Tobacco Documents Online

Services of Mead' Data Central, Inc. LEVEL 1- 5 OF 55 STORIES Copyright (1c) 1990 Seattle Times Company The Seattle Times June 25, 1990, Monday, Final Editioni PAGE 13 SECTION: NEWS; Pg. Al LENGTH: 470 words HEADLINE: EPA: KEEP SMOKERS NONSM4KERS APART BYLINE: BY WARREN KING BODY: Companies nationwi'de should prevent their workers from being.involuntarily exposed to tobacco smoke, the Environmental Protection Agency said today In t he draft of a landmark report on Nsecondhand smoke." The agency stopped short of recommending an outright ban on smoking in the workplace. But it said that "based on the significant health risks" of tobacco smoke, companies shauld segregate smokers from nonsmokers. The agency also declared drifti'ng smoke a substance known to cause cancer in humans. And it estiro,ated that 2,500 nonsmokers a year die from being.exposed to tobacco smoke. Since there is no established health-based threshold for exposure to secondhand smoke and since the EPA does not recognize a safe level for cancer-causing agents, the agency recommends that exposure of nonsmokers to such smoke be eliminated, the report said. Before being finalized, the long-pending report will now be reviewed by a group of independent scientists, and will be subject to public comment for 60 days. Among the other major points made in the 72-page report are: -- Secoridhand smoke is linked to respiratory problems and increased incidence of ear infections in young children. -- Such~ saooke may aggravate heart and lung problems. -- Secondhand smoke spreads rapidly through buildings, persists long after smoking ends and is one of the largest sources of indoor pollution. -- Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 43 of which are known human or animal carcinogens. Tobacco-smoke components can be found in the body fluids of exposed nonsmokers. The EPA said exposure to the smoke can be eliminated by setting up enclosed, separately ventilated smoking rooms with direct external exhausts or by banning indoor smoking. LElf15'14~'EXIS'LE3tIS'NEXIS'

Services of Mead Data: Centrat, Ina PAGE 14 (c) 1990 The Seattle Times Company, June 25, 1990 Employees and unions should help develop policies on smoking~control, the agency added. Robert Rosner, one of the chief authors of the report and a Seattle consultant oninonsmoking policies, said there are three keys to implementing smoking bans: educating employees about the need for such a policy, phasing!in a smoking ban and providing free nonsmoking programs. "The most important thing is that there are not iust healthiconcerns but a yarietv of issues" surrounding secondhand smoke, said Rosner, president of the Smokinq Policy Institute. "'There are also safety concerns and employee morale." The EPA said it based its conclusions an a review of' 24 independent epidemiological studies on the health effects of secondhand smoke. The evidence linking secondhand smoke to increased lungicancer incidence "cannot be attributed to chance," the agency said. Those interested in commenting on the report may obtain a copy from: ORD Publications Office, CERI-FRN; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 26 W. Martin Luther i(ing Drive; Cincinnati, Ohio 45268. SUBJECT: SMfJKING ~ Q N N ~ A GD ~ LEXIS' 1 F! E x I$' L E X I S' M E)a' I 5'