Document zobJOkx4b33N4bEama4NpaoJ0

FILE NAME: Synkoloid (SYN) DATE: 1973 Jan 3 DOC#: SYN011 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter to Brotherhood of Painters regarding x-ray studies showing fibrosis in tapers MOUNT SINAI S C H O O L OF MEDI CI NE ofTheCityUniversity cj\riu*Verfc F I F T H AVENUE ANO I 00TH S TREET NEW YORK, N.T. 10039 y 's i oj Cennwiity Tittiicint January 3, 1973 'Mr. S . Frank. R a ftery , G eneral P r e s id e n t .B rotherhood o f -P ainters and A llie d Trades .. U n ited Union B u ild in g * . '1750 New York Avenue, N.W. ...W ashington, D.C. 20006 . D ear Mr. R a fte r y : .' . 1 r e g r e t th a t 1 do n o t have a v ery happy r e p o r t co n c e r n in g i n i t i a l . ' f i n d i n g s in ou r ex a m in a tio n s o f ta p e r s in New York C i t y . m 7/1th th e c o o p e r a tio n o f Mr. John A lfa r o n e and L ocal 1974 o f th e * " 'in te r n a tio n a l Brotherhood o f P a in te r s and A llie d T rad es, w e-ex am ined 17 members o f th e L o c a l. Our Concern, o f c o u r s e , was w hether th e d u sts in h a led a t t h e ir work ( p a r t ic u la r ly a s b e s to s ) ' . n i g h t b e a s s o c ia t e d v/ith lu n g dam age. ' The x -r a y s tu d ie s showed d e f i n i t e f i b r o s i s to b e p r e se n t in a pro p ortion o f the nen. These r e s u lts should be evaluated w ith the r e a liz a tio n th at x -ra y s alw ays u n d er-rep resen t th e amount o f s e a r - r in g to be p resen t and th a t m ost damage f i r s t nakes i t s appearance . 20 or more years a f t e r on set o f work. ' * -i \i_ _ .. ... . The fo llo w in g ta b le summarizes th e fin d in g s in th e .sm ali sam ple o f men s o fi a r exam imneda. . . -- ... * ! -L . . .. - -*-**1 * ; * * Y ears frofll * o n s e t o f taplni^-work Number examined- X-ray evidence o f . fib ro sis  x -r a y changes aro n ot u n lik e th o se seen arsons a s b e s to s I n s u la tio n .jr lic r s w ith s i n i l a r work e x p e r ie n c e . Local 1974 - Tapers L ocals 12 32 - In sx tla tio n V.'orJ: Years' from o n s e t o f work 0-9 10-19 20-29 */.. 30-39 . * 0 Wssbcr Examined 4 0 10 7 *# X7 Percent F ibrosis 50% . 59% . mm - *. * Number Examined * 346 379 , 77 194 * .121 - ..-- . 1,117 Percent F ibrosis 1 0 .4 44.1 : 72.8 8 7 .1 ; 94.2* Of c o u r se , no c o n c lu sio n s can b e drawn frost such few d a ta . N e v e r th e le s s , * even th ese U n ite d experiences su ggest th a t a problem o f se r io u s propor tio n s* nay b e in th e o f f i n g . Among in s u la t io n workers in th e c o n s tr u c tio n in d u stry, few cancers occur in the f i r s t twenty y ears. A lter th is nark i s rea ch ed , can cer and pneum oconiosis become s e r io u s h a z a r d s. In th e period. 1967-1971, fo r example, a lc o s t h a lf o f a l l deaths were due to c a n cer o f one ty p e o r an o th er, w ith 20% o f d eath s due to lUng can cer a lo n e Apprehension has been heightened by another o b serv a tio n . A member'of -L ocal 793, Mr. S. E s p o s ito , was found 19 months ago to have lu n g can cer, ~id th e a f f e c t e d lu n g was removed. A n a ly s is o f th e t i s s u e s showed a ea t deal o f asb estos, with l i t e r a l l y b illio n s o f sm a ll, fin e fib e r s '' p r e s e n t, s i n i l a r to th e numbers found in a s b e s to s in s u la t io n workers* ' lu n g s . (U n fortu n ately, d e s p ite th e o p e r a tio n , Mr. E sp o sito d ie d sev en ' 'm onths a g o .) . ' -' *. . ** \ `im *V ' :"*.- Id*;."* i **' ' ' v *. -- * *. s:'* i ''a * . " C "" V. - 7-i.* You may b e assu red o f our f u l l co o p e ra tio n in such m easures you b e lie v e . w ill be of a ssista n c e in promoting the h ea lth o f your members. ^ Y . ... . . _ --. r> -,'" V -vC-;- 7 - - "7*7* . v i - * * v r . > 'S in c e r e ly y o u rs, *'* ' ** '* ' '*** ~ " '* * t *. * * . v : i *: - incturcr xwui 'spacI:It: c ..[-fJUllUj s M aterial C hrysotilc A sbestos Quartz . . .. .. Mica T alc Othc u .s . Gypsua A * U .S. Gypsum D Tape compound Tape compound 1 + + 0 + 0 0 + 0 4*" u . s . Gypsum C "Nurobond" + 0 + 0 + * u .s . Gypsua D J o in tin g compound - + 0 + 0 4* # . u . s . Gypsua E "Redraix" + . 4- 0 4* 9 * u .s . Gypsua F Wall board s e a l . + . + 4- 0 + 9 u . s . Gypsua G ' Taping compound + . + ; 4* 4- % Muralco Spackle + + + 4* + N.A. ` Spackle * . V * / ;* 4- ' 4* o; 4-* If. A. S p a c k le o' +* 0 4* 0 N.A'. ' P la ster board 0 K.A. P la ster board 0 * N;A. . .. T i l e s e t t e r s cement 0 4- 0 + + \ o. 4- .. + 4- 0 .4* Techniques u tiliz e d : acfcle and ,,.-.pins compounds: o p tic a l m icroscopy, e lectro n m icroscopy, x -ray d iffraction .* *.* * C hrysotile asbestos . 9/10 Quartz 6/10 M ica 9/10 T a lc . 2/10 Confidential A rthur N, R ohl, Ph.D. Mount S in a i S ch o o l o f M edicine o f th e .C ity U n iv e r s ity o f Kew York January 23, 1974