Philip Morris
Health Risks From Hair Dryer Emissions
Fields
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- Roppe, C.G.
- Type
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- ABST, ABSTRACT
- COMP, COMPUTER PRINTOUT
- ABST, ABSTRACT
- Area
- CARCHMAN,RICHARD/DATABASE WAREHOUSE
- Recipient (Organization)
- PM, Philip Morris
- Named Person
- Enterline, P.
- Gregory, C.
- Hallenback, W.
- Gregory, C.
- 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
- Excerpta Medica
- Litigation
- Iwoh/Produced
- Copied
- Debardeleben, M.
- Characteristic
- CONF, CONFIDENTIAL
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- 23 May 1999
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Document Images
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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
