's Health article to the effect that the man upon whose work the Litton quote is based is alarmist This statement will then be Dr. J.C. submitted Thomps to Dr. George Wright Wright for be used in countering more and more his review 11 approved the bitton quote which is it will being used 5 5 The Underwriters Laboratory which approves insulation materials for fireproofing has scheduled a mecting on June 17 to look into the health aspects of containing insulations abe ACTION together Bill Raines to attend this listed representative Bob meeting Neisel of the with M's Research Dept. Plans for the establishment of a U.S. Asbestos Information Committee were and objectives discussed It was agreed that the of the AIC should be based upon organization the highly successful British AIC It was also agreed that for purposes of speed in rebutting erroneous statements in the press and elsewhere it is essential that there be a small two or three man committee authorized to make such statements It was also agreed that such as Dr. from member experts in various areas of the asbestos problem Wright Fred Pundsack Ed Fenner and other people companies should be available as technical consultants to the AIC Solon has discussed the basic plan with K. V. Lindell and they have agreed that C. B. Burnett should advise on those companies to be invited to join us in an AIC effort ACTION a Solon to confer with II M. Ball as to legal ramifications of setting up such a Committee b Swctonic to prepare membership list of major asbestos trade associations such as Asbestos Cement Products Association Asbestos Textile Institute and National Insulation Manufacturers Association c Thompson to supply organization of British AIC as model for AIC a Swetonic to collect samples of types of rebuttal activities which have been carried on so successfully by the British AIC e Solon to present proposed plan to upcoming Policy Committee meeting 8. PROPOSAL Asbestos Information Committee Committee Purpose 1. Provide an authoritative channel of to all publics communication be Publicly rebut uninformed criticism Propagate the benefits and indispensability of asbestos through advertising publicity speeches etc. Formation Procedure 1. Four companies to be founding members - all major manufacturers of asbestos products Additional companies can be invited to join after organization and initial activities are under way C. B. Burnett purpose to be to call formation meeting at which explained and organization formed Candidate companies Manville .- Certain ; Manhattan :~ Flintkotev National Gypsum Ruberoid Philip Officers of A.I.C. company: each an officer of a founding a Chairman b Vice Chairman c Voting member d Voting member c Secretary Plus Legal Counsel The Secretary should be the officer of his company public relations 4. Administrative Committee - will carry on day activities of the AIC Members a Secretary of AIC ms b Environmental Control representative This with committee committee will medical legal consult with the officers or or public relations consultants as the secretary deems necessarynecessary Activities . 1. Promptly answer unjustified or uninformed criticism of the effects of asbestos uses as it relates to asbestos Prepare and place advertisements pointing up the indispensability indispensability consumer and industrial uses and press material of asbestos in Counsel various Federal on and arrange for communication interested groups - i.e. local government with state Prepare and distribute Codes safe handling of asbestos in of Practice for the various industries Prepare and distribute position papers on such subjects as a Asbestos and Health b Asbestos and the General Public c Uses of Asbestos stressing indispensability d Research in asbestos and such other subjects as the AIC believes advisable Prepare produce and educational films as distribute such asbestos are thought necessary rey cd Activities Continued 7. Communicate with and inform other interested interested groups such as ce t at a Asbestos Textile Instituto b Asbestos Products Association Association rode c National Insulation Manufacturers Association ee d American Institute of Architects arene 2 e Consulting Engineers etc. ME asbestos Answer inquiries from various publics on asbestos products asbestos an anes eee Maintain a public relations library on asbestos- interest ce health and distribute items of to member companies and other organizations Meetings AIC officers every 8 to 10 weeks on policy matters and to check general progress of activity Administrative Committee As required Finances An annual budget to cover advertising and public relations expenses should be prepared with support shared by member companies in proportion to the dollar of asbestos used by cach company ae APEND se -/ ~ s st REPORT OF MEETING POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE AUGUST 17 1970 ABSENT 7190 A. B. Marchant Dr. T. H. Davison F. L. PUNDSACK oe) 1 F. L. Pundsack reported on a four page summary of fiber glass health problems prepared by his department and presented to the National Insulation Manufacturers Association NIMA Health & Safety Committee by C. L. Sheckler The summary was prepared in response to a request by NIMA for Pundsack to appear before the Health & Safety Committee The summary concerned the work of three researchers -- Dr. Davis at Cambridge England Dr. Smith at Fairleigh Dickinson and Dr. M. F. Stanton of the National Cancer Institute Dr. Davis produced large spreading granulomas in test animals with two types of fibrous glass including insulation glass The preparation of the samples for injection however favored the smaller more easily respirable fibers Dr. Smith produced mesotheliomas with quartz but none with insulation glass Dr. Stanton used fiber glass re pads to hold crocidolite asbestos in the pleura of the tost animals In the control group which had only the pad inserted no mesotheliomas were produced up pad produced one mesothelioma in 30 rats A ground- Insulation glass produced no mesotheliomas Pulverized AA glass produced fiber one mesothelioma Dr. Stanton's results showed that low concentrations of crocidolite did not produce disease in the test animals while high concentrations did In response toa question Dr. Wright commented that the amount of fibrous glass and asbestos used in such pleural injection experiments is probably thousands of times greater than any a human being would be exposed to under the worst occupational conditions M has arranged for Dr. Stanton to continue his animal experiments using varying concentrations of Jeffrey Mine chrysotile He will also continue experimenting with fibrous glass of various types Dr. Stanton has asked Fred Pundsack to write Dr. Carl Baker Technical Director of the National Cancer Institute indicating the importance of this research work to the asbestos and fiber glass industries Stanton is attempting to obtain more test animals for his dose relationship work and he feels that such a letter might help The Policy Committee agreed that the letter should be written tga Pundsack read the caution label contained on the Cabot Corporation Director of product Cabocil In contact with the Technical Services of Cabot Pundsack learned that the company considers Cabocil a nuisance dust and is not particularly concerned about its possible health effects According to Cabot animal experiments with the material produced no lasting effects and men who have worked with it for as long as 12 years likewise showed no adverse effects H. M. Ball commented that M should reexamine the wording of its present warning labels in light of the new scientific knowledge we have gained over the past few years Pundsack reported that he E. M. Fenner and Bill Reitze have discussed the possible termination in October 1971 of M's involvement in the Insulation Industry Hygiene Research Program IIIIRP The program had certain specific projects and goals when it was organized in 1968 and the majority of these have been accomplished Bill Reitze feels that after the first of the year there will be no need for him to spend full time on the program Pundsack recommended that Reitze continue full time only until the first of the year serve on an eight days a month basis until June of 1971 and leave the program completely after that time J. B. Jobe commented that if the National Insulation wm Contractors Association NICA agrees at their national Pd meeting in October to support the IIHRP on a per employee work hour basis it might be to M's advantage to have Reitze continue in his position at Mount Sinai as a source of contact It was agreed that the decision on our IIHRP relationship will be made at the November Policy Committee meeting -after the NICA national meeting Pundsack reported that M is investigating potential natural sources of asbestos in the ambient air A map is being developed showing outcropings of serpentine and amphibole rock throughout the United States that could be subject to natural erosion and weathering In addition M is working through the Office of Polar Projects of the National Academy of Sciences to obtain dated samples of glacial ice for analysis to determine if a background level of asbestos fiber or fibrils existed in the atmosphere 500-1000 years ago An examination of glacial ice from the State of Washington dating back to 1925 revealed fibrils present A similar examination of Greenland ice from 1909 is currently underway Dr. Wright commented that it is extremely important to establish a national background level for asbestos in Ee order to set realistic ambient air standards Such lower standards obviously cannot be made ad ee ee the existing normal background level 1 3 J. B. JOBE 1 J. B. Jobe reported on the recent survey of M micro- fiber customers in which the Celite Division sent a five- part questionnaire to 16 users Answers received show - only three customers use the product dry while 13 use it in a wet slurry Fourteen customers reported dust levels as being low or very low Two reported low to medium The only persistent complaint from the customers was of skin irritation among their employees Johnson & Johnson one of the customers queried wanted more information on the potential hazards of fibers At a meeting with Johnson & Johnson Dr. Wright told them that experiments performed by Drs Gross and Davis on micro- fibers showed that the large size fibers used by their company were not capable of producing disease in test animals The J & J people were relieved and satisfied Mr. Burnett commented that M could wet fibers at the plant before shipping to ensure safety in bag opening Fenner reported that some tests had already been made on this Burt Jobe to look into the matter further Dr. Wright said that he has looked rays of micro 4 workers and had found some abnormalities wr E. M. FENNER 1. E. M. Fenner reported on various changes made in scheduling plant industrial hygiene surveys to make more effective use of time and manpower Certain locations such as Jeffrey Mine are now being surveyed on a continuous basis others twice or , four times a year others yearly or once every two years This new system permits the Environmental Control Department to conduct special surveys as situations require Fenner reported on a meeting of the NAPCA Bureau of Air Quality Criteria that he and Dr. Speil attended recently in Durham N.C. The purpose of the meeting was to develop methods for sampling and measuring asbestos concentrations in the ambient air Besides Manville representatives of three NAPCA air sampling contractors attended the meeting Each contractor reported on its methods and results of sampling Three of the four in attendance including M gave results in terms of weight of fiber The California State Department of Health gave its results which were extremely low compared to M findings in terms of fibers per cubic meteorf air The decision was made at the meeting to set up a sample collecting station in rural North Carolina The samples collected which same will will ideally all be exactly the 3 be sent to the three contractors and to Manville for clectron microscope analysis The purpose of this program is to determine how the various measuring techniques compare with one another Mr. Burnett said that M should also examine the NAPCA sample using the same techniques we use for our plant surveys to see if any comparisons can be drawn between ambient air and occupational exposures Fenner said his department plans to begin looking at our plant samples with both a light and electron microscope for comparison purposes This is presently being done with our ambient air samples Dr. Wright has proposed a project for sampling ambient air at certain specified distances from M operating locations Fenner and Dr. Wright to get together to work out a program DR GEORGE W. WRIGHT . 1 Dr. Wright reported on progress thus far in the deliberations of the committee set up by NAPCA through the National Academy of Sciences Lo study the problem of asbestos in the ambient air Dr. Wright said indications are the committee will probably recommend interim controls on emissions into the ambient air These controls will not be in the form of an ambient air TLV and will be in effect only through 1972 when the full report of the committeies due Dr. Wright asked if M could provide information for the committee on the concentrations of EM and light microscope- sized particles in the neighborhood of M plants and also information on the concentrations that might exist if controls were not in effect at those plants It was agreed to provide as much of this type of information as is available Dr. Wright also commented that NAPCA representatives on the committee were convinced at first that asbestos was an extremely serious hazard to the general public but now feel that perhaps the situation is not as bad as they had thought Dr. Wright reported on the current statuosf the BOSH recommendations for a Federal occupational TLV Dr. Wright reported on a meeting of the Committee on Occupational Pulmonary Diseases of the American College of Chest Physicians held recently in Corning N.Y. to discuss possible hazards of fibrous glass Dr. Skippers who was scheduled to deliver a report on these hazards did not show up Dr. Cralley said that BOSH is getting inquiries daily on fibrous glass and that he felt it would be a good idea if a statement could be produced on the subject BOSH will not preparea statement The decision was made to place more fibrous glass experts on the Occupational Pulmonary Diseases Committeteo discuss the subject further and develop such a statement . Dr. Wright reported on recent experiments in which Dr. Marvin Kushner had test animals inhale particles of ground- up polyurethane foam Nothing happened to test hamsters but two out of 26 rats which were exposed to high doses of foam dust developed lung cancer and one out of a similar group exposed to low concentrations of the same material also developed lung cancer Dr. Kushner is presently trying to play down the importance of this experiment because he bought the foam from a store and is not sure what contaminant materials might be in it A committee from the plastics industry is looking into the matter Dr. Wright agreed to send what material he has. on the subject to F. L. Pundsack IVAN SABOURIN 1 Ivan Sabourin proposed that he personally visit prominent asbestos experts throughout the world for the purpose of collecting statements from them to the effect that at this time the asbestos problem is by no means as serious as it once was and that it is in fact either completely under control or is fast coming under control or ek %, Mr. Burnett agreed that this project has considerable merit and should be carried out Mr. Sabourin prepare an itinerary and cost estimate so the project may be started as soon as possible F. J. SOLON JR 1 F. J. Solon Jr. reported on a meeting held recently at Mount Sinai with Mike Kitzmiller and Nancy Matthews of , Congressman Richard Ottinger's staff to give them the true facts on asbestos Ottinger has made misleading comments and statements on this subject during his successful primary campaign for the Senate Also attending the meeting were Dr. Selikoff and Dr.Heimann from Mount Sinai Mr. Kramer of the legal section of the New York City Environmental Protection Administration Mr. Hutchinson of the Asbestos Workers Union and F. L. Pundsack F. J. Solon Jr. and W. P. Raines of M Solon read excerpts from the meeting which indicate that Ottinger's people are not convinced asbestos is not a public health hazard and that the Congressman would continue his attacks on asbestos if he felt that it was necessary and if there appeared to be political advantage in doing so At the meeting Solon pointed out to Kitzmiller that it was despicable practice to use a stricly occupational problem to frighten the general public about a danger lung cancer to them Kitzmiller's reply Mr. Solon I don't agree with you We'll continue to scare them you have every right to try and calm them down 2. Solon distributed a list of upcoming meetings Two additional meetings were noted Sept. 15-23 1970 - London England International Symposium on Inhaled Particles and Vapors to be attended by Dr. Wright Sept. 23-27 - Cagliari Sardinia Subcommittee of Permanent Commission of International Association on Occupational Health to be attended by K. V. Lindell and Ivan Sabourin F. J. Solon Jr. FJS TO | | POLICY COMMITTEE C. B. Burnett H. M. Ball Gruma | Dr. Thomas Davison J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant F. L. Pundsack Ivan Sabourin C. A. C. F. J. Smith Solon Jr. W. L. Van Derbeek - Dr. G. W. Wright S es 30 NOV fy GENERAL OFACE OFACE OF THE GENERAL COUNSECOCOUUNSENSE' CC W. P. Raines M. M. Swetonic~ Bert Goss Carl Thompson Jim Callaghan REPORT REPORT OF MEETING POLJ CY COMMITTEE MEETING MEETING FNVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE OCTOBER 19 1970 aoe a 20 ee ee F. L. PUNDSACK 1. L. Pundsack reported on Ralph Nader's recent charges that asbestos fiber glass diatomaceous earth and other substances are being used as additives in cigar tobacco Approximately 5-10 per cent by weight of homogenized tobacco leaf consists of diatomaceous earth which is used as an additive because it increases combustion and aroma and produces more stable ash A total of approximately 300 tons of diatomaceous earth is sold to the cigar industry each year for this purpose sells around 90 tons M Tests were conducted at Research on the ash from a number of popular cigar brands to determine 1 if the diatomaceous earth used as an additive converts to quartz or cristobolite and 2 if asbestos or any other additives are also used The results indicated that the diatoma- ceous earth did not convert and that asbestos is not used although there was evidence of glass fiber being used as an additive in White Owls and Phillies Sports This information was relayed to the General Cigar Company which had contacted the M Celite Division about Nader's charges F. J. Solon Jr. reported that Dr. Selikoff became involved in the matter when Nader contacted him on the recommendation of Cuyler Hammond Dr. Selikoff's comments on the situation provoked the President of General Cigar Co. who is a trustee of Mount Sinai A meeting was held at which General Cigar agreed to give Dr. Selikoff a grant of from 50-150 thousand to conduct research into cigar additives This large grant fell through and a much smaller grant is being considered M has obtained 15 samples of dated polar ice from North Greenland and from the Antarctic ice cap to determine if asbestos existed in the ambient air before asbestos was developed commercially The samples date back to 1750. A 1909 sample from north Greenland tested earlier did contain asbestos The study of Federal and state geological surveys to determine possible natural sources of asbestos in the ambient air is nearing completion Thusfar 28 states have been surveyed and all contain either serpentine rock formations or asbestos deposits Most but not all of these sources are on the surface This study is expected to be completed ; by November 5 M is one of five institutions participating in a National Air Pollution Control Administration program to evaluate methods for measuring asbestos dust concentrations in ambient air Samples of rural air urban air near a contamination source and urban air away from a possible contamination source have been collected by NATCA and will be sent to J and the other institutions including Mount Sinal and the HEW Center in Cincinnati for measurement by both light and electron microscopy M has not yet received its samples systems The M program to test municipal water using asbestos pipe for asbestos content is continuing The results 14 to date show very low concentrations of asbestos released from the pipe F. L. Pundsack and Dr. George Wright will meet to discussthepossibility of sponsoring an epidemiological study of intestinal cancer in a municipal area where asbestos pipe has been in use for many years Pundsack commented on the final report Committee investigating the hazards of of the Philadelphia Ad sprayed asbestos The Iloc committee consisting of a number of regarded doctors architects members of industry etc. recommended that containing spray compounds be banneidn the city of Philadelphia The reasoning given in the report was that there is no level below which asbestos has been demonstrated to be safe Pundsack said this constitutes a growing problem The committee was not a witch hunting type of group yet they felt that a ban was best Pundsack recommended that M marshal all the data possible on this subject because we are going to be faced with more and more of these situations in the future Dr. Wright said that this situation points up the need for more research in the area of asbestos air pollution He also said he had received a letter from Jesse Lieberman a Philadelphia health official and member of the Ad Hoc committee asking for his comments as to a safe level in buildings already erected which contain insulated plenums Dr. Wright recommended 1 fiber per cc as a level He further 1s 4 em commented that if such a level is adopted the spray contractors in Philadelphia will have grounds for going to the city and asking that asbestos spray be permitted if the accepted level is maintained C. B. Burnett recommended that an attempt be made through our contacts with the city of Philadelphia to obtain a list of buildings containing insulated plenums so that M can do dust counts B. JOBE 1 J. B. Jobe reported on a meeting held with Corning to discuss the health fund proposal which was to be presented by the Asbestos Workers Union to the National Insulation Contractors Association in Dallas It was agreed to support the proposal but at a lower per hour figure than that recommended by the union In addition it was agreed that M and O would support limiting the use of the fund to develop safety practices for site work only and that the fund be administered by a joint contractor group and not by the union alone The proposal was accepted in principal by NICA at the Dallas meeting and referred to regional groups for their approval Fiber glass was not mentioned by either Dr. Selikoff or Union President Al Itchinson during their speeches at the Dallas meeting M will continue to support the research activities of the NIMA Health and Safety Committee NIMA is preparing a recommended program for future research which they will submit to their membership including M for approval C. B. BURNETJT. B. JOBE F. L. PUNDSACK Program 1. The Insulation Industry Hygiene Research is entering its } ae in es third year of operation and is scheduled to end in October 1971 There is little in the way of dust counts or field work going on any more Pundsack recommended that Bill Reitze work for II.HRP only on a limited basis after the first of the year and be phased out completely by the first of July Pundsack to discuss this with Dr. Selikoff in the near future IVAN SABOURIN F. J. SOLON JR DR G. W. WRIGHT Solon reported on progress to date in the formation of an Asbestos Information Committee America Eight companies will found it M Cortain CAF Rubaroid Flintkoto Raybestos National Gypsum Philip Carey and Woodward Iron CAPCO An organization meeting has been scheduled for November 5. A senior officer and a public relations representative from each company have been asked to attend A prospectu hass been developed by M and sent to each company Ivan Sabourin recommended that eventually the organization should be expanded to include miners of asbestos as well as manufacturers He also said that the chairman should play an active role in the work of the Committee and that because of the large amount of work that needs to be done a time secretary is needed Dr. Wright commented that in order for the Committee to have significant stature the members should be high ranking officials in their own companies He also said that an important function of the Committee will be to inform the member companies many of which have not been Bo very active in the health problem of what is goinogn H. M. Ball recommended : that it would be advisable for a s bd we lawyer t^ Pe Ee ORG Sy be in attendance at all Committee meetings F. J. SOLON JR 1 Solon outlined the asbestos situation as it exists today and distributed a momo from the Public Relations Committee pointing out the serious dangers developing in this area and the need for a reevaluation of our position regarding asbestos and demolition C. B. Burnett recommended that a program be undertaken immediately under the direction of Fundsack and Jobe to list all containing materials used in high construction and to develop recommendations for their safe use and demolition Mr. Burnett further recommended that M should actively participate in every phase of the asbestos situation that could adversely affect the use of asbestos or containing products 2. A list of upcoming medical meetings was distributed and discussed In the future copies of the meeting list will be sent out in advance of the regular Policy Committee meeting so that Committee members can add to the list any meetings of which they are aware and also notify us whether they or someone else from the company will be attending DR GEORGE W. WRIGHT 1. Dr. Wright reported on the International Symposium on Inhaled Particles and Vapors held in London Sept. 15-23 and on the meetinogf the Subcommittee of on Occupational Permanent Commission of the International Association t Health held in Sardinia Italy Sept. 23-27 Among the findings reported at the London meeting were the following a A scientist from Poland reported no asbestosis cases among 2,200 shipyard workers in Poland b Dr. Gibbs from Canada reported that he found the concentrations of trace metals in asbestos to be higher in short fibers than in long fibers and higher in processing mills than in textile plants Dr. Paul Gross reported finding large numbers of free fibers in the lungs of people living in Pittsburgh His figures ranged from a low of 15,000 to a high of 380,000 fibers per gram of dried lung tissue A year child had 89,000 fibers d A doctor investigating surface phenomena found that regular asbestos reacts differently from ground asbestos and that . chrysotile becomes more active as it heats up A doctor from Czeckoslovakia reported that 5 per cent of factory workers exposed to asbestos for more than 10 years showed pleural calcification A random sampling of relatives of these workers also showed 5 per cent calcification and 1.2 per cent of people living from 2 to 24 kilometers away from the factory studied also showed calcification The purpose of the Sardinia meeting was to develop a set of recommendations for sampling environments The Subcommittee decided on the membrane collector and the thermal percipitator as the best method The Subcommittee also attempted to adopt a universal standard for reading ray films and for a diagnosis of asbestosis These standards were not resolved Dr. Steve Holmes reported at the meeting he found that microscope sized fibers ran anywhere from 54 to 8,000 times the number of light sized fibers in the same sample IVAN SABOURIN 1. Ivan Sabourin reported on a meeting of the International Association for Research on Cancer which was held in Lyon France The IARC was formed to take the place of the UICC which is ceasing operations F. J. SOLON JR FJS POLICY COMMITTEE C. B. Burnett H. M. Ball Davison Dr. Thomas Davison ; J. B. Jobe K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant F. L. Pundsack Ivan Sabourin F. J. Solon Jr. W. L. VanDerbeck Dr. G. W. Wright CC W. P. Raines M. M. Swetonic Bert Goss Carl Thompson Jim Callaghan TO POLICY COMMITTER COMMITTER 7188 90 90 OTTLE OTTLE OTTLE OF THE FRERAL COUNS ,! W. R. Goodwin H. M. Ball Ball adem, ae one Dr. Thomas Davison J. B. Jobo K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant F. L. Pundsack Ivan Sabourin A. C. Smith P. Solon Jr. Dr. G. W. Wright 4koa CC W. P. Raines M. M. Svetonic Bert Gorg Carl Thompson Jim Callaghan POLICY COMMITTEE COMMITTEE MEETING MEETING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TASK FORCE DECEMBER 14 1970 ee ee rm et tre eee eee es ee rs one os ee Te tae en orm oan aime Fite ome net ets rer wy ne 858 GER AO mm Shem crew come wy wie ce cy eR US LS SR Fea ee fe yy ye el me ee nee ee ee ee ee ee L. PUNDS 1. F. L. Pundsack reported on a meeting held with Dr. Selikoff to discuss various aspects of M's involvement in the Insulation Industry Hygiene Research Program Dr. Selik agreed with the decision reached at the last rolicy Committed meeting that Bill Reitze should begin withdrawing gradually from the IIHRP starting January 1. He will be available to the program two days a week for the first quarter of the year one day a week during the second quarter and after July 1 1970 he will no longer be available on a regular basis heitze is currently working working with Duncan Holaday on a dust prevention and control work procedures manual for insulation workers and contractors With regard to the M sponsored study of the biological effects of panticler Dr. Selikoff agreed to submit a written status report on the program M has not yet received this report On January 14 Dr. Selikoff will hold a seminar at Mount Sinai for M personnel on the progress of this project 5 At a meeting on December 2 the Insulation Manufacturers Association agreed to sponsor a study by Dr. Paul Cross on the animal inhalation of extremely fine glass fibers M has agreed to prepare the fiber for the study Pundsack commented that while extremely fine fiber exists only in very small quantities in commercial insulation glass these fibers are the most likely to cause disease and if Dr. Gross study shows no problem using only such extremely fine fibers then we know there is little to worry about Dr. George Wright commented that the question about small sized fibers is being raised in some medical circles and that it would be prudent for us to have an answer Dr. Wright also said that Dr. William Smith of Fairleigh Dickinson has submitted a proposal to the IOEH for a study of animal exposure to both asbestos and fiber glass in the plural cavity but that the proposal has been deferred by the IOEI Dr. Wright said that he had asked NIMA if it was interested in sponsoring this study with the IOEH NIMA showed interest and a full proposal will be submitted shortly The study would run 4 years and cost a total of 270,000 Pundsack distributed on inventory of 60 asbestos products used in the construction industry This listing was prepared to asist assisat asssist sist M in determining the possibility of asbestos being allowed to escape into the ambient air. during demolition a 33 M has made arrangements with the city of Philadelphia to take dust counts at three demolition sites in the city Counts will be taken wind and wind of the sites and resutls correlated with the type and location of demolition going on The samples will be analyzed by both light and electron microscopy Taste at the first demolition site are scheduled to begin within a few weeks Laboratory studies will also be conducted on various aspects of demolition including impact and fracturing as well as as the handling of demolished materials These studies will not begin until the field work has been completed so that more realistic laboratory conditions can be set up It was agreed that both still and motion picture documentation of the various aspects of the field demolition work should be obtained for future use Dr. Wright commented that presently the Federal Government is paying more attentiotn o problems involved in demolition than any other aspect of the community asbestos A. C. Smith commented that . eer 2 contrary to the popular con- ception of demolition the materials removed from a building are handled very carefully so not to decrease their salvage value by damage This includes the boilers of a building as well as the structural steel members both of which are covered in many cases with contain- ing ing ing incalationg incalatioinncalagtiong incalationg incalationg incalationg incalationg incalationg incalationg incalationg incalationg incalationg incalatioincn alatiog ng , The The huge huge stocking stocking stocking stockstocki ing nstog cking stocking 6 6 aoe mon mon used on these valuable salvageable parts Dr. Wright commented that he would relay this information to the NAPCA officials officials who have been so concerned about asbestos demolition and recommend to them that they take a closer look at the actual process before arriving at unfounded conclusions about the possible public danger DR GEORGE W. WRIGHT 1 Dr. Wright reported that he had recently talked to Dr. Marcus Key head of the Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health BOSHI HEW who informed him that the Bureau had settled on a Federal TLV of five fibers per cc for plant conditions The report recommending this TLV will be sent within the next 3-4 weeks to the BOSH Asbestos TLV committee of which Dr. Wright is a member for confirmation Dr. Wright said that he believes that the 5 fiber level will be accepted by the committee with possible exception of Dr. Selikoff A general discussion then took place on what M's reaction should be to such a Federal LV Present M standards call for the wearing of respirators only above 12 fibers per cc Because the full details of the Federal standard are not completely known the subject of M's reaction was deferred witil the next Policy Committee meeting The special committee set up by NAPCA through the National Academy of Sciences NAS to recommend public air standards for asbestos has arrived at a first draft Dr. Wright who is a member of the committee reported that the draft is confined strictly to the need for and feasibility of control of industrial missions The draft contains no recommended community air TLV The draft has been submitted to the Academy of Sciences and will shortly be sent by the NAS to the National Academy of Engineering NAE for their comments Dr. Wright recommended that if M has any contacts in the NAE that we offer to them the benefit of our knowledge in the auca of acbostos dust contro Pundsack agrood to look into this Dr. the pleased fact Wright commented that he was pleasebdy NAPCA people on the MAS committee comite the that vy? have a much better comprehension of the problem than they did when the committee first began its work They now understand that asbestos is not as huge a baxard as they first suspected Dr. Wright commented that it is important that the general public leam about the value of asbestos to our society He suggested that M might be able to convince a known scientist or economist to write an article on the subject which M could then quote from or distribute as the situation demands Pundsack commented that come writers are already starting to do stories on the economic impact of environmental problems It was agreed that the article would would have to be written by someone from outside M Solon agreed to discuss the possibility of such an article with Hill & Knowlton and commented that the dissemination of the article to state and local governments might be a good project for the AIA Jobe suggested that we look into the type of information that exists on the subject to see if we have a story to tell 1. Solon read from the minutes of the second moeting of the AIA which was held December 4 at GHQ Harold McNabb or ao Executive Vice President of Cortain tec and President of Bey , ws Sle spe me the Association appointed Rd Penner and Matt Matt Svetonic of Administrative Committee of the AIA W. P. Raines was elcated Secretary of the the Committee at the formation mecting held in November Solon was elected Vice President of the asociation Some of the other business conducted at the meeting included a The Board of Directors approved a J statement on the suggested functioning of the Administrative Committee b A committee was appointed to set guidelines for adding new members to the Association as well as for paying dues after 1971 M will cover the full cost of operations for 1971 c A press conf^to announce the formation of the ALA will be held sometime in January in New York a The Association will be incorporated as a profit organization e The Board of Directors agreed that if it can be arranged it would be beneficial to have the Scientifi Advisory Committee of the 3G 3G serve as an unofficial medical Dr. Dr. Wright Wright Wright Wright agreed agreed agre d agreed to bring up the matter at thethe the next Scientific Commitice Commitice mating matingand advise Solon of the outcome. f The member companies of the AIA will be added to the mailing list for the M monthly mailings of asbestos Material g ) The The The The question question question question question question question question question question of an industry posture on asbestos spraying was discussed A draft statement prepared by M yna diafilspted to the taped movlvoj Fava review It was agreed that a representative from the Association should present industry's point of view at the upcoming New York City hearings on the revised Air Pollution Code which calls for a ban of containing spray compounds F. L. Pondsack was suggested as a possible representative Pundsack agreed to represent the AIA at the hearings Ife commented that he would like to be grilled on the various aspects of the asbestos subject as a sort of rehearsal for his appearance Copies of a list of upcoming medical meetings were distri- buted and discussed 1 Dr. Davison distributed copies of - report from J. M. Jackson on Dr. L. J. Bristol's ray study of JAM cmployees at locations with possible dust discare exposures Dr. Bristol examined films from 8,800 M employees at 24 locations . Jeffrey Mine was not included because Dr. MacDonald is studing studing studing cngloyees at that location 534 employees or 6 per cent of those studied showed evidence of pneumoconiosis on their films An additional 1,199 or 13.5 per cent showed bronchovascular prominence a condition which can grossly be interpreted as precursors of pneumoconiosis " development that Dr. Wright reported that his review of rays of employees in M micro production showed no difference between those exposed to fibers and those exposed to other types of fibrous glass 1 Pundiael reported that Dr. Selikoff is planning to run four or five day courses around the country on proper industrial hygiene practices for contractors and union groups Dr. Selikoff asked Pundsack if M was interested in participating participating Pundsack asked Dr. Selikoff to provide more detailed information on the program 1 \ Solon chowed the new film entitled Why Asbestos produced by the Asbestos Information Committee Great Britian on the indispensable uses of asberton general discussion of the film followed soe everyone agreed it had dramatic appeal was huurther agreed that the new AIA should look into the production of such a film for use in this countly F. J. Solon Jr. PJS dm General Headquarters May 5 1971 TO POLICY COMMITTEE J. B. Jobe H. M. Ball E C. B. Burnett T. H. Davison M.D. J. E. Hesse K. V. Lindell A. B. Marchant F. L. Pundsack W. P. Raines Ivan Sabourin F. J. Solon Jr. A. C. Smith W. L. VanDerbeek G. W. Wright M.D. IKOFF AND ASBESTOS IN WOMENS COATS coe The attached memorandum from Matt Swetonic to the AIA directors gives background of the story that many of you probably saw in yesterday's NEW YORK TIMES From the beginning it has been evident that the asbestos industry is on the horns of a real dilemma in regard to the use of Italian fiber in cloth imported into this country We can hardly support a use that is artificial and obviously designed to evade customs duty On the other hand we cannot be put in the position of agreeing that the few asbestos fibers that might be inhaled by the wearer of one of the coats would constitute a health menace Hence our decision to stay out of this even though the resulting publicity makes us retch ae ae) a fy a) W. P. Raines 81570 AA NORTH AMERICA ASBESTOS INFORMATION ASSOCIATION 7 1835 K Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20006 202 223-4885 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday September 7 1976 Stouffer's National Center Hotel Arlington Virginia The meeting was called to order at 2:05 P.M. at Stouffer's National Center Hotel Arlington Virginia Present were Thomas A Dougherty George Barge John H. Marsh Dimitry Poutiatine William C. Thurber C. Fred Workman R. H. Mereness Certain Corp President AIA Atlas Asbestos Company Manhattan Inc. Manville Corp. Union Carbide Corp. Nicolet Inc. AIA Executive Director Others Joseph Adrian Guy G. A. Artabane Jr. C. May Jr. Esq Gabrielson Jr. Esq A. H. Fay Richard T. B. J. Pigg Davis ' Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft Nicolet Inc Chairman Asbestos Regulation Force Task Past President AIA Frank C. Frantz & Co. . AIA Administrative Assistant Minutes On motion minutes of previous meeting approved as submitted August - 19 1976 were Financial Report Financial Report for calendar fiscal year 1976 as of August 31 1976 was distributed and reviewed Mr. Barge pointed out that the total negative variance under accrual accounting system was closing and that year projections indicate ex- penditures will be within current budget As of August Association had total assets of 93,660 liabilities of and net worth of 44,880 Mr. Davis explained that the 31 the 48,780 current Page 2 A dues rate for 1976 2.5 mills approved at the March 26 Board of Directors meeting had been applied to third and fourth quarter billings On motion the financial report approved as submitted was - Mr. Dougherty reintroduced the matter of possible audit of the Association's finances an item carried over from the June 9 1976 Executive Committee meeting Following discussion it was agreed that the Board of Directors at meeting Sept. 8 should determine whether an audit should be conducted Revision of Association Laws Mr. Dougherty invited attention to Draft II of Association Laws The draft was forwarded to members by AIA memorandum of August 27. He suggested that time limitations at the Board of Directors and Annual Meetings September 8 precluded detailed discussion and action at that time He proposed that the Executive Committee conduct a line review of the Draft and that the Association's counsel incorporate possible changes for a final draft before submission to members the refined draft to be forwarded as soon as practicable to members by the Executive Director for consideration and formal action at the December Board of Directors meeting A lengthy discussion followed with Association counsel > noting agreed upon changes Comments by Counsel on Injunctive Relief Proposed OSHA Standards ; Mr. May spoke to the possibility of seeking injunctive relief from OSHA in the event the public hearing for the proposed revision to the asbestos manufacturing standard is scheduled separate from a proposed asbestos standard for the construction industry He stressed economic feasibility as significant basis for such action Reference was made to the Association's letter dated July 27 to Dr. Morton Corn reiterating primary recommendation of AIA response to OSHA on proposed manufacturing standard that simultaneous consider- atioonf manufacturing standard and yet to be proposed construction standard be affected Executive Director noted no response to the letter had been received Following discussion it was . agreed that a special meeting of the Executive Committee should be convened to further consider this subject in event formal noti- fication is received that an exclusive public hearing on the manufacturing standard is scheduled Remarks of Executive Director Attention was invited to Association's response dated Sept. 1 to Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC on petition filed July 15 by Natural Resources Consumers Union of U.S.A. Inc. to Defense Council and taping ban patching compounds taping ) spackling and joint sealing containing asbestos copy in folders It was noted that CPSC acknowledged receipt of NA's comments on September 3. Appreciation was expressed to Dr. Rhodes Page 3 Mr. Gabrielson and Mr. Fay for their assistance in develop- ment of this response A report on plans for the Third Annual Government Conference September 8-9 was given including logistic arrange- ments attendance information and estimated income The Execu- tive Director said he had knowledge of one company Nilfisk of America Inc. a manufacturer of industrial suction equipment which planned to display products by use of a hospitality suite He emphasized that the Association had advised the Nilfisk representative that his activity was not to be construed as an endorsement by the Association of the products The Executive Director reported that he had been in contact with Mr. Norman Rhodes regarding retransmittal of TBA supplemental data as had been requested at Executive Committee meeting of August 19. The data has not been received to date but was expected momentarily Note Data was received September 10 and forwarded same date under cover of memorandum to Mr. Gabrielson Dr. Weill and Dr. Kotin for review prior to being submitted to OSHA On motion a bill from Dr. Philip E. Enterline in amount of 1,142.00 for services and transportation expenses in support of the Association's Medical Research Program literature pertaining research payment to asbestos and health was approved for International Asbestos Information Conference Mr. Marsh proposed that discussion of the benefits of AIA membership in the International Asbestos Information Conference be delayed until the October 14 meeting of the Executive Committee following his meeting with IAIC standing committee members on October 12 in London Mr. Marsh reported on the International Metalworkers Federation World Conference on Health Hazards in Metal Working Industries held in Oslo Norway August 16-19 1976. A significant aspect of the meeting was a resolution calling for 0.1 cc per- missible limit for exposure to asbestos dust Mr. Marsh said Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Chairman of the Federation's Scientific Advisory Committee advised Dr. Klaus Robock that he supported this action in order to prevent a resolution prohibiting the use of asbestos It was pointed out that the meeting underscored international concerns regarding asbestos issues Mr. Marsh said he will attend IAIC October 12 meeting in London as the Association's representative to discuss permanent office location and naming of secretary general for the Standing the Committee preliminary to further consideration at ference in Hamburg November 4-5 IAIC Con- Page 4 ~ Work in Connection with OSHA Asbestos Standards Mr. Gabrielson said there had been no change in status of OSHA's proposed revision to the asbestos standard manufacturing since his report at the August 19 meeting of the Executive Com- mittee The Inflationary Impact Statement IIS prepared by CONSAD Research Corp. is yet to be certified by Department of Labor Reference was made to Mr. Mereness comments on re- transmittal of TBA's supplemental data Mr. Gabrielson reiterated that Mr. Norman Rhodes and Dr. Steve Holmes would be available to testify . at public Mr. Jerry Hebb will the Weston study hearing also be on the proposed standard He said available to testify in support of Mr. Gabrielson reviewed his efforts to date regarding possible contractors to perform an independent study of the construction industry in anticipation of OSHA's issuance of a proposed asbestos standard He said four bids had been received in response to the request for proposal They are Contractor Phase I Phase II Phase III Total Equitable Environmental- Health Inc. 40,900 Woodbury N. Y. 60,000 35,000 135 Betz Environmental Engineers Inc. Plymouth Meeting PA 46,880 53,780 21,450 122,110 The Hahnemann Institute Philadelphia PA _ 37,600 Charles T. Main Boston Mass 30-40,000 26,000 35,800 90,000 99,400 120-130,000 120-130,000 Mr. Gabrielson recommended and it was agreed that no further consideration should be given to bid of Charles T. Main Inc. since their response did not indicate a level of qualification to perform He reviewed the strength and weaknesses of the re- maining three proposals A discussion as to possible funding alternatives followed Mr. Thurber recommended that Mr. Gabrielson be authorized to select one firm from the three remaining consultants j and enter into a contract for Phase I of the construction study with an appropriate cancellation clause included in event financial support is not forthcoming He further proposed funding for Phase I estimate 50,000 be initially defrayed from the Association's reserve funds and ultimately from primary segments of the industry or alternatively by an 18 assessment of 1976 membership dues Page 5 Funding for which could for 1977 as phases II and III to be included in the 1977 be accomplished by maintaining the same dues is currently the rate 2.5 mills for 1976. budget rate The proposed 18 assessment for 1976 to be formally acted on by ballot vote which will be forwarded to members with requested return date of October 12 1976. On motion the recommendation was approved to be presented at Board of Directors meeting September 8. It was pointed out that the funds to support Phase I of the study may be provided as result of a meeting of chief executive officers of a number of member companies tentatively set for October 7 in New York City concept approved at August 19 Executive Committee meeting Solicited contributions from member companies and increased dues from a possible associate member category could also offset study expenses in 1977. Mr. Gabrielson said to date he had not been successful in obtaining an invitation to speak with the directors of the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association as regards the AIA programs and expenses in connection with OSHA standards setting He said the meeting of in New York City on August work had been accomplished the Medical Research Committee 24 was encouraging and considerable by Special Counsel Wendell B. Alcorn Esq and Dr. Enterline He stated he had met with Mr. Alcorn rN and Dr. Weill to review a potential list of expert medical witnesses It is planned that these individuals would be available to testify as might be required by member companies named as defendants in asbestos litigation cases Mr. Alcorn will discuss this matter with the named individuals at the earliest opportunity Medical Witnesses could serve two functions 1 testify as to the actual health of a plantiff and 2 review the work being accomplished by Dr. Enterlin aned testify on state of the medical art Responding to Mr. Thurber Mr. Gabrielson discussed status of district panel approach to pending federal cases The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ordered the parties in various asbestos products liability suits to show cause why these suits should not be consolidated for pretrial proceedings Mr. Gabrielson referred to a memorandum on the subject which had been prepared by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft in New York The work product is available to AIA members upon request from company attorneys He explained that such memoranda are considered protected from discovery He said it was Cadwalader's opinion that it would probably be in the industry's best interest to oppose the district procedure and seek separate trials Mr. Gabrielson stated many insurance carriers including those of mining companies in Canada had registered opposition to the procedure Page 6 In regard to work product memoranda Mr. Gabrielson explained that it is necessary of the Association other than to request each member those who have members company on the Medical Research Committee , to designate an member of Committee The matter will be presented the September 8 Board of Directors meeting associate at Agenda for Board of Directors and Annual Meeting Agenda were approved as presented Other Business Mr. Dougherty presented the following Committee and Board of Directors meetings work year schedule for Executive during the ensuing Executive Committee Board of Directors October 14 1976 November 11 1976 December 8 1976 January 13 1977 February 10 1977 March 9 1977 April 14 1977 May 12 1977 June 8 1977 | July 14 1977 August 18 1977 September 20 1977 December 9 1976 March 10 1977 June 9 1977 September 21 1977 The next regular meeting of the the Association's office commencing October 14 1976 Committee will be held in at 9:00 A.M. Thursday Adjournment There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:35 P.M. -- --, ----,--,, . H. Mereness Executive Director September 17 1976 ne OM Manville To P. Kotin M.D. Internal Correspondence - 4199 Date July 11 1979 From E. M. Fenner Copies Subject LARYNGEAL CANCER BENDIX CORPORATION ASBESTOS EXPOSURE OF CANADA Mr. James Weber Manager Safety and Protection Services for the Bendix Corporation is a member of the AIA Technical and Monitoring Committees Mr. Weber is in Denver presently for meetings of these committees Mr. Weber called me this morning concerning a problem confronting the Bendix plant in Windsor Ontario Canada Their UAW local union has submitted to the Workers Compensation Board of Canada an extensive document approximately 150 pages detailing a claim that five Bendix employees have contracted laryngeal cancer as a result of their exposure to asbestos in the Bendix plant The compensation board presently is considering union's submittal and plans to make within the two to three weeks a decision as to whether or the next not the diseases are occupationally sable If the compensation caused and therefore board rules in favor compenof the union request Bendix plans to contest The purpose of Mr. Weber's call was with you Thursday or Friday of this requests to ask for a meeting week to discuss three 1 Would you meet with Mr. James Armstrong Director Safety and Protection Services of Bendix an in- house attorney from Bendix an outside lawyer representing Bendix in Canada and Mr. Weber to discuss the subject of laryngeal cancer and asbes- tos exposure 2 Would you review Canadian counsel a written prepares text that the Bendix based on information received during your meeting for submittal to the Canadian Workers Compensation Board P. Kotin M.D. July 11 1979 Page 2 3 Would you act as an expert witness for Bendix if the cases come to trial I told Mr. him but I a 4 Weber that I was sure you would could not predict your reaction agree to meet with to the three requests 6 E. M. Fenner