Document zdDyeQGDwMXz5RjjVgYv0MYXa

FILE NAME: WR Grace (WRG) DATE: June 14, 1961 DOC#: WRG207 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1961 Letter to Western Mineral Products Co regarding effects of dust on employee health. J uno H , 1961 Mr. C, A, P rati, Vico Proaidcm V/octosn MIco voi Products Co. 4723 Oicsa-MamoriaA Hlgmvay Miansmpolta 22 Minna aola . Dea? C>3>{ , % la roply io youjc leu ? oi Jimo 12 1 am ?mpp7 80 outilnsi owy paai osepovlenco in roga.vd So Sho o lia ci of dust in ou? rai 11 upoa ou? om ployaoa' beaiih, Thia lo a v?y cosnplcx aia; cmiuoiwg ihng aad no ir ora v/hch U Io ditllcuU io drau/ aay eoncluolcno. I svili Dublino 0? h lolory oa thio la tho hopoa hat li rnay bo t i aem a halp io you. v - r Aa bach$p?oand So our axpgriouco you icosv/ vro fcavo olvmya U&d tho yroblom oi dusS Sa oa? m iUng and handiing of vorancflU o, Thia p?obia Usa *3- caiacci coooldos'ablg atSousion ovor Sha yo&?9 and v?o bava ailemptcd io talco v/hutQvasr siapa nocooanry io control tfe.a duat iato n o li/ v/hoza thos-o vculd bo an osqpoaaro So ornployooa, Wo bave m al v/ish varying dogroaa oi auccooo Sa vasfioua placoa la sha c^avalion. V Mauy otodioo lava beoti rande of tira dujt and duo* proMorn by dli'fsrout pcopto o v ir Sha yon?a In anaiyalng Usa pstblam* A li studio bava ohovm ilv.st in tuo oporaUdft ilio va la no Irco illca proficui, bai Sho m inorala fotusd in tha do p oli aro ciU caioa, m icaa and asbectoa-ltfto mino? ni a. S iile colo io cauaod by ivo a alilo a and noi by iho s i l i c a t o . A abosio5 hewev*? io a causo oi aobodooio \7hich haa bacm a metti e? oi concarn. T im o lo a rotativo iy largo amo uni of eoohoc Soa elusi pposnat In cu? in ili turai ihlo io dli.fi cult So consto!. From a roport rsritSen In 1936 by an Sncluotrial Hygiana Eugkum-, Diviolcm of Difloaca Control, Montana Sialo Board oi Hoalh, I ciucio'tha follo va v i g d Ilio duci SttslcHys "A roviow oi lio liSo rasure Indicatoti fc.nl vovmlcu.Hio or tho duoi irono l'aia maSorlai io noi eopoclally teorie and la gene rally Incktdad only aa a nuioanco dur.t. Hov/ova? tho ucbostoo duat in tho duci in ilio air lo of couiidorablo toni city, and io a l'eclor In ilio conoide:',dica cf roduclng cluotiiioai: in thio plnnS." My, C. A. P rati Pago Tv/o Juno Id, 196.1 Wa have novor ha*3 a known caaa of ollicoslo among our omployaoa, Wo have had em p loyees with pulmonary diooaooa which doo-i not n ecessa rily m ean anythin{j, bo :auaa from any group oi 100 plus paopla thoro w ill bo s ' ait&v c a s e s . Something over tv/o yoaro ago ono of our m ill omployooa who had boon v/lth us approxim ately 19 yoaro obviously was have resp ira tory trouble. Hio foreman triad oovaral tim es to havo him go to a doctor but was unouceaoaful. F in ally thia man becam e ao bad oil that ihor was a quGflfcloa whether he should bo working at a ll. V/o fin ally told Mm mat v/o v/osadorod v/hothor ho ohould bo working bocauoo o? bla obvio s plr/i leal coadlioa and In falx*nooa to him if ha would go to thy local doctor o! bi j choice wo would pay for Mo exam ination to get a rep ort -from the doctor. Ho v/atvto one of the local doctora who diagnosed Mo c a se advanced pulmonax'y tub ercloola. Ho arranged for thia man to be adm itted to the Siat3 T u horclools Snn.itariu.rn InGa.lan, Montana. After a stay of ,jQ days c.t the san itarium , Ida man v/as discharged and the final d ia g n o sis of the m an's case wan, ono, of "hiotopl&smoola", and two, of "quoationablo ?.^boatQ<3fl.,, TMo man has never has uavov veturnod to work and r/y have Ivied to re calva roporia oi resu lts of physical exam inations alnce M s diocharge 'ot have novo? been su cc essfu l oven though this man has agreed %' have the reporta furai Usd to as and has signad tha required ralesuso of inform ation which m ed icai e Ibleo req u ires. During the tiro) oi Ma stay ni Galen, of coos so , Shay conducted savored x -r a y and laboratory crcamlnaUorio and .-asili only csrmo up with a final diagnosis of "qvtostloaablo aaboa'.osi'o, " While Montana hue for a good many yea rs had an ltd untrial accident law on tfco books, hay anvor had aa industrial d isea se lav/ until the .1959 se ss io n ol tko leg isla tu re when such a law was p assed . Thia law o pa cl Tod certain apocIfic Anduetrial diaeciooo for v/hich ocnployors \ -ould bo resp on sib le, Tha o.Ty spacifiod disc use v/hich v/o felt would apply to us v/uo that of s ilic o s is . Tho law oto.tcd hot em p loyers v/ould not ba resp onsib le for anything which had bean contracted by their em ployees prior to tho date that the law bocamu effective H ow ever, they v/ould be rospoaaiblo for any contraction of d is ea se after that date, or any aggravation of tho conditions which existed in tho. ompVoyJL.dno_bo industxT_ai conditions v/hich ex isted in a particular plant. In ardor to protect ou rselves end placo ouroalvos on record no to the con dition of our cm ployoos aa ol tho eifoctivo date of t l ? l a w, we instituted a pvogi'am wfcaroby nil of ouv em ploycas v/ould havo x -r a y s at the local hospital. Mi*. C. A. .P ratt Pngo TIu'fjo Juno H , 19 o i Y/o mads arrangem ent . v/Uh tUa hospital to schodulo those x-raya : nd la turn wo arranged to hava the oanployeoo th. ra at tho stipulated Umo. All sc-raya worn Intorprotcd by a R adiologist and a report written on each one. - Thayo vrera 3 m ed ica l doctors oa lha staff at iha lo ca l hospital at tho ` time of lido program in addition to fcha R adlologiot, v/ho actually livza in K aliopell cud cornea to Libby one day a w eek to l alias'prt ail x -r u y o . taken at this hospital, Y7y avyr.ngod a luncheon m ooting with all of tbs doctors on the hospital etafi, told thorn our problem and v/hht *?/a v/oro after vad asked bc.! ? coo oratlrn which was fr e e ly givoa. Y/o polled all of our em ploy ecu a;, to which doctor was their fam ily physician so v/o would have that as a m atter of record. Aitor the x -r a y s had all boon taken and in terp reted , v?o wont through iha liiJt and furnished each doctor with a lis t of the em p loyees v/ho had glvon us that particular doctor1it name as their fam ily doctor, Each doctor was thon furnished with a copy of tbo report on those em p loyes who v/evo Ula patients, Wa thon had all of our em p loyees check with their own doctor to obtain iho s*.milts of th3ir x -r a y exam inations. Tfco doctors aw oed that this would bo iho boat plan end thuy agroatl to furnish iho resu lts of tha ojcarninaiiono to ths em ployees without r.ay coat to thorn. Evan in tko casoa whore ths x -r a y showed avery tMng io bo norm al, v/a had tko orap.Ur/sflo chack vdth thoir doctor, la this why ZonoliS >Company did not giro any iaferr ;Stioh to tha oraployooa ca to their ph ysical condition so wo could not bo rosponsible tor or Ur,bio ir.;any way for giving out inform ation wM< h raigai bo con/ttrusd us misleading. Iu tha case of the em p loyees whoro thslr x -r a y s Intovpvatatioa showed coin iatra-th oracic pathology, U w as up to the doctors to dotevrnino v/bothar further torts or cxom innilon or treatm ent should bo given. In tho event that It w as, thlo wno to bo at the em p loyee's resp o n sib ility and cypoaso, After a lld the r e su lts of thnso x-ra y o v/ero in, wo aguka m et with tho d ctorg and w ith tha r&fllologlot_..fttMfl discus sed^whut.ova' situation act''.ally v.'do In regard to pulm onary d '.sense j from our plant, Tha yvoUmlnriry resu lts of tha interpretations raado it appear tha v/e hud a high Incidence of pulmonary dlouasa among our* em p loyees. H owever, after the electors had analysed tb.o v o su its, Che conclusion they come to was Chore wan nothing to indicato that thero v/uo a higher Incidence of pulmonary troubla among cur people than there v/atf among any ether group in this goographleal arc a. in e t h e r wo r e s , the V thU that the y could not co;rw to :iy c co. c lucion r.s to w h e th er our mill op aration pro rented an r.bav o no: oc curre r.oo cf i-erplr.'.'.ter y trou hi.o than cecu ns n o r m a lly . TI: Cl ->r\?.r .' O' who had hud ir.ciu'tvio.1 dlcca.ec 0 'o c r k ' c c o i*- t ho c:or.l- vr.:.ae i '.cl-. led farm could o il : : : ac thing cor. -./,Vrue five in tl'.e V/ *ci a conch , 1 Mr. C. A. Pratt Pago Four Juno H, ' 196.1 Iq our rmalyata oi the people who had Ini rsv-thorncle pathology of some kind, ncithor could we coma to any conclusion. There were people where som e condition of fibroslo or pulmonary em physem a showed up who had boon with us only a very short porlod si tlm o. Othav people who had bean v/lth us oyer a period of n good many youro and who worked In jobs whore the dual ojrpotmro had bo an high eliov/ed up with en tirely normal x -ra y n . Thoro v/ao no relationship to being a higher incidonco among the old time em ployees than iharo wao in tha.rov/er _ em p loyaos, ao wo could coma to no conclusion eith er. For quite a fow years now our em ployees at the dry m ill, loading station and oth r points in the operation where du t exposure 13 high have boon required to wear resp irator. The particular resp irator which wo fur nish to our people la made by the Mins Safety Appliance Company and la called the " D u et-F oe." This resp irator filter la one which hao iho approval o l health authorities In this state and apparently those cm tha Federal level. It has now been two years olnco the survey that wo made by s-r a y in g nil of our people.'. At that tim e wo d iscu ssed the p o ssib ility of again taking a blanket su rvey at som e time in tao futura to compare roe alt a oZ poopla .`hat v/era on the original survey and whatto r ttoro had boon any m ashed change when the follow -up was taken. However, v/o have not scheduled , anything ns yet. At that Uma it woa tto feeling oi tho R adiologiat Hint n minimum of tv/o yoava should clapao bofova tho follow -up ahouid be made, and it would probably bo batter to wait a longer porlod who.ro ihoro would bo m ore likelihood of florae concluoiono showing up, It la probable, th ere fore, that in tho next two or throe years wo may schedule n follow-up blanket survey so resu lts can bo oonjpur.d, Incldontallyi thex'd wore 130 people on tho payroll at the tim e that tin original blanket x -r a y wna made, Getting back to tho problem oi dust, thoro__lo of course asb estos present _ iu tho concentrates which wo chip to our expanding plants. Tho amount of dust from this should bo very sm all In tho expanding p r o c ess, however, it v/ould ncorn that the greatest enpoouro to dust which v/ould Include the nr be sloe dust, to your people would bo In the unload lag of on?.'. Thor Y/ill bo som e help on this problem when wo Install "dedusting " units both in-our m ill and at our point ot loading. Final design is now l-:eing m o tor these units and insiullctlon w ill be completed by tho on . ,\ urr..nc r. Mr.' C, A, Pratt Pft .o F.lv\! Jv. a 14, 196i T hese v/Ul not elim inate the dual problom in tho con cen trates, but v/a expect to cut It down considerably. This baa boon a review of our situation. I hope it v/lll bo of some kelp to you. Our dust control problom r e c e iv e s continuing attention from O' t m ill Imporinteadoni. It io one which wo" contlanally work~Qn in trying to keep our ventilation no officiant no possible and whanovor it lo pcnoiblo to moke any.im provem ents we Cry to do no. V/o usually receiv e a V lsilP , Crons an engineor from the State Board of Ho; Ish about once a yeas' ond ` ha usually makes rocoxTiraondationa to ul: which v/u try to carry out. If there la any further help that wo can give you* v/o v/lll certainly bo glad to try to furnish It. If Share vre any p .rticuinx* points on this -'iocourao upon which I could elaborate) further, please C?el free to a sk mo to do so. Sincerely yours ZONOUTK COMPANY ' By . L', D, Lovich E D L /jb r . -