Document 8ORMymEZ8njM1GRpw7raxkENy

ETHYL CORPORATION INTER-OFFICE To Gary Ter Haar A d d r e s s BRT From Su b je c t Theodore J. Benya Report on Vinyl Chloride Research Coordinators Meeting at MCA , March 2 1 , 1979 A d d r e s s BRT Date Apr ,10 1979 Attendees : Z.G. Bell, T.J. Benya W.M. Busey W.D. Harris K. Hatfield C .A. Hilberger M.N. Johnson C.D. Kary J. Stafford T.R. Torkelson M. Utidjian R.N. Wheeler PPG Ethyl EPL Uniroyal Diamond Shamrock Air Products & Chemicals B.F. Goodrich Shell Oil Imperial Chemical Industries Dow Chemical Co. Union Carbide Union Carbide I. Texas City Brain Tumors Discussion According to Dr. Wagoner, Director of OSHA's Office of Carcinogen Identification, vinyl chloride exposure causes a specific brain tumor in humans called glioblas toma multiforme. However, this is the most common single type of primary brain tumor in humans ranging from 40 to 60% of all cases. It is a poorly differentiated, highly malignant astrocytoma (grades III and IV) with unknown etiology. A higher than expected incidence of "glioblas tomas" (>60%) has been reported by plants in Texas City, Texas. However, no correlation has been established be tween VC1 and these cases. In November 1978, a Union Carbide worker claimed that he contracted a brain tumor from vinyl chloride exposure. To date a total of 21 cases from several plants have been reported as follows: Union Carbide Monsanto Two unidentified plants ' 11 cases 5 cases 5 cases EC - 2259 BPR 171973 Gary Ter Haar/T.J. Benya VC1 Meeting/MCA April 10, 1979 2 NIOSH has launched an investigation in order to determine the cause. However, these cases did not qualify for the MCAsponsored epidemiology study conducted by Equitable Environment al Health, Inc., on vinyl chloride exposure of workmen. Of the total sample, 431 were from the Union Carbide Texas City plant and classified as either low, medium, or high occupational ex posure to VC1. Mike Utidjian of Union Carbide stated that neither brain tumors nor hemangiosarcomas have been diagnosed within this sample. Examination of 454 death certificates of Union Carbide employees (retired or employed, not terminated) since 1941 has disclosed 110 deaths due to cancer, which is normal. However, the frequency of 11 cases of brain tumor at Union Carbide, out of 110 deaths, is approximately 4 to 5 times higher than the normal frequency of 2.14%. Furthermore, seven cases have been diagnosed as glioblastoma multiforme and two addi tional cases diagnosed as malignant gliomas may be "glioblasto mas" according to Utidjian, In order to obtain further data regarding relative expo sures of these cases, I called Mike Utidjian who gave me the following information: Case 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Diagnosis_____ Position_____________________ "Exposure" Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Malignant glioma Malignant glioma "Brain Tumor" "Brain Tumor" > Shipping Clerk Plantwide equipment Oper. Ethylene oxide production Polyethylene production Polyethylene production Machine shop Power Plant PVC weighmaster Storeroom Plantwide laborer Polyethylene production P r o d u c e r gas Ethyl alcohol production h 2So4 production Instrument foreman Gen'l Maintenance foreman 4 years 16 years 6 years 19 years 2 years 20 years 17 years 1 year 12 years 23 years 17 years 22 years 22 years 2 .5 " 3 years 28 years EC- 2*60 Gary Ter Haar/T.J. Benya VC1 Meeting/MCA April 10, 1979 3 Recommendations The MCA-VC1 Research Coordinator s made the following recommendations in response to the reported brain tumors: 1) Have all brain tissues from rats, mice, and hampsters exposed to vinyl chloride during the I.B.T. inhalation study examined by a neuropathologist. 2) Request a written Epidemiology Protocol from NIOSH/ OSHA for the Texas City investigation. If acceptable, then MCA would provide NIOSH with the Equitable En vironmental Health (EEH) survey data. 3) Obtain a committment from EEH to release the survey data to MCA which J. Wagoner has also been attempt ing to review. 4) Request Gaffey and Tabershaw, now independently em ployed, to determine feasibility of updating the EEH study in order to correlate brain tumors with relative degree of exposures -- i.e., proportion of VCM, PVC, EDO, PVC dust, PVC emulsion and/or dispersion. 11 PVC Dust At present, PVC appears to be a problem in a number of European factories. Dr. Stafford presented the following information: 1) The French have reported one case of PVC dust-related pneumoconiosis. 2) An Italian union-sponsored study reported 24 cases of pneumoconiosis in one or two factories -- denied by corresponding medical directors.3 3) Dr. C. Wagner of the Medical Research Council, Surrey, England,has been conducting animal experiments to de termine whether PVC dust is carcinogenic by injecting PVC into the pleural cavity. He has identified human lung tumors of B.P. factory workers which appear to be associated with PVC dust (identified by a ici histopathology staining procedure). Wagner is convinced that PVC dust is carcinogenic based upon suggestive data reported by R.J. Waxweiller (Ph.D thesis). Torkelson pointed out that Waxweiller did not establish a correlation between PVC dust and lung cancer; however, Folk reported an increase in lung tumors in PVC plant workers in Louisville not due to VCM. EC- 2261 Gary Ter Haar/T.J. Benya VC1 Meeting/MCA April 10, 1979 4 4) ICI has attempted to develop animal models to study the effect of PVC dust, but MRC has not found the designs acceptable. 5) ICI is presently sponsoring an Industrial Hygiene survey to determine the effect of PVC dust levels on lung efficiency. 6) MRC would like to lower the present PVC dust TLV of 10 mg/m3 to 5 mg/m3. ICI plants are <10 mg/m3; how ever, an ICI customer using an American process to produce PVC bottle caps exceeds the present TLV. 7) Scleroderma cases are on the increase in PVC plants, and achroosteolysis (AOL) is increasing among VCM autoclave workers. Ill. Status of Other Vinyl Studies 1) University of Louisville (VC1) No report; study will be completed this year. 2) CIVO ("Dutch Research Institute") PVC resin was fed to rats at 0, 1.7', 5.0 and 14.1 mg equivalent of VCM/kg and in corn oil at 300 mg equivalent of VCM/kg. Angiosarcomas were reported only at the 300 mg level; and hepatocarcinomas at lowest level (1.7 and 5.0). Brain tumor frequencies do not appear significant.3 Brain Tumors mg VCM/kg 0 1.7 <s 1/80 1/60 5.0 2/60 14.1 1/80 300 1/80 ? 0/80 2/60 0/60 0/80 0/80 Feeding will continue at 0.017 and 0.17. 3) BIBRA (British Industrial Biological Research Assoc.) VCM was fed to rats in drinking water. Angiosarcomas were reported only at 250 ppm (equivalent to 14.1 CIVO dose which did not produce angiosarcoma). No tumors reported EC- 2262 Gary Ter Haar/T.J. Benya VC1 Meeting/MCA April 10, 1979 at the two lower levels (2.5 ppm at 25 ppm). Final report from BIBRA will be available this month. 5 TJ B :sbb cc: J.G. Burdick/G.B. Meyers R.F. Cope W.E. Foster A.J. Haefner J .A. Jacoby D.E. Johnson W.F. Jordan C. King J. Lees M.M. Monrose A. Mulholland C.B. Myers B. P. Pancamo T.L. Roberts R.L. Smith P. Weir Theodore J. Benya EC- 2263