Document GOYB8x3b11X1YaJqE0GDvXbY

['A** MAY 2 1 /MCK NEW'S Published by Manufacturing Chemists Association Vol. 2 No. 3 May 1974 Study Shows Death Rate Average for VC Workers The findings of a survey contracted by MCA show that vinyl chloride workers, in the aggregate, experience death rates from alt causes that compare favorably with other U.S. male industrial woriters. This, in spite of the now weft-recognized risk of angiosarcoma of the liver among such workers. The only statistically sig nificant differences in their specific mortal ity rates appeared where reported death rates were lower than that of the general population. Although the total number of cases was small, there did appear to be suggestive dose-related increases in the incidence of cancers of the urinary organs and the brain in the longer-exposed workers, as com pared with tneir counterparts who. at the time of death, had worked far shorter periods in jobs exposing them to vinyl cnfaride. Employees Identified These results were reported May 10th by Dr. irving R. Tabershaw to a meeting held under the auspices of the New York Academy of Sciences. In the course of the Former Commerce Head Peterson To Speak at June Annual Meeting Peter G. Peterson, chairman of Lehman Brothers tnc. and former secretary of commerce, wilt be the main speaker at MCA's 102nd Annual Meeting at The GreenDner. White Sulphur Springs. W. Va., June 6-S. - More than 900 per sons have registered for the meeting, at which six of the nation's outstanding chemistry teachers will be honored along with four companies Pew G. Pvttisotr that will receive the Lammot du Pont Safety Award for having made the greatest improvement m industrial safety during the past five years. Agendas tor the business session June 6 win be mailed around May 15 fo executive contacts. Joins Investment Firm Just prior to pining Lehman, an interna tional investment banking film. Mr. Peter son served as ambassador and personal representative abroad lor Presideni Nixon. Ha joined the firm as vice chairman and board member in June 1973 and was elected to his present post in August of that year. ' ccrttwitad off P*9* 3 Appeals Court Finds Economics Can Enter Into OSHA Rulings A decision that could have a substantial bearing on the shape of occupational health standards to be administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administraiion was handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Of Columbia on April 15. The court's decision was reached on a petition of the Industrial Union Department. AFL-CIO. for a review of the secretary of labor's Standard for exposure to Asbestos Dust under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Briefly, the court denied the petition to review the asbestos standard, except lor ctntmma on pmst 3 study, the firm of Tabershaw-Ccoper As sociates tnc. had identified 9.334 past and present employees of the VC/PVC indus try, and had determined the vital status of 7,128. Among these individuals, 352 deaths had occurred during the period under study and. ol these, death certifi cates had been obtained on 328. Release of subsequently acquired data is planned in a Supplementary report. Earlier, MCA had announced preliminary indications that vinyl chloride exposure has produced angiosarcoma in mica at several exposure levels. Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc., which is conducting the MCA-administered vinyl chloride animal exposure Study, informed MCA [hat its work-- although very preliminary at this point --lends to confirm the findingsof Professor Cesare Mflitoni, an Italian scientist who found that vinyl chloride exposure caused cancer in rats. MCA immediately notified the Occupa tional Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Environmental Protec tion Agency Of the preliminary test resuits. Mice Affected In the MCA-administered study, rats, hamsters and mice are being exposed seven hours a day, five days a week, to 2.500 parts per million (ppm), 200 ppm and 50 ppm. After seven months of exposure, angiosarcoma has been observed in truce at all levels, but not in rats or hamsters. Jhofessar Maltoni reported at the OSHA hearings on vinyl chloride February 15 that he had observed the liver cancer in rats exposed four hours a day, five days a week, to 250 ppm for up to 12 months. However, he did not find the cancer in test ing at the 50 ppm level. The animal exposure study is continuing, and further vinyl chloride testing is under consideration. R$V 00065SO CA Firms Told of Suits Trying o Protect Right of Rules Review MCA is advising member companies of certain lawsuits undertaken by several major chemical companies to protect their legal rights to judicial review ol waste water guidelines and standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The regulations cover effluent guidelines and new plant standards for inorganic chemi cals. plastics and synthetics and organic chemicals under ihe 1972 Water Pollution Control Act. The principal petitions are before the U.S. Court Of Appeals for the fourth Circuit in Ricnmond. Related proceedings have been filed in other courts. MCA has filed a motion to Join the petitioners challenging the effluent guidelines on inorganicchemicaIs in the Fourth Circuit beeause the major legal questions involved concern all the Association's members. Those issues are: Whether judicial review of effluent guidelines must be sought in the Court of Appeals within 90 days of their issuance, and Whether EPA is not required to fix lideiines flexibly. Law Ambiguous The 1972 taw is net completely clear on the 90-day limit. If the limit doesnot apply to the guidelines at this stage, guidelines would De subject to challenge later in con nection witn discharge permits issued under them. if the court rules the other way. a pro ducer could' be severely penalized by not taking legal action within 90 days from Is suance dates. This could result because effluent guidelines requirements could be written into discharge permits after the 90-day period as non-negotiable require ments and might then be totally immune from court action. EPA's effluent miitaiion guidelines and standards published March 12 for inor ganic chemicals. April 5 tor plastics and synthetics, and Apnl 25 tor organic chemi cals. are final rules and regulations. MCA is suggesting that member com panies evaluate their environmental control programs and determine whether they can comply, and it also suggests that they may wish to consider tiling a legal challenge, hough other companies have already done so. the Association points out. suits may noI cover the particular concerns of any individual company. Filing Dates Given Under the 1972 act, legal challenges to the standards lor new plants must be filed within 90 days from March 12. April 5 or April 25 unless based solely on new data. If not challenged within SO days, the stand ards must be met by new plants and there win oe no variances. MCA is not seeking to participate in liti gation concerning guidelines on Individual products in view of the Association's long standing policy not to become involved in individual product problems of this nature. Its staff and general facilities are wholly inadequate for product-by-product con siderations. and there is potential anti-lrust sensitivity for MCA in activity of this sort. The Association is asking that MCA Pres ident william J. Driver be advised of any legal actions a company takes on the EPA regulations. What Is Business? MCA NEWS reprints without comment the following aditchat from Nation's Busi ness. The energy problem has brought attacks not just on oil companies but on business as a whole. Critics demand that business somehow be punished. We wonder what they mean by "busi ness." Ail the businesses we know are owned by people--whether by one guy. a tew partners, or thousands ol stockholders. Businesses buy from people, loo--some big ones buy from thousands of suppliers. Businesses give people jobs--a total of 90.5 million. And businesses serve people--pro viding the goods and services all 212 mil lion of us need and want. Whom would it hurt to punish business? G90y*s*f Narcni Buintn j euC*eap Of tf* C-'hWTQti' grf Crniwci 4' ?> urate Slum a* A/rwncz B+- r* Mur t*7* <Uu Brussels Tariff Hearings Planned For Chemicals The United States Tariff Commission has begun public hearings on its staffs pro posals to accomplish conversion of the Tariff Schedules of the United States to the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature [BTN). The Commission has scheduled the hearings by groups ol BTN chapters, which are, in eflect, a division into industrial sectors. The principal coverage tor chemi cals is in BTN chapters 20 through 40. on which hearings are scheduled for August 12 in New York. Members of the commission's chemical division staff are providing the industry the opportunity to make suggestions before the formal release of the draft chapters. 30 days tiefore the hearings are to begin. The hearings are the result of a study begun at the request of the President after an appeal to him by the Office of the Spe cial Trade Representative, which antici pated international negotiations on such a tariff conversion. To keep the new tariff structure within a reasonable size, a number of changes in U.S. import duties will be necessary, and it is these changes which will be toe subject of Ihe August hearings. Trade Advisor Asks Help In Cutting Non-Tariff Bars The cooperation ot U.S. chemical man ufacturers in an effort to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade is being requested by the Office ot the Chemical Industry Trade Ad visor. The effort stems from the intention of toe Office of the Special Trade Representative to negotiate actively on the reduction ot such darners on behalf of the U.S., regard less of whether or not Congress enacts a new trade bill this year. Accordingly, the soecial task forces formed to assist toe trade advisor are now seeking to identify non-tori If barriers to U.S. chemicai exports. The success of the trade advisor in pro viding such information should enhance the U.S. negotiating position during the discussions. RSV 0006581 C ti 6 f&k MCA ANNOUNCES parly RESULTS ^pF VC STUDIES MCA has announced preliminary in dications that vinyl chloride exposure had produced angiosarcoma--a liver cancer--In mica at several exposure levels. Industrial SIo-Test Laboratories, Inc,, which is conducting the MCAadministered vinyl chloride animal exposure study, Informed MCA that its work--although very preliminary at this point--tends to confirm the find ings of Professor Cesare MaitonI, an Italian scientist who found that vinyl chloride exposure caused cancer in rats. MCA immediately notified the Oc cupational Safety and Health Admin istration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Environmental Protection Agency of the preliminary test results. In the MCA-administered study-, rats, hamsters and mice are being exposed seven hours a day, five days a week, to 2500 parts per million [ppm), 200 ppm and 50 ppm. After seven months at exposure, angiosarcoma has been observed in mice at all levels, but not in rats or hamsters. The animal ex posure study Is continuing. ^^Profe&sor Maitoni reported at the |HHA hearings on vinyl chloride Feb^j^ry 15 that he had observed the Iwer cancer in rats exposed four hours a day, five days a week, to 250 ppm for up to 12 months. However, he did not find the cancer in testing at the 50 ppm levet. Another MCA-ad ministered study on the chemical, documenting the health experience of present and former em ployees who have worked with the materials, is expected to be com pleted in the near future. Results also will be released. NEW JERSEY EXTENDS SULFUR VARIANCES Continuing shortages of low-sulfur fuel have forced the New Jersey De partment of Environmental Protection to extend its temporary relaxation of the state's sulfur standards for an other three-and-one-halt months to July 1. More than 800 variances have been granted to 232 power plants and other large sources. In making the an nouncement, the department noted that the variances have not threatened primary ambient air quality standards. OSHA SETS EMERGENCY STANDARD OF 50 PPM FOR VINYL CHLORIDE An emergency temporary health standard to protect workers exposed to vinyl chloride has been set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration while it proceeds toward a permanent standard that could be much more stringent. Assistant Secretary ol Labor John H. Slender, head of OSHA, said the emergency standard reduces permissible exposure levels of workers from 500 parts per million in air to a 50 ppm ceiling. It also requires workplace monitoring. Personal protective measures arid equipment are called for when exposure exceeds 50 ppm. The move followed disclosure EPA PROBES VC WASTES Goodrich Chemical Company plant In early this year by officials of The B. F. Louisville. Ky, of a passible connec Vinyl chloride is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency for its overall environmental impact The agency says an internal task force is collecting and reviewing data on vinyl chloride, which is used prin cipally for making polyvinyl chloride. PVC is used in plastics and other con sumer products. EPA says tt is mainly interested in information on: Ambient emission and effluent levels of vinyl chloride in air and water from manufacturing operations; The environmental impact of all disposal methods for vinyl chloride and PVC wastes, including landfill, incineration, deep-well injection and ocean disposal, and Ecological effects of vinyl chloride in the environment. The task force is expected to com plete its initial assessment by June. tion between vinyl chloride exposure and the deaths of tour employees of angiosarcoma--a rare form of liver cancer. One additional death subsequently has been reported from Louisville, and one from Union Carbide Corporation's South Charleston, W. Va. plant Three deaths occurred at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company's plant at Niagara Falls, N.Y. in addition, two present employees at Goodrich's Louisville facility have been diagnosed to have angiosarcoma Of the liver. NtOSH's recommendation for a permanent standard could prohfisit any occupational exposure to vinyl chloride. It could also establish meth ods for monitoring work areas, set work practices, institute a medical surveitar.ee program for workers and require specific personal protective equipment The emergency standard, enforced since early April, will remain in effect NOfSE MANAGEMENT-- CONFERENCES TELL HOW How does noise affect you--your job performance--your health? Grow ing interest in tills subject has prompted two conferences (August 5 7 and August 5-9) by the Institute on Noise Control in Dearborn. Mich. The three-day course Is intended for administrators of noise control programs--whether in industry or gov ernment It explains noise laws, measurement, effects and legal con sequences. It zeroes in on manage ment of noise control programs. Practical and specific methods of industrial and community noise con trol are featured in Ihe five-day con ference. Characteristics of commonlyencountered industrial noises wilt be explained along with control methods. For more details, contact James H. Bctsford, Institute on Noise Control, Inc, P.D. Sox 3164, Bethlehem, Pa. 18017. until the permanent standard is adopted. Mr. Slender said that "theo retically, the permanent standard can be on the books as early as June." Evidence presented at a recent OSHA hearing by Professor Cesare Maltoni. an Italian scientist, led to the emergency ceiling reduction. His studies showed that animals exposed to 250 ppm concentrations of vinyl chloride tended to contract cancer, while those exposed to 50 ppm showed no apparent effects. in a related development, a medical research program on angiosarcoma and simitar liver abnormalities is get ting underway at the University of Louisville through a grant from The B.F. Goodrich Company. r. Harold Boyer, a spokesman for the university, said the program's goal is "to provide medical information that can be applied practically in the de tection and treatment ot liver ailments that may have resulted from worker exposure to vinyl chloride." RSV 0006582 5 ABRACADABRA- WASTE IS ENERGY Medieval alchemists never suc ceeded in turning lead into gold. But their modem counterparts have mas tered a conversion process that could be just as provable. It involves chang ing wastes into energy. Selected chemical wastes are being used tc supplement commercial fuel oil at Union Carbide Corporation's chemicals and plastics plant in Sound Brook. N.J. The material is fed into boilers to generate steam for numer ous manufacturing proceses. Tests conducted by Carbide last fall showed that certain liquid wastes could be burned in the company's boilers under carefully controlled con ditions. Wastes are analyzed and mixed in exact proportions with regu lar fuel to insure proper combustion. Storage tanks have been installed to hold the liquids to be burned, the project also called lor special teed lines, control equipment and some boiler modifications. LAND APPLICATION OF WASTEWATER IS VIABLE DISPOSAL METHOD--EPA Land application of municipal and industrial wastewater is a viable dis posal method, concludes an Envi ron menial Protection Agency report based on a nationwide survey of exist ing facilities. The study reveals that land appli cation of effluent is already practiced successfully in the U.S. and many other countries. Under proper conditions, land ap plication offers a viable alternative to advanced or tertiary treatment proc esses, Russell Train, EPA adminis trator, says. One deterrent to the development of large land systems which might be located some distance away from wastewater sources has been public prejudice against receiving someone else'* waste. However, the report finds that ap plication systems can be operated without creating nuisances and--in examples taken from long-term studies --can actually improve the local ecology. To encourage the use of such sys tems, PA ha3 recently issued grants to several communities for land treat ment The agency states that further mon itoring of the systems is necessary tor conclusive data, but good results have been demonstrated with sound engi neering, geological and farming exper tise and proper construction and con trol procedures. Survey of Facilities Using Land Ap plication of Wastewater (EPA-430/9/ 73-006) is available tor $G,&0 from the Government Printing Office, Washing ton, D.C. 20402. A Minnesota cannery u*** tower* to apply Its wastewater to com and other crops. Union Carbide personnel inspect monitor ing devices which allow the plant to us* chemical wastes to supplement fuel oil. The program is paying dividends in several ways. Hoy Seilers, head of the plant's energy department, says it not only conserves fuel oil. it also gen erates significant savings in fuel oil costs. During a recent two-month period, some 173.000 gallons of liquid wastes were converted to energy. Savings in the cost of fuel that normally would have been used came to $62,000. Environmental benefits are equally significant. The conversion process lessens considerably the volume of waste materials destined for disposal in diminishing landfill sites. Furthermore, the company finds a decided net improvement in air quali ty. The burned wastes contain less sulfur than conventional fuel, produce NIOSH READIES CRITERIA DOCUMENTS Criteria documents recommending safe occupational exposure to ten indus trial materials will be Issued by the end ol June by the National Institute Of Occupational Safety and Health. Recommendations on inorganic arsenic and sullur dioxide have al ready been sent to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which will set standards. Documents on sulturic acid, silica, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, cotton dust, nitric oxide, zinc chloride and cadmium are slated tor completion by June 30. Preparation of criteria documents on parathion and fibrous glass has been delayed because of tack of scien- less fly ash and create no visible smoke plume. Meanwhile. Carbide is seeking a way to efficiently bum solid plastic scrap. Tests have been carried out with selected scrap ground to the con sistency of confectioner's sugar. When this material is jetted into a furnace, the company says that it bums readily and generates heat without causing environmental dam age. tific data. NIOSH is planning for early summer a national symposium on the health effects of long-term exposure to fibrous glass. Criteria documents for an extensive list of materials are planned for fiscal year 1975-76. They include ammonia, aniline, chlorine, chloroform, dioxane, ethylene dichloride, fluorides, fluorine, formaldehyde, hexavatent chromium compounds and hydrogen cyanide. Also, hydrogen fluoride, methylene chloride, mineral wool, nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide, phenol, phosgene, phosphine, phosphoric acid, phos phorus. sodium cyanide, sodium hy droxide, tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,1tricMoroethane, xylene and zinc oxide. Vernon Rose, assistant director of NIOSH, says some changes are in store for criteria documents. In new contracts to be let for preparation of additional documents, he says the Institute will ask that more emphasis be placed on work practices and tech nical feasibility. ftSV 0006583