National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers

Subcommittee on Manufactured Vitreous Fibers

Committee on Toxicology

Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology

Commission on Life Sciences

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington D.C.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This project was supported by Contracts DAMD17-89-C-9086 and DAMD17-99-C-9049 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Defense. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

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Additional copies of this report are available from:

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Engineering

Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
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×

SUBCOMMITTEE ON MANUFACTURED VITREOUS FIBERS

MORTON LIPPMANN (Chair),

New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, New York

LEONARD CHIAZZE,

Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.

DAVID B. COULTAS,

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

KEVIN E. DRISCOLL,

Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Cincinnati, Ohio

AGNES B. KANE,

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

JAMES E. LOCKEY,

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

ERNEST E. MCCONNELL,

ToxPath, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina

GÜNTER OBERDÖRSTER,

University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, New York

LORENZ R. RHOMBERG,

Gradient Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts

MARK UTELL,

University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York

DAVID B.WARHEIT,

DuPont Haskell Laboratory, Newark, Delaware

STAFF

KULBIR S. BAKSHI, Program Director,

Committee on Toxicology

ROBERTA M. WEDGE, Project Director

EILEEN N. ABT, Research Associate

NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Editor

MIRSADA KARALIC-LONCAREVIC, Information Specialist

LUCY V. FUSCO, Project Assistant

LINDA LEONARD, Project Assistant

SPONSOR

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

COMMITTEE ON TOXICOLOGY

BAILUS WALKER, JR., (CHAIR),

Howard University Medical Center and American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.

MELVIN E. ANDERSEN,

Colorado State University, Denver, Colorado

GERMAINE M. BUCK,

University at Buffalo, State of New York

ROBERT E. FORSTER II,

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PAUL M.D. FOSTER,

Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

WILLIAM E. HALPERIN,

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio

CHARLES H. HOBBS,

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico

SAMUEL KACEW,

University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

NANCY KERKVLIET,

Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

FLORENCE K. KINOSHITA,

Hercules Incorporated, Wilmington, Delaware

MICHAEL J. KOSNETT,

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado

MORTON LIPPMANN,

New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, New York

ERNEST E. MCCONNELL,

ToxPath, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina

THOMAS E. MCKONE,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley, California

HARIHARA MEHENDALE,

The University of Louisiana of Louisiana at Monroe, Louisiana

DAVID H. MOORE,

Battelle Memorial Institute, Bel Air, Maryland

GÜNTER OBERDÖRSTER,

University of Rochester, Rochester, New York

JOHN L. O'DONOGHUE,

Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York

GEORGE M. RUSCH,

AlliedSignal, Inc., Morristown, New Jersey

MARY E. VORE,

University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky

ANNETTA P. WATSON,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

LAUREN ZEISE,

California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, California

STAFF

KULBIR S. BAKSHI, Program Director

SUSAN N.J. PANG, Program Officer

ABIGAIL E. STACK, Program Officer

MICHELLE C. CATLIN, Research Associate

RUTH E. CROSSGROVE, Publications Manager

KATHRINE J. IVERSON, Manager,

Toxicology Information Center

EMILY SMAIL, Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY

GORDON ORIANS (Chair),

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

DONALD MATTISON (Vice Chair),

March of Dimes, White Plains, New York

DAVID ALLEN,

University of Texas, Austin, Texas

INGRID C. BURKE,

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

WILLIAM L. CHAMEIDES,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

JOHN DOULL,

University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas

CHRISTOPHER B. FIELD,

Carnegie Institute of Washington, Stanford, California

JOHN GERHART,

University of California, Berkeley, California

J. PAUL GILMAN,

Celera Genomics, Rockville, Maryland

BRUCE D. HAMMOCK,

University of California, Davis, California

MARK HARWELL,

University of Miami, Miami, Florida

ROGENE HENDERSON,

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico

CAROL HENRY,

Chemical Manufacturers Association, Arlington, Virginia

BARBARA HULKA,

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

JAMES F. KITCHELL,

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

DANIEL KREWSKI,

University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

JAMES A. MACMAHON,

Utah State University, Logan, Utah

MARIO J. MOLINA,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

CHARLES O'MELIA,

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

WILLEM F. PASSCHIER,

Health Council of the Netherlands

KIRK SMITH,

University of California, Berkeley, California

MARGARET STRAND,

Oppenheimer Wolff Donnelly & Bayh, LLP, Washington, D.C.

TERRY F. YOSIE,

Chemical Manufacturers Association, Arlington, Virginia

SENIOR STAFF

JAMES J. REISA, Director

DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Senior Program Director for Applied Ecology

CAROL A. MACZKA, Senior Program Director for Toxicology and Risk Assessment

RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering

KULBIR BAKSHI, Program Director for the Committee on Toxicology

LEE R. PAULSON, Program Director for Resource Management

ROBERTA M. WEDGE, Program Director for Risk Analysis

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
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COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES

MICHAEL, T. CLEGG (Chair),

University of California, Riverside, California

PAUL BERG (Vice Chair),

Stanford University, Stanford, California

FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, D.C.

JOANNA BURGER,

Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey

JAMES E. CLEAVER,

University of California, San Francisco, California

DAVID EISENBERG,

University of California, Los Angeles, California

JOHN EMMERSON,

Fishers, Indiana

NEAL FIRST,

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

DAVID J. GALAS,

Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Science, Claremont, California

DAVID V. GOEDDEL,

Tularik, Inc., South San Francisco, California

ARTURO GOMEZ-POMPA,

University of California, Riverside, California

COREY S. GOODMAN,

University of California, Berkeley, California

JON W. GORDON,

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York

DAVID G. HOEL,

Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

BARBARA S. HULKA,

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

CYNTHIA KENYON,

University of California, San Francisco, California

BRUCE R. LEVIN,

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

DAVID LIVINGSTON,

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

DONALD R. MATTISON,

March of Dimes, White Plains, New York

ELLIOT M. MEYEROWITZ,

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

ROBERT T. PAINE,

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

RONALD R. SEDEROFF,

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

ROBERT R. SOKAL,

State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York

CHARLES F. STEVENS,

Salk Institute, La Jolla, California

SHIRLEY M. TILGHMAN,

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

RAYMOND L. WHITE,

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

STAFF

WARREN R. MUIR, Executive Director

JACQUELINE K. PRINCE, Financial Officer

BARBARA B. SMITH, Administrative Associate

LAURA T. HOLLIDAY, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

OTHER REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY

Strengthening Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Research Management and Peer Review Practice (2000)

Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment (2000)

Modeling Mobile-Source Emissions (2000)

Copper in Drinking Water (2000)

Ecological Indicators for the Nation (2000)

Waste Incineration and Public Health (1999)

Hormonally Active Agents in the Environment (1999)

Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter: I. Immediate Priorities and a Long-Range Research Portfolio (1998); II. Evaluating Research Progress and Updating the Portfolio (1999)

Ozone-Forming Potential of Reformulated Gasoline (1999)

Risk-Based Waste Classification in California (1999)

Arsenic in Drinking Water (1999)

Brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Area (1998)

The National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology: The First 50 Years (1997)

Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion Tests (1997)

Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the Human Diet (1996)

Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest (1996)

Science and the Endangered Species Act (1995)

Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995)

Biologic Markers (5 reports, 1989-1995)

Review of EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (3 reports, 1994-1995)

Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment (1994)

Ranking Hazardous Waste Sites for Remedial Action (1994)

Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993)

Issues in Risk Assessment (1993)

Setting Priorities for Land Conservation (1993)

Protecting Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas (1993)

Dolphins and the Tuna Industry (1992)

Hazardous Materials on the Public Lands (1992)

Science and the National Parks (1992)

Animals as Sentinels of Environmental Health Hazards (1991)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program, Volumes I-IV (1991-1993)

Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants (1991)

Monitoring Human Tissues for Toxic Substances (1991)

Rethinking the Ozone Problem in Urban and Regional Air Pollution (1991)

Decline of the Sea Turtles (1990)

Copies of these reports may be ordered from

the National Academy Press

(800) 624-6242

(202) 334-3313

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

PREFACE

THE U.S. Navy Environmental Health Center (NEHC), part of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, oversees the Navy's Occupational Safety and Health Program. In 1995, the NEHC established an occupational exposure standard of 2 fibers per cubic centimeter for manufactured vitreous fibers to protect workers against adverse health effects. Recently, this standard was lowered to 1 fiber per cubic centimeter to comply with existing guidelines developed by other industrial hygiene organizations. In setting the earlier exposure standard, the Navy reviewed the toxicological and epidemiological studies available in the published scientific literature and the rationales used by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in developing its recommended exposure limit of 3 fibers per cubic centimeter and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in proposing a permissible exposure limit of 1 fiber per cubic centimeter. The Navy chose an occupational exposure limit that was an average of those two values.

In this report, the Subcommittee on Manufactured Vitreous Fibers of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Toxicology reviews independently the scientific validity of the Navy's exposure limit and determines whether any additional scientific studies should be considered by the Navy in choosing its exposure limit. To prepare the report, the subcommittee reviewed the materials supplied by the Navy, and by other organization's and individuals, and information gathered at a public meeting held at the J. Erik Jonsson Woods Hole Center, Massachusetts, on July 16, 1998. This report is intended to assist the

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
×

Navy in developing a process for establishing occupational exposure limits for other materials and to highlight concerns that might influence the choice of a protective value.

The subcommittee wishes to thank David A. Macys, program officer, of the Office of Naval Research, and Patricia Krevonick, senior industrial hygienist, of the NEHC, for their presentations at the public meeting and for their responses to written questions from the subcommittee. We also gratefully acknowledge John Hadley, corporate toxicologist of Owens Corning for making a presentation to the subcommittee.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures for reviewing NRC reports approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the final report is the responsibility of NRC and the study subcommittee, and not of the reviewers. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals, who are neither officials nor employees of NRC, for their participation in the review of this report: Andrew Churg, University of British Columbia; Walter Eastes, Owens Corning Corporation; Jeffrey Everitt, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology; Thomas Hesterberg, Johns Manville Corporation; Daniel Luchtel, University of Washington; Gary Marsh, University of Pittsburgh; Roger McClellan, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (retired); and Vanessa Vu, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These reviewers have provided many constructive comments and suggestions; it must be emphasized, however, that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring subcommittee and NRC.

I am also grateful for the assistance of the NRC staff in the preparation of this report. In particular, the subcommittee wishes to acknowledge Kulbir Bakshi, program director of the Committee on Toxicology; Roberta Wedge, staff officer for the subcommittee; and Eileen Abt, research associate. Other staff members who contributed to this effort are Norman Grossblatt, editor; Lucy Fusco and Linda Leonard, project assistants, and Mirsada Karalic-Loncarevic, information specialist.

Finally, I would like to thank the members of the subcommittee for

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their valuable expertise and dedicated efforts throughout the preparation of this report. Their efforts in preparing this report within a very short time are much appreciated.

Morton Lippmann, Ph.D.

Chair, Subcommittee on Manufactured Vitreous Fibers

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2000. Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9867.
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REVIEW OF THE U.S. NAVY'S EXPOSURE STANDARD FOR MANUFACTURED VITREOUS FIBERS

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Manufactured vitreous fibers (MVF), also known as synthetic vitreous fibers, are considered to be less hazardous than asbestos to human health. They are used in many thermal- and acoustical-insulation applications as an asbestos substitute or as a filtration medium. The Navy uses MVF in shipboard and onshore applications. To protect Navy personnel from harmful exposures to MVF, the U.S. Navy Environmental Health Center (NEHC) developed occupational exposure standards. The documentation assists industrial hygienists, occupational medicine physicians, and other Navy health professionals in assessing and controlling the health hazards linked with exposure to MVF.

In 1997, the National Research Council (NRC) was asked to conduct an independent review of the Navy's toxicological assessment of MVF and to evaluate the scientific validity of its exposure standard of 2 fibers per cubic centimeter of air (f/cm3). The NRC assigned the task to the Committee on Toxicology, which established the Subcommittee on Manufactured Vitreous Fibers, a multidisciplinary group of experts, to determine whether all relevant toxicological and epidemiological data were correctly considered in developing the exposure standard; and to examine the uncertainty, variability, and quality of data and the appropriateness of assumptions used in the derivation of the exposure standard. The subcommittee was also asked to identify deficiencies in the MVF database and, where appropriate, to make recommendations for future research and data development.

Review of the U.S. Navy's exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers represents the subcommittee's final report. The committee had expanded its review when in January 1999, the Navy revised its Occupational Safety and Health Program Manual (CNO 1999), changing the occupational exposure limit for MVF to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) of 1 f/cm3. The report features recommendations by the subcommittee as well as information gaps found throughout investigation. Overall, the subcommittee found that the Navy made a good start in assessing the health effects of MVF, but needed further research.

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