Document mp4NRJQDOn4Vvdpvnvg9jyKRJ

u NOTES September 28, 1984 AIA/NA's Ninth Industry-Government Conference Draws Excellent Attendance Over 120 persons attended the Association's Ninth IndustryGovernment Conference held Sept. 18-19 at the Marriott Twin Bridges Hotel, Arlington, VA. The conference began with a reception and dinner on Sept. 18 and concluded following lunch on Sept. 19; the event was held in conjunction with AIA/NA's 14th annual meeting and third quarter board of directors meeting. The dinner speaker on Sept. 18 was Dr. Edward J. Burger, Director, Institute for Health Policy Analysis, Georgetown University Medical Center. Dr. Burger spoke of a need for a public policy regarding industry issues that could bring about resolution without litigation being the all too fre quent result. Of interest is Dr. Burger's organization's plans for a conference on causation and compensation for occupational disease and disability. Further details on this forthcoming conference may be obtained directly from Dr. Burger, 2233 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Suite 324, Washing ton, D.C. 20007/(202) 625-2115) At first session on Sept. 19, OSHA's Special Assistant for Regulatory Affairs, Gary A. Strobel, reviewed his agency's ongoing efforts to issue a revision to the asbestos' stan dard well as other activities of interest. Other speakers during morning session included Jim E. Lapping, Director Safety and Health, Building and Construction Trades Depart ment, AFL-CIO. Lapping emphasized the need for a separate construction standard on asbestos by OSHA and alluded tp the mutual appreciation of this need by his organization and this Association. Wilfred Penney, Director General, Asbes tos Information Centre (United Kingdom), presented an inter national overview of approach to regulation of asbestos and referred to the constructive work being done by the Asbestos International Association. A panel consisting of Gary J. Nash, Director General, Minerals and Metals Strategy Branch, Government of Canada and Dr. Jacques Dunnigan, Director General, Institute for Research and Development on Asbestos, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, addressed the complex is sue of asbestos and substitutes. The pitfalls of a strategy ASBESTOS INFORMATION ASSOCIATION 1745 Jefferson Davis Highway. Crystal Square 4. Suite 509 Arlington. Virginia 22202 (703) 979-1150 CAP CO JEN 0013005 Page 2 of banning a substance which can be controlled was thoroughly explored. Dr. Malcolm Ross, U.S. Geological Survey, gave an interesting presentation on cancer incidence in the United States. The concluding government and conference speaker was Dr. Peter W-. Preuss, Associate Executive Director, Consumer Pro duct Safety Commission. Dr. Preuss reviewed the areas where in CPSC has continuing interest of asbestos. The balance of the conference, which has chaired by AIA/NA President John L. Myers, included a.report on the work of the Association and a legislation review by staff. These conferences are among the major activities of AIA/NA. They afford an opportunity for a meaningful update and open exchange of information on a range of areas affecting the asbestos industry. Next year's conference is planned for September 17-18 in the Washington, D.C., area. SEIU Files Asbestos In Schools Suit Against EPA On Sept. 11, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC over the asbestos in schools issue. The suit asks the court to order the EPA to propose new rules within 30 days which provide standards for determining when an asbestos hazard requiring correction ex ists in a school, require that abatement activities be under taken where such hazards exist, and provide standards for per forming abatement activities, including standards for the pro tection of those persons who perform such activities. EPA rules at present require only that schools inspect for as bestos. There are no rules which require that any abatement action be taken or that specify how an abatement activity be conducted. Last Nov., the SEIU filed a petition with the EPA pursuant to provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) asking that the agency issue rules requiring abatement of hazardous asbestos in a safe and complete manner in schools and other public and commercial buildings. Besides holding a series of public hearings on the issue, the EPA has not taken any action on the petition. The SEIU has about 850,000 members, with over one-third employed as building service and maintenance workers in schools and other buildings. House Subcommittee Examines Asbestos Control Efforts On Sept. 26, a hearing was held before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Transporation and Tourism of the U.S. House of CAPCO JEN 0013006 Page 3 Representatives on the adequacy of federal efforts to control asbestos hazards. The hearing, chaired by Rep. James J. Florio (D-NJ), focused most' attention on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program for dealing with asbestos in schools. Rep. Florio's opening statement cited EPA's regulatory efforts as being "bitterly criticized" by local school officials who say that the agency has withheld adequate guidance on how to conduct inspections for asbestos and assess the degree of hazard. This approach has "set up" local officials to take the brunt of public concern without a reasonable basis for a meaningful response to the problem. Rep. Florio also noted that haphazard and careless abatement projects which occur in the absence of adequate guidance should have been foreseen by EPA before it launched its inspection and notification rule. Testifying on behalf of EPA was Dr. John A. Moore, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substan ces. Dr. Moore noted that, "the mere presence of asbestos does not necessarily mean a hazard exists," and that it would be extremely difficult to objectively prescribe abatement re quirements that are not tailored to a specific case. In sp'ijte of pressure from Rep. Florio and other committee members to ' obtain a committment from EPA to establish standards and reg ulations specifically stating when asbestos poses a health hazard in school buildings. Dr. Moore stated that the current approach of providing technical advice to schools that are responsible for deciding upon the appropriate corrective ac tion would continue to be followed by the agency. Dr. Moore also ran into some difficulty with Subcommittee members over his comments on EPA support for funding for the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act (N&N, Jul.). Although Congress has already appropriated $50 million for the purposes of the Act, to provide grants or interest free loans for school asbestos abatement projects, Moore said the EPA may not seek the full $600 million available for the program through 1990. "We feel it will be counterproductive," Moore said. "School districts will just wait for that money to be appropriated befor they will take the action that needs to be taken immedi ately." These comments prompted the Agency to issue a clari fication the next day which stated, "EPA feels it is simply too early to know what funds will be needed in the future." EPA had created recently a new asbestos branch under the chemi cal control division of the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Sub stances to administer the requirements of the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act. Joseph DeSantis, presently chief of the new chemical regulations branch, will head the asbestos pro gram. It is reported that EPA is actively recruiting for sci entific and technical personnel to staff the new branch. Presenting testimony which strongly called upon the EPA to es tablish standards which would provide objective guidance to schools on when and how abatement activities must be undertaken CAPCO JEN 0013007 Page 4 were William Borwegen of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Anthony Mazzocchi of Parents Against Asbestos Hazards in Schools. Borwegen, whose union is suing the EPA over the asbestos in schools issue (N&N, this issue), testi fied that in the absence of mandatory standards, asbestos abatement contractors are having a field day. He cited the claim of some contractors that 80 percent of all asbestos abatement work is being conducted improperly, leaving schools more contaminated than if the asbestos were never touched. Presenting testimony from an industry perspective were John Welch, President of the Safe Buildings Alliance (SBA), and B. J. Pigg, Executive Director of the Asbestos Information Association/North America (AIA/NA). The Safe Buildings Alliance is a newly-formed association of companies that pre viously manufactured asbestos-containing materials for build ing construction. Welch stated it is essential that the EPA step in to correct an increasingly alarming situation that it, in part, helped create. He agreed with other witnesses that state arid local officials desperately need guidance in determining those con ditions that require abatement and those that do not. Piggy's testimony reviewed regulatory activities concerning asbestos by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).as well as the EPA. In response to questioning from the sub committee, Piqg concurred that greater guidance from the EPA concerning asbestos in schools was appropriate. NRDC Petitions EPA To Ban Asbestos In Brakes On Sept. 13, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) calling upon the Agency to institute a ban on the use of asbestos in the brakes of all new cars and trucks and in all replacement brakes in existing motorized vehicles. NRDC is a national nonprofit membership corporation with over 40,000 members and contributors. According to a statement by Jacqueline Warren, NRDC Senior Staff Attorney, the group petitioned the EPA to prohibit the use of asbestos in automobile brakes because it is the single largest use of asbestos today, accounting for nearly one fourth of all asbestos consumed in the U.S. every year. "The federal government is beginning to regulate the use of asbes tos in homes, school buildings and a number of consumer pro ducts," she stated, "but they have completely ignored asbes tos brake products, which we believe pose a serious health risk to the public, especially people who live in urban areas and those who work in automobile maintenance shops." NRDC's petition claims that several substitutes for asbestos are currently available for use in automobile brakes. The CAP CO JEN 0013008 Page 5 petition cited domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers who have successfully used semi-metallic disc brakes in the past few years. In addition, alternative fibers to asbestos are now available for use in brake-related friction products. Specifically mentioned were DuPont's aramid-fiber products, which the petition claimed provide all the physical and ther mal wear properties of asbestos products. The health risks of alternate products were not discussed in the petition. Senate Panel Approves Superfund Reauthorization The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported out a bill, S.2892, on Sept. 13 that would extend the Super fund program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 5 years with $7.5 billion in funding. Senator Robert T. Stafford (R-VT), who chairs the committee would like to see a Superfund reauthorization passed in this session of Con gress, although the administration favors waiting until next year when the current Superfund program expires. Among its provisions, S.2892 contains language to establish-) a Victim Assistance Demonstration Program proposed by Senatdr George Mitchell (D-ME). Put forward as a compromise measure to address the controversial issue of providing compensation for injuries alleged to result from exposure to hazardous wastes, the proposed program would authorize the expenditure of $30 million for medical, disability, and burial costs in 5 states to be selected by the EPA. Following favorable passage by the Enviroment Committee, S.2892 was referred to the Senate Finance Committee for con sideration of the revenue raising portions of the bill. Although the Finance Committee held two days of hearings on the measure, no action is expected before Congress adjourns for its election recess on Oct. 5. The House of Representatives has already adopted a 5 year, $10.2 billion dollar reauthorization of the Superfund (N&N, Aug.). Were the Senate to pass its own version of a re authorization, any differences would have to be reconciled by a conference committee composed of House and Senate mem bers. OSHA Chief Rowland Names Two Additional Deputies Robert A. Rowland, named to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in a recess appointment sched uled to run until the end of 1985, has named two deputy assitant secretaries of labor with each having specific areas of responsibility. Both had worked with Rowland when he headed the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) prior to his OSHA appointment. CAP CO JEN 0013009 Page"6 Michael N. Korbey will serve as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, administration, policy development, legislative affairs, and regulatory analysis. Korbey pre viously was the executive director at OSHRC, and, prior to that, worked as director of administration at the Viguerie Company. Jane A. Matheson will serve as deputy assistant secretary for field operations, with responsibility for the 10 OSHA regional offices. Matheson, formerly a partner in a Dallas law firm, had served as chief counsel to Rowland at OSHRC. She has also worked as a trial attorney with the Dallas re gional office of the Labor Department's Office of the Soli citor. Korbey and Matheson join Patrick R. Tyson, a career Labor Department official, as deputy assistant secretaries. Tyson served as acting head of OSHA for nearly four months following the departure of Thorne Auchter in March. Physicians, Nurses Vie For Asbestos Medical Surveillance Responsibility : According to comments filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on the agency's proposed revision of the asbestos standard, both the American Occu pational Medical Association (AOMA) and the American Asso ciation of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) would like to be given responsibility for the administration of the stan dard's medical surveillance program. Testimony of Matilda Babbitz, executive director of AAOHN, noted that "occupational health nurses have assumed leader ship in developing and implementing programs to protect America's workers from the harmful effects of asbestos ex posure." However, the comments of the AOMA maintained, "In our opin ion, it is only the physician who has the background and training necessary to pull together the various aspects of an occupational health program," including the correlation of the physical examination findings, the laboratory data, the exposure history, and epidemiologic and toxicologic data. The AOMA, which represents 4,000 physicians practicing either full-time or part-time occupational medicine, noted-that the proposed standard does not indicate who would have responsi bility for the administration of the medical surveillance program. "To be honest, it never occurred to us that it might be any other than the occupational physicians, who traditionally have had accountability for the occupational health of those employees served," the AOMA stated. "We understand another group has sought to assume this responsi bility. " CAPCO JEN 0013010 I 9 3A gets mixed reviews under * 4 By Dianne Dumanoski liwaflMf Eariranmenri! Protection Agency workers who welcomed William D. Ruckrhfaaus back to the agency in March 2983 cheered wildly. Some even cried. Others waved handmade signs, among them one that read, "The Environment Welcomes Yon Back." "I felt as if I were at the liberation ofParis." recalled one EPA employee recently. Ruckelshaus, who headed the agency during its first years in the early 1970s, was, for many,' not just the new boss. He was the man who would deliver them from the enemy.. A yearand a half later, not surpris ingly. the feelings about Ruckels haus are a more complicated mix ture, dominated by gratitude and disappointment. The most important thing, observ- "He has returned EPA to a professional stance... simply, by being, a decent, honest person." -- William Drayton, former EPA official ers emphasize, is that he is not Anne McGill Burford; not a sagebrush reb el who came to Washington con vinced that ail environmental regu lation was "excessive"; not. an administrator fundamentally op posed to the mission of his agency. Yet he has not been the environmeuaii lender many were hoping for when President Reagan swore him in in May 1983 to succeed Burford, who resigned amid controversy. Foe those: who wondered then whether bis nomination signaled a real change in Reagan's environ mental policy, or merely a politically expedient change of personnel, it has become increasingly evident that the administration has.not shift ed its- fundamental orientation on the enviemnsenc. In his homecoming talk to EPA employees in March 1983, Ruckels haus assured them that Reaganwould be behind them -as they set things right. "He is committed to this agency doing the job assigned it by Congress and to giving us the re sources to do it." Since then, however, the White House has repeatedly ignored Ruckelshans* counsel, notably on issues like cca rain, early renewal of the Superfund toxic-waste cleanup pro gram and EPA's own budget. As critics see it, it is the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that has had the domi-'.. nant role is setting environmental - policy. . Sen. David Dnrenberger (R., Minn.) said: "I had hoped he would be the environmental person in this administration." But from all evi dence, he added, "the President'. doesn't spend a lot of time talking to Bill about the environment-..." "He is treated like Rodney Dangerfield in the White House," observed ~ . Kenneth Kamiet of* the National - Wildlife Federation, referring to the comedian who eternally complains ~ that he never gets any respect A story about a White House meet ing at which the President repeated ly called Ruckelshaus "Don" is cited frequently as an indication of the place Ruckelshaus and the environ- - ment have in Reagan's thoughts. When a staff member corrected him, 1 " , Reagan reportedly joked that he was wondering what Don Rumsfeld (who . served briefly as Reagan's special. envoy to the Mideast) was doing at a meeting on acid rain. (Efforts to get comment from the White House were unsuccessful, and-' Ruckelshaus' office said he could not schedule an interview for several weeks.) Most observers put at the top of a list of Ruckelshaus' accomplish- - ments the salvation of EPA itself and " the rebuilding of staff morale and - the agency's public image! . "If what had been going ton at EPA1 went on for another year, there would have been nothing left," said William Drayton, a former EPA offi cial who heads a watchdog group called Environmental Safety. "It Is essential'that people believe that EPA is acting in good faith with the best knbwledge available. That was lost in the Burford era. Bill Ruc kelshaus had done a lot to restore that. He has returned EPA to a pro fessional stance. He's made a contri bution simply by being a decent, honest person. That is not the stand ard you would usually apply, but in the context of the abuse that the .Reagan administration brought tot EPA, that's important" Under Burford. for instance, EPA's Enforcement Office had been dis banded and enforcement actions vir- tually stopped. Ruckelshaus brought with him a clear directive for aggres sive enforcement from the adminis trator's office, and EPA's record in this area has improved dramatically. . Despite the improvements, critics * 4J m H and many EPA employees working on enforcement stress that EPA's budget and staffing still fall ftf short of their responsibilities. Philadelphia Inquirer Ruckelshaus Ruckelshaus, furthermore, hasn't been able or hasn't chosen to exer cise much initiative, in shaping the national environmental agenda. Most of the major environmental laws that EPA implements have ex pired or are about to. Instead of push ing for congressional renewal, according to a staff person for a House^. committee that oversees some EPA activities, - Ruckelshaus repeatedly has come before committees urging that Congress delay action. "He keeps telling us, `We're going to study it; we need to look at it more.'" . "'One concrete measure of the ex tent of EPA's recovery since the Bur-. ford era is the EPA budget By the time Ruckelshaus took over, calculates Jonathan Lash of the Nat ural Resources Defense Council, EPA had lost 29 percent of its tbtal budget, 30 percent of its staff and 42 percent of its research funding. Sunday, Sept. 2,1984 Asbestos ... Striptease is the anti-asbestos lobby moving too quickly, too late? As a building material, asbestos and related products have been installed (mainly as insulation) in millions of homes, offices and factories for de cades. It is strong, stable and fire-resis tant. It also kills. Inhaled asbestos fibres cause mesothelioma (an incurable form of lung cancer) and other respiratory diseases. Now, fearful of the hazards of exposure to asbestos, people are stam peding to tear out the stuff from build ings. Yet stripping out the asbestos could kill more peoplethan it saves. f The lethal nature of the'mineral among . asbestos workers (and their families) has been known for the past 50 years; in Britain and America together, 2,000 peo ple die each year from mesothelioma. Until now, nobody has quantified the risk to householders living alongside asbestos. In a recent study commissioned by America's Environmental Protection Agency, the National Academy of Sci ences concluded that the typical amount -q. of asbestos dust in the home (including co homes containing no asbestos) is about 2 400 fibres per cubic metre. Studies in Britain have shown that, even in buildings " containing damaged asbestos, the density of fibres is no higher. The lifetime public ; . risk from asbestos-linked cancer is in the region of nine in a million--nearly 900 -. xt times smaller than - the risk of death 6 through accidents in the home. S* GAPCO JEN 0013011 '* People working other hand, can with asbestos, on the be subjected to dust --i^Asbestos hazitrds-^^ ^lifetime's work u levels many hundreds of times'.higher From DrJoOk C Olbem***$&*:& =f*Th* "burning hikes ofasbestos in than environmental levels. The maximum ; . macabre" picture'-'' of the ah'* have *an" air roffimimnp-ruob-wabuil*it-y' asbestos-dust level to which British work* ;i . asbestos ,,dean.`;.'un ', ft'- Loodoq * asbestos is incombustible aaa ers can legally be exposed b 500,000. ', {September 6) would" out* amaxpt-! fortumsaty the flakes dB be| tbo . fibres per cubic metre for white asbestos, ment and disbeliefto the inhabitants - laspe-to-inhale,-Tbe diae raspiabte.. which many (erroneously) believe to be---.'. of 'the' chrysolite' mfaing' tow* fcf- dwt'- would have. 1 beea -tapNIy. .- less deadly, and 200,000 for the blue and brown types. Other countries' are less stringent. Other common market coun ' ~ThetforiL Quebec. Bor many'years* ^between- the -watrthg- ptvcmemx dispersed by die heal ofihefire and' the wind, atf' reducing the fibre - w-e.rve --serw--hitb w...i.t.h. the'd__u_st_i_n_._th_e_*_ ccnemr*tiooM lovery,low levels - - tnormag'thtt the children left.*; compared to tharfo rerioties using f' tries allow twice those levels and some . , .footprjnuon the way to school*',,u- , American states up to four times. yet.'ijnore; than 40 yean Jatet.*: Dr-' NewbouaeT 'recently1 drew'y' , The British government's Health and ;. careful enquiries have trvealad noV attentioa in dour columns to the-< Safety {Executive (USE), which is trying significant, health .hazard -to. the , alarm and. distress sack articles.^ to ensure that workers stripping out as- -. bestns are adequately protected, is del uged with work. It is worried that it will be unable to provide proper inspection of all sites. In a hid to get to grips with an . genentL.-population. .Only- thoee - cause to those not well able to assess ; : much more-heavily, exposed, ia the . the real risks arising fretmexposutwi? mines and'htilM were at tome risk. toasbestos,s-f-rfr,*-*!'ir i-n.-. Of course modem dust control ha'~ The reeeniw ipubnslwf Ontario'1-.. ^ now removed the children's ftsa.,,1 . Royal CommnBlbo Report on'the'- Tour. reported statement by Mf.\ Use ofAsbatoaFpiU) has attempted'; increasingly chaotic situation, the HSR. Dalxiet.lrihe problem of.asbestos is.' to' put the risk; into - perspective?! last month introduced a licensing scheme - that we, have no. idea'just how/. The-risk of (death (per' 100,000' for those working with asbestos. The scheme aims to prevent cowboy operators from carrying out the stripping work and to concentrate on those sites likely to T harmful! it scan be" fa-far. from the. - poputationA-earKfa for exampie, 'facts /d<avenvironmeutal..-haatrd.-: cardiovascular twtfW 3SZ cancer*-*- wiifa.t.ihe-possibte'rtxceptioft-'oF> 165.. motor vtbia? acridents 23;! cigsreuea -smoking.-/has''..beep 'so , asbestos - disease-' fitm buildiM' exhaustively studied.` exposure 0.029.. `:'. '* have problems. It might be better to let The hethh eflects^oT chrysotile ....yourssincerely,'I* sleeping asbestos lie. asbestos depend on the amount j.c.GIISOtt'-.'> C Asbestos Maligned rehaied'pnd tha^ length of Ujne. Hembury.Hill Farm. - r,T^,r. Thus, exposure from an accxletUri Honiton, %i'r-' uv;. fire .will, be, of negligible length Devon. r- *T CO o> H i ,,J -- - L* ft) > B 0) 4-> a 0) to CO rb3 Mm ' H >5 (0 *o Uc o H Asbestos-- That's ail. that's in -papers, mag* azines, and whatever else printed material. All of this material is false . unless proven otherwise. What it, does do is put the general public (fat of work and on unemployment and welfare, then people complain about the unemployment and welfare rates. I just wish these, people who are so scared of asbestos would check into it more; they would find a large surprise about asbestos and its use fulness. There is no such thing as asbesto- sis, as It is so-called. It is just a word derived from the word asbestos it self, making a lot of people rich and a lot of people poor. Asbestos is not a disease nor will ,1/-. Fear ofasbestos \ From DrUurtttL NcvAotar ations of lungs of persons dying of .. disease* quite unrelated to asbestos 1 - - ' exposure have revealed the presence Ssr, in your account (July 2) of of over a million fibres per gram of asbestos hazards in storage heaters. lung tissue. you State that "A single asbestos - - Statements of this son distress fibre can kill when it is inhaled and and confuse the general public. 1 lodges in the human lungs**. This myself have recently seen a pascal statement it baaed oa n statissiea! with such a severe asbestos phobia - probability. that she fcit compelted to tenth out Careful studies ofasbestos miners her string cupboard, which had and factory workers have shown a prevwusly been lined with asbeses direct relationship between concen boarding, three or four times a day. trations of asbestos fibres ia air and \ Every effort must be made to ! deaths from asbestos-related dis prevent contamination of the eases. At high coaccauauotis the environment with asbestos, but the risk is very high, at low eoneen- information given to the public cations the risk is very low; only should be eecurate and informative; theoretically at concentrations just Yours faithfully. above xero can there be a perceptible risk. MURIEL U KEWHOUSE. Flat 6. Electron microscopy examin 30 Hyde Park Cardens, W1 it ever be.- It is a person's immunity system which is subjected to every thing, such as tobacco, alcohol and everything else around us. - _ LONDON .TIMES 17 JULY, 1984 It is just a gimmick to tak? peoples' jobs by tearing down schools and numerous other things and put ting approximately 2.5 billion on unemployment and welfare.. Union Says E.P.A. Is Stalling on Asbestos There is not one person who can tell me what is at fault with asbes tos; Articles in newspapers, mag- user and other publications arc always degrading asbestos. I wish they would check their facts before they are'printed. RICHARD W. JONES Eden Mills VT-D4 BURLINGTON FREE FBESS (H)49,00D (S)4S,00B AUG 30 1C3A By PHILIP SHABECOFF - SpacUl to Ttm Ntw Yct TIM - istration was deliberately delaying an nouncing plans for asbestos until after WASHINGTON, Sept. U -- Calling asbestos in the schools the worst poten tial health threat to children since polio, the Service Employees Interna tional Union sued today to require the Environmental Protection Agency to address the danger. ' The union asked the Federal District Court here to order the environmental the election because it planned to do nothing. -- But Alvin L. Aim, deputy adminis trator of tbe environmental agency, said its- current program to protect children from asbestos in schools was working and that tbe steps advocated by the union would increase rather than reduce the dangers to children.. agency to set standards tor asbestos hazards in schools and to propose a 15 MHIioo Children Involved plan within 30 days forremoving asbes Fibers from crumbling asbestos.' tos in school buildings - once widely used as a buidling ASTHF" John J. Sweeney, president of tbe sulating material because of its heat- union, charged (but tbe Reagan Admin__________ resistant properties, can cause cancer ____________________ Ai Cleani CAPCO JEN 0013012 Asbestos removers flourish Faulty asbestos despite risks involved removal' By UnnM Myere The news last week from the federal government that hundreds' of thou- ' sands--perhaps millions--of buildings, in the U.S. contain potentially cancercausing asbestos is Deefing up an al ready growing demand for 4. asbestos abatement contrac tors. About 300 firms are of fering their services, despite ' serious health and legal questions regarding remov al. And that number could hit 1,000 by 1990, according to one trade group. Meanwhile, the Environ ment! Protection Agency, trying to get a handle on the magnitude of the problem, is reviewing' two recent as bestos studies. One indicates that about 700,000 public, commercial and apartment buildings contain asbestos. The other shows that 31,000 primary and secondary, pub lic and private schools-- about 35% of the national total--also contain it. A third ongoing government-sponsored probe, conducted^ by. the MounFSinal Environmental Health Sciences Center," focuses on early evidence that 100,000to 200,000 homes in Orange County, Calif., contain asbestos. The situation is complicated. Experts caution against concluding that all as bestos in buildings has to be removed. John A. Moore, EPA's toxics chief, em phasizes that the agency does not "pass any judgment on the quality of the as bestos material" in the structures. Asbestos is dangerous only when it enters the lungs. EPA indicates the mate rial is primarily found in boiler rooms as a wrapping for heat pipes and in ceiling coatings. Problems arise when products containing asbestos degrade. Bed to worse. Even building owners willing to foot the bill for removal could have problems. Each building really needs its own set of specifications for asbestos removal, say the experts. And there-is no easy way to locate legitimate consultants and contractors to do the job. "So many contractors are getting into the business that don't know what they are doing," says Frederick C. Treadway, president of Specialty Sys tems, Inc., Richmond, Ind. Specialty started removing asbestos in late 1979. '.`There is a need for certifying the con- . tractors and the workers." -.Because of this, "in some cases, it's best to leave the building alone," says Dennis T. Garde, vice president of As bestos Control, Inc., Mt. Prospect, BL,. another asbestos removal contractor. There are some training courses for asbestos removal. A two-and-a-half-day `THE MORAL to the story dear," a doctor told the roomful course is offered by the Association of Wall and Ceiling Industries Internation al (AWQ), Washington, D.C. Other training is being given by two fledgling associations, National Association of As. bestos Abatement Contractors, Kansas City, Kan., which has 100 members, and I GG contractors. "How much disea and death there trill be lies in yo bauds." Dr. Edwin Holstein was speaki to people in the business of rerr ring asbestos from schools and nt lie buildings, li not done ng. "you'd have been better off leari the place alone," said Holstein, the National Asbestos Council. The Georgia Institute ofTechnology also of fers a course: '. S. the ML Sinai School of Medicine New York. A bad Job means that asbest fibers would still be in the a "The concern is that many of the. contractors offering their services have not all done their homework," says Gene Erwin, AWCl's technical director. UabiRty. Other than proper removal, a big issue for an asbestos abatement Q- where it could be inhaled by wot ers and schoolchildren, be said. D ease--and death--would follow f some. The group that invited Holstein speak was formed this year to t sure that the job is done right, contractor is liability, says Garde. A con tractor could potentially be sued by a building owner, by the occupants and by the workers on the job. . Protection against liability comes from general liability insurance, which is Gfl . founders said. The organization, t National Association of Asbest Abatement Contractors, "hopes be a national qualifying group w; the authority to approve or disc prove of contractors," said N Wilson, its regional president. ' three to four times as costly for asbestos removers as it is for most contractors, and from workers' compensation. "Most contractors don't tell their insurance companies they are doing asbestos GO E CURRENTLY. ANY contract- can remove asbestos, said Ten Stanuch, an asbestos expert for t! U.S. Environmental Protects Agency. i abatement," says Treadway. His firm is insured for $5 million at a cost of about $40,000 a year. . For those firms that tell their insur ance carriers, there is another problem. "A company risks us for a year and then drops us," says Garde. In four years, his P< "They can use high scho dropouts, pay them *5 an hour at fast say, `Go scrape it down,' " sa Stanuch, who spoke at the ass ciation's symposium last week at Rosemont hotel. The EPA has a li of contractors, but "all you have do is call us and ask to be put firm has had three carriers. the list and you'd be put on t` As a result, "very few contractors have properly written coverage specific for asbestos exposure," says Garde. There are three ways of dealing with asbestos: encapsulating it using a list," be saia. "Some of them would not recommend." The field is plagued by "fly-fc nighters," said W. David Kimbre executive director of the contrt tors -association, which is based sprayed-on coating, encasing it by build Lawrence, Kan. "They go in the: ing a structure around it; or removing it: The first two are only stopgap mea they don't do it right and then e up with contamination in a school sures, say Garde and Treadway. The cost of removal, which can vary HOLSTEIN UNDERSCORED 1 importance of proper asbestos from $3 to $10 per sq ft, depends on moval by noting that diseas the size of the building (there is econo my in size), the extent of the problem and how much of the building has to be caused by asbestos, such as If cancer,asbestosis a: mesothelioma, have no cures replaced afterwards. Both Treadway and Garde say that despite the problems, the market is profitable. Their firms are growing because there are so many are "uniformly fatal." He cited as an example the ex rience of 17,800 insulation work who were heavily exposed to ast tos before the 1970s, when it \ buildings that contain asbestos. . , commonly used in insulation. In a normal group of 17,800 j pie, JOS would be expected to dx cancer in a 10-year period, nont 2M-42 EXOKEHflie KWMEHWD WEEKLY 112,000 asbestosis and probably none 0 rare tumor called pleu: mesothelioma, be said. But among the insulation wt ers. 488 died of lung cancer, IS asbestosis and 63 of t B/D23 CHICAGO IRlBUMt mesothelioma, Holstein said. * ;i r- 16 1984 (M) 672*00 (S) 1.115.600 "Don't cut corners," he told contractors. "You won't see it 1 disease) that day. You won't se that week. You won't see it l month or year. ... But some die of iL" SE?4 1534 CAP CO JEN 0013013 * a.;-*----iK-a-T ' ? ~c,-H * * i juxjpiher serious disease when inhaled - pr'infill* .v A survey by the mvironmtnul agen cy, not yet made public, has found that _ about 1$ million children and 1.4 mil lion employees are in school building* containing asbestos; Agency officials say that only a small percentage of those buildings contain asbestos in dan gerous form. _ The Service Employees Interna tional Union has about 100.(00 school workers among its *50,000 members. The environmental agency requires 'school systems to inspect for asbestos intheir buildings and to inform parents and teachers of their findings. But jt does not require the removal of ashes-1 tos, and it has not defined what consti tutes a dangerous expanse. Additional Sups fwslitrrsl ; The agency is considering additional steps, such as setting more precise guidelines to identity the dangers of as bestos. and is requiring that contrac tors who remove or otherwise handle asbestos be certified for competence. Mr. Sweeney said thousands of schools had not made inspections for asbestos and thousands more had in spected but "don't have either the money or the inclination to flaan U up." "Incompetent removal contractors are having a field day," be said. "Workers have been observed flushing indestructible, cancer-causing asbes tos materials down toilets, releasing enough fibers to contaminate an entire city's water supply." We Are Befog StaDetT Mr. Sweeney said the environmental agency's argument that it did not have the technical basis for setting stand ards for asbestos in schools "is a line we are tired of bearing" and added: "They can make aH kinds ofexcuaes an a medical and legal basis. But we are being stalled through the election." Mr. Aim said be bad not seen the union's lawsuit, but be said: "There is a certain amount of posturing that others care more about children than the E.P.A. That's nonsense. We have children, too." He said the agency's current pro gram was the quickest way to remove asbestos hazards threatening schoolchildren. If the agency were to draft standards, he warned. It would take at least two years until those standards were put into effect; meanwhile, school systems would be waiting to tee what would be required instead of acting. John Welch, president of the Safe Buildings Alliance, a group of compa nies that formerly made products con taining asbestos, disputed the union's contention that asbestos in the schools constituted a serious national health problem. He said a number of outside experts had reported that the problem of expo sure to asbestos was far less serious outside the workplace then inside, and that there were relatively few schools ;where children were endangered. NY-D40 THE NEW YORK TIMES (M)963,400 (SH.5S3.500 C 12 HU EPA to Scale BackFunds For Asbestos Removal By Michel Marriott Uunmcuo Muflmw " and 1.4 million school workers are ' exposed to materials containing as Aa Environmental. Protection bestos, Much was used to fireproof, Agency official told a congressional soundproof and 'insulate tehee: subcommittee yesterday that the . buildings.. agency will not seek full funding for It's a classic Catch 22* said a federal program to remove asbes Rep. James J. Florio (D-NJ.) of tos from the nation's.schools be . Moore's position. cause the program,is likely to prove "Asbestos is an undisputed hu counterproductive^ - - -- . man carcinogen and is perhaps the Competition for.- $SQ million a , most deadly and most feared toxic yfsAomgbreweefe.aasreipnotfMrotyeulislysosnostoaioiclcfnrenehniedvsodt,teehoehilslaersseassiiaorlsrylnigifskbosdrtceutweaaailmtnlnyndnottcsixstntoeiaogfcarrd-srnocem,sddmaduissuiuibnancscsmiiotidsteneautogrrJndrvaeaociaatsngheontsgensr----:.-'.'..Coscmtyttieeuheoousiebastnmrttstiiehremmtmaaeerednoneaandacnrrnodcveyyntei.oormcofuocuontCronhrirmsmeroeemmeamtnHhn.smteaotblT"yrniuetchtsseetceeth,oseoras'nEsestitrudenaabeemnthcxursooigpFbnpmuoyicaoorsotmsarnuitmnnraaioetgd-,( for the EPA. ` This fall, thousands of Distric For that reason, Moore said, the - parents were warned that asbestos EPA may not ask for the full 1600 . in a number of schools was threat million funding. Congress is pre- ening the health of their children paied to allocate for the new pro And school systems across the gram through 1990. country have had to wrestle with The funds are currently available what to do once the substance was to poor schools at the greatest risk. found in their schools. Moore said the EPA would oof seek The EPA requites schools to in- funding for the program in fiscal ' spect for asbestos and inform par 1986. ent-teacher groups and employes of *We feel it will be counterproduc its presence. tive,' Moore said. "School districts Florio and several witnesses will just wait for that money to be were critical yesterday of the appropriated before they will take EPA'i position on the loan program, the action that needs to be taken as well as the absence of EPA stan immediately,' he said. dards and regulations specifically The Department of Education stating when asbestos poses a estimates that 15 million children health hazard in school buildings. >y0f.` F J! EPA Seeking to Recover bn . The Environmental Protection Agency, . scrambling to contain a public relations disaster over the subject of asbestos in schools, said yesterday that it has not ruled out the possibility of seeking more federal funds to help school districts control the cancer-causing substance. "EPA feels H h simply too early to know what funds will be needed in the fiiture," the agency ua in an un usual clarification of a top agency official's congression al testimony. John A. Moore, bead of the pesticide and toxic sub stances division, told a House subcommittee Wednes day that EPA considered federal spending on the hazard "counterproductive" and would not seek full funding ofa $600 million asbestos abatement program approved by Congress this summer. Moore's statement was immediately denounced by Republicans and Democrats, who accused the agency of turning its back on millions of children and school cm- ployes potentially exposed to the substance. Asbestos was widely used as an insulating material until it was finked conclusively to a variety of hmg disorders, in cluding cancer. Asbestos Issi THE WASHINGTON POST Ur U. tt*i CAPCO JEN 0013014