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Philip Morris

Health Risks From Hair Dryer Emissions

Date: 21 Jul 1992
Length: 14 pages
2063616629-2063616642
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Author
Roppe, C.G.
Type
MEMO, MEMORANDUM
ABST, ABSTRACT
COMP, COMPUTER PRINTOUT
Area
CARCHMAN,RICHARD/DATABASE WAREHOUSE
Recipient (Organization)
PM, Philip Morris
Named Person
Enterline, P.
Gregory, C.
Hallenback, W.
Recipient
Carchman, R.A.
Document File
2063616628/2063616649/Po622 Hair Dryers Act
Author (Organization)
Embase
PM, Philip Morris
Named Organization
Environmental Health Perspectives
Excerpta Medica
Federal Register
Health Periodicals Database
Medline
OSHA, Occupational Safety & Health Administration
Toxline
Cpsc, Consumer Products Safety Commission
Embase
Litigation
Iwoh/Produced
Copied
Debardeleben, M.
Characteristic
CONF, CONFIDENTIAL
Site
R530
Date Loaded
23 May 1999
UCSF Legacy ID
vgk67e00

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PHILIP MORRIS U. S. A. INTER-OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE Richmond, Virginia RESTRICTED To: Dr. Richard A. Carchman Date: July 21, 1992 From: Carol G. Roppe ~~ Subject: Health Risks from Hair Dryer Emissions Enclosed are the results of an online literature search performed in Embase [Excerpta Medica] (File 73, 1974-); Medline (File 155, 1966-); Toxline (File 156, 1965-); Occupational Safety and Health (File 161, 1973-); Federal Register Abstracts (File 136, 1977-); and Health Periodicals Database (File 149, 1976-). Hair dryer emissions from asbestos and electromagnetic fields have been studied as potential health hazards. P. Enterline notes that asbestos heat shields in hair dryers were investigated and discontinued a decade ago, although he describes airborne asbestos levels of 1 ng/m' from daily use of a hand-held hair dryer as "a minimal risk" [Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 42, pp. 39-44, 1981](p. 2 and enclosed article). W. Hallenback confirms that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) obtained an agreement from industry to stop production of asbestos-insulated hair dryers (p. 3). CPSC- sponsored research showed asbestos concentrations from hair dryers ranging from 500-1000 ng/cm' (p. 7) to as high as 7652 ng/cm' (p. 8). Hair dryers also produce extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation in the range of 0-300 Hz (p. 10) and a magnetic field intensity of 0.236A/m. Magnetic fields at ELF can interact with biological systems (p. 12). Electromagnetic radiation from hair dryers and other appliances has been investigated for a link with leukemia (pp. 9, 13) but evidence for a health risk is inconclusive. Data on other sources of emissions from hair dryer components such as metals were not found in this search. Full articles may be requested from C. Gregory, R&D Library. If you need more information on this or other topics, please call me at ex. 3845. /cgr cc: M. DeBardeleben Central Files
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File 73:EMBASE (EXCERPTA MEDICA) 74-92/ISS29 (COPR. ESP BV/EM 1992) Extrapolation from occupational studies: a substitute for environmental epidemiology Enterline P.E. Dept. Biostat., Grad. Sch. Publ. Health, Univ. Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA ENVIRON. HEALTH PERSPECT. (USA), 1981, Vol. 42 (39-44) Extrapolation from occupational data to general environmental exposures gives some interesting results, and these results might be useful in our decision-making process. These results could never be observed by environmental epidemiology and this method probably represents the only way of quantifying the health effects of low-exposure levels. Three linear models for extrapolating to low levels are presented, one from Canadian data, one from American data and one from British data. One or more of these is applied to two recently publicized asbestos exposures: exposures resulting from asbestos heat shields in hair dryers and exposures in public school buildings. Predictions are derived as to the effects of asbestos exposures on cancer mortality. A comparison is made between predictions made on the basis of a linear and nonlinear model.
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Consumer product safety: Risk assessment of exposure to asbestos emissions from hand-held hair dryers Hallenbeck W.H. Sch. Publ. Hlth, Univ. Illinois Med. Cent., Chicago, Ill. 60680 USA ENVIRON. MANAGE. (GERMANY, WEST), 1981, 5/1 (23-32) LANGUAGES: ENGLISH The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is concerned that consumer exposure to asbestos from consumer products may present an unreasonable risk of injury. Recently, CPSC has obtained agreement by industry to cease production and distribution of hair dryers containing asbestos heat insulation. CPSC intends to broaden its investigation by selecting consumer products containing asbestos for 'priority attention'. The Commission does not intend to make quantitative estimates of cancer risks posed by exposure to asbestos fibers in making regulatory decisions. This position may lead to a serious waste of resources for the Commission, industry, and society. The Commission should focus its initial attention on those products for which the release of asbestos is significant enough to cause an unreasonable health risk. To make a risk assessment for a particular use of asbestos, CPSC must acquire or request data on asbestos emissions and define 'unreasonable risk to health'. In an attempt to give some meaning to the phrase 'risk assessments', the primary goal of this paper is to present a detailed risk assessment of exposure to asbestos from handheld hair dryers. Several scenarios of use are presented using various assumptions regarding time of operation, mixing of fibers in a small room, rate of fiber emission, and time of exposure. The worst case analysis of the health risk of exposure to hair dryer emissions is based on several conservative assumptions and shows that the increased number of deaths per year due to respiratory cancer is 4 for the entire United States population. A more representative case analysis shows the increased number of deaths to be on the order of 0.15 per year.
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Critique - consumer product safety: Risk assessment of exposure to asbestos emissions from hand-held hair dryers Cohn M.S.; White P.D.; Preuss P.W. US Consumer Product Safety Comm., Direct. Hlth Sci., Washington, D.C. 20207 USA ENVIRON. MANAGE. (GERMANY, WEST), 1981, 5/1(15-18) CODEN: EMNGD Rebuttal - consumer product safety: Risk assessment of exposure to asbestos emissions from hand-held hair dryers Hallenbeck W.H. Sch. Publ. Hlth, Univ. Illinois Med. Cent., Chicago, Ill. 60680 USA ENVIRON. MANAGE. (GERMANY, WEST), 1981, 5/1 (19-22) CODEN: EMNGD LANGUAGES: ENGLISH Consumer product safety: Risk assessment of exposure to asbestos emissions from hand-held hair dryers: Response to rebuttal of William Hallenbeck Cohn M.S.; White P.D.; Preuss P.W. US Consumer Prod. Safety Comm., Washington, D.C. 20207 USA ENVIRON. MANAGE. (GERMANY, WEST), 1981, 5/2 (91-93) CODEN: EMNGD File 136:FEDERAL REGISTER ABSTRACTS 77 JUL 16 1992 Proposed: 16 CFR Part 1145 CPSC withdraws proposed rule (May 17 1979, 44 FR 28828) to regulate hair dryer asbestos risk since no such regulatory action will be taken. Effective July 28 1982. Source: 47 124 Page: 27867 JUNE 28, 1982 Meeting: CPSC; Oct 24, 9 am, 1111 18th St NW, Wash DC; CEQ compliance and hair dryers. Source: 44 202 Page: 60000 OCTOBER 17, 1979 Notice: CPSC denies Esther Peterson Petition (CP 75-25) & Georgianna Hawrysz Petition (CP 76-2) which sought mandatory safety standards for hand held hair dryers. Source: 43 15 Page: 3149 JANUARY 23, 1978
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File 161: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH (NIOSH) 1973-1992Q1/MAR Asbestos in the Environment, Part II Lohrer, W., and H-J. Nantke Staub, Reinhaltung der Luft, Vol. 46, No. 12, pages 519-522, 64 references Apri11987 CODEN: STRHAV A discussion was provided of asbestos (1332214) released into indoor atmospheres at asbestos processing facilities during the manufacturing of asbestos containing products, during product use, and during the removal of asbestos containing products. The greatest problem with asbestos contamination indoors has been the difficulty of removing existing asbestos emission sources. The sources or the asbestos products which have caused most of the problems have been divided into two categories based on the degree of bonding: products with loose fiber bonding and density less than 1 gram/cubic centimeter, and products with dense fiber bonding and density greater than 1 gram/cubic centimeter. The areas where asbestos was applied by spraying were by far the most critical. Sprayed asbestos was a mixture of asbestos with an organic bonding agent, mainly Portland cement, which was used for protection against fire as well as a heat resistant and noise damping material in the building trade and in industry. Over the years these sprayed on materials became brittle and started to crack and peel, releasing asbestos fibers. Other emission sources for indoor areas were also delineated, including electrical night storage heaters, hair dryers, toasters, oven gloves, radiators, hot plates, irons and water heaters. Floor coverings were also noted to pose a significant risk. Recommendations for the safe removal of asbestos loads in indoor areas were discussed. Regulatory measures on replacing asbestos were noted, including the Dangerous Goods Order.
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Preliminary Study on the Possible Release of Asbestos Fibres during the Operation of Hand-Held Hair Dryers Anonymous Environmental Health Directorate, Health Protection Branch, Department of National Health and Welfare, 7 pages May 1979 A test procedure was developed for determining the concentration of asbestos (1332214) fibers released during the operation of a hand held hair dryer. The dryers were operated in an air tight chamber, and the concentration of asbestos fibers released into the chamber was then determined. After a 15 minute run outside the chamber to eliminate accumulated dust particles, the hair dryers were operated for 30 minutes in a 1 cubic meter enclosed stainless steel chamber. Prior to each test the chamber was flushed with 10 cubic meters of medical breathing air filtered through a 0.01 micrometer filter. The sensitivity of the analytical method used was 0.02 fibers/cubic centimeter. The levels of asbestos fibers detected were at or near the detection limit of the method used. There was no statistically significant difference observed between the results obtained with new versus aged hair dryers. Dryers that were said by the manufacturer to be asbestos free gave results that were quite similar to those obtained from most of the asbestos containing hair dryers. The test procedure was applied to 17 different hair dryers.
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Review of NIOSH Testing of 30 Hand Held and Standing Hair Dryers for Asbestos Release Nicholson, W. J. Environmental Sciences Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York, 20 pages, 14 references This review was made in response to a request from the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review the study of asbestos (1332214) emissions from various hand held and standing hair dryers made by NIOSH. A discussion was included of the sampling and analytical techniques used by NIOSH. Results obtained by NIOSH were compared with other environmental asbestos measurements. Possible health consequences from asbestos concentrations that are found in the effluent of some hair dryers were discussed. Asbestos fibers were released by most of the hair dryers tested, in some cases in considerable quantities. Of the 60 samples collected, four showed asbestos concentrations exceeding 500 nanograms/cubic meter and two concentrations exceeded 1000 nanograms/cubic meter. While some dryers emitted high concentrations of asbestos, 60 to 70 percent of the effluents measured were typical of the ambient air. Further data were needed to determine if this was an attribute of the models tested or of the particular dryers tested. Special concerns were expressed concerning standing dryers due to the possibility of their nearly continuous use, often in confined spaces, in hair salons. A build up of asbestos concentrations in excess of that found in dryer effluents can occur in this type of dryer.
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Testing of Hair Dryers for Asbestos Emissions Geraci, C. L., Jr., P. A. Baron, J. W. Carter, and D. L. Smith Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Cincinnati, Ohio, 59 pages, Interagency Agreement IA-79-29, 8 references September 1979 REPORT NO.: NTIS-PB89-165-237 Tests were conducted on 30 hair dryers for the release of asbestos (1332214) fibers into the effluent air to evaluate potential consumer exposure, for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. A hair dryer test system was developed, consisting of a clean air source, a sampling duct assembly, several types of monitoring equipment and filter samplers. Generated samples were assessed by transmission electron microscopy capable of performing energy dispersive analysis of x-rays and selected area electron diffraction. Of the 30 dryers evaluated, 23 were home use hand held appliances, three were table top hooded models, one was a hobby heat gun, and one was a heavy duty commercial salon style dryer. The airborne asbestos concentrations generated by these dryers ranged from 0 to 0.11 structures/cubic centimeter and the mass concentrations ranged from 0 to 7652 nanograms/cubic meter. No significant differences were noted whether the dryers were operated at high heat or at cycled heat.
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Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields and Risk of Childhood Leukemia London, S. J., D. C. Thomas, J. D. Bowman, E. Sobel, T-C. Cheng, and J. M. Peters American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 134, No. 9, pages 923-937, 19 references Novermber 1, 1991 A study was conducted to examine the relationship between home exposure to electric and magnetic fields, and the development of childhood leukemia. Interviews were conducted with the parents of 232 children diagnosed with leukemia between 1980 and 1987 and with the parents of 232 age matched controls. Measurements of electric and magnetic fields in and around the homes of subjects were conducted for 80% of the leukemia cases and 77% of controls. The Denver Wertheimer Leeper classification was used for wiring configurations at homes that were not accessible for direct measurements; the configurations used to predict exposure. No relationship between magnetic or electric field levels and leukemia was seen, however, an association between Denver Wertheimer Leeper wiring configuration classification and leukemia risk was identified. Potential confounders of the association between Denver Wertheimer Leeper wiring configurations classification and leukemia risk were investigated. Appliance use by children demonstrated two odds ratios that were greater than unity and statistically significant, black and white television and hair dryer use. Significant increases in the odds ratios were also seen for the use of incense and insecticides inside the home, for maternal exposure to nonionizing radiation, and paternal exposure to spray paint during the pregnancy, and paternal exposure to other chemicals after the pregnancy. Adjustment for these confounders had little effect on the wiring configuration and leukemia risk association. The authors conclude that an association exists between wiring configuration and childhood leukemia.
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Power Frequencies and Extremely Low Frequencies (ELF) Anonymous Occupational Hazards from Non-Ionising Electromagnetic Radiation, Occupational Safety and Health Series No. 53, International Labour Office, Geneva, pages 51-70, 48 references 1985 The biological effects of extremely low frequencies and power frequencies of electromagnetic fields were reviewed with regard to occupational health and safety. Power frequencies were defined as those frequencies used for the transmission of electrical energy in the 50 hertz (Hz) to 60Hz range. Power frequencies were noted to be ubiquitous in the environment around alternating current power lines and to have near and far field components. Extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation was defined as frequencies in the range of zero to 300Hz. Sources of ELF included static electricity, thunderstorms, geomagnetic micropulsation, high voltage transmission lines, and household appliances such as electric ranges, toasters, electric blankets, irons, broilers, hair dryers, vaporizers, refrigerators, color television sets, stereo sound equipment, coffee makers, vacuum cleaners, hand mixers, and incandescent light bulbs. The physical characteristics of power frequencies and ELFs were described with regard to both electrical and magnetic field effects. Biological effects reported in experimental animal studies included changes in electrocardiographic and electroencephalographic patterns, alteration in calcium exchange through membranes, field related variations in white blood cell populations, and perceived sensory phenomena. Human field studies on high voltage substation workers and high voltage line maintenance crews yielded conflicting reports of physiological effects. Epidemiological studies revealed no significant pathology associated with exposure to man made ELF fields at power frequencies.

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