Document znr0eJZjVjxknN0DvwbjN0Jn

FILE NAME: Railroads (RR) DATE: 1978 DOC#: RR056 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter, Memo & Report RE Asbestos in Brake Shoes J n c l u i o o v i l l c , I' 1a . , March 30, 1970 1 7 . AU Ccncrnl SUUJliCT: Aabcs to in composition brake s h o e s . Mr . W. F . W i n g a t e Ccneral Supt. Safety T h i s r e f e r s t o y our penned memo r e q u e s t on m a r g i n o f l e t t e r f rom G . W. C e a r h n r t , N&W, t o J . M. S c h c r c i n g e r , A A R , c o n cerning any personnel s a f e t y problems from asbestos in c o m po sitio n broke s h o e s . I t would not a p p e a r , from t h e i n f o r m a t i o n f u r n i s h e d by G r i f f i n Wheel Company, manufac tur er of c o m p o s i t i o n brake s hoe s c o n t a i n i n g a s b e s t o s , which i n c l u d e d t e s t s r un by Ford Motor Company, that there is any s i g n i f i c a n t danger in working around these brake shoes . I f it is considered necessary to publish precautionary i n s t r u c t i o n s such as those put out by the Rock I s l a n d , where they emphasized reduced inhalation to reduce possible intake of asbestos f i b e r s by shoe h a n d l e r s , then i t would appear reasonable to r e q u i r e t h e s e same w o r k e r s t o wear some f o r m o f f a c e . m a s k f i l t e r when p e r forming th is work. Your papers are returned herewith.. C . S . S t r i ng f e 1 ;.-6w/ Asst. Vice President quip. 0' ^ ' P D ' > 1 \ fc kJ 'B r c 't - e - ;.. o '>4- v /r? o/ // i/A'U'' C jQ vJv January 16, 19?0 File H-310 L-195 Mr. J. M. Schercinger Secretary, Safety Section Association of American Railr.oads 1920 L St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Dear John: Attached herewith is a copy of a Super internment 1s General Notice issued on the Rock Island Lines concerning composition brake shoes and precautions to be taken in regard to the residue dust. By copy of this letter, I am giving all members of the Steering Committee the benefit of this bulletin and I would "appreciate your placing this subject on our docket for our March meeting. I think a discussion of the experieace of the various roads in regard to this possible hazard and the actions taken by the various carriers would be enlightening for us .all. Up to this point I have not been aware that we had a problem in this area. Sincerely, g . y/. o r A R j i A i n : C V/G/f m M e m b e r s of AAR Safety Section Steering Committee V. ^ Enc J WcslCH n . . , ..k.. V m M i' Co">;uny GuO'Of W G^.iUioii R 0 C i: I S I. A N I ) L 1 N F. r, OKFLr;i:_qr^_s uperi ntendcs't H1SSO Ur7-1CANs'a's 1)LV1S 1ON CENERAL NOTICE NO. . 2 Xans.ia C i t y , Kansas Ja n u a r y 6, 1973 ALL CONCERNED: ALL SUB-DIVISIONS Ite m (60) Category 1 Employes who a r c e x p o s e d t o b r a k e s h o e r e s i d u e d u s t v h e n c h a n g i n g ' b r a k e s h o e s ' nlhio ulcl was t h e i r h a n d s t h o r o u g h l y b e f o r e e a t i n g , and s h o u l d was h wor k c l o t h e s and g l o v e s f req ucn t l y ' t o 'p re v en t p o s s i b l e a c - i a u 1n 1 1on o f a s b e s t o s f i b e r s t h a t c o u l d be i n h a l e d Cram t h e i r c l o t h i n g . Empl oy e s who . us e t o b a c c o w h i l e w o r k i n g should carry in well wrapped or clo sed c o n tain er to prevent dust i n f i l t r a t i o n Before using or h a n dl in g t o b a c c o , hands should be c l e a n . Stacking in any form s houl d be a v o i d e d w h i l e c h a n g i n g c o m p o s i t i o n b r a k e s ho es to e l i m i n a t e wnnc c cs sa ry inhalation. ' .... ~ Item (69) S t a t e o f -Okl ahoma C o m m i s s i o n O r d e r 26163 e f f e c t i v e r e b r u a r y 1, 19 7 o r e q u i r e s : 1 . Hi a t each t r a i n crew s n a i l c a r r y and r e t a i n the c u r r e n t m a n i f e s t l i s t i n g the contents of the t r a i n . 2. That upon the o c c u r r e n c e o f an a c c i d e n t w i t h i n the S t a t e o f O k l a h o ma i n v o l v i n g h a z a r d o u s m a t e r i a l s w h i c h i s r e p o r t a b l o N.mde r 1 7 1 . 2 6 o f T i t l e 69 o f t h e Code o f f e d e r a l R e g u l a t i o n s , t he t r a i n . crew in v olv ed s h a l l f u l l y cooperate and give a s s i s t a n c e to a l l response personnel. 3. A l s o upon the o c c u r r e n c e o f such an a c c i d e n t as d e s c r i b e d above, the tra in crew involved s h a ll immediately contact its d i s p a t c h e r 's o f f i c e s h a l l immediately c o n ta ct the Oklahoma highway P a tr o l at i t ' s c e n t r a l number (605) 626-1.616, as to any hazardous m a t e r i a l s cn board s p e c i f i c a l l y n a mi n g s a i d m a t e r i a l s and cite q u a n t i t y oa b o a r d . 6. Tliat upon v i o l a t i o n of any of these r e g u l a t i o n s , the r e s p o n s i b l e r a i l w a y company s h a l l be a s s e s s e d a f i n e , the amount of which i s t o be d e t e r m i n e d by the C o r p o r a t i o n Commi s s i on o f the S t a t e o f . Ok l a homa . F i l e s - 6 30, 66 7 t H. E. Phelps Superintendent V/ WX0 3 L^2/\ULLL^(o)/^ALo)k^ QP4RA TIONSAND MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT . SA FET Y AND SPECIAL SER V IC ES DIVISION . Y SEC T IO N 1920 L S T R E E T . N.W., WASHINGTON. D.C. 20036 202/293^119/4129 U lT fN . frtiuUnt J . A. RISEN DAL Este utirt Director J . M. SCHERC1NGER Assistant Director c jU Stemary F e b r u a r y 6, 1978 File: 6.3 O FFICERS OF SECTION F. M. KAYLOR CW m ** N. D. N ELSO N Vic4 CheamuLE. STEERING COM M ITTEE A A R SA FETY SECTION Gentlemen: T h is r e f e r s to the a ttach ed copy of M r . G . W. G e a r h a r ' j s l e t t e r o f J a n u a r y ' 16, 1978 to m e t r a n s m i t t i n g a S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ' s G e n e r a l N o t i c e is s u e d on the R o ck Island R a ilr o a d c o n c e r n in g brake shoes ar.c p recautions to be ta k e n in r e g a r d to r e s id u e dust. I spoke with Mike Lenahan of the Rock Island. He had received an in quiry fr o m a union representative concerning the p ossible health hazard to w hich em p loyees m ay be exposed when changing brake sh o e s, due to the p r e s e n c e of a sb e sto s f ib e r s . M ik e then check ed with Steve U rm a n o f F R A who is f a m i l i a r with the O S H A standard on exposure to asb esto s (copy attached). M r . R isen dal spoke with M r . U rm an who advised that he in fo rm ed M r . Lenahan there a re two schoo ls of thought on this subject. One is that heat fro m brake application changes the c h e m ic a l com position with the r e s u lt that there is no such h a z a r d . The other one is d ir e c tly opposite. M r . Lenahan then checked with his Law Department with the result of the published notice simply as a precaution. The language of the notice, which was not suggested by Steve U rm an , was drafted by Mike' Lenahan and som ewhat revised by the R I Law Departm ent. M r . U r m a n provided the a tta c h e d two d o c u m e n ts on a s b e s t o s . One is a paper by Je r e m ia h R. Lynch, O S H A , entitled B ra k e Lining Decom position P r o d u c t s , *w!iich d e a ls with an i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f a s b e s t o s f ib e r s in b r a k e linings-of automotive vehicles.' The other is a study on exposure of garage mechanics titled "Asbestos Exposure During Brake Lining Maintenance And Repair" conducted by the Environm ental Sciences Laboratory, Mount Sinai School o; M edicine, City University of New York. The Mount Sinai group encountered "high" levels of lead in a study on subway car brake shoe repair work. They adm it this data is quite limited and only suggestive o f a p o te n tia l h a z a r d . They do not h a v e data r e g a r d i n g a s b e s t o s e x p o s u r e during subway brake shoe repair work as. indicated in their attached D e c e m b e r 6, 1976 l e t t e r to F R A . It sh o u ld be noted t h e r e i n , the M o u n t Sinai group com m ented that "Sin ce s e v e r a l kinds of railroad brake shoes include asbestos in their com position, the potential of asbestos exposure during repair work e x ists." M r . U r m a n a l s o in fo r m e d us that F R A i s letting a c o n t r a c t through its R e s e a r c h and D e v e lo p m e n t o f f i c e , to d e te r m in e if th ere a re actually any health h azard s. We a re checldng into the status o f this contract. A s requested by M r. G e a r h a r t , this su b ject is being docketed f o r y o u r M a r c h 14-15, 1978 m e e t i n g . Sincerely, List: WN V/EE OS'