Document qamr42XqJaKD0LNdXZ5pr8DE5

Or Phase-Outof RemainingAsbestos Uses *r * `tr By Andy Pasztok and Raymo.no A. -Josevh I Staff Reporters of ThkWau. Stbkct Jouhmau WASHINGTON-The Environmental Pro ; Raymark Corp., Trumbill, Conn., asserts that its use of asbestos probabiywouldn't be affected Immediately. The company said its tection Agency intends.to propose in the asbestos is used mainly in friction materi next few months a ban or phase-out of as als, like car brakes and clutches. bestos in the few products that still contain . In a related development, the Labor De it. . ' partment said its Occupational Safety and EPA Administrator William Ruckeishaus Health Administration wilt expand work- . agreed in principle with a package of pro place inspections seeking possible violations posed regulations against the carcinogen of its asbestos-exposure rules. The that goes beyond any action the Reagan ad job-safety agency estimated it will triple ministration was considering only a few such inspections to about 700 over the next months ago. agency- officials said. year in the construction and manufacturing Nevertheless, any such ban would come industries, focusing on demolition sites and long after the asbestos industry-battered manufacturers with records of asbestos vio- h by thousands of suits from asbestos workers iations. ; - and users-has shrunk severely. About 300 . OSHA said it will inspect demolition sites companies once used asbestos in their prod that have notified the EPA that asbestos de- j ucts, but use has decreased as the danger molition or removal will occur. Previously. I ous effects of asbestos have become known. OSHA inspectors often didn't know about j The U.S. Bureau of Mines said U.S. con possible asbestos-rule violations at such i sumption reached a high of 795,000 metric sites because the work was completed ! tons'in 1973; according to the EPA, current quickly. The cooperative effort with the ; annual consumption is about 127,000 metric EPA is to last six months. .j tons. In the 1970s, the government banned cer- j The EPA intends to ban all uses of cer tain `sprays containing asbestos used for in- I tain construction products such as cement sulation and decoration of new buildings. ! pipes, roofing materials and floor coverings And the EPA ordered schools to perform i that contain asbestos, a fibrous mineral safety checks to determine it fibers from as- ! used in fireproof materials. In addition, the bestos insulation posed a health threat to | agency is writing proposed regulations that students. Recently, the EPA lias been under j place a cap on the amount of asbestos used increasing pressure from lawmakers, envi- ! for all other products and set up a timetable romentai groups and cancer experts at for phasing out all but a few minor uses other federal agencies to crack down on fu- j over the next few years.' ture use of the material. | In the past, senior Reagan administration appointees at the EPA have argued that ! there wasn't adequate scientific evidence to ; warrant tough action against asbestos. They j also asserted that banning or phasing out the material would be too costly in most in- j stances, and they wanted voluntary action by industry to reduce public exposure to as bestos. Rut Edward Klein, director of the office that is drafting the proposals, said the EPA now considers asbestos to be a "proven car- rinogen" that should be phased out quickty. He noted that industry has developed a vari ety of substitutes. Denver-based Manville Corp., the major asbestos-products maker, said the EPA ac tion probably would have "veiy little impact on us" because the company has been re placing asbestos with such materials as fi berglass. Manville filed for protection under Chap ter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code last year to ward off thousands of lawsuits from plaintiffs who claimed injury or death of retaiives from asbestos. The material can cause cancer and asbestosis, an emphy sema-like disease that gradually impairs 'HIE WAU. STREET JOURNAL Tuesday, October -J. 10S3 breathing through scarring of the lungs. Manville. once known as the largest as bestos company in the Western world, re cently sold its large Canadian asbestos-min ing operations. In Danbmy, Conn.. Union Carbide Corp. said it didn't know how any EPA action 1 would affect its mining operations in Colo rado. where it operates a small asbestos mine. Moreover, Union Carbide said, it "probably won't have much of an effect on u$ because our kind of asbestos is of high purity." Bat the company said its asbestos ; floor tiles and corking materials. cAPCO JEN 0010810