Document rgmY9YReV8qV62gXjDD6nxr7
BCOO Of'^O PRODUCED BY FORD
jry t/8 m
S^t?7Sy f< T iO l;
Industrial Hygiene Digest
December 1 <174
1501/74 Asbestos Industry Croup Says No Health Hazard From Drukc Linings Exists.
The results of three research projects carried out over the last six years support the conclusion that emissions from brake lining wear are not a significant source of asbestos in the environment, says the Asbestos Informa tion Association/North America, in o pamphlet. When brakes are applied, the high heat of friction converts more than 99 percent of the asbestos in the lining to a non-fibrous, non-toxic material called fosteritc, it said. Total airborne emissions of free asbestos fiber from brake lining wear umount to about 2i tone each year for the United States, or less than one-half of one percent of the total particulate emissions in a city the size of Los A...-vie,, in a sini'le day. it avood. '1 he alcu.ated contribution of asbestos from brake lining wear to the air in - typical urban arte if. lebi than D.J7 na:;o(*rums per curie meter of air, the association aaid.
--Occupational Health i Safety Letter 4: 0. November 8, 1974
T COMING EVlNTT
Feb. 4-7 Feb. 10-13 Feb. 15-19 Feb. 24-25 Feb. 24-28 Feb. 24-28 Feb. 26-27
Feb. 27War. 1
Society of Plastics Industries' Conference on Reinforced Plastics/Composites. Shoreham Americana Hotel, Washington, D.C. Write: SPI, 250 Park Avenue, New Pork, N.J. 1002?
American College of Cardiology, Houston. Write: William 0. Nclligan, 9650 Rockville Pike, Betheeda, HD 20014
American Acadeny of Allergy, Town and Country, San Diego, Calif. Write: Junes 0. Kelley
225 P Hichigan Street, Milwaukee, VI 53202
'
5th Institute on Noise Control Administration, Breckenridge Ramada Inn, St. Petersburg, Fla. Write: Institute on Noise Control, P.O. Box 2164, Bethlenem, Pa. 18017
System Safety. Short Course No. 104, George Washington University. Write: Director
Continuing Education, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20012
10th Institute on Noise Reduction, Breckenridge Ramada Inn, St. Petersburg, Fla. Write:
Institute on Noise Control, P.O. Box 3264, Bethlehem, Pa. 2801?
2nd Institute on Noise Control for Engine Powered Equipment, Breckenridge Ramada Inn,
St. Petersburg, Fla. Write: Institute on Noise Control, P.O. Box 3264, Bethlehem. Pa.
1801?
.
Training Course for Audiometric Technicians in Industry. Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio. Write: David A. Metz, Ph.D., Cleveland State University, East 22nd
and Eucl 'd Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
[ LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS'!
1502/74 SPI Petitions Secretary for Stay of VC Standard for Lack of Respirators.
Petition for stay of the effective date of the standard for occupational exposure to vinyl chloride was filed with
the Secretary of Labor by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc.. on November 5. Primary ground for the
petition is that respiratory protection requirements of the standard set by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration on October 4 "are beyond the compliance capabilities of the industry." according to the petition
filed by SPI Counsel .lerome H. Heckman. Keller and Meckinan, Washington, D.C. The petition said the equip
ment permitt''d is not yet appro", vd i.y the il.iiumol Institute for Occupational Safety cr.d I f-. aitb r.-.t! f<: a; -
proval were gained, the prescribed equipment u nut now. nor wiii it bt. oi. January 3, lllia, ir. &uf:n ,e:,t sup
ply to enable industry to comply. The petition requested that the stay be grunted until such time as sufficient
quantities are available or until a court determines the outcome of suits filed on the standard by SPI and others.
--Occupational Safety L Health lleporter 4: 651, November 7, 1974
*
1503/74 <100 for a Phone Number.
A supply company in Itasca, Illinois, was cited with failure to provide firefighting equipment, not controlling
trip and fall hazards, having incomplete hollow-pan stairs, not guarding floor holes, and foiling to post emer
gency phone numbers. The company argued that no such hazards existed. The Review Commission Judge
agreed that the firm need not provide firefighting equipment because there was no fire hazard, but the affirm
ed the stair and floor hole violations. The judge also slapped on a <100 penalty not originally sought by OSHA
for the firm's failure to post the telephone numbers of doctors, a hospital, or ambulance services. He lull that the delay ir providing emergency medical treatment could imve Kcriou.- consequences. The Review Commis-
vijn concurred .
--Occupational
|Hi: 78, November 1674
8000 0041
....................
' PRODUCED BY FORD
%0;>
January 10, 1975
John U. Damian
t
tI
Dr. Mr.
D. R-
L. L.
Block
Gealer J
fir D. A Jensen
Mr. H. L. Misch
Mr. W. E. Schwieder
t 5
i
For your information.
8O0C 0042 PRODUCED BY FORD
i *" news metros
Passenger Cars Called Big Wafer Polluters
Besides polluting the air, the family car also pollutes rivers and lakes, according to a new study by Biospherics Inc.. Rock ville. Md. Automobiles, the re search firm has found, spread a troublesome layer of materials over the road. Rain then washes
much of the pollution into the surface waters draining the area.
For more than a year, Bio spherics teams have vacuumed
blocked-off sections of the Capi tal Beltway and other area roads, and meticulously analyzed
the debris. Among the findings: Counting all area highways,
from Washington, D. C. out to the Beltway, 55 tons of pollut
ants are dropped a day, nearly
20,000 tons a year. Private cars, which outnumber trucks five to one, account for most of the wastes.
On the Capital Beltway alone, vehicles deposited 16 tons of sol
id waste a day, nearly 6,000 tons a year.
Laboratory analysis shows that the materials include as bestos from brake linings. ruP ber from tires, zinc from oil and tires, lead from gasoline, other heavy metals, and nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Rain
washes most of these pollutants from the highways, into storm-
drains, and then into area streams where they degrade the
quality of the water.
Ot all the substances found in
the roadway debris, asbestos is
perhaps the most potentially
hazardous. Nitrates and phos
phates promote unsightly algal
growth. Toxic materials may
harm some forms of stream life. The bacterial content of the
water is also increased. For
hours following a rainstorm, the
road runoff is almost as strong
as municipal sewage in terms of
many pollutants. The findings
thus have identified another,
heretofore unsuspected, source
of Potomac pollution.
``Altogether, when the data for
the Washington area are pro
jected to the entire country,
roadway pollution from cars be
comes a critical national prob
lem," according to Donald G.
Shaheen, Biospherics' project
manager. "Extrapolating to a
national scale, 100 million cars
and 20 million other vehicles
deposit a staggering three and one half million tons of pollut
ants a year on American high
ways," he said.
-
I
, *'W'
Laser Measures Polymer's Molecular Weight
The laser is aiding in the solution of another difficult scientific problem--measuring the molecular weight and size of polymer ma terials. Dr. Andrew Wims, of the analytical chemistry department, General Motors Research Laboratories, pioneered this method that helps chemists determine possible new applications of plastics and other polymers. Wims is shown aligning the laser source in the light-scattering photometer he designed and built
To make the technique more widely available to the technical community, Wims is now helping to develop specifications for light scattering photometry that can be used with laser beams or other light sources. The standard test procedure is to be published by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Using the laser beam allows scientists to make more precise measurements of mo lecular weight than was possible with conventional mercury vapor lamps as the light source.
*
First Step Toward Offshore Nuclear Plants
Atomic Energy Commission has docketed for review the ap
plication to manufacture eight floating nuclear powerplants
submitted by Offshore Power
Systems, an enterprise of
Westinghouse Electric Corp. and
Tenneco Inc. This marks the
first time that a standardized
plant manufacturing application
has been accepted for review
under the AEC's new regulatory
procedures, according to OPS
president A. P. Zechella.
Next step in the process will
be an in-depth review with the
AEC that is expected to last ap
proximately
years. Then a
public hearing will be held on the manufacturing application.
Final step will be the issuance of
the license.
OPS has already sold two 1.15
million kW units to Public Serv ice Electric & Gas Co., which
plans to locate the plants about
2.8 miles off the coast of New
Jersey.
Machine Desion
8 0 00 O ii` i-1
' PROD! TPPn pv mtm