Document 3Na6mGLgGx5oYrV44GE4q8q2a

minutes PVC SAFETY CROUP - STEERING COMMITTEE New Orleans Marriott Hotel New Orleans, LOUISIANA Friday, February 8, 1980 10:30 A. M.______ SUMMARY 1 - OSHA's Symposium on VCM/PVC Health issues scheduled for March 20-21, 1980 will include only a limited number of industry sponsored speakers. It is important that industry representatives be present to witness and enter into the floor discussions. 2 - A short summary statement on ICI's PVC dust study has been prepared to facilitate bringing this study to the full industry's attention. (Copy attached). 3 - Steps are to be initiated to assemble all literature relating to the health aspects of VCM and PVC. 4 - A decision on what material the committee will submit to OSHA on the health aspects of VCM/ PVC will be made after OSHA's March Symposium. .5 - Mr. Jean Claude Thomas (Rhone Poulenc, Paris), will provide regular liaision with the PVC Safety Group of the Association of Plastics Manufacturers of Europe (APME). 6 - It was agreed that a sum of $200,000 should be raised to cover anticipated expenses for the period through May 31, 1980. 7 - The next meeting of the full Group is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, 1980 in Washington, D.C. it it it THE SOCIETY OF THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY, INC. 355 Lexington Avenue New York, N.Y. 10017 (212) 573-9400 BOR 008704 2- - ATTHNDKES: Steven W. Schaefer - CHAIRMAN - Diamond Shamrock Corporation, 1100 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH44114 A. Ross Adams - Air Products & Chemicals, P. 0. Box 538, Allentown, PA 18105 E. J. Baier - Diamond Shamrock Corporation, 1100 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114 Gary H. Baise - Beveridge, Fairbanks & Diamond, 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.20036 William C. Becker - B. F. Goodrich Chemical Div. 6100 Oak Tree Blvd. Cleveland, OH 4413 Jerry Berger (for D. K. Spencer) - Shell Chemical Company, P. 0. Box 4320, Houston, TX 77210 Robert B. Downey - B. F. Goodrich Chemical Div. 6100 Oak Tree Blvd. Cleveland, OH 44131 John E. Ertel - Pantasote Inc. P. 0. Box 1800, Greenwich, CT 06830 Joseph E. Hadley, Jr., Keller & Heckman, 1150 17th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Jim J. Hall - Conoco Chemicals, P. 0. Box 2197, Houston, TX 77001 Maurice Johnson - B. F. Goodrich Company, 500 S. Main Street, Akron, OH 44318 Robert W. Laundrie - General Tire & Rubber Company, One General Street, Akron, OH 44329 John R. Lawrence - SPI, 355 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017 C. W. Montgomery - Ethyl Corporation, 451 Florida Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801 Robert C. Sander - Air Products & Chemicals, P. 0. Box 538, Allentown, PA 18105 Matthew M. Swetonic - Hill & Knowlton Inc. 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Jean Claude Thomas - Rhone-Poulenc, 25 Quai Paul Doumer, 92408 Courbevoie Cedex, France Ted R. Torkelson - Dow Chemical U.S.A. 1603 Bldg. Midland, MI 48640 Todd C. Walker - Firestone Plastics Company, P. 0. Box 699, Pottstown, PA 19464 Robert M. Walter - Firestone Plastics Company, 1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron, OH 44313 it it it it 1 - Mr. Schaefer opened the meeting by calling on Dr. Torkelson to report on the Health Committee's activities. Dr. Torkelson indicated that OSHA is proceeding with its plans for the symposium on PVC and VCM health issues. This two day meeting to be held in Bethesda, Maryland, on March 20-21, 1980 (Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10, Clement Center, National Institute of Health Campus, Bethesda, Md), will involve a significant number of speakers most of whom have already been selected by OSHA. The only speakers suggested by industry who have been accepted by OSHA at this time are Dr. Seaton from the Institute of Occupational Medicine (I0M) reporting on the ICI dust study and Dr. Clark Cooper reporting on the Tabershaw-Cooper epidemiology study. 008705 i j -3- In planning what to assemble for submission to OSIIA in response to the December 18, 1979 request for information, it was recommended that the material concentrate on the major factors developed at the March 20-21 symposium. However, the decision as to whether to submit such material is to be postponed until after the symposium since the deadline on this submittal has been post poned until May 9. Likewise, the question as to what additional material is to be submitted will also be postponed until after the symposium. It was proposed that all literature relating to PVC/VCM health studies be assembled and critiqued in anticipation of possible new rule making on PVC and/or VCM. Consideration was given as to what additional actions need be taken to call the ICI dust study to the industry's attention beyond the joint SPI/CMA summary statement dated December 20, 1979. A shorter version of this summary will be drafted for review by the Committee. A motion was made and seconded that a budget of $25,000 be approved to cover the costs involved in bringing speakers and experts to OSHA's March Symposium. This will also cover costs involved in obtaining an accurate transcript of the meeting. This motion received unanimous approval. It was further moved, seconded and approved that steps be initiated to start the assembly of key literature on PVC/VCM for analysis and critiquing as may be required for the May 9 submission date and in anticipation of possible new rule making on PVC/VCM. A budget, not to exceed $5,000 was approved to cover these activities. MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE Mr. Hadley reported that his office is continuing to gather data on emergency discharge emissions. The survey on VCM compliance costs will be followed up by telephone contacts from the Keller & Heckman office in the near future. Mr. Laundrie reported on the meeting with EDF on November 9 to discuss its interest in tightening up on EPA's Vinyl Chloride Standard. (Minutes issued December 26, 1979). He indicated that the committee will consider further meetings with EDF to keep these discussions alive. Mr. Baise reported that EPA has issued a report (EPA 230/3-79-001) covering estimated costs involved in developing and applying the clean air and water standards developed to date. BOR 008706 -4- REDACTED 4 - COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Mr. Downey reported that there were no unusual activities in the area of public relations. His committee will arrange to monitor the OSHA Symposium in March and see to it that a complete transcript is developed. It is estimated that PR expenses should not exceed an average of $6,500/month and will probably be somewhat less than this. 5 - FIRE SAFETY COMMITTEE A report from Dan Kent, Chairman of the PVC Fire Safety Committee, was presented by Mr. Downey (copy attached). There were no questions relating to this report. 6 - FINANCIAL REPORT Mr. Walker made reference to the January 30, 1980 audit report from Mr. McCoskey covering the Group's financial activities for the six month period from June 1, 1979. Reference was also made to the breakdown of expenditures for the 12 month period from January 1, 1979 (copy attached). On the basis of the past record of expenditures, the current deficit position and anticipated activities, Mr. Walker moved that an assessment totalling $200,000 should be levied to cover anticipated expenses through May 31, 1980 on a prorated basis proportional to each member company's current VCM and/or PVC capacity. This motion was seconded and approved unanimously. 7 - APME LIAISON Mr. Jean Claude Thomas (Rhone-Poulenc) reported that the PVC Safety Group of the Association of Plastic Manufacturers of Europe (APME) desires to establish a stronger liaison with its U.S. counterpart so as to be more mutually supportive. He indicated that there is certain material which they can provide that may be of value in OSHA's current inquiry for VCM/PCV health related data. This includes an epidemiology study, a bibliography of health studies and the final report on Dr. Maltoni's animal studies. It was agreed that Mr. Thomas should receive regular communication on the PVC Safety Group's activities and be invited to all future meetings. bor 008707 -5- 8 - FUTURE MEETING It was agreed that a meeting of the full Group should be scheduled for April 30 in Washington, D.C. This is to include a breakfast meeting of the Steering Committee. Details on the exact time and location of this meeting will be passed along when confirmed. 9 - The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m. February 15, 1980 Respectfully submitted .-3 ) John R. Lawrence / Technical Director B0R 00870Q P VC FIRE SAFETY COMMITTEE STATUS REPORT - FEBRUARY 8, 1980 Summary Since I am chairman of both the PVC Fire Safety Committee and the Coordinating Committee on Consumer Safety (CCCS), it has been convenient to represent our committee on CCCS. This is important because CCCS is the SPI's most effective technical/political lobbying organization in the area of combustibility. I feel comfortable in reporting, therefore, that the PVC's industry's interests have been fairly represented and legitimately protected through this interaction. We have had one Fire Safety Committee meeting since our last report. This had to do with the NBS combustion toxicity protocol. This is detailed in the attached report. V7e have responded to several situations which have been handled on an individual or ad hoc basis. One was the Holiday Inn Fire in Cambridge, Ohio. See report attached. We are interested in being informed on the progress made regarding Dr. Crosbie's literature study of respira tory problems related to fire exposure. No funds were expended in 1979. We are not request ing any funding for fiscal 1980, but presume that if emergency situations arise and funds appear necessary, that we should not hesitate to ask. DLK/jr Daniel L. Kent Chairman PVC Fire Safety Committee BOR 008709 Liaison Most of the combustibility problems are associated with three application areas. These are buildinq construc tion, buildinq contents and transportation. These are also major areas of use for PVC materials. A dominant controlling factor regarding the accepta bility of materials for the above is the action of (1) voluntary standards organizations such as the Model Codes, NFPA, ASTM and (2) regulatory agencies such as CPSC, DOT and FAA. The Coordinating Committee on Consumer Safety (CCCS) is organized to work with and to monitor the activity of these organizations. Approximately 80 SPI members provide liaison to CCCS. I represent the PVC Fire Safety Committee and the interests of the PVC in dustry. This has proven to be an effective way of keeping abreast of actions which could affect our industry. Combustion Toxicity Testing A meeting of the PVC Fire Safety Committee was called on October 3, 1979 because the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Select Committee on combustion toxicity was considering eliminating the incapacitation mode from the protocol currently being developed. Research data shows that PVC is not a "super toxic" material relative to other common materials, but to put PVC in its proper perspective, a combination of both incapac itation and two week mortality modes is essential. If the incapacitation mode were to be dropped by NBS, our only line of defense would be to do work outside the committee to prove our point. At the October 3rd meeting, a program was outlined. Cost was estimated at $50,000. The PVC Fire Safety Committee agreed that incapacitation should continue as part of the protocol. However, concern was expressed about only the PVC industry funding the program. The committee felt that the PVC industry would be more willing to financially participate if other industries would support it also. The committee asked Dr. M. O'Mara, a member of the NBS Select Committee, to support the position that incapacitation be retained in the NBS protocol. Dr. O'Mara discussed this with the NBS Select Committee on November 28th and the Committee agreed to include incapacitation as part of the protocol. This has negated the need, at this time, to consider a separate research study. BOR 008710 Holidan Inn - Cambridge, Ohio Fire Through the co-sponsership of CCCS and the PVC Fire Safety Committee, we retained the services of A. J. Hogan, a registered fire protection engineer and a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators to in vestigate the Cambridge, Ohio Holiday Inn fire where ten people lost their lives and PVC wall covering was identified as a major contributing combustible. Two reports, one dated August 13, 1979 and one dated November, 30, 1979 have been submitted. This fire received more publicity than any other fire involving PVC. It stimulated interest and concern world wide. Twenty five deaths in a hotel fire in Vienna were blamed on PVC wall covering. From a Vienna newspaper -- "Twenty-five persons suffocated painfully although it was known for a long time that PVC floor and wall coverings set free poisonous fumes as soon as they start burning. The plastic material, however, ijs still available and is being used thousands of times." This fire has generated an untold number of inquiries from architects, hospital administrators, fire marshalls, code officials, etc. regarding the use of vinyl wall coverings, upholstery, flooring, window shades and building components. bor oo87ii PVC SAFETY GROUP RNA_NC IAISTATEMENT (As <>r May 31, 1979) INCOME Carry over June 1, 1978 Assessments January-June 1979 (per March 22, 1979 Invoice) TOTAL June 1, 1978 - May 31, 1979 $185,634.05 100,000.00 $285, 634,.05 EXPENSES Legal Public Relations Mootings Telephone, supplies, misc. June-Dee. 1978 $ 83,308.11 55,613.74 709.19 (62.30) Jan-May 1979 $ 67,766.70 30,916.27 2,763.79 847.08 June-May 1978-'79 $ 151,074.81 86,530.01 3,472.98 784.78 $139,568.74 $102,293.84 $ 241,862.58 FUNDS AVAILABLE - JUNE 1, 1979 $ 43,771.47 BOR 008712