Document 0gj7kbdQwpEeDnmOVr5kVK4wx

The Chemical World This Week The growing suspicion that expo another four liver disease cases at sure to vinyl chloride has led to the the plant under investigation, in deaths of polyvinyl chloride workers volved persons who cleaned poly from a most rare form of liver can merization reactors after this step cer has apparently been reinforced. in the suspension process for PVC. A research study in which rats ex BFG has used a less hazardous posed to high levels (apparently cleaning process for the past five 30,000 p.p.m.) of vinyl chloride years, however. vapor also develop angiosarcoma of Significantly, the latency period the liver was slated to be disclosed for most cancers to develop nearly Kublicly in the U.S. by Prof. Cesare laltoni of the University of Bo logna, Italy, just after press time. The study has been supported by a consortium of European firms, in cluding Imperial Chemical Indus tries (C&EN, Feb. 11, page 8). What's more, the view that the deaths are an isolated event limited to just one of B. F. Goodrich's U.S. plants and not proved to be occu pationally linked is fast disappear ing. Four angiosarcoma deaths now have been confirmed at the BFG plant instead of the three revealed earlier (C&EN, Jan. 28, page 6). Another diagnosed case of angiosar coma occurred in an ICI employee who worked in a U.K. vinyl chlo ride operation for 20 years, sources in the U.K. and U.S. say. The clustering of the four BFG cases "cannot be explained by chance alone," Dr. Marcus M. Key, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, told those at a Cleveland briefing on the cancer hazard ear lier last week. What action the U.S. takes, if any, beyond interim procedures NIOSH has recommended hinges upon the outcome of a fact-finding hearing at the Labor Department on Feb. 15. Prof. Maltoni, BFG, Dow Chemical, organized labor, and others were scheduled to testi matches the great growth in the U.S. PVC industry that has taken place over the past two decades or so. NIOSH estimates there are 5000 workers at risk in U.S- PVC plants and 1500 at vinyl chloride plants. NIOSH will contract out an epi demiology study that will be inde pendent of the study on workers al ready under way at member firms of the Manufacturing Chemists As sociation. MCA's results will not be ready for "at least two to three months." a spokesman says. Ear lier, MCA halted circulation of its 1972 safety data sheet on vinyl chloride, which stated that human carcinogenicity had not been ob served. fyAFL-CIO was to present a uni fied, organized labor position urg ing the department to promulgate an emergency temporary standard, a procedure used earlier for 14 Plastic prices get big boosts other carcinogens. Dr. V. K. Rowe, Dow's top toxicologist, was expect ed to oppose this procedure, asking instead for regular rule-making for a permanent standard. He suggests the deaths result from gross expo sure 10 to 30 years in the past. As U.S. chemical makers sort out the fine points of the recent Cost of Living Council action relaxing Phase IV price controls on petro chemicals, plastics resins, and syn thetic fibers (C&EN, Feb. 4, page 4), price hikes are being announced All four BFG deaths, as well as with resin makers leading the way. 6 C&EN Feb. 18. 1974 BFG22663 So far three major resin produc ers--Dow Chemical. Monsanto, and Union Carbide--have spelled out large and wide-ranging price in creases for resins following the CLC action. These boosts come after a year in which listed chemical prices have moved up relatively modestly. According to Labor Department data, the price index for plastics resins and materials moved up 4.1% between December 1972 and December 1973. For chemicals and allied products the gain was 4.9%. Of course, the "gray market" price for resins and many other chemical products has been spiraling upward for some months. Among the recent price moves Monsanto has posted increases of 5 cents a pound on bulk shipments of polystyrene resins, and increases of 4 cents a pound on bulk acryloni trile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) resins. New price for general-purpose poly styrene is 19 cents a pound. Truckload quantities of ABS resins now range from 32 to 45 cents a pound, and SAN in truckload bags is 27 cents a pound. Monsanto says that "these increases are consistent with the Cost of Living Council ac tion. of Jan. 30" and reflect in creased cost of raw materials, ener gy, and distribution, among other factors. Dow, citing reasons much the same as Monsanto's, has raised the price of its general-purpose polysty rene from 17 to 26 cents a pound. ABS and SAN now go for 32 cents a pound, up from 23.5 and 24 cents a pound. Price of highdensity injection- and blow-mold ing polyethylene was increased from 14.5 to 18.5 cents a pound. Dow's low-density film-grade poly ethylene is now 17 cents a pound, up from 13 cents. The company says that these new prices still do not match those of the world mar ket but should help it compete on the world market for petrochemical feedstocks. Carbide's new prices for highdensity injection- and blow-mold ing polyethylene are the same as Dows, but its low-density film grade is a bit higher at 18.5 cents a pound. SAN is now 28 cents a pound, up from 22 cents, while high-impact polystyrene increased from 16.5 cents a pound to 21.5 cents a pound. Carbide raised the tab on its polyvinyl chloride resin suspensions by 5 cents bringing the 22807001