Document n9NNMvLbXRjk96MjMynjmzo88

MINUTES OF THE JOINT KEETIN6 OF THE AIC/UK, AIA/NA AND QAMA HELD OH JANUARY 24. 1974. IN MONTREAL. CANADA there..were present: C.M. Fenton D.V. Hills M.F. Howe J.H. Marsh R.H. Mereness M.J. Messel I.C. Campbell R. Michoti Dr. P.V. Pelnar P.A. Filteau INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Chairman, A.R.C. .Member, A.R.C. Deputy Chairman - A.I.C. . President, AIA/NA Executive Secretary, AZA/KA President, .QAMA Chairman, QAMA PR Coamittme Director, QAMA Information Services Scientific Secretary, I.O.E.H. General Manager, QAMA . In his opening statement, Mr. Messel extended a most cordial welcome to all participants* and expressed the hope that the meeting would be a fruitful one. ' "Bow can we get the most truthful and-accurate information?to the public?", he emphasised, was the object of the meeting-; It is de sirable to this end to coordinate our efforts`towards dealing store' effectively with the media and gaining their support in believing what industry says. There lias the major problem. Mr. Messel then invited Hr. Campbell, Chairman of the QAMA P.R. Committee to chair the meeting. . ___ . 2 - - The Chairman called on each association delegate to review the important areas of concern. review OF SITUATION IN U.K. . Hr. Howe explained that there were two active bodies in the U.K. * namely the Asbesto6is Research Council (A.R.C.) and Asbestos Information committee (A.X.C.) and that every attempt was made to keep the two bodies apart in the public eye. The ARC has a high . repute as being independent, although financed by the Industry. As regards "Asbestos t Health", the-public image in U.K. has . been relatively quiet in the recent past. There are occasional sensational articles in the press and T.V. programs*, but not to the extent of creating a national impact. To counter such, adverse publicity, the AIC has a policy of releasing, whenever deemed advisable, letters to the Editor of important newspapers; it is a standard practice in U.K. to publish these letters; same are read extensively. The AIC is fortunate in having Hr. H. Howard who ia an expert in preparing letters very much to the point. This year the AIC has doubled its budget for advertising in policy forming newspapers. In the past, the Committee has received A large number of inquiries in connection with the ads, which shows t their impact on people. In every case reference is made to health risks and precautions. The new advertising campaign adopts a childish approach. The theme is concentrated on "fire", by reason of the great many fires in England in recent years. An attitude survey is presently being conducted which -should tell the effective ness of the program. The AIC is, however, worried about Doctor Selikoff attacking the . . U.K. standard of 2 fpcc- Indeed it was felt most timely to hold the present joint meeting of the three groups, since our countries endure the brunt of the attack because of the common language. It ` -^ --3 I -3- seems that the experience in the U.K. is that nothing happens when statements are made in countries with different languages. The AfiC has just completed a file on "Asbestos at Work", which shows how best to deal with health hazards. Copies win be given to the factory inspectorate and this should improve the relations with this Government Department. The film is a pictorial presen tation of basic factory regulations. It was produced by Sorel- Films, with three sponsors, at a cost of 110,000. 200 prints have been sold in U.K. - Hr. Hills added that, in general, people in U.K. are acre tolerant towards unfavorable publicity. As one would expect; the U.K. reproduces occasionally syndicated articles from the U.S.A. such as stories by Dr. Selifcoff. TSH conducted in 1373 a series of seminars for the benefit of industrial medical officers in U.K. (Approx, a dozen meetings). A valuable relationship has thus been established. SITUATION IN U.S.A. . Speaking for AIAJHA, Hr. Harsh stressed that the "Asbestos 5 Health*1 problem in the U.S. is a very serious one, and that in tony quarters it had not been recognized until fairly recently. Many in industry Simply don't understand the situation. There is one exception, namely, Johns-Hanville Corporation which has attempted, to place the problem in its proper perspective. The Company soon realized, however, that alone it could not affectively represent an' entire industry in dealing with the press and Government officials. Iu Hit fix SCpJ.au*., there are no oomparable studies to refute the mortality studies of Dr. Selikoff. He often extrapolatea his findluge on the insulation workers (death from asbestos exposure - 35%) *-* t I C -u- to encompass th entire industry, which the reporters are hippy to emphasize in the media. Secondly the press relations battle has yet to be'won. One could refer to the attack on Johns-Manville in a New York Tinea article a year ago end another story later in the Nall Street Journal. In another instance, the AIA/NA was successful in stopping the publi cation of an article in the Newsweek Magazine, but what about the recent article of Paul Brodeur in the New Yorker. Lately a new/ series of three hour T.v. educational prograas on lung diseases, called "The Killers'* has been introduced in 'die U.S.; a very expensive undertaking indeed. Zn the third place, the problem is with pressure groups - unions, environmental groups, etc. These various bodies essentially - demand the banning of asbestos. Yet when the Association undertook a public awareness survey on the health issue a year ago under the direction of the Opinion Research Corporation. The results indi cated that only 3% of the people interviewed considered asbestos as a health hazard to the general public. The relations of the Association with OSKA are excellent. The Association was asked to select four industry representatives on the Advisory Committee established to revise the standards on ' asbestos. Next to OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - an enormous organisation - is responsible for assessing die economic impact of regulations on industry. The Association is presently working with EPA on the development of asbestos content, standards in water effluents. / ' - Over the paat year the Food and Drug Administration, has been very " active as regard asbestos and health hazards. Fortunately, as a . result of appropriate information supplied by the Association* as . . well am the excellent supporting evidence by Ik*. Holme*, die TDK _ _ changed its attitude on die question of banning filter pads in the beverage and drug industries. ' s* The AIA7NA is also sponsoring some nodical research namely . project on chest sounds conducted by Dr. R. Hurphy of the Harvard School of Public Health. ' As regards the news Media the Association prepared an Asbestos and Health information kit which was nailed to sone 3,000 newspapers, eagamines, trade publications, radio t T.V. stations, science - writers, etc., across the United States. * The all important problem, however, is how to deal with Selikoff. There is no such organization as the ARC in the USA. Within the Industry, Jofans-HanviUe is the only Company with sound and acknowl edged expertise. Hr. Karsh suggested at this point by way of two illustrations - the eases of Union Carbide Co. and the spotted use of asbestos for Modeling.in schools - that it woe possible end preferable to aeet and discuss these situations directly with Selikoff. The battle is still continuing and Industry needs help; the'assistance of other groups concerned with the problem in U.K. and Canada is always appreciated. - / following Hr. Harsh, Hr. bareness consented briefly on some of the attacks by the media, such as the artiale in Times Magazine entitled "Death from Dust (Tyler Plant)" and in Newsweek under the title "Living Dangerously". As a result the number of queries received by the Association increases every week. Obviously,, .the asbestos and health problem is a good topic--for journalists and - thus considerably overdone. To strengthen its action, the Association, although representing -. major interests of the Asbestos Manufacturing Industry in the United States, is presently endeavouring to expand its Membership, t OSlpNaies like Armstrong Cork, U. S. Gypcira, Jim Walter, etc., are still not members of AXA/NA. SriUATIOK XM CANADA - 6- Hr. Campbell pointed out that the question of eabesto* g health w* not as big a problem in Caned* a* in the U.S.A. Besides, the audience is'mostly confined to Quebec and more in the English than, in the French Press. It seems that the French Media have never tackle too strongly the asbestos S health problem. It should he pointed out, however, that the release of the McDonald report received excellent press coverage. Yet the blue leaflet "Asbestos and Your Health" campaign through the Canadian week-end press, some two years ago, resulted in only 3,200 enquiries from an aatiaatmd circulation of 3,700,000. firing the last Provincial election, the new member of Parliament for ITontenac (Thatford Mines, Black lake, etc.). Dr. Lecours, campaigned for the protection and adequate compensation of workers and people affected by asbestos related diseases. Recently Doctor Nicholson, of Mount Sinai Hospital, came to Yhetfbrd Mines, and met with the union officers in an apparent effort to undertake a research project on asbestos mine workers. The question is: "Was it Dr. Leoours who invited him or is Dr. Sclihoff trying through such a study to discredit Dr. KcDonald.'s report?" The Association will look into the implications of such practice. #t As is well-known, the contribution of QAMA to the asbestos and health problem is the funding of the I0EH activities, under the guidance and recommendation of its- Scientific Oaanittee presided by Dr. 6.W. Height* it has so far granted financial support to some nineteen <19} research projects. Naturally our P.R. efforts an somewhat limitad geographically, yet if QAMA can be of further 1101?* i.e. as with ' customers, kindly let it be known. Tot Instance, should a campaign on the useful applications of asbestos be conducted in other Provinces than Quebec? Actually this type of r. . information is disseminated through "Le Producteur", the monthly--. . .. newspaper of the Association- Do Unions think there is * problem in the asbestos sines? So far the situation has been fairly veil managed. It seeas that the area where Industry has to protect itself is with the uses of asbestos-based products. Is there adequate liaison between AIC/UK, AIA/MA and QAHA? Certain documents, for instance, could be circulated for accuracy before publication. No doubt -the service . uld be welcome* - As compared to u.K., advertising in U.S.A. and Canada is different and truly expensive. The only economical way, according to Ksssr*. Karsh and Kereness, is to have articles published in the trade press. Such a means in U.K. reaches the opinion farmers and this is where the AXC is comparatively sore effective. Bow about advertising by AIA/JCA rather than by individual companies? The efforts of the Association at the moment are placed on informing awnbar* of the medical problem. To this end, AIA/HA would like to produce with the help of a good science writer a digest of articles on the health problem. . It remains that in Canada as in U.S.A. the problem lies with Dr. Salikoff, who has all the facilities to deal and treat with people. The only way to manage effectively and combat the situation is to seek a broader and closer industry involvement both in time and money. ' ' INDUSTRY SPOKESMAN The consensus is that the assignment would require a medioal man capable of standing off Sr. Salikoff; possibly, .oh*-man in,North - America and one in Europe. Such a person should preferably not be \ employed by Industry. He could set as an adviser to AIA/NA and........ ZOZH and attend the many' scientific conferences held on this continent and abroad. 3he position calls for a strong convincing speaker . with persuasive power, to stop irrational statements free various sources. All agreed that this was 4 priority matter. . CLPSEX COLLABORATION IN RESEARCH MATTERS This item refers to the exchange of views and information on research ` projects between the groups concerned with the asbestos and health issue in Europe and North America. It was noted that there was no U.X. representative an the I0EB Scientific Comittee. The suggestion was made and unanimously approved that someone from ARC/UK be- appoint ed on this Committee. This recommendation will be processed through the normal channels and should be placed oa the agenda of the next meeting of the XOEH Scientific Committee. IOEH KEPICAL DATA BANK Sr. Pelnar reviewed briefly the operations of his medical data collecting system. ' . All published scientific and general information on the question of asbestos and health is collected for filing in a library. When such is published in another language* English abstracts are prepared by Or. Felnar. A network of mediators located in various countries, has been, organized and a mechanical retrieval systsa is used to obtain information promptly. Documents received are circulated to scientific people. It should he mentioned that the amount of material thus collected increases exponentially. In addition, based on the information gleaned and the. views expressed by the members of the Scientific Committee* Volumes one and two on . the biological effects of asbestos wove prepared showing the ongoing' studies and the areas of adequate and inadequate action. From this - analysis* recommendations were submitted as regards further studies pertinent to a solution of the health problem. . -9- To what extent is this information used by other group* such as AIA/XA and AIC/UK? So far, the McDonald studies have been extremely useful, especially in the case of exposure to pure ehrysotile asbestos. The findings of Sr. McDonald were confirmed by a siailar study in Italy (Sr. Vigliani). His study of sesothelicaa in Canada was also coafiraed by a group of authors in Italy, showing that mesothelioma is not necessarily ths result of exposure to asbestos. the question of attendance to the' large number of Scientific Conferences was raised. In order that these meetings be well covered, it was suggested to set up a clearing house; Dr. Pelnar could circulate the appropriate information. AIA/KA appreciates the facts that it can call on IOEH for medical information. The former is oonteaplating the publication of a brochure on work practices in the asbestos manufacturing plants in .3. U.8.A. ILO H5STIMG IN GENEVA - DECEMBER 1973 Mr. A-A. Croon, Chairman - ARC Environmental Control Committee, represented the U.K. Doctor Pelnar attended as an observer for the Permanent Commission and International Association on Occupa tional Health. It seems that the meeting offered a very reasonable and practical discussion. The British view was strongly represented by tin expertise- of- a team of seven members.- - .During the debate, two points of interest were made: first -that-the term "asbestos ' ' cancer" be replaced by "asbestos related cancer" and, second, that "there were other causes of mesothelioma than exposure to asbestos*. It is possible that a draft of recomandations and proposals approved, by the meeting may serve eventually in the elaboration of national - regulations. The ILO, however, nay not have tine to consider- these -- proposals until 1976. . .. ao conmaicg oh the biological effects or asbestos ik x HEW YORK. IH OCTOBER 197 (Dr. I.J. SELIXOFT) Ho on* Apparently has had any correspondence lately nor any word fro* fir. Selikoff concerning this Conference. Hr. Karsh has agreed to enquire;' - A Conference on Hesothelicaa is to be held in Vi*nna( Austria, in May 197S. The papers and discussion will be in Getrmsn. Plans are being aade for a public health conference in Brighton, England, in Septesber 197$; a session will be devoted to eebestos problems. ASBESTOS MARKETIH6 BOARD i FURTHER PROCESSPTC OP ASBESTOS IH CAHABA information and co-operation fro* U.S.A. and U.X. aay be required in order to properly eet forth the economic facts pertinent to those two issues. Contents from the Industry to be sutaittod to the Provincial. Government. PLACE AHD DATE OF NEXT MEETING The British delegation suggested that another conference be held in Korth America in a year or so for the benefit of QAMA, AXA/VA, AIC/UK and ARC/UK and possibly other bodies. Brief papers on public relations and asbestos regulations could be given to bring people up-to-date on recent developments. It would be a wonderful opportunity to inform and advise people from all sector* of the Industry* th matter was left for the consideration*of*'aU parties concerned. ` ADJOUKHKEMT . Th**** wo fin-eher business, the meeting then adjourned. Paul-A. lilteau s JOIKT MEETING OF THE AIC/UK, AIA/HA AMP OAMA HELD OW JANUARY 24, 197V. IK W3HTPXAL, CAMADA PARTICIPANTS Hr. C.H. Fenton c/o Scandura Limited P.0. Box 19 Clackheatoa -Torkshlre (England). Hr. .C. Campbell Asbestos Corporation Ltd. 1940 Sun Life Bldg. 11SS Metcalfe St. Montreal, Canada H3B 2XS Mr. D.. Bills c/o Turner < Bewail Halted -77 Fowtain Street .Manchester M2 2EA (England). Mr.. M.F. Howe, e/o Turners Asbestos Fibres Limited Faulkner Bouse Faulkner Street Manchester Ml *DX (England). Mr. J.B. Marsh c/o Raybestoa-Hanhattan' 29$ Middle Street Bridgeport, Conn. 06603 - U.S.A. 4 Mr. R.B. Mereness Asbestos Indorsation Assoc./Worth America. 1660 "L" Street H.W. Washington, D.C. 2003S - U.S.A. Mr. L Michon Quebec Asbestos Mining Assoc H12 IBM Bldg. S Piece ViUe-Marie Montreal, Canada H3B 262 Dr. P.V. Pelnar I.O.E.H. 412 IBM Bldg. 5 Place Ville-Kirie ' Montreal, Canada BBS 262 Mr. P.A. Filteau Q.A.K.A. S8Q est, Crande-Allie Suite 320 Quebec, Que. 61X 2K2 Mr. M.J. Messel Lake Asbestos of Quebec, Limited P.0. Box SOB Black Lake, Quebec 60K 1A0