Document 7B42kJXXRZG9agEG08oGXKRV

"CHEMECOLOGY" / March, 1974 / CA UPDATING COMPANY, GOVERNMENT TIGHTEN SAFETY C ADVISORY ON JOB EXPOSURE TO VINYL CHLORIDE MCA has stopped circulation of a chemical safety publication because of recent events involving employees In vinyl chloride operations. The action on the 1972 edition of Extra precautionary measures to reduce employee exposure to vinyl chloride to a minimum have been put into practice at a 8. F. Goodrich Company plant in Louisville, Ky. At the same time, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced a crash research program to determine possible occupational health hazards of vinyl chloride. MCA's Chemical Safety Data Sheet SD-56, on vinyl chloride, follows a re port by the 8. F. Goodrich Chemical Company that five of its employees at one plant had experienced fatal cases of angiosarcoma (a rare form of can cer) of the liver. Through MCA. a group of compa nies producing vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins has been conducting animal exposure studies and an epidemiological study of industry workers. Uncompleted at this time, the cur rent studies were initiated because of reports from Italy by Dr. P. L. Viola ihat long-term massive exposures of rats to vinyl chloride vapors had pro duced malignant tumors of a kind not found in man. In its 1972 revision of the data sheet, MCA called attention to the re port, but added that carcinogenicity (cancer-causing) to humans had not been observed, A revised edition of the vinyl chlo ride data sheet is planned after this question has been resolved. Both moves came shortly after the company announced that six employees at its Louisville plant have con tracted angiosarcoma, a rare liver can cer, that may have been caused by exposure to substances involved in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride. The disease has proven fatal to five of the employees. In a more recent development, the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has added vinyt chloride to its list of occupational cancer-causing agents. OSHA WANTS ADVICE The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is considering a stan dard for occupational exposure to in organic mercury. Public comment is invited on whether a new standard is needed on the basis of government criteria or other information. Replies should be sent to: Office of Standards, OSHA, if. S. Dept, of Labor, Rm. 504, 400 First St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210 before March 25, 1974. The board also has recommended that the present exposure ceiling of 500 parts per million be reduced to 75 ppm, with a normal threshold of 50 ppm averaged over an eight-hour workday. The board recognized that in cer tain operations, such as cleaning in side mixing tanks, vinyl chloride fumes are more concentrated than the pro posed limit, in such situations, the board recommended, exposure to more than 200 ppm "without proper protective equipment shall constitute an imminent danger." If adopted, the proposed regulations could go into effect by the end of March. Goodrich said that measures being taken at Louisville include some of its own initiative, and others suggested by the government. The company says it is in compliance with federal and state guidelines. NIOSH has made the following recommendations: Housekeeping--Resin should be stored in closed containers. Eating fa cilities should be separated from the work area. DOW EXPANDING TOXICOLOGY LAB Clothing--Protective clothing, in -A. cluding coveralls, should be provided The Dow Chemical Company has all employees. Those working in mix begun a $2 million expansion of facili ing tanks should wear impervious *r\ ties in Midland, Mich., for research suits. Into product safety to protect em Showers--All employees in the 7 ployees, customers and the environ polymerization process should take ment. When completed early next showers after completing work. t yew, the new toxicology laboratory Monitoring--To determine where will triple the company's capacity for leaks occur, monitoring should b studying the effects of inhaling chem carried on throughout the work en vironment. icals and gases. Repiratory protection--All employ The primary purpose of Dow's toxi ees transfering vinyl chloride should cology work is to study raw materials be provided self-contained breathing used in manufacturing products and apparatus and those working in tanks by-products, and chemicals, including should have air-supplied respirators. drugs, being developed in the com Getting underway at NIOSH is a , 1 , t . j *, .* . Construction equipment big and small was on hand at groqndbreakmg ceramonias lor a new $2 million toxicology laboratory at the Midland. Mich., research campus ol the Dow Chemical Company, N,ne- year*old Matthew Gehring handled "con struction chores" as Dow oflicials watch. Cr. Perry J. Gehring, Matthsw's lather, hsads Dow's toxicology research. pany's laboratories. The goal is to pro duce information to provide for safe manufacture, handling and use of chemicals. Dc.v's first facility for toxicology re search was established in 1933. Today, more than 45.000 square feet of floor space in three buildings is used to investigate about 500 chemicals an nually. study of employees at plants that have had polyvinyl chloride operations for 15 years or more. The study will in clude employees with varying lengths of exposure. NIOSH also is looking for other dis eases that may result from exposure to / vinyl chloride. Part of its efforts will involve animal toxicological studies with the National Cancer Institute. BOR 008313 Memo from PAUL J. JOSENHANS 3/12/74 TO A. Cummin D. Weinstein W. Kocher FYI PJJ* \ % "\ A BOR 008314