Document 887956dnGE5aOEM715qLYzgk

r* l"'in;t 1 regulation.-, that shaiplv re duce workrj exposme to vinyl chlo ride have been Lsued hy the Occu pntionni Safety and Health Admin istration, four days befcuo an emergency standard was due to run out. The new regulations apparent ly don't really please anybody. Labor has given them a lukewarm reception. And industry, which ihhiks ihcv art- far too strict, has immediately challenged them in the courts. Vinyl chloride lias been linked to several liver cancer deaths among production workers. eoof outed the i.-tant seentaiv, he I) act. d in a ",,.y that (' .non st iat cs his goo;! fait h." Industry spoke-.men take a much diffinnt view of OSilA's action. Todd 0. Walker, pre sident of Fire stone Plastics, calls the standard "economically unrealistic, techni cally unfeasible, politically moti vated, and medically ridiculous," adding that it "throws 2 million jobs down the drain." And Ralph I. Harding, president of the Society of the Plastics Industry, claims that "not erne shred of evidence was pre- anted at the public hearings or since that could have led OSH A to the conclusion that a lower level was necessary or achievable at this time." Firestone has filed a suit and joined another suit filed by SPI asking for prompt and complete re view of the standard. 1 > i CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS October 7, 1974, Page 5 Masks may be needed at plants tike this The new standard, covering vinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride, and PVC fabricating facilities, will be implemented in steps. The present level of 50 p.p.m. will continue until Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, 1975, vinyl chloride in work-place air must be reduced to 1 p.p.m, aver aged over an eight-hour period. Workers may be exposed to no more then 5 p.p.m. awrn a 1 over any pcTud no hogv. ihan 15 nun utes. If these levels can't be met, employees must be provided with respiratory equipment that can re duce the vinyl chloride concentra tion to 1 p.p.m. The reliance on respirators "plac es the companies at an advantage." according to Louis S. Helic/.ky, di rector of hygiene for the United Rubber Workers International Union. He warns that it "may have the effect of minimizing efforts to initiate engineering controls and Could lead to a 1(H)'/. reliance on respirators." However, he j:ivs that "in light of all the pressure that bos NOTE: Picture shown is Allied Chemical's Baton Rouge North Plant. Asi 00001886b y