Document x5b2m8E89r48Q8X8M6DQMXzB0

FRICTION MATERIALS STANDARDS INSTITUTE, INC,, E-210 ROUTE 4, PARAMUS, N. J. 07652 ~ne 22, 1978 To: Asbestos Study Committee Subject: Recent front-page story in THE RECORD {Hackensack, New Jersey) headlined: "Deadly dust-particles from asbestos brakes." Enclosed for your information is a copy of a recent article which appeared in THE RECORD, a Hackensack, New Jersey newspaper. The article was on Page 1, with continuation on Page 6. While this a'rticle is sent for information, it is typical of the articles which appear regularly in THE RECORD. It, perhaps, calls for a rebuttal. The authorities are, of course, Mr. Nicholson and Dr. Selikoff of Mount Sinai. There are several items which could be argued, but the main point is that the headlines do not describe the content of the story. The article does not document that there are indeed "deadly dust particles from asbestos brakes." It simply describes unsatisfactory procedures in local and regional brake repair shops. Its documentation is the "mesothelioma years after one day of exposure," and "the wives who washed their husbands' contaminated clothes." These two are the oft-repeated examples from Mount Sinai which have no relationship to the "deadly dust from brake linings." Other parts of the text are subject to argument including the following: " workers can also use shop vacuums that sell for $29 to $129. 11 "Jim Ducker said there are no safety directives on handling asbestos. 11 "There is no federal. law on hendling aebeetoa dust." " the refusal to take proper precautions seems suicidal." The tests on those who worked with insulation are not relevant to the exposure of brake repair workers, because both the types of asbestos used and the dosages to which workers are exposed differ radically. The foregoing is for your information. Comments are welcome. E. W. Dri slana Executive Director FMSI 06879 ,;..J THE RECORD Hackensack, New Jersey June 19, 1978 Page 1 --------- -- ------- ----------------/ ------ [Deadly.d.us~~p~rticl~~u~.:l.~ 19~~ 'f :' from asb' esto. s brak. es--. t~1-\ . _1, , By Lucy Komisar , 11111 Wrftlr .Difwe-started getting heavy Into daDo. ''Eipo&ure to gasoline fumes Js not , 1ers from cancer." sood for you either. 'lbey sbauld use 1. .1 1 1 Mechanic Dave Fernicola walks over He said he tried to talk his coworkerl- water. Just a damp rag will take the Into wearing the masks which the com- dust out. You don't want to use solvents. ' to a car that slants forward from the pany provides, hutP:l~y ignored him. _ YDitre not trying 'to clean up oil; you'n jack set under. Its rear end and bends to "It's uncomfortable,".smal:l:year-old- trying to clean up dust.'' touch the eKJIOSed metal wheel. Tim Walsh of Dmnont. He said he re- In Passaic County, road department 1 He holds out a finger covered with a' : 'moves the dust by brushing it or b101r , Supervisor Ala Komar _lllid braD -~-colored film. "Asbestos dust," ' 1ng it with an air hose, both estremeij \ workers~ vacuums to drathw out u- hti said. 1 ' dangerous. procedures.-- '- 1 . bestos particles. However ey do DOt To remove the dust, Fernicola, 21, who works at Circle Brake Service in .Hackensack, wipes the brake drums . ' . Michael Maresca, 18, of Ridgeflelcl Park also rejects the mask. "I don't be-. .lleve In it, if you're going to die, you're _weE1avreomn vawskehsen=orv\wace~ut ud~mowsSn~ttheedIuUrpsftpa.~iledto, sbopm:. with a dry rag and then tosses the rag eoing to die,'' be said. . !:me at~ state police i-epm Into an open barrel. TrentCI1, said : Like most mechanldl, Fernicola lg- "Real problem" "'Ibe men ure IIJpposed to vacuum nores recommended procedures, a fall- Circle Brake Manager Tom Colella the dust off, but a lot of times if 100 lng that can lead to cancer or asbesto- laid he can't make the men wear the doa't watcll them, they don't do iL ' 'Sis. a chronic lung diseue caused bJ . masks. ''It's a real problem. I don't Sometimes they blow it off with a bose : Inhaling microscopic . asbestos fibers. ,, , know what to do myself," be said. ' and get it all over the sbop. Some men Anyone In the prage Is subject to the .. ' Jolm Weller, a mechanic at the Exxon use a brush, catch the dust, and throw It ,I8J11e hazards. . Service Center In OradeU, described . A recent survey of gara~ In New similar hazards. "A lot of people blut Jeney and New York revealed routine ' disregard tl these basic ufety proce- '. a(tnheovdeurstt]hewirtohoImD. alr 1'1\. let and that's It IJ1l'rl the .., ctureiL Woden interviewed were aU . tbey lb it here- WbeD tblt bappens, 1 aware at the buards: theY limply tg. ,. nored them or .took Ineffective precau- step out fi However the shop." Waller does .not f~?w .~ tlons. ommended Procecfure:s himself. I light- an:!'l1le National Institute for Occupation- al Safety and Health, a federal research agmcy, says asbestos dust should be . u~lyuLbnflHsahlelsOsaf~f1wdthnebeboankctnokoinwthlstep_iltagtr~eosu,~od~, the be to vacuumed not blown, from brake . drums and Doors. It rejects dry sweep- ' lng and cleaning tmder .any cirtum- 'c~l~eAaandiodfsf,:b"rl~acba~nd'tu~s~t b~ym~askm~yJt,~~!e:. 8 stances. H ventilation at the source of . the dust is inadequate, workers should supplied out and to me, but bJy me.., rm Dot abcU to 10 . wear ruter masks, the agency said, to' '!be masks cost Jess than $2 eac:b. . protect themselves from the d~. Workers in government garages pay In-the garage. "''!be air hose ill quicker," lie -Aid. '"The trouble is it spreads all over the llbop. When the workers take off their masks, they breathe the asbestos that II Ooating in the air." _ . Many workers ignore precautions be- cause the danger appears 110 far off - ~ incubation period for asbestos dil- eues is between 10 and 35 JUl'L Bm tbm the results are debilitating ad of. ~!teDD:r.faIttrthvaeiln~Mg oS~uenltik~~~tfheoncf~MR:~ieddi~c~waol ,o~Sdcbw~oboora ,W.-I~S '~d.WI provo~king to test workers wbo have been apoaed pre-Asbestos is used In brake linings be- move attention to the asbestos danger, to the dangerous fibers. .cause It Is resistant to the beat caused . but even they do not aluys follow New Jersey Health Department when the lining presses against the- ro- scribed safety practices. spokesman Mitchell Leon said the state biting wheel. ., , Car repair workers cant avoid work- lng with asbestos, but there are waya they can protect themselves, such 18 ~ ,lng mllsks or ~cuums. ,. , William Galdi, wbo beads the Bergen County Department cles, said, "We wash othf eMdoutsotrwitVhe~b~i- line or a cleaning solution. It comes dowu into a drain pan rather thaD get plans to work with Selikoff within the next few months to test state employees 'Who have been exposed to asbestos dust at the certra1 motor pool and state police garages. . . ' An irlclmtrial vacuum co5ts $1m, but workers can al110 use shOp vaeuuma that sen for $211 tc) $129. ,., 1 Fernicola wbo lives .In Paterson. said, "rve' been wearing a apuk for abiU foor years ~~nee I took a biology " blowu into the air." However William Nicholson, associate director of the En~ Sci~ Laboratory at Moum Sinai Medical School in New York, said that process is not recommeoded: '!be fibers that make up asbestcB dust float in the air unseen. Even abort e.- sure ean be dangerous. There are reports of ~rs cantracting mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer c:ausec:1 by asbestos, )UI'S after: ~ at. I'WUUaml. Patenal College, t 1 J ' l ' 0 one day ol ezposure In shipyards. FMSI 06880 \. .DeEidly dust from bt:~~e linini~ THE RECORD (Continued on Page 6) .,;mdent;,Last IDDilth New Yort City nu~~ .... -SamMey;ns, United Auto .-----~~-~--.. l&rage Where .to call-->Comx:il w~oorfkertshewAhomebreilcoaung to DillriCt ; Federatllaj Workers Local 259 In New York City, said medical eums condueted by Sell- ' . af State, County, and Mtmlcipal Eat-: ~ koff showed that some of the membera .. .ployees, began '< I Or ln1 ormatzonmedical tests. 4Jim Ducker, tahesuimniiolanr'spdr,oirgenc.a:tn'~1If1. af his uoim have been affected by apo- - -1'. su~re to ab.easitdciltbe -imiaD Wll t.Uillc :~'lI -1'. ensurehealth aaafety and safety, direc:lives on sbalinddltihDegreasabreetlt.al.':"J. ~ me.sur.- tO _safety rules. ..If a wocr:koemr pIlaillft.liwaWi.aa, ~ . The federal Office of Cancer Communic:ations says workers uposed to . The city's way of handling lrab . .- ; lhop doesn't wear a mast, the 1lllka ; *. put5 workers ln extreme -danger, ..,~ delegate Is c:decl." . --~- - .r.. <: said. '"lbey just blow it cd with 1111. He said wwkers must 1Plller . _ ~ Jae." .dust and U1e 'V8CUUIIIS: ''Jiirala! cbt.ll -~ 'Ibere is m federal law m ~ lndilaiminate. It goes iDto everybodt'a -; asbestos should DOt amoke and should get regular chest X-rays. A toll-free cancer infonnation se.rvice DID1lber, (800) 523-35116, bas been atab~ to answer questions from ubestol dust. 'lbe pemmeat airnpiJ lungs. If I'm working DeZ1 to .a Mlilll J the public. wsaoyrst tba1 in a employe;es bate safe e:uviroDmei:JL a .fill&.._ 11le OccSI- . .the "duttl. ..too. emanates, }'m - .~. ~ :- ~~ _.~...;:--)--; ::....__~:-..:."~. ~.~,-""-' _:..., ..-...._-._,-... -"""" -~-..J_. patimal Sa.fety aDd Health Adminjstm.. .: tion (OSHA), which enforces this . , requires that the amount .ri ~ dust in the air be below a certain liml. If OSHA inspectors find .ubestol Jnoell 1oo bigb, it can require a C:OIDPID.f tD . .take steps to reduce iL "' Finns are first supposed to Ret ellll ::: . Deering remedies such as a.ppJ;riDI muaYIICIJUIDS and having ahaust S)'lteml Installed. If that is DOt .mfic:ieut; lhould be provided. 'lbe dangers of lrab asbestOI dull are 10 well known that the niusal to take proper precautims seem5suicidaL At the Hudson Transit lines bus garage in Mahwah, Digbt foreman Ed McGuire said, "Usually we blow tbe dust out or wipe It with carbon tel" Clll'tlllll ~ 1 trachloride is a sol~ 10 bigbJy card~~-~, ogenic that it has been banned trw. l nonincbltrial .._ Asbestcs diseases have. i!veu"-.~t1 . wives wbo washed theirhushenda' CIIID- taminated clothes.. Asbestosis occurs when IC8I' tissue builds up around tbe particll!ll, making the lungs bard, inelastic. aud uaable. to bold much air. . Slmkers who are exposed tD ubestol_ . are eigbt times as likely to get lung cu. ceDr ra.sNoicthheorl.sromnookfersM.OUD1' Sinal aald :~:~~~~~jfJ~~tru~i~-~~~~~~;' be knew cl four brake workers wo bad been hospitalized for asbesto&-linked diseases. ADd. be said, be bad heard cil many atheB. . . Tests on those who work with insulA- tion, many forms of which c:onta1n as- bestos, have already shown a high rate of asbestosis and. cancer. Researchera are now testing brake mechanics. FMSI 06881 Gentlemen: This concerns the June 19 article in THE RECORD headlined "Deadly dust-particles from asbestos brakes." As Secretary for the Friction Materials Standards Institute, a trade association representing most domestic manufacturers of brake linings, I would like to comment on this article. It is a shame that the article as written, which accurately described conditions fo o.bA in local brake repair shops, had to be heaaliae~ with the scare headlines. The article might better have been headlined "Brake repair shops do not follow recommended precedures," but that wouldn't rate a page one headline. Your headline indicated that there was to be documentation that there are deadly dust particles from asbestos brakes. The article centered on what are apparently unsatisfactory procedures ~in local and regional brake shops. There -~<'L is a~ difference in exposure te as@estes east from brake lining where a shop drills, bevels, grinds or otherwise machines friction materials, and the shop that normally installs brakes without machining operations. The most ../l..ll(' IW'-" hazardous procedure in most brake~shops is the cleaning of dust from used brakes. While the Institute and most manufacturers recommend the use of respirators and high efficiency vacuum cleaning equipment, exposures in brake shops, the corner garage, the dealership and the mass merchandiser can in no way be compared with that in the municipal or industrial garage where friction materials are machined regularly throughout the day. There are disagreements among knowledgeable people as regards the health hazard from brake lining wear debris. Some, such as Mount Sinai claim that these submicron particles can be hazardous to those exposed to that dust. Others indicate that a majority of the asbestos has been reduced to forsterite, a FMSI 06882 -2relatively non-fibrous material. The health effects of exposure to used brake lining dust have not been evaluated, and will be difficult to evaluate. There ptu._ ~0- ~ ~~ . .;. ~~-4-J~ : is 8 8St eiffeFQRQQ SQ~7QQR 81~9SYF9S in (1) an industrial atmosphere where raw asbestos is used, (2) the brake facility which machines brake linings, and (3) the garage which cleans out worn brakes. Mount Sinai's example of workers contracting mesothelioma years after one day of exposure at shipyards is not relevant to the dust from brake linings. It is an entirely different type of dust, and the concentrations were extreme in the shipyards. The type of asbestos used in the shipyards (amosite and ~ :t;,.~ ~.-e.~ crocidolite) hasA~been used in American made brake linings. The Mount Sinai example of the wife who washed her husband's contaminated clothes ~ involved exposure to raw asbestos brought home from a factory. It has fte~iRg to do with those exposed to the dust from used brake linings. There is a .hl't~Q,_ ~ difference from raw asbestos, which is quite fibrous, and the used brake lining wear debris which contains materials other than asbestos and in which the asbestos has been broken down primarily into 8 mateFi8l called forsterite. While Mount Sinai alleges that the submicron fibers in brake lining wear debris . ~ J.~ h-oe ..Lu.._ ~. may be carcinogenic t~ere is ag ggQwmeatatiga tg tais effeet. As a matter of fact, there is a study currently underway by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) which is working closely with Mount Sinai in an attempt to document exposures to brake lining dust. If this study concentrates on commercial and mun-icipal garages it will not document exposure of mechanics in the corner garage, dealer or mass merchandiser, where there is very little machining of brake lining materials. We also do not agree with statements such as the following: "Workers can also use shop vacuums that sell for $29 to $129." Garages should use vacuums with high efficiency filter systems and I doubt that any can be bought at prices FMSI 06883 such as that. An authority is quoted as saying that there are "no safety directives on handling asbestos." NIOSH, the Institute and several manufacturers have distributed recommended procedures for servicing brakes. I've enclosed copies of NIOSH and Institute recommendations. THE RECORD article states that "there is no federal law on handling asbestos dust." The regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) based on authority granted by the Williams-Stieger Act certainly have the effect of a federal law as regards handling asbestos dust. ia ll.aaagay uitll. tll.Q ll.ead.Jiue~r Brake shops should adopt the precautions recommended by NIOSH, the Institute, and several manufacturers. The use of scare headlines and unrelated "documentation" is not the way to promote safe procedures in the brake shop. EWD/lmc E. W. Drislane Secretary FMSI 06884