Document xzykR29E7gK3gXK8mMqMw3eg6

FILE NAME: Asbestos Sacks and Bags (ASB) DATE: 1965 Oct 27 DOC#: ASB033 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter from Ministry of Labour Stating there has been No Case of Asbestosis Attributed to Dock Work with Notes  & BAYabater 3^56 E xt. 301*. Our reference: SOT 3787/^5 Ministry of Labour SrJ,Jtac,a;g*&qr.ircrL cn^CT*,S:y.H~ Baynards House, 1-13 Chepstow P lace, Eastbourne Grove, LONDON, . . 2 . 27th October, 1965 Boor Mr. B ra sie r, The Factory Inapoctorato havo now ccnpletod th eir investigations into ths handling o f aabeatos in the docks, which wore put in hand following conplair.ts in Ju ly about du3ty conditions in one p articu lar ve3aol in the London.docks. Tho National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dookors Union then obtained nedical advioo fresv Dr. Hunter of the In s titu te of C lin io a l Roaoarch, iliddlecox H osp ital, to the e ffe c t that men v/orking in the hold had in the bargos neodod to wear a mask in order to protoot them from the asbestos dust. Provision o f vacuum suotica to remove.any sp illage during unloading was also rooemnondod. The Inspectorate do not disagree with those recommendations. Such precautions are probably nocessary in the conditions wiiich were found on the ship in question, as asbostoa was being unloaded in unsoaled hessian sacks. Uhon other forms o f packaging are.used, tho Inspectorate'a view, based on the inyestigations described below, is that macks ars unnecessary. The dockers themselves can do much to maintain satisfacto ry condition, by caroful unloading of the cargo. 1 The danger of developing asbestosis has been appreciated fo r many.years. The asbestos te x tile industry has been subject to con trollin g Regulations sir.co 1931 Asbestosia also affeo ts other workers using asbostos, or m aterials ooataining asbestos, _and measures to control more adequately the use of such materials are ^currently " being considered by the Factory Inspectorate. Tho Inspectorate knows, however, of no case of asbestosis attfibutabTe~~ter-emprdyment in the docks unloading asbestos'.' "Sim ila r ly , no cases In "such'workers have boen diagnosed by tho Pneumoconiosis Medical Panels. ' -------------------------- Most dockers are only interm ittently or occasionally exposed to asbostos, but i< determine whether conditions during unloading wore such as to mako the development t.! asbestosis lilcely or possible, given s u ffic ie n t length of exposure, a series of investigations into the amount of air-borne asbestos has now been undertaken by the Chemical Inspectors of the Inspectorate. I t should be understood that tho s ig n ific a n t portion o f asbestos dust which is o f a size capable of penetrating to th'. ultimate structures o f the lung may not correspond to tire amount v is ib le to tho unaided eye. Y J - /JsY ' ' A W The outcome of the se to sts is to indicate that thc/amount of air-borne dust of respirable size has been SfcTow the published upper lim it of s a fety where hessian sacks with an impervious lin in g , orTaminatod paper bags, or other impervious bags, .have been in use, and i t has also been below the lim it when unlined hessian sacks wore used and a slow rate of working has been in operation. The lim it has been exceeded where unlined hessian sacks were used and the rate o f working was normal. The Inspectorate's opinion i s that with the normal interm ittent exposure lik e ly to be experienced by dockers, the risk of a docker developing c lin ic a lly recognisablo asbestosis is s lig h t , provided impervious sacks aro used. As they are unlikely to develop asbestosis, then they are no more lia b le to develop a lung cancer than tha O rest o f tr.e population. /Disoussions M. J . B razier, E s q ., v* Messrs. A. A. Brazier & Co. (Asbestos) L t d ., * Newby House, 309 Chase Road, LONDON, N .14. Discussions are proposed jvith the importers o f asbostos on the elim ination of unsealed hessian sacks and the ultimate p o s s ib ility o f p a llo ttin g as an alternative c means of imndling. In t l a s t year or two thore has boon much p u b licity attached to a rare form of tumour known as mesothelioma. This appears to bo commoner in those exposed to asbestos. The pi*oble.n is at present undor urgent review by an Advisory Panel 'sot up by the Senior Medical Inspector of-F acto ries. Tho risk is oortainly no greater in dockers than in other workers exposed to asbestos Dr. Hunter ar.d Dr. Kanantzia, his deputy, have been'given ooples of th is le tte r and agree, in general, with the consents. I am writing in sim ilar terns to the other parties with an in te re st in the matter v iz: Mr. T. O'Leary o f the Transport & General V/orfcers Union; Dr. It. Gaze of Capo Asbestos, who has also been representing the asbestos importers; Mr. J . Beech of the National Amalgamated Stevedores & Dockers Union, who f i r s t raised the matter with Dr. Hunter; and Mr. Bennett, Secretary of the Ocean Shipowners Group Jo in t Committee. Yours sinoerely, t