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National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506. Proceedings of the Workshop on Asbestos: Definitions and Measurement Methods held at NBS, Gaithersburg, MD, July 18-20, 1977. (Issued November 1978) INTRODUCTION John Martonick, OSHA - Chairman I would like to make brief comments to put the aspect of regulatory agencies into perspective. First, I think that if we reflect on the information that has been presented over the last 2-1/2 days, we could conclude that there is a considerable amount that we do know about asbestos, with which we can all agree. From this information which we do know about asbestos, the regulatory agencies must constructively formulate their regulatory postures. Their interpretation of this information must be practical in the sense that the job has to be performed and it has to be performed now in many cases. The regulatory agencies don't necessarily have time to reflect on which path they might take, or which path might be better to take. The uncertainties in measurement and health effect that have been discussed thus far must be put into perspective and this perspective must reflect the goals and objectives that a particular agency has. My second point is: How does an agency defermine its goals? Each agency has a defined rule, defined by Congress when they mandated that the agency take certain action. In order to assure that the intent of Congress is being met, the Congress has the General Accounting Office periodically investigate regulatory agencies to see whether or not they are performing as Congress intended. In addition, the public has a great deal of influence on the regulatory agencies. They influence us in all aspects; they influence the Congress, they influence the President, and they have direct influence on the regulatory agencies; through meetings like this, through public hearings, and through general day-to-day interactions. Finally, the courts make decisions which direct the agencies and their activities. If agencies get out of line and assume too much authority, the courts will hopefully bring them into perspective. These are the introductory comments I wanted to make. If you listen to the papers presented today, you will see that action has taken place, and that certain types of consideration are being made to everyone involved. It would be unfortunate if some of the individuals being regulated feel that the regulatory agencies are insensitive. 421 M+