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Conclusions Based on the preceding discussion, the following conclusions are drawn. 1. Commercial definitions of asbestos, whereby asbestos fibers are defined on a micro- scopic scale, have little or no relevance to actual airborne fiber exposures where fibers of microscopic scale are of concern. Furthermore, those mineralogical or geological methods such as examination of ore specimens with a hand lens or low power microscopy are of limited value for routine identification of asbestiform mineral contamination in minerals or mineral products. 2. Users of products containing asbestos have a right to know that they have potential for exposures to asbestos or asbestiform minerals such that proper precautions may be taken to eliminate or reduce exposures. Producers of these products have an obligation to provide these data based on appropriate analytical techniques. Regulatory agencies must insist that appropriate techniques be employed and monitor results. 3. Inasmuch as considerable quantities of data are available suggesting that many fibrous materials may be biologically active [8], consideration should be given for establishing exposure standards for "mineral fibers" as a class of materials with similar health effects. The lives and health of American workers, America's most valuable resource, should not be compromised while the health scientist and the mineralogist disagree over definitions. As Dr. Paul Kotin of the Johns-Manville Corporation stated so well at this conference, the body has not read the asbestos regulations to decide which fibers should cause a biological response. Similarly, neither has the body read a mineralogy text to determine which particles of fibrous minerals should be considered "asbestos" or only mineral fragments. , References [1] Rohl, A. N. and Langer, A. M., Identification and qualitative of asbestos in talc, Env. Health Persp. 9, 95-109 (1974). [2] Stanley, H. D. and Norwood, R. E., The detection and identification of asbestos and asbestiform minerals in talc in Proceedings of the Symposium on Talc, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, 0. C., May 8, 1973. [3] Minerals in the U.S. Economy: Ten Year Supply - Demand Profiles for Mineral and Fuel Commodities (1965-74), United States Department of Interior Bureau of Mines (1975). [4] Zumwalde, R. 0. and Cement, J. M., Review and Evaluation of Analytical methods for Environmental Studies of Fibrous Particulate Exposures, CHEW (NIOSH) Publication No. 77-204, May (1977). [5] Keenan, R. G. and Lynch, J. R. , Techniques for the detection, identification and analysis of fibers, Amer. Ind. Hyq. J., 31, 587-597 (1970). [6] Ortiz, L. W. and Isom, B. L. , Transfer technique for electron microscopy of membrane filter samples, Amer. Ind. Lg. Assoc. J., 423-425 (1974). [7] Leidel, A. L., Bayer, S. G., and Zumwalde, R. D., USPHS/NIOSH Membrane Filter Method for Evaluating Airborne Asbestos Fibers, NIOSH, November (1975). [8] Oement, J. M., Zumwalde, R. D., and Wallingford, K. M., Asbestos fiber exposures in a hard rock gold mine, Ann. N.Y. Acad. of Science, 271, 345-352 (1975). Discussion NOTE: Discussion of this paper was included in the General Discussion at the end of this session. 323 2063105117