Document D3xpQpKOQ5yzEBM5rBa2Gwro

[ The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. 355 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017 (212)573-9400 RECEIVED JUN 4 1976 R. VL Laundrie Vol. 1, No. 2 ON THE REGULATORY FRONT Requests denied for variances from OSHA standard requiring wearing of respirators by workers exposed to more than 1 ppm of vinyl chloride ... OSHA says three companies -- Air Products, Union Carbide and Borden --failed to meet test showing an unavailability of materials or personnel needed to comply with standards ... FDA now states it is committed to finalizing long-awaited regulatory package for PVC food contact applications to June 30, 1976 .,. likelihood of timely publication of EPA emission standard for VCM in Federal Register diminishing due to volume of comments filed and Agency's heavy workload. BRIEFS: FDA discussing cosmetics regulation that may include banning of baby oil in PVC containers ... proposed regulation nowhere near promulgation and highly likely will not be promulgated until decision reached on food additive status of PVC ... EPA Administrator Train announced new risk/benefit guidelines for future actions on chemicals, pesticides etc ... provides for expanded and independent evaluation of health riskB and economic impact before Administrator decides whether or not to take action against chemicals suspected of causing cancer . EPA action noteworthy because it constitutes step forward in properly assessing health risk decisions. ON THE LEGISLATIVE FRONT In California, an SPI legislative team has reported that author of bill re regulation of carcinogenic substances (see Management Summary #1) has agreed to accommodate almost completely PVC Industry's demand that nothing be required of industry beyond that now mandated by federal OSHA standard ... Some 20 other states still in legislative session -- no VCM-PVC bills of threatening nature detected. -- ------ -- Published by VCM-PVC Steering Committee of VCM-PVC Producers Group of SPI GENC 012785  r<- 2- - In U.S. Congress, House Commerce Committee began mark-up sessions on H.R. 10318, toxic substances control bill approved by subcommittee in October 1975 ... Senate passed similar bill this past March .. .Manpower and Housing Subcommittee of House Government Operations Committee expected to hold three-day hearing in June on worker exposure to toxic substances ... subcommittee Chairman Floyd W. Hicks (D-Wash.) concerned over "shocking examples of workers being poisoned on the job" ... cites specifically asbestos, vinyl chloride, lead and Kepone incidents. On May 13 both Senate and House approved S. 510 that will materially strengthen FDA power over medical devices, particularly life-supporting devices implanted in body (i.e. pacemaker) or used outside body (i.e. kidney dialysis machine) ... this is land-mark legislation which has been pending last ten years and is supposed to cover regulatory gaps existing for 38 years ... could increase FDA regulatory authority over plastic materials used in any of these devices ... Senate floor action on clean air amendments bill begins last week in May or first week in June ... House bill on same issue may come up on floor early in June. ON THE MEDIA FRONT Contact with producer of "CBS Reports" program in the making ''Politics of Cancer" elicited comment she is taking a balanced perspective ... no "bad guys" will be portrayed ... she added "some are gray, however" and industry "not on the hot seat", program now scheduled for July or August to examine process of federal regulation looking at industry andgovemment interaction Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, author of book, "Panic in the Pantry" interviewed a group of industry representatives ... Whelan working on sequel in which she'll examine VCM/PVC-FDA situation among other related case histories ... her credentials and book establish she is clear-thinking in pursuit of establishing rational regulation of food and food additives. Ralph Harding's response to editor of the Sierra Club Bulletin finally published in Bulletin's April issue ... as expected, Bulletin used considerable space to respond to SPI and tends to skirt many of points raised by Harding ... no plans to respond to their response to industry's response ... could go on ad infinitum. ON THE TECHNICAL FRONT EPA's report on vinyl chloride in natural water systems -- "Dynamic Behavior of Vinyl Chloride in Aquatic Ecosystems" -- summarized in April 23 Environment Reporter__ makes main point that "unrealistically high levels" of vinyl chloride would have to accumulate in aquatic ecosystems before significant damage to systems could occur. According to April 1 Internal" Medicine News, high rates of airway impairment found among 369 current and former employees of PVC polymerization plant in West Virginia ... prevalence of obstructive airway changes higher among workers who smoked cigarettes when duration of exposure to VCM and PVC less than ten years ... study conducted by Dr. Irving Selikoff's team at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine. GENC 012736 -3 April 17 British Medical Journal contained paper on syndrome sometimes called "vinyl chloride disease" ... titled 'Immunological Mechanisms in the Pathogenesis of Vinyl Chloride Disease", paper reports results of examining 58 patients from a single polymerization plant in Great Britain ... investigations showed presence of circulating immune complexes in 19 out of 28 patients with the disease, and in a further two out of 30 workers exposed to VCM. April Radiology News Digest carried short summary of paper on the use of liver scans for detection and diagnosis of angiosarcoma among vinyl chloride workers ... full paper appeared in March Radiology. NEWS BRIEFS Final TV and Radio Training Session in June Fourth -- and final -- television and radio training session to be held sometime in June ... will add successful trained people to existing teams or make up new teams for faceH;o-face briefings with leading media reps in major cities .., training challenging and valuable ... if your company wants to send representative contact Bob Ferrante at Hill and Knowlton (212) 697-5600 ... future visits planned for Boston, Pittsburgh, Denver, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Detroit ... and subsequently San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, New York and Washington ... appearances also planned on major television and radio shows. Q&A Booklet on "PVC and Health" Being Prepared In preparation for all members of VCM-PVC Producers Group is question and answer booklet on PVC and Health, a handy, concise, easy-to-understand document for use by member company marketing and management personnel in answering questions from customers and the general public ... questions based on those most commonly asked. Each member company will be provided with 750 copies ... additional booklets can be ordered for nominal fee to cover printing and mailing. ACS Symposium on VCM August 29-September 3 American Chemical Society will hold symposium on VCM in conjunction with its annual meeting in San Francisco August 29-September 3 ... Dr. Dan Dixler of Keller & Heckman, SPI legal counsel, co-chairman with Dr. Seymour Gilbert of Rutgers University__ format will be overview of genesis of problem, government activity, and industry's response ... Dr. Dixler looking for speakers, participants etc ... Member companies can contribute ... contact Dr. Dixler (202) 296-2700 if you are interested. ### GENC 012787