Mechanics at Risk From Asbestos in Brakes-Report

Thursday November 16 5:23 PM ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Millions of brakes used in cars and trucks contain cancer-causing asbestos that puts thousands of mechanics at risk of disease, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper said on Thursday.

Asbestos, once widely employed for its fire-resistant properties but now largely shunned due to health risks, was still being used in a heavy woven material used to line brakes, the newspaper said.

Contrary to widespread belief, the use of asbestos in brakes was not banned, the newspaper said.

While brakes on almost all new cars contained no asbestos, older brakes and replacement parts were found to frequently contain the substance, which when handled flakes into tiny fibers that can lodge in the lungs and cause cancer, the newspaper said.

"Clearly the lingering risk may not be with asbestos friction material on new vehicles, but with existing brakes and those being sold as replacements," the newspaper said.

This was the second major asbestos-related story run by the newspaper, which in May reported that tests it conducted on crayons showed traces of asbestos. The report said that asbestos is often a natural contaminant of the talc that is used in the waxy pencils popular with children.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had banned asbestos in 1989, a federal court later threw it out after finding fault with the agency's cost-benefit analysis, the newspaper said.

An agency effort in 1993 to get vehicle makers to voluntarily stop using asbestos in products sold in the United States also failed after the asbestos industry threatened to file antitrust charges, the newspaper said.

A four-month investigation that included tests performed by government-certified laboratories showed "alarmingly high" levels of asbestos in gas stations and brake repair shops in Washington, five other states, and the District of Columbia, the newspaper said.

"Asbestos released into the air can linger long after a brake job is done and since asbestos can spread 75 feet from the work area, it can be breathed by everyone inside a garage, including customers," it cited a government warning as saying.

"Asbestos can be carried on work clothing, contaminating the family car and home. This can cause asbestos disease among family members," the government warned.

Dust collected in 31 brake garages turned up asbestos in 21 of them, in amounts ranging from 2.26 percent to 63.8 percent, the newspaper said.

It said EPA rules required its workers to wear protective suits and respirators when entering any area where asbestos contamination was higher than 1 percent.

Health and safety and EPA officials said there was no indication that auto workers were still being harmed by asbestos, but also acknowledged that little, if any, data had been gathered on the issue.

The newspaper cited a 1993 EPA memo that said, "deaths from asbestos-related diseases 20 or 30 years down the road will be counted in the tens of thousands" unless asbestos was removed from brakes.

*** POSTED NOVEMBER 20, 2000 ***