Crbide’s plant
strata why:
ITEM--Union
in Tonowanda, New York, near Buf
falo, manufactures the "molecula
sieve," and absorbent chemical
poViFder with many commercial
uses. Last spring, union examinf-
ations of eighteen workers who I
had been employed in that departf
ment showed that all gighteen
had acute bronchitis,“all eigh
teen had suffered from dermati
tis, seven had emphysema and
tVv?o had circultory problems
caused by ulcerated sores. Yet
Union Carbide claimed none of
the men had "any occupationally
I
which is uni-que to those who
have breathed asbestos dust. And
finally, ear-drum-damaging' noise
pollution in mill's is among the
worst in American industry vjith
i.orkers constantly exposed to de
cibel levels above one hundred,
V hen eip'ht-five decibels are harm
ful.
Acoustical engineering studies
indicate noise could be reduced
in mills for about fifty cens
per month per employee. Yet the
industry does nothing, despite the
convincing evidence and realtively
low cost of correction.
IT£M--Proponents of American
incurred pulmonary (lung) probleitis'^T^Q]_0,3j> power—both for industry
according to company medical
records.
Harvey Cowan, a chemical
operator at the plantafter^ore
than five years, left in 196?
totally disabled from emphysema.
He filed for workmen’s compan-
sation in I969 after suffering
two heart attacks, but Union
Carbide refused to bring the
case before the compensation
board. On Sept. 26, 1970,
Cowan died, at age fifty-five.
A union representative who
approached management got this
reply from one executive:
"I’m not in the business of
safety, I'm in the business of
making molecular sieves."
ITEM--''orkers in the Ameri
can textile industry are almost
unanimously assaulted by a trio
of dangerous hazards in waving
mills, most of which are lo
cated in Southern states. Cloud^
of rav. cotton fibers cause a
serious respiratory ailment
known as oyssinosis, from which
100,000 w-'orkers are now suffer
ing and to which another 250,000j
are exposed. Breathing tiny ;
particles of asbestos, a hazard |
in textile mills since the 1800’$
results in asbestiosis, a loss
of lung function, or mesothelio
ma , a deadly form of lung cancer
OTd defense—have consistently
maintained that mining large
stockpiles of uranium is more
vital than protecting miners by
setting strict exposure standards
for radon, the cancer-producing
gas permitted in mines. Environ
mentalists familiar with the
Atomic Energy Commission’s long
reluctance to establish truly
safe standards for radiation
exposure were not surprised when
the industry’s Federal Radiation
Council dragged its feet in de
manding proper ventilation of
radon gas in uraium mines.
For mining operations on the
Colorado Plateau, the FRC set
"standards" that were ten to one
hundred times the levels set by
the International Commission
on Radiological Protection,
neutral, non-industrial .-agency.
Still, compensation claims by
disabled miners or the families of
deceased miners are often denied
because "little is known" about
the correlation betv.een deadly
radon gas and cancer. But much
is known, it seems about the pro
fit-making potential of the
uranium industry, for v.hich the
AEG and the FRC have both lobbied
in Congress.
Mho is at Vi/ork to begin correct
ing such shocking and criminal