Document 82mzK3rrrYMoxrXyXoebK7xao

A cn& t&odtcZi- a*ut GL. .ea& INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM O"' ft* Date _ 5 April 1974 f'\i Subject `' Complying with the Temporary f Vinyl Chloride Standard To. H. L. Watson From J, C. Novak cc: T. L. Carey H. W. Smith/W. L. Ball J. T. Barr J. M. Tiimon E. Blades J. D. Kramer/R. W. McGinnis VF (Location, Organization, or Department) VF (Location, Organization, or Department) E. Ray G. Speed XJ ^ 3 A. K. McMillan K. T. Diamond oa - ;ai-t T* Medovich H. Zorman/H. Konrad r\. It McMUM In compliance with the regulations of the "Emergency Temporary Standard for Exposure to Vinyl Chloride" the following will be necessary: . A.) Breathing Air 10 Provide breathing air supply having sufficient capacity frtV fVn mflviwi*ni i-i>aei-uaryrO (s AW* MAW lUbWA MilUAji IAWMIWWA V* ^ W WkTAW anoi gency conditions in any area where vinyl chloride is used, stored and transferred. Ihe_aiT supply per person should be sized for pressure demand respiTatbnrr" (See AppfendEx"5X Provide for each person in the work area with a Type Cr~ pressure demand respirator. This can be either a full mask or half mask respirator with a pressure demand valve and air supply hose. 30 In additionjn? the respirator and air supply, each person shca51d~h3Ve a small cvlindef~of"breathing air attached to a Belt. This is to be used~durihg psriodsTTfhe worker moves about* in .the work area between hook-up stations supplying breathing air, as well as when he leaves the area. 4.) The small breathing air cylinders will require frequent refill. An appropriate refill station should be provided using either bottled air or compressor. The enclosed copy of a brochure is one example of the type of respirator described above. Other suppliers are: Mine Safety Applicances Scott Aviation B.) Monitoring 10 Ambient air monitoring for establishing the presence and average concentration of vinyl chloride in the work area. (920] wm imwTrr.^mKia.'^y bm AP00035176 -- "^ ____ jMfc. 1355 Current Report Health Hazard* OSHA WILL ADOPT 50 PPM EXPOSURE LIMIT IN EMERGENCY VINYL CHLORIDE RULE An emergency temporary health standard for vinyl chloride to be issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will establish a ceiling exposure limit of 50 parts per million. The emergency rule will be issued while OSHA pro ceeds with normal rulemaking procedures for a permanent standard. The OSHA action followed disclosure by officials of the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company plant in Louisville, Ky., of a possible connection between vinyl chloride exposure and the deaths of several employees of angio sarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer (Current Report, January 31, p. 1099). Union support and management opposition to an emer gency standard for 'vinyl chloride were registered during an OSHA public hearing on February 15 (Cunent Report, February :i. p. 1139). The emergency standard will reduce permissible ex posure levels of workers in industry from 500 ppm in air to a 50 ppm ceiling, and at the same time require workplace monitoring and. where exposure is greater than the 50 ppm level, personal protective measures and equip ment. The adoption of a 50 ppm ceiling would be a signifi cant departure from the work practices standard recom mended by tiie National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Current Report, March l4.-p. 1276). NtOSH maintained that there was inadequate evidence to support the concept that exposure levels of less than 50 ppm were safe. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the emergency temporary standard serves as a proposed per manent standard. Assistant Labor Secretary John H. Slender said the permanent standard would also be based upon the NIOSH recommendations. Proposed Standard The proposed standjrd.fthc emergency standard! would establish mcthodsJfcE monitoring work ureas for vinyl chloride, set wurksfpracticcs to be followed, institute a medical survcillantyPprour'am for employees, and require specific personal piW&ctivc equipment. The rule is intended to limit exposure to vinyl chlo ride, a substance that is used widely in the manufac ture of poiy.inyi chloride, a form of plastic. Monitoring devices now available can measure exposures as low as one part per million in air. The emergency standard, to be issued "soon."* can remain in effect up to six months, ft will be superceded, however, a* soon as the permanent standard proposal is adopted. Slender said that "theoretically, the permanent stand ard can be an the books us curly us Juno. Meanwhile, the emergency standard will serve to protect workers from the grave danger we know exists." Following the OSHA hearing on February 15, Sfender and other OSHA officials visited several chemical plants for^on-the-spot investigations to determine possible means of limiting worker exposure to vinyl chloride. Stender said scientific evidence presented at the Feb ruary 15 hearing by Professor Cesare Maltoni, an Italian scientist, led to the emergency ceiling reduction. Maltoni's studies demonstrated that reduction from 500 to 50 ppm provides a considerable degree of protection from the 250 ppm concentration observed by Maltoni to be cancer- causing in animals, while those exposed only to 50 ppm showed no apparent ill effects. Stender's visits and meetings followed a field study by a team of OSHA industrial hygienists and chemical engi neers at a number of chemical plants in Louisiana to develop technical recommendations. Although the emergency standard will become effective shortly after publication in the Federal Register, the permanent standard will not be adopted until the public has been given an opportunity to comment and, if requested, a public hearing is held. ' Asbestos OSHA ALERTS INDUSTRY TO NEW SOURCE OF HAZARDOUS EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS FIBERS Industry and labor were alerted to a new potential source of occupational exposure to asbestos fibers; con tained in spudding and taping compounds used to cover seams in drv-wali joints, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced on Match 27. The compounds are used chiefly in the home con struction industry. Workers sanding joints smooth before painting may expose themselves to three to 13.7 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeters of air, OSHA stated- The OSHA standard for asbestos limits worker exposure lo five fibers per cubic centimeter for an eight-hour timeweighted average. Trade associations, unions, employer groups, and repre sentatives of construction industry' are being asked by OSHA to join the effort to alert employers and em ployees to the potential hazard. OSHA was alerted to die hazard by Dr. Marcus M. Kov, director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Worker Examination Current awareness of the potential hazard is based on examination of 17 members of the International Brother hood of Painters and Allied Trades. New York City, conducted by Dr. Irvine J. Seiikoff, director, environ mental sciences laboratory'. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of Now York. X-rays rcvejlcd that die lungs of nine of Ihc 17 workers examined . Cepyrighr 1974 by Tho Bureau of National Affaire tn. AP00035i77