Document zdzgRoYRYpZMyZob4xwo2pXKB

FILE NAME: RT Vanderbilt (RTV) DATE: 1982 Oct 11 DOC#: RTV 115 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter from The Hartford to RTV RE Results of Assorted Dust Samples O ctober 11, 1982 Mr. Floyd R obinson P ersonnel Departm ent R. T. V anderbilt Couverneur T alc In c . P . 0 . Box 89 C o u v e rn e u r, NY 13642 THE HARTFORD New York City Office 133 Wiliam Street New York. New York 1003S . Telephone: (212) 553-000 Re: H a rtfo rd A 6 I (V a n d erb ilt P o lic y #) Dear Floyd: A ttached p lease fin d d a ta sh e e ts re fle c tin g th e r e s u lts of asso rted dust sam ples c o lle c te d Ju ly 29th and 3 0 th , 1982 re p re s e n tin g m ost mine and m i l l s a r e a s . As n o te d i n t h e "M ethod o f 'S tu d y " addendum a l s o a t t a c h e d , th is review inv o lv ed an overview sam pling stra te g y v ersu s s t r i c t adherence to f u l l s h i f t p e rs o n n e l d u s t m o n ito rin g (a s p ra c tic e d by re g u la to ry a g e n c ie s ). D ata r e f le c te d in th is stu d y should r e f le c t maximum d u s t lo a d in g s f o r m o st r o u t i n e m illin g and m in in g o p e r a t i o n s . I t is hoped d ata obtained d u ring th is e f f o r t w ill provide a "b aselin e" a g a in s t w hich f u tu r e d a ta may b e com pared f o r a c l e a r e r , in c re a s in g ly more v a lid p ic tu r e o f o v e r - a ll d u s t ex p o su res th ro u g h o u t the s i t e . Samples were c o lle c te d and an a ly z ed f o r v a rio u s p a r tic u la te ch arac te r is tic s : to ta l p a rtic u la te s , re sp ira b le p a rtic u la te s , X quartz and -free s i l i c a an d f i b e r c o n t e n t ( c o n t r o v e r s i a l NI0SH a s b e s t o s t e c h n i q u e ) . U nder tb e "S tan d ard s" addendum (a tta c h e d ) seven d u st sta n d a rd s or th resh o ld lim its are li s te d w hich, depending upon p a r tic u la te co n stitu en cy (u n d e rs ta n d a b ly open t o a s s o r te d view p o i n t s ) , nay o r may n o t ap p ly t o v a rio u s sam ples. R e la tiv e to th e s e a s s o rte d sta n d a rd s th e fo llo w in g was n o te d : a . The h ig h e s t t o t a l d u st le v e l o b ta in e d was 9 .3 m illig ra m p er cu b ic m e te r (mg/m3) r e f l e c t e d in m i l l #1 n e a r num ber e i g h t sc re e n in th e w heeler a re s . T h is le v e l -(and co n seq u en tly a l l o th e rs) was below sta n d a rd "A" (se e a tta c h e d s ta n d a rd s s e c tio n ) f o r t o t a l d u s t w ith IX q u a r t z . T h is c o n c e n t r a t i o n d i d e x c e e d s t a n d a r d s C 6 E a s d i d o n e o th e r t o t a l d u s t sam ple o b ta in e d i n m ine #1 700 l e v e l f o r c r u s h e r o p e r a t i o n . S ta n d a r d C r e f e r s t o T o t a l D u st w ith > I X Q u a rtz (TI.V 6 m g/m 3) w h i l e s t a n d a r d E r e f e r s t o T a lc c o n t a i n i n g n o f i b e r s (CLV 2 m g/m3 - a n A m erican C o n fe r e n c e o f -G overnm ental I n d u s t r i a l H y g i e n i s t I S tandard). Our reports are based upon observations or information available at the time o f surveys which may net discover b* hazards. We cannot wa safety, health or compliance with any rule or regulation. Wa can only assist you in fultiting your rtsponsibhdy in contrdSng accidents. . L o t* C ontrol D epart SRS-S7S- . H a rtfc x d flt tnim ance-Com pany and Us AlOSa Page 2 . b . S ta n d a rd E <2 mg/m3) f o r t o t a l T a lc D u st c o n t a i n i n g no f i b e r s ) was th e stan d ard m ost o f te n exceeded in a l l sam ple a re a s ex cep t mine #4 where very low t o t a l d u s t was r e f l e c t e d (n o n - ta lc anyw ay). c . Free s ilic a le v e ls fo r a l l re s p ira b le sam ples in a l l areas were very low and a l l t o t a l r e s p i r a b l e d u s t sam ples ( p a r t i c l e s s m a lle r th an 10 m icrons) w ere v ery low a s w e ll. R e la tiv e to t o t a l r e s p ir a b le d u s t,- th e se r e s u lts v ary s ig n if ic a n tly from prioT re s p ir a b le d u st sam ples which d id appear e le v a te d . Of in te r e s t in th is a re a s a s w e ll is th e sm all but d e te c te d Z q u a rts re fle c te d in th e m ill sam ples. P r io r a n a ly sis of fin is h e d p ro d u cts re fle c te d no q u artz c o n te n t. O bviously t h i s i s a v a r ia b le in d eterm in in g which stan d ard a p p lie s t o which s e t o f sam ples. This a sp e c t w ill re q u ire a c lo s e r look in subsequent Sam pling. . ' d. Rgarding f ib e r r e s u lts re le v a n t to th e p re sen t a sb e sto s sta n d a rd , a n a ly tic a l technique and fib e r d e fin itio n , no asb esto s (tre m o lite ) l e v e l s e x c e e d e d t h e 2 f i b e r s / c c ?/ u n i n le n g t h s t a n d a r d . W h ile s e v e r a l sam p les came c l o s e : 1 .8 a t -the G y rato ry c r u s h e r m i ll #1 and 1.7 in th e p o ck et a re a 700 le v e l m ine #1, th e s e r e s u lt s do v ary from p r io r r e s u l t s ( r e f l e c t i n g ex c e ss le v e ls ]!. As n o ted in th e attac h m e n ts, th e s e sam ples were c o lle c te d in th e in t e r e s t o f com pleteness and g e n e ra l fo llo w -u p in fo rm a tio n . The H a rtfo rd i s aw are o f th e c o n tro v e rsy su rro u n d in g th e ^'asb esto s" d e f in itio n and NIOSH a n a l y t i c a l m ethod a n d c a n n o t (a n d s h o u ld n o t ) assum e a p o s itio n . U n til th e sam pling an d /o r a n a ly tic a l m ethods a re o f f i c i a l l y changed The H a rtfo rd i s o b lig a te d (by v ir tu e of i t s I.H . C e r tif ic a tio n ) to fo llo w p re sc rib e d m ethods. In summary, th e a re a s and a c t i v i t i e s review ed r e f le c te d e le v a te d d u s t le v e ls b u t low er - { s i g n i f i c a n tl y in some a r e a s ) th e n some p re v io u s ly o b tain ed . There is co n sid erab le and v a lid co n tro v ersy over what stan d ard a p p lie s to what d u sts and th e "asb esto s" issu e c le a rly rem ains a t issu e . At th is p o in t in tim e I would u rg e th e fo llo w in g : 1. Follow -up sam pling w ith more em phasis on p a r ti c u la te c o n s titu e n c y t o f u r th e r su p p o rt s ta n d a rd a p p lic a b ility - . Review and co m p ariso n o f a l l p r io r sam pling a ls o d e s ire d t o p ro v id e a c le a r e r , more v a lid d u st exposure p ic tu re . 2 . C ontinue th e p re s e n t m edical program s and c a re f u lly c o r r e la te r e s p ir a to ry r e s u lts w ith th e use o f r e s p ir a to r s and em ployee m ine exposure h is to ry (p a rt o f ongoing ep id em ico lo g ical study r e la te d to the asb esto s c o n tro v e rsy ). 3 . Employees w ith d e p re sse d lung c a p a c itie s should w ear d u st r e s p ir a to r s as a m a tte r o f p o lic y . F u rth e r, a l l mine w orkers and m ill em ployees should emply sim p le d u st m asks. A m andatory u6e p o lic y f o r p a r tic u la r ly d u sty a c t i v i t i e s would be a w ise p re c a u tio n a ry m ove. H o st m ine work ( d r i l l i n g , c r u s h in g , e t c . ) and many m i l l a r e a s {open c ru s h e r e x p o su re s, some m ain c. a c t i v i t i e s , a re a c le a n -u p , e t c . ) would f a l l in to t h i s a c ti v i t y . mm fj| j KEET ' DUSTS '^ ,,1 # 1 (T alc) Sample L iter Volame H r. S em ple D uration L ocation P ossible S ta n d a rd Excesses mg/m3 Found (C ontaim ents) 31 396 3 1/2 W heeler area n ear #8 (C. E) 9.3 T o tal Dust sc re e n -fix e d 27 > 396 ** 2 0 6 9 ) .4 3 2 m 3 1/2 Fixed between 1, 2 & 3 - H arding M ills 4 Fixed between 1, 2, 3 H arding M ills * 28 ) 396 * AS- 5 ) 240 a 3 1/2 F ixed between H arding - M ills 4 8 5 on catw alk 2 Between 4 & 5 H ardings -- 15 * i 396 3 1/2 Fixed top flo o r over H arding # 5-next to #5 Seperator \ * 7 Ml 396 3 1/2 Fixed over bag F il l e r <E) #3 S ta t io n - F i r e Mesh tm. #325 Si 13 ) 324 3 AS-2) 360 3 *8 F ixed on G yratory C rusher (E) II . . 1 - 0 1924 204 2 ir rd rt: Fixed o p p o site #4 con- veyor-along w all near - e le c tr ic a l boxes ro t AS- 3 .On Wh; C ontrol -0 fib e rs cc ( 5 lii) 1 V. 1.2 T o tal Dust .1 Reap Dust .0 1 S i0 2 (TLV 1 . 1 1.4 T o tal Dust .5 F ib e rs/o c (? 5 .5 T o tal Dust 3.2 T otal Dust 5-2 T o tal Dust 1.8 F ib e rs/c c O .0 3 S i0 2 (TLV. f .03 Keep. Dust W tort y /u z i n c ' ' (T alc) S am ple L iter Vo lame Hr. Sample D uration L ocation P ossible S ta n d a rd Excesses mg/m3 Found ' (C ontaim ents) 30 486 12 486 4 1/2 * 4 1/2 (P) LiGauas, 700 C rusher (P) E. T h e ria u lt C ru sh er Level 1100 Level (C, E) (E) 6.6 T o tal Dust 3.7 T o tal Dust 32 ) 415 4 F ixed n ea r J . Regan * 2074) AS-1 2074 408 480 . 408 4 a t 200 le v e l 4 pocket 4 . (E) 2.4 T o tal Duet - - Si02 - 1.7 f ib e r s /c c -- .98 Reap. D ust 25 486 4 1/2 Fixed a t su rfa c e cru sh er <E) o u tsid e booth 2.6 T o tal D ust 8 486 4 1/2 Fixed su rfa c e c ru sh e r - in sid e booth .2 T o tal D ust 16 415 4. (P ) D. M a llo n 700 l e v e l CE) Elmco O p e ra to r a t 13 d r i f t 2.4 T o tal D ust \ H inc'iZ ' (T alc) Sample L iter Volume H r. * Sample D uration L ocation P ossible S ta n d a rd Excesses 9 810 7 1/2 I n s id e Cab o f F ro n t L oader - ' B. Davis 22 810 7 1/2 I n s i d e ca b o f dump tru c k - Mac Zo 19 810 AS-5 900 1905 765 7 1/2) Fixed n ear cru sh er ju s t <E) 7 1/2) o u ts id e c o n tr o l room - - 7 1 /2 ) . 7 ' from cru sh er - -- 21 324 3 Fixed in s id e cru sh er (E) O perator booth M ine-#4- (W allaston s i t e ) 14 432 4 In fro n t loader cab - 29 432 4 20* from conveyor b o tto n - load sid e 24 432 4 11 432 4 D irectly over b e lt conveyor - Hear 1 st prim ary cru sh er - Top 7* fro m dump " mg/m3 f o u n d (Cont aim ent .4 T o ta l Du .9 T o tal Du 2.7 T o tal D .5 F ib ers c .14 Resp Du .006 BiO2 2.0 T o tal D .2 T o tal Du .2 T o tal. Du .9 T o ta l Du .46 T o ta l D