Document 2RJ00kr5BjzXxaJrZMZpRrvJL

Manufacturing Chemist* Association Minutes of Meeting VINYL CHLORIDE RESEARCH COORDINATORS MCA Conference Room Washington, D. C. January 30, 1973 MEMBERS PRESENTt T. R. Z. 0. W. D. R. L. w. E. Torkelson, Bell, Jr. Harris Haycock McCormick CHAIRMAN w. E. Rinehart R. N. Wheeler, Jr. GPESTS PRESENT; D. P. Duffield N. V. Hendricks C. A. Johnson, M.D M. G. Ott MCA STAFF PRESENTi G Best A Clark K Johnson The Dow Chemical Company PPG Industries, Inc. ONIROYAL, Inc. Shell Chemical Company B.,F. Goodrich Chemical Company Ethyl Corporation Onion Carbide Corporation ICI Exxon Corporation The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company The Dow Chemical Company MCA MCA MCA PLAINTIFFS , f^EXHIBIT^l r URL 2 2 8 4 5 1 Minutes of Meeting of November 14. 1972 The minutes, as distributed, failed to record the presence of Dr. W. D. Harris, a member representing UNIROYAL, Inc. URL 2 2 8 4 6 -2- 2. Report of Conference with European Group Dr. Torkelson presented a highly favorable report on the conference attended by the delegation from the U.S. group (Drs. T. R. Torkelson, Mac Roy Casque, and R. J. Kociba, Research Pathologist from The Dow Chemical Company). Be expressed his appreciation of the quality of the re search work and its documentation, and of the frankness with which the findings of the project were presented and discussed. A copy of a CONFIDENTIAL summary of the findings to date, with brief interpretative comments, as received from Montedison, is attached to these minutes. The animals were housed throughout the experiment in cages within the exposure chamber. Food and bedding (sterilized wood chips) were thus exposed to the vinyl chloride vapors. The possibility of a significant effect from adsorption-desorption of the'vapors, or of chemical interaction between the vapors and/or the food or bedding is considered unlikely, but remains a possibility as a i contribution to the observed animal reactions. The observed excess animal mortality, not associated with tumors, was ascribed to lung infections secondary to pulmonary irritation from the chemical vapors. The Coordinators voted to authorize MCA to disburse up to $2,500 of the project's contingency funds to defray the expenses incurred by its delegation to the Bologna conference. 3. Liaison with European Group All communications from MCA or its members to the European group are to be addressed, in parallel, to: Mr. D. M. Elliott General Manager - Production Solvents and Monomers Group Mond Division Imperial Chemical Industries Limited P. 0. Box No. 13, The Heath ^ Runcorn, Cheshire, ENGLAND 2SIlNTIAi .1 URL 22847 f-1 i'- t .V(/ and to Dr. Tiziano Garlanda Protezione Ambientale E Sicurassa Montedison Via Appiani, 12 - Milano ITALY Any such communications not channeled through MCA should be provided, as information copies, to MCA, attention of Dr. Kenneth D. Johnson. 4. Selection of Protocol for MCA Project As a result of discussions between Dr. Keplinger of Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc. and Dr. Torkeison, Dr. Keplinger, under date of December 11, 1972, submitted a letter to MCA outlining several options open to MCA and the costs for each. These options are stated as modifi cations to their letter proposal of August 17, 1972. In order that the contract can be executed with out delay, the Coordinators voted to begin the project with an authorization for option 6(b), at a cost of $149,000. This option provides that the two test groups to be exposed to acetylene-derived monomer be dropped, and that a third species (hamsters, 100 male and 100 female per group) be added to each of the three exposure groups and the control group. Exposures of the animals to the test atmospheres would be initially contracted for one year only, with the animals then to be maintained in stock cages for the'remainder of the study. Additional funding, as required to provide for the originally anticipated plan of fcontinuing exposures throughout the experiment, and for possible mutagenesis and/or teratogenesis studies, will be recommended to the project sponsors. It was the judgment of the Coordinators that at least $200,000 in total funding should be requested at this time. Such funding is to be sought promptly be fore Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc. has committed the exposure facilities to other studies for the second project year. Exposure levels are to be 5,000, 500, and 50 ppm as''tentatively agreed upon at the November 14, 1972 meeting. 6*v 1 s* T SO fo" I. vi T 1 L ,) URL 22846 -4- The Coordinators voted to approve the request of The Sow Chemical Company to negotiate with Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc. to collect'and deliver to Dow, at Dow's expense, selected tissues for cytogenetic studies. 5. Epidemiology Dr. H. G. Ott, of The Dow Chemical Company, de scribed the epidemiology studies they are now conducting on their vinyl chloride workers. A copy of their protocol is enclosed. Preliminary results at one of the four plants to be surveyed fail to indicate any excess cases in this group. Dr. D. P. Duffield, of ICI, described the epide miological studies planned by the European group, which is searching the death certificates of deceased plant employees with a history of industrial vinyl chloride exposure, and comparing the incidence of neoplasms with that in a control group without such exposure. Be expressed the hope that any studies conducted by the U.S. group would provide statistics suitable for statistical evaluation in conjunction with the data from their study. The quantity and quality of American data that might be available to an epidemiological study of employ ees of American firms was discussed at some length. It was agreed that MCA should distribute, through the members of the Technical Task Group, a questionnaire eliciting their estimates of what might be available in their company records. It was voted to invite the organisations listed in the minutes of the November 14 meeting to attend a pro spective contractors briefing at MCA offices on February 20. The Coordinators are to meet at 9i00 AM that morning to review the returns from the questionnaire referred to in the preceding paragraph, with the briefing session sched uled for It00 PM that afternoon. Prospective contractors are to be asked to treat data revealed at this meeting as confidential, and to be alerted to the need for meeting project schedules. CONFIDENTIAL -5- 6. Information Release The need to exercise discretion in the handling of information about, or to be developed by, this project was stressed. It was the consensus of those present that, when MCA negotiated a research contract with Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc., it would be appropriate to release such information to the press. There will be no reference to the European studies and the nature of the project is to be referred to as a chronic inhalation study without reference to the question of carcinogenesis. The question was raised as to the position that should be taken by MCA and/or its member companies on (1) probable changes in the Threshold Limit Value for vinyl chloride, and (2) the use of vinyl chloride as an aerosol propellant. With respect to the first, there was general agreement that specific inquiries should be answered with a frank statement that available literature data suggested that an early and significant reduction from the present 200 ppm standard could be anticipated, and that industrial hygiene planning should be designed to keep exposures to a minimum. MCA is to handle inquiries it receives on an ad hoc basis, and no standardized posi tion paper is to be prepared. Each company will have to exercise its individual judgment as to the timing and level of future standards its customers may be told to anticipate. The limited commercial value of the aerosol pro pellant market, in contrast with the unlimited potential for product liability claims, was stressed as justifi cation for serious consideration by the manufacturers of withdrawing from this market. All recognized that an insistent discouragement of the use of vinyl chloride as a propellant might focus undue and premature attention on the industrial hygiene aspects of the problem-. No MCA position on this question is recommended at this time. Respectfully submitted URL 2 2 8 4 9 Kenneth D. Johnson, Fh.D. Secretary Minutes Subject to Approval February 7, 1973 Attachments KDJ smb 281 I lii