Document 9144Bx07NMQD8LNRNB2Baga6e

DEPARTMENT OP HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL <&M ;i 1974 NATIONAL institute fop OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 5600 FISHERS LANE ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20852 Mr. George E. Best Manufacturing Chemists Association 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009 AB<iMCTtWj Chbw&U ASSOCIATION, INC. njlQKUFfiQJ/EJ p\ m 4 1074 Ltaisi/ ITS.yj Dear Mr. Best: On January 22, 1974, representatives from the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company, met with myself and other staff of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NI0SH) to present their concerns that recent deaths of several of their employees at their Louisville, Kentucky plant might be related to occupational conditions. Had not the Company taken the initiative it did in following up on suspicions aroused by the occurrence of the rare type of liver cancer (i.e. angiosarcoma) discovered in several of its employees at autopsy, it is entirely possible that the significance presently attached to the appearance of those tumors would not have been realized for several more years. As a result of this information, a walk-through survey was conducted on January 24 in the Company's facility in Louisville by NI0SH. Also participating in the survey at the specific request of NI0SH were representatives from the Department of Labor of the State of Kentucky, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the Center for Disease Control (CDC). We were most pleased with the Company's excellent cooperation with the survey team in providing access to Company employees, union representatives and Company records of medical and employment history significance. The agreement of officials of the Louisville facility to provide continuing cooperation with the organizations participating in the survey demonstrates the sincerity and concern of the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company in determining che significance of past and present conditions of employment ^hich may have either precipitated or initiated the induction of tumors in certain of its employees. On February NLOSH will brief representatives of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AS I 00023449 Pago 2 - Mr. CGorge. E. Pest and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), as to the results of the initial survey of the. Louisville plant and also review the results of the investigation thus far. Subsequent to this meeting, M10SH will develop a protocol for further field studies as well as recommendations for medical diagnosis and follow up. At this time the etiologic role of vinyl chloride in the induction of the observed liver tumors is not certain. The occupational exposure of the deceased workers to over 50 other chemicals at the Louisville facility precludes a clear definitive role for this substance as a carcinogenic agent until the degree of exposure to other chemical substances and work histories of deceased employees can be evaluated. However, the implication of vinyl chloride as the possible etiologic agent is not readily dismissable and, unless an association with another of the chemical substances is revealed, vinyl chloride must remain as the principal etiologic agent of suspicion. Until well-documented recommendations to OSHA can be developed, we are recommending that the preliminary work practices and monitoring and control procedures for the polymerization of vinyl chlorides (Enclosure 1) be Instituted as interim measures. These preliminary procedures are based, in part, on the information on hand concerning the operation of the Louisville facility and on the results of the walk-through survey conducted by members of the Institute's staff. These recommendations in more specific detail have been transmitted to the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company for implementation at their Louisville facility. Mr. Vernon E. Rose, Acting Assistant Institute Director for Research and Standards Development will provide NIOSH coordination in develop ment of controls and/or standards to be recommended to OSHA. Mr. Rose or members of his staff may be reached by telephone at (301) 443-3680. Thcv will insure that all requests for technical information or assi.tance concerning this situation are directed to appropriate N.1 3SH staff or members of the ether Federal agencies involved with the ongoing study. The possible significance of vinyl chloride as a carcinogenic substance requires close cooperation between the vinyl chloride industry and State and Federal agencies. Consequently, it is my hope that through your organization the above information and AS I 00023450 Page 3 - Mr. George E. Best enclosed recommendations can receive the widest distribution to other companies using these processes. Enclosure A^I 00023451 Enclosure 1 NIOSH Recommended Precautionnry Monitoring and Control Procedures for Polymerization Processes Involving Vinyl Chloride I. General Housekeeping Procedures A. The spillage of Vinyl Chloride and Polyvinyl Chloride in and around the production facilities should be controlled as follows: 1. Housekeeping procedures should be implemented to assure immediate removal of VC and PVC material around polymerization operations including drying, packaging and loading operations. 2. Recovered PVC material which is to be packaged should be stored in closed containers. 3. Waste PVC material should be stored in closed containers and consideration should be given to the adequacy of its disposal and/or destruction. Care should be taken in the storage of closed containers to insure that unsafe conditions do not result from an internal build-up of pressure in the container. B. Inventories of beginning and recovered quantities of VC and quantities of PVC produced, packaged and recovered should be made to determine losses and probable areas affected. C. PVC material should be removed from overhead structures and conduits where it tends to collect. D. Consumption o' food should be permitted only in separate facilities provided for this purpose, and no food products should be permitted elsewhere in the polymerization facility. II. Protective Clothing A. A daily change of protective clothing including full coveralls, or the equilvalent, should be provided each employee in areas where possible exposure to VC PVC could occur. Clothing contaminated by accidental spills should be changed as soon as' feasible. B. Protective gloves and footwear, or footcovers, should be worn as appropriate in those PVC operations where exposure to PVC material is possible. C. Protective head covers should be worn during PVC operations as appropriate (e.g. hard hats in those areas where physical protection of tbiu head i: necessary and hair coverings, or the equilvalent, in AS I 00023452 operations such as clean inf; of polymerization reactor tanks and packaging operations). !j D. Where employees are engaged in maintenance or cleaning operations of polymerization reactors tanks they should wear full impervious suits to guard against skin contact of PVC material and VC vapors. Procedures for safe, entry to confined spaces should be observed. III. Showers Showers at the termination of an eight-hour work shift should be mandatory for all workers with possible contact with VC-PVC. IV. Monitoring A. Environmental. Monitoring 1. In-plant environmental monitoring programs should be implemented; and where workers are required to enter polymerization tanks, a survey of the VC concentrations should be made in the reactors immediately after opening, immediately prior to entry of maintenance personnel and during the tank cleaning operation. 2. Data obtained from the environmental monitoring program should be used to indicate those areas where efforts should be directed to reduce airborne levels of "VC. 3. Positive programs to initially control VC levels well below the present Federal Standard of 500 ppm should be developed (some companies are targeting at 50 ppm) and efforts to further reduce levels should be given consideration concomitantly with the necessary modifications in engineering and design controls. 4. The concentration of VC in exhaust ventilation should be determined to estimate the amount of VC lost during operations and the possible exposure of personnel immediately outside the facility. 5. Monitoring for PVC particulate material should be accomplished to estimate the degree of exposure to this substance throughout the facility. B. Personal Monitoring 1. integrated, eight-hour personal monitoring samples should be obtained from those employees considered to receive the greatest exposure to VC cr PVC. AsI 00023453 2. Breathing rone samples should be obtained to complement environmental monitoring program for VC, and similar samples should be obtained for PVC. Respiratory Protect ion Because VC is a gas under ambient conditions and PVC is a solid under these conditions, it is recommended that respiratory protection for employees take these circumstances into consideration. A. Where employees are engaged in cleaning and maintenance operations inside polymerization reactors they should be equipped with an atmosphere-supplied respirator in order to protect against both VC vapor and PVC particulates. B. During housekeeping procedures and packaging operations where the possibility of PVC dust inhalation is a factor, it is recommended that an air-purifying respirator equipped with a mechanical filter designed to remove particulate material be worn. Respiratory protective devices which meet this requirement, as well as protect against VC vapors in concentrations less than 0.1% have been approved by the NIOSH Testing and Certification Laboratory and bear the numbers: TC-23C-4Q, TC-23C-47, TC-23C-48. C. Where employees are engaged in transfer operations of YC from railway tankcars to storage facilities or at any similar transfer point which requires manual operations, they should wear a selfcontained breathing apparatus CSCBA) during such operations to guard against unexpected release of VC during such operations. D. Other operations involving possible exposure to YC or PVC should be evaluated as the individual situation exists and respiratory protection provided as appropriate. AS I 00023454 * -- - wiiarnic^i Worid This Week EVIDENCE MOUNTS LINKING VINYL CHLORIDE AND CANCER lSo tar three major resin produc ers -Dow Chemical. Monsanto, and Union Carbide--have spelled out large and wide-ranging price in creases for resins following the CLC action. These boosts come after a I he growing suspicion that expo another four liver disease cases at year in which listed chemical prices sure to vinyl chloride has led to the , the plant under inxestigation. in have moved up relatively modestly. deaths of polyvinyl chloride workers voked persons who cleaned poly According to Labor Department from ;t most rare form of" liver can merization reactors after this step data, the price index for plastics cer has apparently been reinforced. 1 in the suspension process for PVC. resins and materials moved up A research study in which rats ex BFG has used a less hazardous 4.17r between December 1972 and posed to high lex els (apparently I cleaning process for the past five December 1973, For chemicals and 30.000 p.p.m.i of vinyl chloride 1 years, however. allied products the gain was 4.97c. Jvapor also dexelop angiosarcoma of Significantly, the latency period Of course, the "gray market" price the liver was slated to be disclosed j for most cancers to dex'elop nearly for resins and many other chemical publicly in the U.S. by Prof. Cesare ! products has been spiraling upward Maltoni of the University of Bo- j for some months. logna, Italy, just after press time Among the recent price moves The study has been supported by a Monsanto has posted increases of 5 consortium of European firms, in cents a pound on bulk shipments of cluding Imperial Chemical Indus polystyrene resins, and increases of tries (C&EN. Feb. 11. page 8). 4 cents a pound on bulk acryloni What's more, the view that the trile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and deaths are an isolated event limited to just one of B. F. Goodrich's C.S. styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) resins New price for general-purpose poly plants and not proved to be occu styrene is 19 cents a pound. Truck- pationally linked is fast disappear load quantities of ABS resins now ing. Four angiosarcoma deaths now range from 32 to 45 cents a pound, have been confirmed at the BKG plant instead of the three revealed and SAN in truckload bags is 27 cents a pound. Monsanto says earlier (C&EN, -Jan. 28, page G). that "these increases are consistent Another diagnosed case of angiosar coma occurred in an 1CI employee Key: not explained by chance with the Cost of Living Council ac tion of Jan. 30" and reflect in who worked in a U.K. vinyl chlo matches the great growth in the creased cost of raw materials, ener ride operation for 20 years, sources U.S. PVC industry that has taken gy. and distribution, among other in the C.K. and U.S. say. place over the past two decades or factors. The clustering of the four BFG so, NIOSH estimates there are .5000 Dow, citing reasons much the eases "cannot be explained by workers at risk in U.S. PVC plants same as Monsanto's, has raised the chance alone." Dr. Marcus M. Key. and 1500 at vinyl chloride plants. price of its general-purpose polysty director of the National Institute NIOSH will contract out an epi rene from 17 to 26 cents a pound. for Occupational Safety and demiology study that will be inde ABS and SAN now go for 32 Health, told those at a. Chweland i pendent of the study on xvorkers al cents a pound, up from 23.5 and briefing on the cancer hazard ear ready under way at member firms 24 cents a pound. Brice ot high- lier last xveek. of the Manufacturing Chemists As density injection- and blow-mold What action the U.S. takes, if sociation, MCA's results will not be ing polyethylene was increased any. beyond interim procedures ready for "at least two to three from 14.5 to IS.5 cents a pound. NIOSH has recommended hinges months." a spokesman says. Ear Dow's low-density film-grade poly upon the outcome of a fact-finding lier. MCA halted circulation of its ethylene is now 17 cents a pound, hearing at the Labor Department 1972 safety data sheet on vinyl up from 13 cents. The company on Feb. 12. Prol. Maltoni, BFG. chloride, which stated that human' says that these new prices still do Dow Chemical, organized labor, carcinogenicity had not been ob not match those of the world mar and others were scheduled to testi served. fy . AS 1 00023455 ket but should help it compete on the world market for petrochemical AFL-CIO was to present a uni fied, orpa'';zed labor position urg Plastic prices feedstocks. Carbide's new prices for high- ing the department to promulgate gee big boostsan emergency tempor'i\ standard. ] density injection- and blow-mold ing polyethylene are the same as a proccduie used cm Pei ^ tor 1-1 f Dows, but its low-density film other carcinogens. Dr. \ . K. Rowe, As U.S. chemical makers sort out grade is a bit higher at 18.5 cents a Dows top toxicologist, was expect the fine points of the recent Cost of pound. SAN is now 28 cents a ed to oppose this procedure, asking instead for regular rule-making for a permanent standard. He suggests Living Council action relaxing Phase IV price controls on petro chemicals. plastics resins, and syn pound, up from 22 cents, while high-impact polystyrene increased from 16.5 cents a pound to 21.5 the deaths result from gross expo thetic fibers iC&KN, Feb. 4. page cents a pound. Carbide raised the sure 10 to 80 years in the past. 4). price hikes are being announced tab on its polyvinyl chloride resin All four BKG death', as well as with re-in makers leading the way. suspensions by 5 cents bringing the Letters Chasing rainbows? SIR Once mom we rue teemed by the ic- poit o! ,"i committee composed as usual1 of leading educates that o' !he Ranei on Alternate App- ouch'"'-;, ;o G'uduate Edu cation (CAEN, Geo 24, 19.'3. pace 3 5 ' fee! at a great disadvantage in having only the; C&FN report in front o' mo but the ne- r;esscy of h nkiriq at 'east some teply bc- 'O'O, hopo'ully, this leport follows others into oblivion, mandates a (quick (and inerCifultv brief! comment Onec more the universities ate being told that thev must buckle on their soup Kitchen aprons and save society' Let's make sure that we tram these students in all those things which this panel things so ciety wants and vet we of the universities ate so ill qualified to do1 The list of shibbo leths is breath-taking, "enhance prepara tion lor problem solving, ' "increase the breadth of students' outlooks, 1 make thorn awate . . of industry" (Do I got cu cumbers from sunshine or sunshine from cucumbers'? I always forget!)--away with discipline-oriented attitudes (!) -- 'reorient themselves to fulfill a pivotal role in socie tal planning' (t enjoyed 'hat one1), "too many overtrained students ' (whatever that means!), "each major discipline re-ex amine its . . aims and social uses, "pref erential treatment to groups hitherto dis criminated (unfairly?) against (Dr Page s pronouncements on that question in col umn 3 of page 36 were sophistry of a high order) Need I continue? One might seriously ask many questions but surely the first one is whether, perhaps we have not already chased too many rain bows and whether each of us individually and departmentally should not simply ask ourselves whether we have not alreadv strayed too far from our field of compe tence and expertise, that of educating stu dents to think In chemical terms The hilarity engendered by the metaphor (?) at the end of the article prompted me to recall that, no doubt apocryphal, story about the groat leader (or was d ? commit tee?) who. having exhorted his followers on to greater things replied to the an guished question of but what should we do' with the ringing phrase "EVEN MORE1 Thomas M Dunn Professor of Chemistry University ot Michicar). Ann Arbor, Mich More on petrochemicals SIR' The Jan. ! issue of CS ounies me Shah o! Iran as saying, cannot get petrochemical products atomic energy," Most of your readers m.sii'e that s'mement is not quite cor Mineral oil, im- Shah s oil. is basica rand iincu'i 0* hydroembems Give , sii lm1>; as a source of ' one, g. ' water as a source i ! nycrogen v.c, electrol ysis heat and oisctnca! enerqv from nu clear power plants and some selected cat alysts, the chemical indusm, can produce hydrocarbons as deseed Coal mav now be a cheaper somce of carbon than limestone and can weld either carbon monoxide or Vv pent is that production of petro- chem.ca's possible without natural oil or i gas. and even without coni given nuclear j en.qgy The process is ,ust one of energy j conversion The cost of hydrocarbons via tniy route sets an upper limit, in the long ruo on the price of oil Thai upper limit is probably no; as much above the present i price to' oil as many would imagine Much further along the mod. an upper limit on trie- puce uf uuhh'jim >y C turn sot by '..he cost of mcoverv from the Gulf Shcam for example, and coesn t friqhten me at all I do agree With the Shah in the sense that an overall systems approach to oil consumption should be taken, and the best use he made of this nonrenewable re source However, I remember two lines iron my first chemistry textbook, authored by Prof Cornish. "You can make anything from a salve to a star, if you only know how from black coal tar. The textbook was written before Chadwick proposed the existence of the neutron, and before oil was a commodity in the Middle East Dec;) Rarer. On: W H, Stevens Use your right to vote SIR ! am in accord with vour editorial concern about the lack of votes sent in by ACS members in various elections and other matters where voting of the member ship is concerned How about increasing the membership charges for those members who Can t muster enough energy to vote? As an al ternate, give reduced rates to those who are sufficiently interested in the Society to utilize their voting rights That should gath er a few more votes. R W Curtis Commercial Development Dept . Cincinnati Miincion, Cincinnati Ohio inexpensive dithio! ?'ir EVANS GLYCOL HUIrmMITtiKlvff CAPTO ACETATE HS-(CH2C02CH2)-SH Cross-Linking agent and specialty monomer by addition across unsaturation -- by reaction with aldehyde, ketone and acid chloride groups. i| I + HS(CH2C02CH2)2SH hc CH I No asbestos here SIR: I would like to point out that on page 19 of your Dec 10, 1973. issue of C&EN. under the article "Asbestos health question perplexes experts." you have published a picture of a cement worker shaking out a bag of Utility Cement, which happens to be an insulating cement manufactured by C-E Refractories. We have not used asbestos in this product since early 1972. and we cer tainly don't appreciate the implication that this product s erne fhqt is dangerous to workers In the future, I would suggest that before using proprietary items in your articles you check with the manufacturer as to contents of materials, particularly in such sensitive areas as asbestos R. T. Hegeman President. C-E Refractories. Valley Forge. Pa HC -- S -- (CH2 C02 CH2)j-S-CH HC CH HC-- C--Cl CUC-CH+HS(CH2C02CH2)2$H 0I 0 1 I! T II I HC! --C--$-(CH2C02 CH2)2-S-C-C!H nX-C-X+riHS-M-$H X I* X I fI | -- S--M--S--E --S--M--S--E --S--M--S-- 0 Yes, Dominique, there are . . . SIR Yes. Dominique, in spite of all rumors to the contrary, chemists ore people (C&EN, Feb 4. page 3) Some of us love the beauty of cun. stars and wind; some of us even war. cq.-_.~no about sunsets A long time ^go it was shown that there - a positive cor-elation between all human excellencies if you are willing to accept large leet as an excellency So chemists, who are well above average in intelligence are also musical, good kind, and great people m general with a few exceptions Su'"mit. V J H B Hass DATA SHEETS AND SAMPLES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST CHemGTics, iruz. 90 Tokoneke Road Darien, Connecticut 06820 Phone; 203-655-8741 Cable: EVANSCHEM TWX: 710-457-3356 AST 00023456