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FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA DATE 1972 July 16 DOC NMA067 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION NYT Article - Asbestos Detected in Test of Drugs Asbestos Detected in Test of Drugs By JANE E. BRODY New York Times Current file Jul 16 1972 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York York Times 1851 - 200 Pg 29 Asbestos Detected in Test of Drugs By BREO . D BROY DY have A of injectable drugs widely used in medicine found contaminated of asbesa t minoersal parts was detected vironment in two studies by a research team at Mount Sinai School of Medicine The researchers showed that third of the tested samples of 17 popular drugs contained the harmful particles All the drugs tested which included many common antibiotics are only by intraven- administered under orintramuscular injection under supervision We have no idea how seri- ous this contamination is since we don't know what happens to humans injected with asbes search at Mount he at Sinal added at i . higher found in the drugs asbestosasbestos drugs asbestos can produce cancer when injected into lab oratory animals In view of the possibility that it lower could doses produce | we consider it prudent to get rid of this mineral in drugs especially since its presence is the journal Science Results of the first study done in 1969 were reported to the F.D.A. in October of that ment and Federal ment Federal agency, but no action was taken then samples The second study on gathered in 1970 and 1971 showed that the drugs still con- asbestos significant tained significant amounts of The Mount Sinal team Dra William Nicholson Carl J. and J Maggiore and Dr. Selikoff all experts in environmental medi- cine suspect that asbestos fil- ters used in manufacturing the drugs are the source of the con: tamination Dr. Armond Casola chief chemist of the F.D.A.'s Bureau of Druga said that if such fil- ters were found to be a source of the asbestos fibers he would recommend their discontinu- ance He added that adequate substitutes are available The finding of asbestos ticles in drugs is one in a list of environmental sources the mineral fibers The air breathed by most urbanites contains such fibers which are used lining fireproofing in building conditioning ducts and in brake linings among many other uses Dr. Selikoff and his col- leagues have demonstrated that exposure to asbestos fibers -- --present serious health hazards He has found that among asbestos workers deaths from a variety of can- the including cancer of lung and of the gastrointestinal are far more common lationamong the general popu- Asbestos - related diseases have also been found to occur more often expected expected among fibers with than people exposed the by virtue of having lived an asbestos worker or lived in the vicinity of asbestos loperations Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission