Control Of Asbestos Fiber Emissions From Industrial And Commercial Sources

Our plain-English summary of Control Of Asbestos Fiber Emissions From Industrial And Commercial Sources, by W.B. Reitze, D.A. Holaday, H. Romer, et al (1971).

The study

• Authors: W.B. Reitze, D.A. Holaday, H. Romer, E.M. Fenner
• Published: Proceedings Of The 2Nd International Clean Air Congress (H.M. Englund And W.T. Beery, Editors), New York: Academic Press, Pp. 100-103 (1971)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library, J-M no. 004327. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This 1970 conference paper was a technical overview, not a study with new measurements, written for engineers working in industrial control or government enforcement. The authors listed the main sources of asbestos fiber released into outdoor (ambient) air: mining, milling, manufacturing, certain construction work, and natural rock. They then described the control methods in use, mainly in North America. They wrote that bag filters with over 99% efficiency were readily available for mills. They also wrote that there was no known method for efficiently controlling blasting emissions at open pit mines. They called asbestos textile processing the most troublesome manufacturing operation. They said spray-applied fireproofing containing asbestos released large quantities of fiber into the air each year, and they described New York City's 1970 spray rules. Dust removed from workplaces was often released outdoors, and scrap on building sites was ground underfoot and carried away. The authors noted that all serpentine rock contains minute amounts of asbestos fiber. They concluded that, with time, effort, money and ingenuity, asbestos released to ambient air could be substantially reduced.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive technical overview (conference paper) of sources of asbestos fiber emissions and the control methods used for them; no original measurements reported
• Who was studied: No people were studied. The paper covers operations in mines, mills, manufacturing plants and construction sites, mainly in North America and the United States, plus natural sources
• Exposure: Asbestos fiber released to ambient air from mining, milling, manufacturing (asbestos cement products, floor tile, friction material, plastics, textiles) and construction (including calcium silicate insulation containing 5 to 15 percent asbestos fiber, asbestos cement, and sprayed fireproofing), and from natural serpentine rock. Fiber types are not named beyond serpentine rock.
• Main results:
  • For milling, bag filters with efficiency above 99% were described as readily available
  • For manufacturing, the authors stated that a high efficiency (99% or more) is needed for adequate control
  • For blasting in open pit mining, the authors listed no known method for efficiently controlling emissions to ambient air, and described such control methods as virtually non-existent
  • Asbestos textile processing was described as the most troublesome manufacturing operation
  • Most construction products with asbestos locked in by plastic or cement were described as contributing very little to ambient air pollution
  • Spray application of mineral fiber containing asbestos, as done in the United States, was described as adding large quantities of asbestos fiber to ambient air each year
  • Dust removed from workplaces such as ship compartments or insulation fabrication shops was often released into ambient air rather than collected
  • Scrap and sawdust from calcium silicate block and pipe covering on construction sites was described as being ground underfoot or by truck tires and carried away
  • New York City introduced stringent regulations on spray operations in May 1970, including enclosure of floors being insulated
  • The authors considered methods of controlling asbestos emissions from construction sites to be still in the developmental stage
  • The authors stated that all serpentine rock contains minute quantities of asbestos fiber, which may reach the air through erosion, rock slides and crushing for road construction
  • The authors wrote that reducing asbestos fiber entering ambient air would be advisable as a precautionary measure while studies were under way
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, with time, effort, money and ingenuity, the amount of asbestos fiber released to ambient air could be substantially reduced. They said open pit mining and certain construction work still needed more development of controls.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Spray-Applied Fireproofing, Serpentine Group.

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