Document 7MGa9xDGXaQdmrJoVJpjNb036

FILE NAME: American Cyanamid (AMCY) DATE: 1939 July 18 DOC#: AMCY033 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Confidential Report to Class A Members RE Toxic Materials - National Paint, Varnish, and Lacquer Assoc. ^ritentai jJJahit, Jfnntislj iuiir JEartjucr A sso d a tim i etnea* H i t i u m --t t h i r r t . t u m . t m h m I Slot ic(.m u i h M -- f l * K < t. I t u i n t n , Clini) j**um --. . M iruci. H u m n u tU lt . CLTON. uanM i i n m - i , KiCDomto. i u i i m i i i NeORPOItATte NEW YORK AVE. N.W., WASHINGTON, O. C, orricE o r the presic ent Ju ly 18, 1939 TO CLASS A 'LT: ERS: CONFIDENTIAL Not fo r P u b licatio n mcionai v ic c . t i':tst mrw tnraiM><kiit i ist. f;\ : m :i *. U h u , ( **tt vf*fiaa-~c. p u v u tem tviut CItni->UTII M (. (riU ll MfSTtl U M tiM II divisional vicf.Ax:i ::sr m i e u M v t in**-- 1.1. sti *.i if Toxic r.%t2r i a l s w ith th e ir e v er-p re se n t problems re q u ire our conscientious con sid e ra tio n o f th e fundamental p rin c ip le s involved. The N ational F a in t, Varnrsh ana Lacquer A ssociation i s keenly in te re s te d in providing C lass A me.-b ers with muen inform ation on t h i s su b je c t as i s p ra c tic a b le a t th is t i r e . This ir.fornatior. being confidential is not intended fo r general publication, - i t is bfcing sent only to the C lass A group. P lease rssp o ct t h i s confidence. The v i t a l f a c to r concerning to x ic ..a te r io ls i s to in te l l i g e n t l y safeguarc the public. People nay f e e l s a f e r in buying m a te ria ls whose danger they know rath.-r than r .c te ria ls unknown to them. Ife t r u s t th e sev e ra l phases presented h e re in w ill be of some- b e n e fit to members in applying every p recau tio n ary erasu re in vjiufcturing, in s e llin g und in use -heru to x ic m a te ria ls are lik e ly to or oo enter & product. Toxics cna th e ir e ffe c ts i s a subject very b ro a i in scope and can-only b rie fly be tre n te d in t h i s mesaege. C hildren's to y s, equipment, fu rn itu re , e tc . are not the only consideration. Toxics - ..i.'tiy compounds used in 'p a i n ts o r la c q u s rs may have harmful e f f e c ts i f carelessly handled. Toxic i!u.tcrials nay e n te r tho body through th e Lungs in th e form o f d u st, m ist, vapors, or g a se s, through th e sk in , or tnrough .he mouth and stomach, o c tc r ia l inhaled in to the nose uni mouth can d isso lv e in th e s a liv a and be sj/allowed. I r r i t a n t .' i t c r i c l s u&y a lso hove a d ir e c t a c tio n upon tno skin a id th e mucous membranes of the.m ys,nose, mouth,and th r e a t. I t must be remembered t h a t a l l people do not re .ic t in th e same way when exposed to chem icals. Some may be q u ite s e rio u s ly a ffe c te d by q u a n titie s which are he.ru le s* tc o th e rs . Hones, i t follow s th a t any one usin g p rin t and a l l i e d prod u cts should provide adequate v e n tila tio n and sh mid observe ordinary sanitury measures such as th e washing o f the hands and face before eating end leaping the c lo th e s c le a n . D irty work c lo th e s , inclu d in g sho%.s, can be an im portant source of skin absorption. Soma of the in g re d ie n ts o f p a in ts end a l l i e d p rx Ju c ts might re c eiv e sp e c ia l mention because o f t h o i r s p e c ific e f f e c t s , r a t h r than because they e re ly d isp la ce p a rt o f th e a i r o r cause s l i g h t discom fort i f taken in to th e stoamch or system. Thc VSHt,* pSS following pigments auy be considered r.s to x ic i f thay fin d th e ir vay in to ^ stomach. Thc :n c u n t to le r a te d by th e body v aries w ith th e pigment. s fZ ir Antiucny. Antimony c x id o , Naples y ello w , or o th e r antimoiiy ccaj (Antimony i s supposed to be c o n sid erab ly le s s to x ic than lead NCA ~G 02901 N 68 / - 2- th a re i s much evidence tv in d ic e ta th a t i t is a to x ie o e t a r i a l .) Hxny -a aa o f suspected antimony poionirg have opea tra c ed to the accompanying le/.d. Arsenic .Ccrapounds. P a ris groen o r oth er compounds containing a rsen ic . C:-. V C -dtiu s u lfid a s 'Mi sp len iJe s r r e to x ic , but belong to tr.<* lz ;ccr u;*sC pigm ents. C h r C h r o r . a t e s of n il typos aro onecrstood tc be rc-l-ti.-cly tc x ic . Chromium oxides re rel.-.tively n e n -to x ic . U -x Cor -punas. Wait* le rd , red ie a d , i i tnexgc, load ch ro rx tu s (chrome ycilcw , chronc green), or other lend pig ren ts. P e rru ry . Red and yellow oxides of aerciu y o r o th e r products eenteinir.g r.$r *ury * - Liquids - Alcoh o ls . The to x ic ity o f methyl alco h o l iii very ^ e ll in li-ccuers, the other alcohols are relativ ely harmless. As used o en v o l.~ T rie i s probably tar. uiost dangerous of a l l co ffatrsial so lv en ts, but i t s u s t ir. our in a u stry i s ,'rohably r e s tr ic te d to c e r ta in p a in t end varnish recovers. Chlorlr.atsd Hydrocarbons. Carbon U tric h lo rid e , tric rJ o r ethylene, tvti'Tchlorothnne, thyl~ae diciiloride, a:id sim ilar chlorinated c l i ph-.tic hydrocarbons are said to be very <1ii^erous to n e s . Chloncu-tod r o o t l e liya.-oc .rbor.a ; rv e-id to be . U ' toxic tu u t;.c cor;xr.l.onuu.g 'yarocaroon itc a if , but suae chlorinated area .tics are frequently tne sour of rkm troubles. Lacquer S o lv e n ts. There i s scae evidenc e th a t th e a c o tn tc s ---e th y l, b u ty l usd c a y l--e re aoro c r le s s to x ic . Acetone Hjr.d t h i e th e r ketones are r.a c tiv e ly harm less, Mcvt o th e r so lv en ts used to a l t s s c r e x te n t are e ith e r harm less in then* selv e s, ere used in such re la tiv e ly smell amounts, or arc so slowly ev ap o ratin g th a t th ey present no hazard* Methyl A lcohol. The use o f th is product should be avoided. I t i s d e fin ite ly poisonous. Solvent Naphtha. T his i s tls o r e l a t i v a l f non-toxic as compared to benzol, and probably le s s toxic than to lu o l and x y lo l. T ulucl end X ylol. In equal c o n c e n tra tio n s, th ese a rc s a id W be more toxic than benzol, but because they are lass v o la tile the o c tu il .hazard i s u su a lly l e s s . sc* 0 02902 / - 3- T rlc re srl- Phosphates. The para- and m eta-fc'icresy l phosphates which axe used as p la s t ic is e r s are non-to x ic. O rth o -irie re s y l phosphate, on the other hand, i*> a v io le n t poison. Turpentine and f'ln erai S p ir its . These products are re la tiv e ly non-toxic but are s t i l l l i s t e d in works on toxicology as causing eczema and i r r i ta tio n of th e skin end mucous nembrunos. Son people exposed to the f ~ e $ are s u b je c t to in te rn a l d iso rd e rs when breathing s u b s ta n tia l sr.sur.ts of turpentine. .Vir.srd s p ir its is le ss tcxlc than turpentine. 0*her r l a s t l c i s c r s . Very l i t t l e is known rsg ard in g the to x ic ity o f oth er c.-zscn so -c a lle d chemical p la s tic iz e rs , but the hazard frc a v o la tility or dust is , of course, snail. The main s c r.c id ira tio n , whenever p a in t products are used, i s co n stan t r e p e titio n to the p a in t consumer of th e n e c s s s ity o f employing adequate v e n tila tio n and maintaining personal hygiens. Printed M atter - Color cards and a d v ertisin g lite r a tu r e should not in clude any re fe re n c e by the use o f words or sketches to In d ic a te or recom mend a product f o r c h ild re n 's to y s, e q u ip u e it, fu r n itu r e , e t c . , u n less i t is a b so lu te ly fre e from to x ic m a te ria ls . Nan-Faiscnous Colors - I t is generally conceded there is re la tiv e ly l i t t l e danger o f to x ic e f f e c t from p a in ts on toys and nursery f u r n itu r e , a s bath the p a in t m anufacturer and the toy m anufacturer a rc fa m ilia r w ith the types of non-poisenous pigments to use. N ev erth eless, the in d iv id u a l company should c o n stan tly guard ag ain st using any to x ic m a te ria l, e sp e c ially lead compounds, in products fo r fin is h in g c h ild r e n 's to y s , e tc . Notes (See page #7 o f "Odds end Ends", a s p e c ia l c ir c u la r o f the S c ie n tif ic Section N ational P a in t, V arnish and Lacquer A sso ciatio n , issu ed August 1938.) Grcwn-ups a rc exposed to some hazards as in tha case o f c h ild re n . There fore products f o r fin is h in g p e n c ils , and o th e r a r t i c l e s th a t may be placod in the mouth, through h a b it, req u ire tha use o f to x ic -fre e o a ttria ls * Labeling - No d e f i n i t e procedure i s recommended f o r la b e lin g . Labeling is serio u s sin ce i t becomes a pu b lic m atter w ith the q u estio n as to what would r e s u lt i f t h i s wore done. Each m anufacturer can ab ly cope w ith th e to x ic m a te ria l s itu a tio n by c o n sta n tly safeguarding the pu b lic through th e prod ucts he manufactures and by the re p e titio n of in stru c tio n s to salesmen, serv ice men and o th e rs who con i n te llig e n tly in s tr u c t the consumer o f tha advantage* o f providing adequate v e n tila tic n and of m aintaining personal hygiene. General - The statem ent o f le g a l p rin c ip le s l i s t e d below was prepared fo r und d is tr ib u te d by th e M anufacturing Chem ists' A sso ciatio n f o r th e guidance of i t s iranbors concerned o ith la b e lin g problems, and la supported by decisions of the co u rts. Although the p rin cip les sel. fo rth are not e n tire ly the re s u lt of litig a tio n involving m aterial used by msobers o f our in d u stry they are nevertheless generally applicable to situations arising frca the use of harmful substances. NCA 0 02333 yenufaeturing Chemists' Association Legal P rin cip les 1. A m anufacturer who puts out c danger Jus c r tic lo o r substance without acconpanying-it w ith u warning aa to i t s dangerous p ro p e rtie s is c rc i- r.s rily lia b le fo r any dacage which r e s u lts from such f a ilu r e tc warn. 2. A m anufacturer or d e a le r who erroneously la b e ls a dangerous drug with the name o f a harmless substance i s lia b le fo r any in ju ry which cay be caused thereby. 3. F a ilu re to comply w ith c s ta tu te , e . ; '. , w ith ra sp e c t tc lab elin g p ciscn s, is u su ally held tc be negligoncs par se or c t le a s t evic.-uce of negligence. A, The name o f the product alcn e nu*y be s u f f ic ie n t wrning, i f i t s .-v.twr* is very widely knewn o r i t s sa le i s r e s tr ic te d to those who re . presumed to know i t s n a tu re , but even in such cases the c d v is c o ility of a sp e c ific warning i s in d icated . 5. Teci*nicftl r.ccuracy may not bo s u ffic .ont p ro te c tio n fo r the manufac tu re r i f he uses r.crcs which say give th> purchaser the iopreS3ion th a t h is product i s not ;hct i t o ctiifd ly i s . 6. A nonwarrenty of re s u lts is net a warning against possible ccnacrous re s u lts ._ 7. The consumer is o n titlc a to re ly on je sitiv e re p re se n ta tio n s or d iriic tic n s appearing on the la b e l u n less h.r knows them to be incorz*ect. 8. The n a n u f-c tu re r is o rd in a rily a use fo r which i t is not intended reasonably have been fo reseen . I t whether a p a rtic u la r re s u lt should are ap t to d i f f e r on th i s p c in t. not L.uble i f his product is put tc and an in ju ry re s u lts which could net i s o f ;en d i f f i c u l t , however, to know have been foreseen, and the courts 9. The m anufacturer or one who holds him self out to be the m anufacturer must know tha q u a litie s of h is product and he cannot escape l i a b i l i t y on the ground th a t he did no t know i t to be dangerous. 10. The g e n e ra l ru le th a t a m anufacturer i s n o t lia b le to th ese not in p r iv ity o f C ontract w ith him doss not ap.aly when h is product i s immi nently or*Inherently aengerous. Ccnclusion - If# g ra n t th a t t h i s is a very broad s u b je c t, and doubt i f a concifz s e t c f ru le s can be e s ta b lis h e d . K evortheles i, i t may he so lo th a t our members can meet th e ir in d iv id u a l problems in safeguarding tha p u b lic , including of course our own fa c to ry employees, by th e ir s iic e r e e f f o r t in ta k in g advantage of very possible precaution in the use of to c ic m aterials la manufacturing, sellin g and in u se. Such p re c au tio n s p lu s co n sta n t r e p e titio n o f I n te llig e n t in s tr u c tio n s w ill, i t i s believed, securo the best re s u l^ s r^ Tours v iry tru ly , ETTsma 0 Q22Q4