Document 3J9ojGkV5qjbQxVoDazB5xjaO

BFG13659 PVC, Vinyl Chloride Makers Weigh Meager Legal Options After Appeals Court Rebuff TANKER COLLISION: Fireboat moves in close to fight tire on board an oil tanker that colli*J> ed with a phenol-carrying ship on the Oelaware River in Marcus Hook, Pa., on January 31. Two persons are known dead; another twenty or more are injured. Compania Naviera Vil lanueva SA, owner of the tanker, "Corinthos," has brought suit for $35 million in damages against Keystone Shipping Company, Philadelphia; Bankers Trust Company, and Monsan o Company. The chemical ship, the "Edgar M. Queeny," Is owned by Bankers Trust and char tered by Monsanto. Energy R&D, Health Programs Get More Funds in Fisbal '76 The Ford Administration is proposing increases in money outlays for energy research .and development programs of 39 percent in fiscaj 1976-from a dollar amount of $1,131 million in 1975 to $1,577 million in the next fiscal year. Include d in the President's budget message sent to Congress last week, this increase is being spread among all major program areas and reflects further growth in pi o- grams that increased by nearly 53 p< rcent from 1974 to 1975. Altogether, the cost of the Federal ener gy programs for fiscal 1976 is placed at $ !.2 billion and covers general operating p o grams such as development of energy pi licy, management and leasing of Federa ly owned oil, gas and coal resources, uranh m enrichment, and the Federal regulatcry programs, as well as the research and de velopment programs. The uranium enrichment operatioi s, which primarily provide fuel for civilian nuclear power plants and must increase significantly in order to meet future de mand, the budget,said, will entail an ex penditure of $738 million next year. In the area of energy regulation, t m By PETER B. GRIFFIN Market Editor Leading polyvinyl chloride produc ers gathered in New York late last week, under the auspices of the Socie ty of the Plastics Industry, to deter mine what if any further legal action to take in an attempt to alter or fore stall the implementation of Depart ment of Labor's orders governing worker exposure to vinyl chloride. Those orders were upheld by a special Federal Appeals Court ten days ago when it rejected on all counts a fivepart industry challenge to them. Informed legal sources both within and without the industry, however, said last week, that the options available to the in dustry are few now, with none offering real istic hopes ol success. According to `one source close to the industry court effort: "There are no real options. The case is worse now than before, and it was bad then." By presstime Friday (February 7) no de cision on whether to appeal had been made. There is still one VCM-related suit out- standing in the Court of Appeals [f is a .sep arate petition for judicial review brought by the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union (0CAVV Vs. Brennan). In its legal challenge, OCAW seeks the tightening of certain health and work safety procedures and the inclusion of some others which were omitted from the original OSHA regu lation. Disposition is not expected for sever al weeks. The denial of the industry's petitions for judicial review of the standards and rules restricting employee exposure to VCM pro mulgated last October by Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), was a unanimous decision of a special three-judge Federal panel of the US Court Continued on Page 40 NIOSH Urges OSHA To Reduce Its Standard On.Chioroform Exposure A new Federal standard for occupa tional exposure to chloroform, reduc- rif fitly/ norli 099tOd8 f I PERFU^J & FLAVORS Continued from Pago 3? white pepper was being offered at 98c., down a cent, while Ceylon black and Sarawak pepper, also doWn a cent each, were being offered at 90c. and 86c., respectively. Cochin ginger prices took a turn down after a couple of weeks of inactivity and were being quoted at about 56c. a pound, down 2c. Both West Indian whole nutmegs and Dutch poppy seed took a cent dip and were selling for about $1.52 and 79c., respective* ly. The largest decline posted last week was the one for East Indian macc. Broken No. 2 material dropped 10c. and was being of* fered at $3 a pound. COATINGS & PLASTICS Continued from Page 40 offer respirators to all employees in af fected areas, to be used at the employees discretion when VCM levels remain be neath twenty-five-ppml. These concerns were raised again last week. However, since the original court affida vits were filed, the National Institute of Oc cupational Safety St Health (NIOSH) has ap proved for use three makes of cannisteriypc air-filtration respirators. Approval was granted for prototypes submitted i Mine Safety Appliance Company (MSA;, Welsh Manufacturing Company and the Acme Division of Scott Aviation, by midJanuary (within a month of submission for approval; normal delays range up to ten months, a respirator industry source said last week). These cannister types are expected to be the work-horse units in atmospheres con* taining no more than twenty-five ppm of VCM. The manufacturer's have geared up to meet the VCM demand, spokesmen say. Secretary Slender of OSffA has said he be lieves there will be sufficient quantities available by compliance date, and Justice Clark put aside the industry claim by saying these types "are now available and acceptable." However, a spokesman in the gas mask and respirator division of MSA said last week that that fir#, which cotftrols over 50 percent of the industry capacity for the specified respirator tybes, has received considerably fewer orders than anticipated and had in fact already filled all orders re ceived to date. Demand has been so slow, the spokesman said, that the company is considering closing down its expanded pro duction facilities for the VCM units. PRIME PIGMENTS ANTIMONY OXIDE-Prices for antimony oxide have consolidated at the lower end if the industry range. Both M&T and NL in dustries reduced prices in the last days of January to $1.85 per pound. Effective January 28, M&T cut its price for standard grade material by 60c. per pound (or almost 25 percent) from the $2.45-per-pound level it established early last Fall. NL reduced its price by 3lc. (or almost 15 percent) from its forme; price of $2.16 per pound, effective January 30. All other producers have been at the $1.85-per*pound level since October (Chcmetrori is at $1.84 per pound). Competitive reasons were given by NL and M&T for their actions. One importer quotes a price ol $}.80 per pound for foreign-produced material (down by almost $1 from prices in September). LEAD OXIDES--Hammond Lead Prod ucts has implemented new price differen tials on less-than-truckload quantities of all its lead oxide products. Effective February 1, these differentials were increased by tc. to a new level of 2c. per pound. The 2c.-dif ferential has been in effect for other pro ducers for some time. MISCELLANEOUS METALLIC STEARATES-Every producer has responded to Witco Chemical's February 1 price reduction on metallic ste arates oy implementing >. creases of 2c. per pound o; ucts. ir own prod As reported in this space last week. Ten* neco and Maliinckrodt took moves to he competitive with Wtico at about the same time. Miillinckrodt also cut the price of its dispersion types by Ic. per pound. Last week both Pcnick and Synthetic Products revealed similar price changes, and Nopco division of Diamond Shamrock wound up the industry round by reducing its prices by 2c. effective February 5. Nopco, like Maliinckrodt, included a 1c. re duction on its dispersion types. Metallic stearates are primarily used as vinyl stabilizers, but there have been grow ing applications in other plastics, and in paper. Business currently, according to an industry source, is "terrible." Dutch Oxirane Fined The City Council of Rotterdam plans to fine Oxirane Corporation's Dutch affiliate $1.8 million for "causing danger" due to a short circuit at the firm's plant on Decem ber 1. It's claimed the company was negli gent in failing (o report the mishap prompt ly and that a potential danger of explosion existed by reason of a cloud of gas from the plant, which remained in the harbor area for some time. BFG13661 WANTED 3-Pressure Cylinders & Doors For Treating Plant. 7'x 55'-75'-Rated At 200P.S.I. CONTACT BURKE-PARSONS-BOWLBY CORP. P.O. BOX 231, RIPLEY, W.VA. 25271 304-372-2211 DICK BOWLBY, FLETCHER PARSONS, W.E. LASHORNE Advertiser's Index A-1 Equipment & Chemical Co ................ 54 limes 0 G . Corporation ........................... 40 AID Chemical Co., Inc........................ ......64 J.B. Chemical Co ............. .......... 60 Aaron Equipment Company Division. Areco Joba B V .............. 36 Inc...................................................... Jones Chemicals. Inc .................. 64 Acelo Chemical Corp .......................... ..... 34 Kahf Chemical Company.............. 20 Ajinomoto Company of New York, Inc ....31 American Hoechst Corporation........... ...1.22 Keii Chemical Co . Inc ................. Keith Machinery Corp .................. 27 57 American Smelling & Refining Company .4 Kessler Chemical Inc ................... 18 American Tartars Corporation............. .....36 Hosier Keunen. Inc........................ Jfl Arapahoe Chemicals Division, Syntax Corpo- Lawler Company............................ .............54 ration.......... 37 Lee Chemicals............................... .............60 ARChem Company................... 64 Lind.iu Chemicals Inc .................. .............Gt Aries International................................. ......32 Loeb Equipment Supply Co ....... .............57 Arnold-Newman Co................................ 57 Machinery & Equipment Corp .... .............57 } Ashland Chemical Company........ ........ 21.31 Bamberger Polymers Inc...................... ....16 Madison Equipment Co . Inc........ 54 Maliinckrodt Chemical Works..... ............ 17 Brill Equipment Company......................... 59 Mayco Oil and Chemical Co . Inc ......1638 Brown Chemical Company................... .... 25 McKesson Chemical Company.... ............ 10 Burke-Parsons-Bowlly Corp ................ ....61 Metalworking Lubricants Co ...... CPChemicals Inc ...................... 23 Michigan Chemical Corporahon ... CPS Chemical Co............................... .... 64 Morgan Chemicals Inc ................ Celaneso Chemical Company Division Cel- Napp Chemicals. Inc...................... anese Corporation ........................... .... 2 Neatsloot 0*1 Refineries Corp .... .............38 Challem Cham>cals ............. .................. ....22 NordJ Essential Oil & Chemical Company. Chemical Dynamics Corp....................... 28 Inc ............................................ 16 Chemical Exchanqe Co.. Inc.................. 1 Osborn. C J.. Co ........................... 40 Chemical S Process Machinery Corp. .. 57 PCR. Inc .... 32 37 Chem-Oil Equipment Corp .................. 57 PPG Industries. Inc . Chemical Oiviston ...21 Chemisphe/e Corporation..................... 28 P S B F Industries Ins ................ Gl Citrus & Allied Essential Oils Co........... 24 PVO International Inc .................. ..A B Concord Chemical Company. Inc ....... 64 Perry Equipment Corporation ...... ..,.58 Corco Chemical Corp ............... 36 Pfizer Inr ...................................... ......... 33 'am " - *j