Document 9Jnzq471ZkOZ62mGbNm7Kpxa7

! CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER July 1. 1974 PVC Price's Up 2 Cents Today; OSHA Rule Limits PVC Output Much of the polyvinyl chloride in dustry is incressing prices todsy, July 1, by an average 2c. per pound. This increase will lift the price at most companies to the 22c.-24c. per pound range, for hulk carload quantities. At the same time, many producers are reporting suddenly abundant supplies of monomer after a Fall, Winter and Spring of acute shortages, but operat ing rates are still below capacity due to the tightened OSHA standard on permissible VC gas levels in workpla ces. Among tboM implementing new prices. J Stauffer ia going up by Sc. per pound today I (July 1) to a new level of 23c. per Bound for { suspension bomopolymer, and SSc, per I pound for copolymer, dispersions are now ! priced at SSc. and SSc. per pound respec tively for homo and copolymers; Firestone is raising prices by 2c. per pound today, setting their suspension bomopolymer at 22c. and copolymer at 24c. per pound. Tenneco is also going up today, increas ing prices by.Zttc. per pound, placing ho mopolymer at 21c. and co-polymer at 23c, and dispersions at 31c. and 32c. respective ly. Diamond Shamrock is going up by Sc. :oday, to 21c. for bomopolymer suspension md 23c. per pound for copolymer; bomopoymer dispersion is being lifted to 32c. per ound Conoco Is raising prices by lHc. odav. putting suspension resins at 21c. for xmo and 23c. per pound for copolymer. Uniroya) is increasing dispersion prices nly today. The increase is 2c. per pound lacing homo at 32c. and copolymer diaperion at 34c. per pound. Suspension resin rices remain at 20c. and 22c. per pound, >ut are being reviewed "daily" according a a spokesman. ROBINTECft AT 24c. Goodyear increased its PVC prices on une IS by 2c. per pound. At that time ho rnpolymer suspension was lifted to 22c. er pound and bomopolymer dispersion 'is lifted to 32c. peri_p_ound . _ Kobintech is implementing 4c. per pound increase today placing thair homopo- lyraer suspension price at Me. per pound. Goodrich is also reported te be planning a Sc. per pound increase placing their homo polymer suspension at 22c. par Mend, and dispersions at 22c. for bomopolymer and 34c. for copolymer. Effective July IS, Ethyl will increase its homo suspension resins..the only grade it markets, by 2c. per pound to 22c. per pound. The price rises are attributed, of course, to increased monomer costs. VCM is widely priced at 10c. per pound, and higher, now. However, most PVC makers ere reporting substantially eased supplies of monomer, and some are even reporting excess supplies which they are attempting to toll at less well endowed competitors. But, despite increased monomer supplies, few companies are able to operate at potential. The 50 ppm emergency tempo rary standard adopted by OSHA in the spring is forcing most manufacturers to slowdown production. Generally, this has resulted in a cutback of S-10 percent of po tential. but at least two producers report that they have (men forced to reduce opera tions by more than 10 percent of possible levels, one of them has been forced to cut back by as much as 25 percent. Yet both claim that they have adequate supplies of monomer to operate fully. The producers claim that production rates become a secondary consideration, their first concern being to achieve and maintain low levels of VCM gas in order to forestall any government action against them and to appear cooperative so as to en courage OSHA to compromise on its pro posed permanent standard of no-detectable levels. If given time to adjust to what they con sider "reasonable" gas levels, producers report that they may be able to scale pro duction back up to levels "approaching" capacity. (For more information on the VC controversy and the OSHA hearings in Washington, see story on page 3). Producers say prices arc expected to continue to climb under these pressures some say to the. high twenties by year-end. CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER Vol. 206, No. 1. July 1, 1974 [ thi Rvbr hbtelMdh. taOtativaly identified ttfsJnrd* deathe ta the state. -A story ta Hmrid tart AUw Vane , **t- NattaeaJtartttuteof ..T-Occupational Safety 4 pthtfffvlnanitanr ta* PVCfabiieattoi plant* in Cohaaetfeut was "highly snspect- . <dM as a factor to thetwomas otlivar cao- 4E>ar. INi brings Jtb fobrdbe total antabar of- gangtasorcoma deatha ta tba state that have Jteen eoanaetod to PVC taciltttaa. Tba latest casts, according to tba Coo- ` noctfcsii Bswsptpar. Involved a who lived within a half a aib of a Rdes-&JtS&'. wrtsXompanyplant ta Bridgeport. > iriier la June.'twoTVC workers in tba r> wtate, ooa from each of tba same two ' . plants, ware identified as accounting for another two of tba registered angiosarcoma deaths. Than an a total of six such deaths recorded ta the state cancer registry. The. two remaining cases have not yet been coo- to eaniaOve factors. `Wrffiiilf Quoted ItlOSH sources ail saying "there is no other possible #*ptan*-.T tionfor theseease* of angiosarcoma except ; fojwesldue ta the neighborhood of these two 7pIahts.'' The source was said to .base his. -V, comment on a report on'the latest identified ' victims submitted by the. National Cancer ' institute, .7,, V - : - OLI 1193 V* ''r /*,' - it- . , $.- 1 . .u- - T'V" ' Owcti feCbro Vert,- air. 1 -* f " iV. <L ^ v i j:* *-'*** ^M. ? . *. * r^UOnfrontatjorrat A'* t% >Vjl V% 1 /.*S V*" -jWit*fj `Vv :. i- w ` that.worker exposure equipment) be limited. -- i^rr ' ^ ' * - ' - t , , * w------ --------- elsjof vinyl chloride it WllnjObivfpoSSiblyai many ikUlwi-feasible: 'Labor said OSHA's proposal 1)11on *orttw aistakeakwell astbe> *"< ^ w* ^he department of tabor, -Worker*. speaking oo behalf of the AFL-. is we&beglh rifting through a maisVcio kaidf ' v-v:f ::s:2 -Jy- '*:- ^ J rescsrehjdata, medical reports, rta-r *1 "Thia country. snrvived for nearly two, tlcal information nd recommenda-. ~*^ >ns fora viable msSTlnd nslFSfefe r. worker exposure to vinytchloride> then aw. proposed -standard must' be re-, ntaminatkm- .f'`"i--. ^ ^ placed byan orderly procedure to phase Four full daysof public bearings on ^tbeV v out vtnyl chloride production and find nub-' >ue by the Occttpatioaal Safety A Health \stitntes for Its products* ofto phase out the lnnlnlatration <OSHA) taat week brought producto themselves.";; " ? j a nagement and labor Into direct ctafroo- ' - Although the Hak between vftyl chloride tlon over the stringency of the standard contamination and angiosarcoma Is still de-r , at should be Imposed. Industry said that V : r. ChatintmT on f'sp 38 * !=-4S4 Will KSI*P! *11^3 Unkilll <o .** 3tl!li*l! w 5||a Iflllflf J 5 Hillpi t niuuifi!} ^fcd by some scientists, evidence of Its cancer-causing potential was strengthened farther upon receipt of a telegram shortly before the hearings began from Dr. Cesar* Maltooi of Italy reporting farther on the esperimente he It conducting of the effecta of vinyl chloride contamination on rats. He advised Assistant Secretary of Labor John Slender who supervises OSHA that "the up-to-date results indicate that VCM administered by inhalation produces lu rats cymbal gland carcinomas, nephroblasto mas, angiosarcomas of liver and other sites, skin carcinomas and probably hepa tomas and neuroblastomas. "In mice, VCM produces angiosarcomas I the liver and of other sites, mammary carcinomas and skin tumors." Dr. Daniel P. Boyd, director of the Office of Standards Development for OSHA, who announced receipt of the telegram to the packed hearing, said, "Based upon the Maiton! and Industrial Bio-Test Laboratory ex periments, and the IP cases of angiosarco ma found In persons exposed to VCM, our present Judgement is that VCM Is a carci nogenic agent. OPERATING WITH UNKNOWNS "In protecting employees from carcino genic material, we are operating In an area of many unknowns. For example, we do not know the mechanism by which a chemical carcinogen operates or whether a safe level of exposure can be set. However, the prob lem of employee exposure to carcinogens Is with us today, and It is our responsibility to deal with It as rapidly as possible, baaed upon the best available Information." A number of the chemical manufactur ers were In attendance at the hearings, ei ther ns participants giving reports on their knowledge of the chemical's hasardeas properties or as observers. The industry's principle arguments that the act with reason and not destroy an 1 whose products have a value of |88 were offered by dnArty of the Plastics Industry. The m button annual worth of the planties industry and tb* S.2 million Job figure was contained In an economic atndy of the, industry prepared for 8PI fay Arthur D. Ut~tie, Inc., management consultseta. In connection with establishment of a' permanent standard, OSHA is preparing an economic Impact statement which It hopes to complete In about a month. An enviiW mental Impact statement was completed earlier last menth and ia being reviewed for industry comments. Anton Vlttone, president of B.F. Good rich Chemical Company, and chairman of the SPI's Committee of Vinyl Chloride Mon omer ft Polyvinyl Chloride warned OSHA that the ptaottco could not Hve with the propoood permanent standard that would reduce permissible worker exposure to vinyl chloride contami nated air from M parte par miUion to lew fend a new standard tor employee safety calling for a stepped reduction of permissi ble levels of VCM in the workplace ns f<d- Par PVC rosin plants - Effective Octo ber S, 1974, a ceiling of to ppm of VCM and a maximum dully lime weighted average of 78 ppm. Levels above to ppm would require the use of practical and effective respirato ry protection. One year later the ceiling would drop to 25 ppm with no time weighted average and on October 5, lfT9, it would stay at 25 ppm with a maximum time weighted average of 19 ppm. Per VCM plants - Effective October 5. 1574, o ceiling of 25.ppm and a maximum time weighted average of 19 ppn . Levels above 25 ppm would require the uCUration ef practical and effective respiratory pro tection. One year later the celling would drop to 19 ppm and a maximum time weighted average of 5 ppm and levels Continued on Page to I OUTER July 1, 1974 I iSj'gl'S8 i i iiliils a _ 8 a i*g 38 *la *ls!5lli