Thread from occ-med chatboard, well worth sharing w/IAQ interested parties.

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"Many subscribers to this list have been involved in a multiplicity of efforts to prohibit the use of asbestos in the US. We have failed to stop the needless death caused by exposure to this mineral after decades of working with friendly politicians who for whatever reasons fail to deliver at the last minute." Dr. Harbut.

NEWS from CPSCU.S. Consumer Product Safety CommissionOffice of Information and Public AffairsWashington, DC 20207FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 29, 2009Release # 10-094CPSC Recall Hotline: CPSC Media Contact: RC2 Corp. to Pay $1.25 Million Civil Penalty & Friends Wooden Railway Toys Recalled Due to Violation of Lead Paint BanWASHINGTON, D.C. - As part of its commitment to protecting the safety of children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that RC2 Corp., of Oak Brook, Ill. has agreed to pay a $1.25 million civil penalty for allegedly violating the federal lead paint ban.The penalty settlement, which has been provisionally accepted by the Commission, resolves CPSC staff allegations that RC2 Corp. and one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries Learning Curve Brands Inc., knowingly (as defined by the Consumer Product Safety Act) imported and sold various & Friends Wooden Railway toys with paints or other surface coatings that contained lead levels above legal limits. In 1978, a federal ban was put in place which prohibited toys and other children's articles from having more than 0.06 percent lead (by weight) in paints or surface coatings. As a result of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the regulatory limit was reduced to 0.009 percent on August 14, 2009.CPSC staff alleged that RC2 failed to take adequate action to ensure that the toys would comply with the lead paint ban. This failure created a risk of lead poisoning and adverse health effects to children.In May 2007, RC2 reported that more than two dozen styles of vehicles, buildings and other train set components from the & Friends Wooden Railway product line were determined to have paints with lead levels that exceeded the then-applicable regulatory limit of 0.06 percent. Later, in August and September 2007, RC2 further reported that five additional toys from this product line were determined to have exceeded this limit.This civil penalty settles the following allegations:* RC2 imported up to 1.5 million units of non-compliant & Friends Wooden Railway toys between January 2005 and June 2007, and distributed them to its retail customers for sale to U.S. consumers. These toys were recalled in June 2007.* RC2 imported up to 200,000 units of five additional non-compliant toys from this product line between March 2003 and April 2007, and distributed them to its retail customers for sale to U.S. consumers. In September 2007, the original June 2007 recall was expanded to include these additional units."The highly publicized recall of & Friends Wooden Railway toys was a catalyst for Congressional action aimed at strengthening CPSC and making the lead-in-paint limits under federal law even stricter," said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum.This settlement also resolves other potential matters. In agreeing to the settlement, RC2 denies that it knowingly violated federal law, as alleged by CPSC staff.To see this release on CPSC's web site, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10094.html----------------------------------------------------------------------Subject: Asbestos BanDate: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 08:23:09 -0500X-Message-Number: 2I fully endorsed Harbut's frustration and anger over the continuingasbestos debacle both in Canada and in the United States, We havecontinuing asbestos disease in every region of Canada but absolute silenceabout its impact from any government agency.Attached are links to two recent stories in the Toronto Star on Canadianasbestos in India and on the possible expansion of asbestos mining inQuebec.Also attached is the link to the Toronto Star's subsequent editorial whichcalls for a ban.As I said to , the road to the global ban of asbestos goes throughOttawa. A US ban would make a substantial impact on this most importantinternational public health imperative by demonstrating that Canada has gonerogue on asbestos as it has on climate change.Canada's booming asbestos market:The cancer-causing mineral is prized in India, even as it is reviled here. Wells investigates the demand for a product we shun - but stillminehttp://www.thestar.com/news/world/india/article/741085--canada-s-booming-asbestos-marketMeet Quebec's 'Mr. Asbestos'Bernard Coulombe has big plans for a mineral shunned here but valued in thedeveloping worldhttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/742991--meet-quebec-s-mr-asbestosCanada's lethal exporthttp://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/742677--canada-s-lethal-exportJim Brophy, PhDToxic Free Canada----------------------------------------------------------------------Subject: Re: On banning asbestosDate: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 08:49:50 -0500X-Message-Number: 3Good points.Until the NESHAPs regulations are enforced, worrying about banning asbestos isjust like charging at windmills. The effort of AIHA and CIHs in the USA should beenforcement of the current regulations to limit exposures. A simple regulation that allrenovation/demolition permits must have a signed letter from a licensed inspectorwould be the place to start, but only if there is enforcement. Heck, some localsstill give demo permits after the demo has taken place. Been seeing the problemsas an inspector for over 20 years and as a whole, there is no enforcement except inisolated places.Dr.Henry A. Boyter Jr.Director of ResearchInstitute of Textile TechnologyNC State University College of TextilesBox 83012401 Research DriveRaleigh, NC 27695-8301http://www.itt.edu"Ride, boldly ride,"The shade replied,--"If you seek for Eldorado!" asbestos screeningDate: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 15:15:05 -0800X-Message-Number: 6ATS Guidelines recommend that after a sufficient delay for the latencyperiod that it is reasonable for screening to take place every 3-5 years todetect the onset of asbestos related lung disease. There is norecommendation as to ongoing testing after the detection of asbestos relatedchanges, such as pleural plaque, or when one detects changes in PFS that maybe asbestos related (significant decrease in FVC from baseline or changes inairflow unexplained by smoking history). I am wondering if anyone on thelist serve can comment on this or is aware of recommendations for thefrequency of ongoing testing in these situations.Ian Connell MD FCBOM

Sharon Noonan Kramer