Dust control in a conventional asbestos textile factory

Our plain-English summary of Dust control in a conventional asbestos textile factory, by H. C. Lewinsohn, C. A. Kennedy, J. E. Day, et al (1979).

The study

• Authors: H. C. Lewinsohn, C. A. Kennedy, J. E. Day, P. H. Cooper
• Published: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 225-? (1979)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This paper, by Raybestos-Manhattan authors, described dust reduction at the company's Marshville asbestos textile plant, bought in November 1969. The plant processed chrysotile asbestos. At purchase, dust counts were barely below 12 fibers per cubic centimeter, the maximum then recommended by the ACGIH. Changes included enclosed, exhausted feed hoppers and pneumatic fiber transport replacing hand hauling. They also included double enclosures around the carding machines and dampened yarns in weaving. A new 110,000 cubic feet per minute baghouse brought total exhaust air to nearly 200,000 cubic feet per minute. Clean-up staffing more than doubled. The Marshville conversion was allotted $2.6 million and was not completed until July 1977. The authors reported all areas were then below 1 fiber per milliliter, 8-hour time-weighted average. They also reported that manufacturing cost per pound had not risen. They warned that poor work practices at any single operation could cause widespread contamination. The authors concluded that the paper illustrated difficulties that might be encountered in epidemiological dose-response studies when environmental sampling, raw materials and engineering controls change while the process and product stay essentially unaltered. No worker health data were reported.

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 engineering report on a dust-control program at one asbestos textile plant; no health data
• Who was studied: The Marshville asbestos textile plant acquired by Raybestos-Manhattan in November 1969 (about 150,000 square feet, slightly over 200 employees); dust levels described for 1969, 1974 and 1978
• Exposure: Airborne asbestos dust from chrysotile asbestos fiber in textile operations (fiber preparation, carding, spinning, twisting, winding, weaving)
• Main results:
  • At the 1969 acquisition, dust counts were barely below 12 (apparently fibers per cubic centimeter), the maximum allowable concentration recommended by the ACGIH
  • Pneumatic handling of blended stock eliminated the manual job of stock hauling
  • Dust at the carding machines was controlled by double enclosures exhausted to a baghouse
  • Yarns were dampened to reduce dust generation in weaving
  • A new baghouse rated at 110,000 cubic feet per minute was installed for additional exhaust air
  • Total exhaust air reached nearly 200,000 cubic feet per minute
  • Added clean-up personnel represented more than a doubling of the clean-up effort
  • $2.6 million was provided for converting the Marshville plant, as part of a $12.3 million plan
  • The project was not completed until July 1977, after the July 1976 target
  • After completion (1978), all areas were maintained below 1 fiber per milliliter, 8-hour time-weighted average
  • Manufacturing cost per pound of product did not increase despite higher energy costs
  • The authors stated that poor work practices at any single operation could cause widespread contamination
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the paper illustrates difficulties that might be encountered in epidemiological dose-response studies in industry when environmental sampling, raw material production and engineering controls change over time while the process and final product remain essentially unaltered
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that experience would determine what further improvements could or needed to be made

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Dust Control, Raybestos-Manhattan, Chrysotile, Fibers per Cubic Centimeter (f/cc), Carding, Time-Weighted Average (TWA), Dose-response relationship, Engineering Controls.

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