Document 32neEE82B4j0BXJnYDgjYr4O

Manufacturing Chemists Association Minutes of Meeting TECHNICAL TASK GROUP ON VINYL CHLORIDE RESEARCH MCA Conference Room Washington, D. c. September 19, 1974 MEMBERS PRESENT; T. R. Torkelson, CHAIRMAN T. R. Aalto 2. G. Bell, Jr. R. S. Brookman Frank Conrad for W. E. Rinehart C. T. Disney, m.D. for M. N. Johnson, M.D. R. E. Eckardt j. T. Elfstrum .for A. B. Lindquist J. E. Ertel Leon Fishbein for A. B. Magram A. W. Fuhrman W. 0. Harris F. R. Johannsen for George Roush, Jr. W. A. Knapp W. R. Krause R. W. Laundrie R. L. Maycock E. E. Sandmeyer for R. L. Gibson H. L- Schmidt, Jr. Mayo Smith R. H. Wheeler, Jr. K. D. Johnson The Dow chemical Company Tenneco Chemicals, Inc. PPG Industries, Inc. Firestone Plastics Company Ethyl Corporation B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company A Division of The B. F. Goodrich Company Exxon Chemical Company Stauffer Chemical Company Robintech Inc. W. R. Grace & Company Great American Chemical Corporation UNIROYAL Chemical Division/ UNIROYAL, Inc. Monsanto Company Allied Chemical Corporation Certain-teed Products Corporation The General Tire & Rubber Company Shell Oil Company Gulf Oil corporation Borden Chemical/Division of Borden, Inc. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Union Carbide Corporation MCA Staff GUESTS PRESENT: K. H. C. Bessant H. B. Carr H. A. Killian R. A. park J. M. Silver BP Chemicals, Inc., Ltd, England Tenneco Chemicals, Inc. Diamond Shamrock Corporation Firestone plastics Company Great American Chemical Company UCC 083417 Minutes of Technical Task Group on vinyl chloride Research Meeting September 19, 1974 Page Three TCA is also to be asked to tabulate all cancer deaths, with date of first exposure, exposure duration, average exposure index, and death certificate cause of death. 2.3 NIOSH Request for Access to Acroosteolysis Records Dr. Torkelson reported that he had been approached informally by Dr. Wagoner of NIOSH to determine if the records of the Acroosteolysis Case Registry at the university of Michigan could be made avialable to them. The Task Group voted to ask MCA to respond in the affirmative. 2.4 Retabulation of Historical Exposure Data It was suggested that, in consequence of the Union Carbide data on the odor threshold of vinyl chloride, (see MCA mailing of August 8, on their report of an odor threshold of about 2,000 parts per million) some companies may wish to submit revised estimates of employees exposures where previous estimates had been based upon an assumption of 260 ppm as the odor threshold. It was pointed out that, in view of the unquantitated nature of the exposure indices used by TCA in their data analysis, any such effort was unlikely to change the relative exposure indices. A motion to poll the companies to see how many would consider such an effort both feasible and useful failed to carry. 2.5 PVC Fabricators Study by the Organization Resource Councilors It was reported that the subject study, which was set up to evaluate the health experience of employees with long term, low level exposures to vinyl chloride, was now under way. No report is expected before 1975. Dr. T,. Chiazze of the Georgetown University School of Medicine was identified as principal investigator. 2.6 European Edipemiological Studies Dr. Bessant informed the Task Group that epidemiological studies were in progress in the United Kingdom and in Sweden. He offered to keep them informed as progress reports become available. Review of Status of Industrial BIO-TEST Laboratories Studies Dr. Torkelson summarized the current status of the studies at IBT. The data, previously distributed as a portion of the eleven month IBT status report, were updated by the addition UCC 083418 V Minutes of T chnical Task Group on Vinyl Chloride Res arch Meeting September 19, 1974 Page Five Mr. Wheeler reported that Union Carbide studies of adsorption of vinyl chloride gas on work clothing indicate this is not a significant source of worker exposure. 7. Proposed Extensions of Dow Projects Dow informally proposed a one-year extension of their metabolic studies, at a two man-year level of effort, at an estimated cost of $90,000 to $100,000. They recommended follow-on work on teratology, in rats, rabbits, and mice, with and without concommitant stressing by ethanol, with a budget of $20,000. Dominant lethal studies in mice ($8,000) and Di Paola transformation studies (now under way at Dow) were also approved in principle. The Technical Task Group voted unanimously to recommend to the sponsors that they support the Dow proposals (upon receipt of a formal proposal request) to the extent of $150,000. 8. Photochemistry of Vinyl Chloride It was moved and carried that the chairman appoint a three-man sub-panel to review the protocols now in hand for the study of the photochemistry of vinyl chloride, and to recommend action to be taken in regard thereto by the Technical Task Group on Vinyl Chloride Research. Dr. Maycock was named leader of the sub-panel, and other members were to be designated later. 9. IBT Follow-on Program 9.1 consultations with the Rail committee Dr. Torkelson related to the Task Group the contacts Dow has established with the ad hoc committee headed by Dr. David Rail, director of the National institute for Environmental Safety and Health. Among the federal agencies with representation on this committee are: EPA, FDA, CPSC, NIOSH, and DOT. They have been charged with the responsibility to set up a toxicology information center, and to evaluate candidate protocols for the xperimental evaluation of environmental risks associated with toxic chemicals. Dr. V. K. Rowe, of the Dow Chemical Company, had met with the Rail committee on August 14 (his notes on this meeting were subsequently distributed by MCA on September 27) UCC 083419 Minutes of T chnical Task Group on Vinyl Chloride Research Meeting Septemb r 19 1974 page Sev n 9.4 Community Exposure Studies A motion to reject the recommendation of the EPA Vinyl Chloride Task Force that industry support and conduct experimental evaluations of the risks associated with community type exposures (TF Recommendation No. 23) failed to carry. A subsequent motion to seek specific guidance from the Rail Committee in this matter carried. 1* Financial Report 10.1 TCA Studies Of the $91,940 collected for this project, $81,579 has been expended, leaving a balance of $10,361. The Task Group has voted to authorize the expenditure of this remaining sum for the TCA project described in item 2.1 of these minutes. 10.2 IBT Studies A total of $190,282 has been collected for the support of this project. As of this date, $63,843 has been disbursed, and all remaining funds are committed by contract to IBT for subsequent progress and final contract payments. 10.3 IBT Follow-on Studies Of the thirty-one sponsors for present projects, four have not yet committed support for the massive, acute exposure experiment, and three for the low-level chronic exposure tests. It now appears that, with the modification of protocols con templated, and the serious error in our estimates of experimental costs, this entire package will have to be resubmitted before a contract can be issued. 10.4 Dow Studies Invoices for the pro rata shares of support for the Dow studies were mailed out by MCA on August 30. At this time only one of the present sponsors has failed to pledge support for these studies. 10.5 MCA Administrative costs The Technical Task Group was informed that the MCA Board has approv d a mechanism for the reimbursement to MCA of costs UCC 083420 Minut 3 of Technical Task Group on Vinyl Chloride Research M eting September 19, 1974 Page Nine f 11.3 Liver Toxicology Among the projects studying liver pathology from vinyl chloride exposures the following were mentioned: 1. The B. F. Goodrich-supported program at the University of Louisville. 2. Dr. Stevens at Case University. 3. Dr. Jeffrey Kent at Northwestern University. 4. The University of Bonn (West Germany). 5. A United Kingdom program to evaluate in experimental animals, liver function tests as an early indication of carcinogensis. 6. A NIOSH-CDC medical survey of Firestone employees at Pottstown. 7. Contract studies to be conducted by Bendix of workers in monomer operations and in resin fabrication. 11.4 Publicity and Meetings The Task Group was informed of the CBS program scheduled for October 29, the exposure to be given the vinyl chloride problems on the September 20 Today show, the article in the October Fortune. and that in Today's Health. The program for the October 28-29 meeting of the symposium sponsored by the Permanent International Association on Occupational Health in Milan was briefly reviewed. 12. Future Meeting Schedule It was agreed that the next meeting should be deferred until after the meeting of an MCA delegation with the Rail Committee. If this could be accomplished in time for a November 17 meeting date, there was general support for such a schedule. Respectfully submitted. KDJ;sh Minutes Subj ct .to Approval December 11, 1974 Kenneth D. Johnson, Ph.D. T chnical Project Manager Vinyl Chloride Res arch UCC 083421