Older driers suspect

Press, 15 June 1979, Page 13

Older driers suspect

By

VICKI FUREY

Hairdriers containing asbestos as an element support are almost certainly still in use in New Zealand.

. In May, 1977, the Consumers’ Institute tested 15 models Of New Zealand manufactured, and imported, hairdriers. It reported that two of the models tested, the Hitachi HD7OOO and the Tescom 72, “appeared to contain asbestos as an element support.”

“Though we do not know whether small fibres could be blown out and so be present as a hazard to the user, we question if you would be wise to take the risk,” the report in “Consumer,” No 139, said.

Hitachi has since assurred Consumers’ Institute that it has stopped using asbestos in its hairdriers, says the national director of the institute (Mr R. J. Smithies). Any Hitachi hairdrier that did not have the same model number as the one tested would not now contain asbestos, the institute was told.

Until September 1976 the Tescom hairdrier was imported into New Zealand by Ultimate-Ekco New Zealand, Ltd. At the time of Consumers’ report the company did not know that asbestos in hairdriers was an issue, says the company’s general manager of marketing (Mr D. V/. Condon). As far as he knows

no other company now has a licence to import Tescom hairdriers and even if one does have a licence he thinks they would be coming into the country only in very small quantities.

Spokesmen for several

manufacturers, and importers, of hairdriers say that asbestos is not used in the driers their companies deal with. Some say that mica is used in their hairdriers for insulation and others that a plastic phenolic material is used. Aluminium is used in some cases.

The 1968 New Zealand Standards specification for portable electric haridriers do not mention the use of asbestos for insulation. The use of asbestos in electrical appliances is not dealt with in the 1978 Asbestos Regulations. However, it is not the possible asbestos in hairdriers that people should be worried about, but asbestos that had been found in the air-condi-tioning systems of some major buildings in Auckland, says the assistant secretary of the Auckland branch of the Engineers’ Union (Mr J. A. Butterworth). In the 1960 s asbestos was used for fire-proofing

and sound-prodfing in many buildings throughout the country, he says. Engineers found asbestos first in the air conditioning system of the Auckland City Council’s administration building. Since then the union has built up a file of buildings fitted with these air conditioning systems. They suck air over the asbestos, Mr Butterworth says, and the substance which holds the asbestos particles together deteriorates over the years, and the dust is loosened. Hundreds of office workers could be breathing the asbestos dust from these air conditioning systems, Mr Butterworth warns.