Document peqeanMVvjbYD72xv111JKD0X

Kr. Herman Klcy, General Manager, Atlantic iiviaicn K. . . ShefcjMflkerj MID Atl, biv. : ng. Asbestos Textilo Institute - 3/7/56 Air Iiygiono Committee Meeting Li*.'- vj v;; D March 13, 1956* Vill you please express ay sincere thanks to Mr. Muohlech Cor ay attendance - at this mooting. I was sorry not to find anyone from Kcasbey and Mattison Company there so that 2 could do it personally. 3 did find from tbo management people present that two of the companies are Insured by Employers Mutual, one by Ponna. Mfrs. and the others are self- insured. Mr. Gatke* another guest and owner of a textile mill in Chicago, ' spoke very highly of our Mr. John Skinner, n. 0. Industrial Hygienist whom he had known before Mr. Skinner come with ua. X am writing the attached letter to tiie conaittoo chairman who is manager of a local plant which is now cslf-insurcd. " j.. Shese meetings are usually closed affairs, as I understand, and future sclieitation for some of the members* business might best coao after more attendance if ve are asked, nowever, Ife*. Kuchloch could be of greater assistance to you on this score. 2 picked up rjuite a lot more technical information then I am putting in ) %his.report to you, 'but believe the rest would bo of main interest only to -nginecring department representatives serving asbestos .textile plants, of which us have a number beside Koasbcy n Matt!son. It occurred to mo that you would like to be briefed on what this industry's problems are and what they arc trying to cc about them in the hope of promoting continued advan tageous relations with Mr. Muohlech. Summary: (1) The substantial segments of the U. S. fc Canadian asbe-stes industry represented here have the makings of excellent control ovor what can be very costly occupational diacaso claims, in my opinion. Essential .A. good factors ares (a) Interest of fchair top managements-- at least . -?? what appears to bo a desire to produce minimal health hazards in processing of asbestos, (b) Operating management accept responsibility'^! . for and participate directly in solving health hasard problems in several of the member companies, (c) They have boon discerning enough$t: to seek out the most reliable sources of technical help on knotty problems, both enginering aR medical. 1 (2) typical program operated by theso companies: (a) Pro-employment physical examination, including lung x-ray read by nationally recognised authorities. Kcasbey It Matt icon tev orcel3c*..t facilities for mi eh x-ray diagnosis locally, but American Mutual have not interested themselves in this 1 pr'-llon beyond the local plants. Cue of our able competitors vV?f *y..i, WV-04349 licraan Klcy. I r'2 arch 13, 2956* incist cn a nationwide basis that a 11 x-ray plates be ob served by Dr. H. 0. dander, probably the nation*a lcacine authority on occupational chest diseases. fb) icriedic cheat x-rnya, usually at least every two years. (c) Their own ventilating engineering staffo to design and be responsible Tor proper functioning of ventilating equipment. (d) Poricdic dust counting procedure tc ebook the effectiveness of the engineerins control weacarcc. done companies do their own counting, others depend on insurance company or state cervices, others use private consultants tc do this technical work. (In tho last several years, Keasbcy ti Jettison, against our advice, have given up periodic duet counting which they used to be equipped to do thorns clvc ) to) ?roo interchange of engineerin3 control ideas among tho sevci'ul wember companies represented hero. {) Several tiais during the last 10-15 years, member compandea have joined in having their plants examined by the Industrial Hygiene ?curdat ion. The original examination included dust counts, engineering recommendations and medical control voccrtfvradaticnn Here recently. c.nly dust count tnirv07 was conducted, nines such reports may have proved aomewhat too costly, the plants have made combined dust count survey by taking their cvm samplec and bavin 1horn analysed by tho industrial health technicians of Travelers Inourance Company. 03 bhii the commendable health control measures instituted some 15lb years ago by Kc&sbey ts Mattison and others have done yeoman service in keeping lung disability claims well ulthin a reasonable coat firuro during a critical period of disease disability legislative liberalisation, what they arv dcinrj cmd net doing nrw appear* Jus he not completely adequate to moot a serious nnvi threat that can b ex pected to increase future disability claims considerably* This threat is th alleged causal relationship between lung cancer and exposure to asbestos dust. Vhat ar: the signs cn the horiton? (a) An award has Veen mad within tho last year in Terma. definitely connecting asbestosis and cancer of the lung. This is the first state handing down such cn award* It is particularly darning uti Pcnna. lew is net as literal as#most state lav?s in allowing awards for aggravation, (b) k. c. Uuoper,'tt.., Director, Motional Cancer Institute, Federal Security Agency is now quite vocal, without adequate factual data to back him up, that asbestos dust will cause lung cancer. Literature Deferences: rufclic health Monoseraph Ho* 36, published over Dr. Kueper*e name by the national Institute of Health. Ho also is quoted in an J[Y editorial in the American Journal of Pathology (flov. *55 issue, I believe) as saying that anyone living near an asbestos plant can get v, Herman Klcy* ran* *3 Karen 13, 19 ?6. ipg cancer* lluopcr has hocn Quite reliable in proving the cancer causing properties cf quite a number c? 'commodities but very reliable medical opponents so; he goes eff the ticep end and accuocs ether materials of having cancer causing properties without sufficient Tactual basis for hi* statAwnt, >.r* Kenneth Snith of lotos Kanvillo accuses him of the latter in the ease of arbestes. Investirations in the asbestos nines cf Canada where nodical records are complete for son years may give RCRC indication of a slight relationship but present cexiled data is too Iriof to give a conclusive answer to auch a relationship* Hence, the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association is new undertaking a hrcad-acnlo n-rvoy of vital statistics, not only among cahootos nine workers tot similar Q:.nodIan population control groups, to try to determine reliably if there is causal relationship between lung cancer and exposure to asbestos* This survey ia to be conducted by tho Industrial Hygiene foundation who are viaoly drawing on tho skill of well known institutional medied authorities as well as statistical experts of tho V. S* public Health Service. (c> Another alar:aing aspect of this situation is that lung cancer is now in epidemic proportions among the n* 8. public in general. Cancer of all kinds new causes 16 per cent of all deaths and is second in im portaaco onlv to heart 41sea8cs4 Three per cent of all people now die of lung cancer* This moans that out of every one hundred people employed in asbestos industries (or any ether industry for that laatter) three will die of lung cancer. Vifch a *nad dog" like Ur* Kueper loose* on tho subject of asbestos, future claim results can b alarming. Ic* Ihxooor testified fer tho claimant in tho penna. ..case mentioned above. (4) The Air Hygiene Committee of the Ashestiv* Tortile Institute are hav ing hr* Kenneth smith report on this situation peroonally to their Board of Coverners today. The coimaittee is recommending that con sideration be given tc having tho Industrial Hygiene Foundation pre pare a proposal for conduct cf an epidemiologic survey of y. S* asbestos products industries along the lines cf the one to b made in Canada, to determine if titer is an asbestos-cancer relationship* The purpose of the survey will be the compilation of reliable factual .information by an impartial institution end the giving of wide publicity in the literature to the findies to try to forstall the asbestos industry being tagged with a lot of human disabilities that do nothave causal relationship with asbestos at all. In other words, even conscientious industrial physicians at present have little if any authoritative literature to refer to on this subject. What the sur vey should come up with is information such as the glass and portland cement industries developed sc.ho years a;.o finding that dust ospcsure in thcoc industries shoalu net he considered to be a silica baserd. Those present at the meeting; Ar, Ketsr (an peratiu;; executive) American Asbestos Textile Corp* Herrictcirri, I*enne W' ^ V W r. Borman XI y. I Page tf'U torch 13, 1956. Hr. Donald B. tfolmea, Manager' Aston-Iilll Manufacturing Ccr.pany Philadelphia 27, Penna. Mr. Hugh K. Jackson, Director of Health Services Johns-Manyillo Corp. 22 East 40th Street, New York 16, 1T. Y. Kenneth W. Smith, M. D. JoJins-Monvillo Corp. 22 Daat l|Oth Street, Hew York 16, h.V. (J-K specialist on asbestoais) Mr. Lautenbergcr, Manager Baybostos-Manhattan, Inc. Hanheia, Pa. Hr. Schmidt, Chief Engineer Southern Asbestos Co. Charlotte 1, W. C. Mr. G* E. Houghton, Chief Engineer Carlock Packing Co. Palmyra, H.Y. Mr. Gatke, Ovmor Asbestos Textile Co. (?) Chicago, ill. he next meeting of this committee will bo in the fall when the members will * the guesfca of the Johns-Hanvilie Corp. at their largo mining facilities u Quebec* i * u-v* *. ({ /> * `kt Mr* V. V. Pallontine, Phila.Dist.Kng.Kgn I: Mr. John B* Skinner, Industrial Hygienist, 21. o. >' *