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COaJ F / A E/U T~/ Ft E. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH REPORTER ventilation zones (a separate air circulating zone) and emergency procedures should be pre-programmed, Rozian said. Induded in many suggestions regarding research should be a cost risk and benefits assodated evaluation, Rozian said. Improved housekeeping should be a regular respon sibility to prevent impeding the escape. To defray the cost of the research suggested, Rozian called for a SO percent subsidy carried by the state and Federal Govern ments. Research also should be pursued of the modes of combustion, he said. Other areas in which he made recommendations in cluded telemetry' and communications, standby lighting systems, research on physiological tolerance levels, and rescue vehicles. The interest of the Internal Revenue Service is in having one set of regulations acceptable to all government agencies concerned so that there will be no interagency conflict and the public will not be confused, Donald L. Briggs, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fuearms Division, Internal Revenue Service, told the subcommittee. Asbestos COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE, RECORDS Requirements concerning medical surveillance and re cords are specified in recommciulations' of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos to be submitted to the Assistant secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health George C. Gucnther. The recommendations, as appro red in a meeting held in Washington February 22, follow: smoking habits shall be recorded, and smoking shall be discouraged. Examination for rales and fingers clubbing shall be performed. Sputum cytology is recommended annually on those workers with 10 or more years exposure to asbestos; and if atypia or greater classification is manifest, subsequent sputum examinations should be conducted on a six month basis. A comprehensive termination medical examination shall include physical examination, chest roentgenogram, FJC and FEV 1.0, and questionnaire for respiratory symp toms. Pre-employment and termination medical evaluations shall not be required, if a similar comprehensive medical evaluation has- been performed within a 12 month period. (21 Records. The physidan(s) charged with the imple mentation of the medical program shall maintain the appropriate medical records. Only HEW and DOL physi cians and medical consultants and physicians designated and authorized by the employees shall have access to the medical record. Medical records shall be maintained for a period of time to be determined by the Secretary of Labor in consultation with the Secretary' of Health, Education, and Welfare. The vote to accept the proposed recommendation vas three members for, Andy Haas, Asbestos Workers Inter national against, and Isaac Weaver, corporate direct rr, Environmental Controls, Raybestos-Manhattan Corpora tion abstaining* The proposed recommendations do not adequately provide for proiection of confidentiality of records and they should be more specific with regard to the period of time for which records are kept, Haas said. He will submil a minority report at the next meeting. H. Medical (1J Surveillance. A comprehensive pre-employment history and physical examination shall be performed on all worker applicants. Tnis shall include a chest roentgeno gram (posterior-anterior 14 x 17 inches) and baseline pulmonary' function including forced vita! capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory' volume at one second (FEV 1.0). Health education should emphasize the hazards of as bestos and the importance of gcod occupational health practices. Periodic medical evaluation is required annually on all workers with 10 or more years exposure to asbestos and every two years on workers with less than 10 years exposure. Periodic medical evaliation also is required annually on those individuals: (!) who show roentgenographic findings (such as small opacities, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and pleural calcification) which suggest or indicate pneumoconiosis or otner reaction to asbestos or (2) who have changes in pulmonary function which indicate restrictive or obstructive lung disease. Periodic medical evaluation shall include a chest roentgenogram '''osterior-antcrior 14 x 17 inches), spirometry including /C and FEV 1.0, and a questionnaire for the presence and degree of respiratory symptoms including breathless ness, cough, sputum production, and wheezing. Current Standard Modified The recommendations for airborne concentration were amended by deleting the second sentence beginning with "Determination" and ending with "Asbestos," and adding "Paragraph (a) of* before "this section" in the last sentence, and "of S fibcrs/cc time weighted average" after "standard" in the las; sentence. (Current Report, Feourary 17, p. 864). Weaver said after reviewing the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's criteria package and two earlier drafts' of criteria and the interim standard, he believed reduction to the two fiber limit could not be justified.-Later- criteria contained "tenuous data" and fragmentary information that cannot be supported by scientific facts at this time. Weaver said. Adoption of the two fiber limit would lead to unemployment and in creased costs in the asbestos industry. Weaver will subnet a minority report presenting his views. Proposed recommendations with regard to house keeping and protective clotlung will be developed and included under Methods of Compliance. Recommenda tions on allowable respirators, particular operations and products, warning labels and signs, and monitoring and records also will be presented and disc usseda^h^texi meeting. " >t '' '\ USX-1258