Document vBvxmdJQox3qyNp11MX7Gak3Y

FILE NAME: Celanese (CEL) DATE: 1987 May 25 DOC#: CEL055 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Board Meeting Minutes - Asbestos and Health - Publicity Problems ! - i !( I ] ( J l. o JEXH IBll s s G -iH - J Turner 4 Newell U m lted B 2 i rd Meeting - ?Sih May, | H I A a b u ie i uid IfeaHh rubj Icily Problem ! 35 U fa) I * * ik d to mka a report to the nord on tha cu rren t ettuatton on th is to p ic , I think tha ltord m ay ap preciate aum m ary of tha backf round ftraU * ltlatnry Aa tha Itnard ia aware, aabeatoala (diffusa fib ro sis of tha lung) haa been a recogn ised problem alnr* about 1R3Q, anti alnca titan a vary large amount o l Group ca p ita l, revenue ami m an agerial effort haa bean expended on controlling amt dim inishing the incidence of Ihla d is e a s e , No cu re haa yat been found; tha d is e a s e , nnca begun, la irrev eraib la and alm oat Invartahly ahoriena life, except whara aoma other quite diettnet cauae of death aupervanra. T h era la good evlden rr that in ou r fa c t o r ia l rood IWon a ir a n o* auch that vary fa * n r* caaea are n o* being cauaed, tu t aa the d laraaa ca i. taka 30 o r even 30 y e a rs to develop caaea w ill continue la ba In itia lly diagnosed fur a guod m.m y y eara to co m a. At present new n o tificatio n s in the I I ,K , are o c c u rrin g at the r a t a -------Of about BO a y e a r, with a trmlency still to In c re a se , Tha annual num lier of d e a th a haa rla rn to 64 In the laal two y e a r s , com pared with 40 a y e a r from 1861 . 1964 and only 2B a y e a r In thu ten y e a ra from IB S l . i9 6 0 , The total num ber of deatha from 1675 to the end Of 1W8 waa 776, Tha reaeona why the Improved condition In fa c to rla a which data b a c k . In p a rt, fo r o v er So y e a rs - have not ceu aed'lh a num ber o f new dlagnoaee to paaa the peak by now are fo u r-fo ld . F ir s tly , because the tneulatlon contracting aide of the Induetry aria not object to R egulation and did not re a lise ita danger In .tim e; m oat o f the new ca a e a a re now a rla ln g on that aid e, cauaed m ain ly by conditions 10-30 y e a rs ago. Secondly, because the population am ployed tn the Industry In creased rapidly during the IBSO'a and this population la now getting older and more liable to develop dlaeaaa of one kind o r an oth er. T h ird ly , b e c a u ir o f the strik in g fa ll In the Incidence o f tu b rrcu lo ela and the death rata from pneumonia and othar cheat d iaraaea, eo that m ore people liable to cheat trouble-tive lo n g e r and get aa b e a to a la . And fourthly, because methods of diagnosis a ra getting atead tly k een er and a re causing the M e d ica l Panels to diagnoa* d isab ility at an e a rlie r stag* than b efo re. Even If no new caaea were being diagnosed, the number of deaths of aab eatoala ea se s la bound to rtae fo r a good many ja a r a yet, becauaa the e x la tin g caaea cauaed by exposure y e a rs ago are getting old er and when they die - many of them well after retirem ent age Inquests are held and thair deatha are associated, at least partly, with aabeatoala. *'*''*-e*4(n 11 a4 0 t 1***' i i i U l l l . J O i uuj I ft I fI : C II A further factor which attracta m edlcel attention and ad v rr publicity la that an in rr ra a ln i proportion o f aaliaaloala ca se s now develop lung ean err aa a eerom lary effect, This tncraaaa, oddly enough. ta partly dun to a substantial r ite tn tha aapactatlon o f Ilf* o f aib aalo ala eaaaa dua to Improved cnndltlona. Aa a resu lt o f thraa farila, much m ed ical re a e a rrh in many P rl o f the world haa barn fo cu aanl In tha laat ten year a nn tha health problem * of aaliraln a, ( r a i l i n g to international m p illral rn n frra n ca a aad the puMliratlon nf many paper, all of whlrh errata unfavourelil publicity) even whan tha ra a a a rrh a ra lham aalvaa a re not a c tiv e ly h oatil* to tha Induatry o r courting personal fam e, aa a om i o f tham ara, 1 -r 't J A p lara o f m r d lr a l ra a ra rrh In Capatnwn In I OBJ Indicated that many lung nf Ihr urban population rontalnrd bodies whlrh w art, o r Inokrd vary lik e, thr "frrmpitnma Imtllaa" whlrh a ra found In tha lung* of aaliralna w o rk e rs, AHItmicM thraa (todies are lia rm le a a 'ln them arIvaa - and It haa atnra lirrn ataiwn that vary a lm ila r bodies CM ba rauaad liy many d lfir r r n t dual* whlrh ara praaant In urban Ufa 1 tha suggestion waa made that asbestos may ha a "g e n e ra l urban h a ta r d ", and ihla haa bran m uch w ritten ami talked about In ISib llc H ealth CtreW a, F in a lly , what re a llv caught th* public attention In Mrltalft waa the dlarn very flra t In A fr ic a and than In and around tha Capa A abeaioa Com p an y1 factory tn Harking of an asso cia tio n between aih eato a amt the ra re form of ra n ce r railed m eaolhelln m a, W hlla ihla dtaraae which k llla rapidly la predom inantly aaaoclated with e ro c id o lltr, there la aoine evidence of an o c c a ilo n a l asso cia tio n with c h r y io t llt , and ihla cannot lw absolutely denied. I h l a su m m ary m ay aeem Hong but It la a v ary b r l f and aalectlvw digest o f an enorm ous subject, ft w ill, perhaps, aarve ta show the magnitude of ou r problem . Research Problem s ( Tha m ain d iffic u lty la that Ih e e a a c t causation o f the patholpgy 1 not yet um laratorid. and ao no one can Bay why aom a types O or origin* of aabeaioa may be m ore dangerous than o th rra, or why tha range of au arep tlb llity tn Individuals a re m i to range from a lm o a t.R ll to quite rapid Involvem ent; there te even some eviden ce, re c e n tly , that tha trou bles m ay be m ainly cauard not by the asb estos it s e lf bui by in fin ite sim a l tra ce e lrm rn la o f metal from tha b eaters of tha opening m achin es In the m ills . (This might e ip la in why d ise a se s are relatively rare among the m in e r ) ) Three problem ar now being studied in elm oet every m a jo r industrial country. P ublicity in tbs U . K . Tha allegatio n . m ain ly tn r*grd to m eaolh ellom a, and even thla 1 v e ry questionable - that quit# light eip oeu re to aebeatoe duet could be dangerous hae led to alarm among docker* and also to very damaging and a la rm la i aiatem enia about the danger o f using \ Continued 0 - " 05 Q7 9 9 1 7 : 2 1 FAX 1 4 1 0 4 4 5 23 68 42 0 3 u J .1 'l 'J j Iha H r lt la h n rlttn g fc A ab* toa G ro u p and C JE F C O L l d . , and tha liin rio n b r a n d i of n A m e ric a n flr m . H ill A Know lton Inte m atto n ai, Hat barn app oln tad aa l*\il>tlc llr la llo n C o n au lian ta, T h a ir job ariti b t ta com b ai and, (f p n ia ih le , to t o r r a U ll arfvaraa p u b lld iy la a ll rp ia rlrra , A P rra a C n n fr rance haa barn arran cad on IBlh May and thr P ra a i Itrla a a a w il l hava b ra n taan by tha T< k N . D ir a clora bafora thla r t p o r l la c ir c u la tr d . Coriaa nf P r e d ic o bava barn publtehrd far Iha InauUtton and Itulldlng C o n ti ruotino Induairlaa, A pamphlet add raaaadte dnrkera haa b rrn co m p ie r !, wllh r oUatiorelton from Ih# l 'o r i o f l/imhin A u llin rlly, thr N allnnal A aaorlailon of l'o r i Km ptoyera, * thr Union, thr M lnlatry n( Inlm ur ami varlnua m rdiea aulhorltlaa (avrry word haa in br eh erkn t ami agrerd with many propia an anlunua and U rn a-con au m ln g p ro rr l and w lll hava barn publiahad brfor* hi rrp o rl a p p ra ra , A pnigram m a o f g a ttin i thla U aflat arrota la bamg pianori! by M r, Ilo of T , A , F , 1-td, and by M r, W, P, Howard, o u r P u b lic Hr tallona O f fica r. M attine ara baing plannrd wllh interaated M .P .'a and co n ta d a hava b ran o r ara batng maria noi on|y w llh Iha aeadam la m c a r r h e r bui w ith lln lv a r a iiy and oiher authorlttae who m ay ba llk rly in r m lt riam egtng p m n m in rrm rn la. A ll tha G ro u p 1a b l| cualnm era and Ih r ir m a d lra l eilvieera hava baan contactad by tha Unii Cam panie c o n c rm rd o r by ih Grm ip'a M edicai A d v ia a r, D r, Kftoa, bui untll It can bn proveri thnl no rtaka a ria * from ualng iha Group' produca iha tandrney o f Vuatom rra to play for aafaiy by looUng for atiam attva m a la r la l* can ba co m b a tti only by vary activa aelllng of tha u p arlor a lir a c llo n a o f a a b a ito a . John WaddaU. a ! s i e