Document zdVxQ4yNMjwx9xM9YeNGBMZY6

FILE NAME: WR Grace (WRG) DATE: 1970 DOC#: WRG091 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: 1970 Summary Report on asbestos construction sites in Philadelphia. SUMMARY OF OCCUPATIONAL AND RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH SECTIONS ACTIVITIES IN CONTROLLING TH E P O T E N T IA L H EA LTH HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPRAY APPLICATION OF ASBESTOS CONTAINING MATERIALS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES IN P H IL A D E L P H IA - V' \ - T In the fall of 1969, at the req u est of Air M anagem ent S erv ice s, the Occupational and - l'li >V ' . . . R adiological1H ealth Section b e c a m e involved to a lim ite d extent in the p r o b le m of ' controlling excessive am ounts of insulation m a te ria l containing asbestos generated during the co n stru c tio n of 5 Penn C e n te r, 16th and M a rk e t S tr e e ts . During this period, a num ber of inspections w ere conducted by personnel of the Section directed tow ard m inim izing the exposure of w o rk ers to asb esto s containing m a te ria l. Since the Philadelphia Health Dept, has no specific occupational health regulations in this area, the Pennsylvania Health D epartm ent, who has the m ajor responsibility for - conducting occupational health activities in the City, was requested to investigate and recom m end to the P lastering C ontracter the steps n ece ssary to m eet the p e r , tinent provisions of Pennsylvania Health Departm ent Regulation 432, "Threshold Lim its in Places of Employment. " Although the plastering contracter involved pro m ised to comply with these provisions, it was soon realized that because of the nature of the p ro cess, adequate control of the potential h azard was unsatisfactory. Our initial experience with the spray application of asbestos indicated that: (1) It was evident that t h e re was a p o ten tially s e r io u s o ccu p a tio n a l h e a lth hazard associated with the p rocess, and much control needed. ..T- . (2) M o r e i n f o r m a t i o n w a s n e e d e d on t h e e x t e n t of t h e e f f e c t s of a s b e s t o s . ..V,.Vn r. .. y. ^ on hum ans. (3) The D e p a r tm e n t did not p o s e s s the tr a i n e d m a n p o w e r and e x p e r t i s e needed to sam ple, analyze, and evaluate environmental, and occupational " exposure to asbestos. jith th is b a c k g r o u n d in m i n d , a n u m b e r of m e e t i n g s a n d c o n f e r e n c e s w e r e h e l d ith Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, D irector, Mount Sinai School of M edicine of the Citv, "U n iv e r s it y of Ne w Y o r k , a f o r e m o s t e x p e r t in s t u d v i n g t h e o r o b l e m s of a s b e s t o s , : ' ` d^xeview with h im in d e ta il the r e s u l t s of his findings and w hat p r o g r e s s w a s b ein g W m a d e in New York City to m inim ize the hazard. Dr. Selikoff strongly urged that action b e taken now b y th e P h i l a d e l p h i a H e a lth D e p a r t m e n t to r e d u c e th e e x p o s u r e Of a l l p e r s o n s c o n c e r n e d to a s b e s t o s a t c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t e s . C onclusions re a c h e d as a re s u lt of our initial contact with Dr. Selikoff w e r e as follow s: ' /l) T h ere w as a potential health r is k of unknown m ag n itu d e to p e r s o n s r e siding or working in the vicinity of buildings being sp ray ed with asb esto s containing m aterial. ( 2 ) T here was a re a l risk of great magnitude to asb e sto s s p ra y application w orkers exposed to significant concentration of a sb esto s. (3) T h e r e w a s a c h r o n i c r i s k of unknown m a g n itu d e to i n d i v id u a l s o c c u p y i n g buildings where the plenum cham bers have been sprayed with asbestos. In o r d e r to a p p r is e the c o n c e r n e d official bodies, building o w n e r s , a r c h i t e c t s , g e n e ra l contractors, plastering contractors, and union official; a num ber of m eetings w e re held explaining the n atu re of the p ro b lem , and le tte rs w e re sen t re q u e s tin g that steps be taken to m eet recom m ended standards in this a re a . The Chief of the ` Section w as re q u e s te d to attend m eetin g s of the B o ard of H ealth on N o v e m b e r 5, 1969 / J a n u a r y 7, 1970, a n d A p r i l 1, 1970 to d i s c u s s th e e x t e n t of t h e p r o b l e m , a n d m a k e 'r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s to t h e B o a r d . In r e c o g n i t i o n of th e p r o b l e m , t h e B o a r d of H e a l t h - authorized the staff of the Health Departm ent develop regulations for controlling 3 - Board of Health action; the G e n e r a l C o n tr a c to r , the P la s te r in g C ontractors, the Architect, the building owners are inform ed when aoolving for ` r . . ' **r-Vv'^ - ,-Mair pollution p e r m i ts of the r e q u ir e m e n t for total c o n ta in m e n t as w ell as r e c o m - ' .'-Amended levels of exposure for w o rk e rs , and the r is k to fu tu re o ccupants of the `^ . v p ^ b u i l d i n g s w h e r e a s b e s t o s c o n t a i n i n g m a t e r i a l is to b e s p r a y e d . v-P - In o rd er to a s s is t the D epartm ent in evaluating the p o ten tial h a z a r d s a s s o c ia te d . ... w ith the s p r a y a p p l ic a t io n of a s b e s t o s d u rin g the c o n s t r u c t i o n of a n e w b u ild in g , Dr. Selikoff ag reed to conduct a su rv ey at the Fidelity M u tu a l-G ira rd T r u s t Build * ' ing. In each ca se , the g e n e ra l c o n tra c to r was u rg ed to co n tact Dr. Selikoff for the benefit of his expert advice. ' M ore recently, in terim o rd ers w ere adopted by New York City governing the spray a p p licatio n of a s b e s to s followed by P u b lic H e a rin g s on M ay 25 and 26, 1970, w hich w ere attended by personnel of Air M anagement Services and the O ccupational and . --R a d i o l o g i c a l H e a l t h S e c t i o n . On J u l y 1, 1970 D i s t r i c t A t t o r n e y A r l e n S p e c t o r ' brought crim inal action against the Venzie C orporation as a com m on n u isan ce in the spraying of asbestos at the Fidelity G irard Building, and Judge Ethan Allen Doty ruled that Specter had a prim a-facie case and ordered Venzie to be held for Grand Jury action.