Document J3v2j5yR4wgedj0y2qVdNZMdr

The 1 Vinyl Institute MEMORANDUM December 19, 1983 10: FROM: SUBJECT: Peg Donahue Meredith N. Scheck "What Every Employee Should Know About PVC" Fran Lichtenberg, SPI's assistant technical director, has noted a few comments in the margin of the 11/29/83 draft of the replacement for MWhat Every Employee Should Know About PVC." MNS:jmd Attachment ^UamluLMj Meredith N. Scheck SAL 000070586 A Division of ' - . THE SOCIETY OFTHE PLASTICS INDUSTRY, INC. 355 LEXINGTON AVENUE- NEW YORK, N.Y. 10017- (212) 573-9400 #, -ig&Ti Jr: .-.W ^; T1/29/83 J 1. q.tWHATnS^THE*PI1T^ A. Vinyl chloride* the^chemical from which PVC Is produced,: fsva monomer (mono meaning'one). When many molecules ofvinyl chloride*monomer-are chemically jolned^toqether,, they oroduce-the polymer (poiy^mean 1ng^many) polyvinyl; chlqrldeyorPVC. Vinyl chloride .1s a gasandsi sic! assified as a hazardous material which Is strictly regulated; by OSHA., It is trans formed In a chemical reaction to a white granular powdery PVC, which is a nonhazardous material * This Is a one way reaction, similar to what ^happens\te\a^rw^egg?when,fried; once^fHed^it canVt.be^changedcbacit-- So PVC powder cannot revert bach to vinyl chloride. 2. Q. WHY- IS THERE A VOt WARNING LABa OH PVC CONTAINERS? A. Bags containing PVC have the- following warning printed.on'-them: "Ployvinyl J Cholorlde -- Contains' Vinyl Chloride - Vinyl Chloride: is a cancer-suspect agent". This warning is specified by the OSHA Vinyl Chloride Standard which was promulgated in 1974. It was required based'orr the potential for residual-VCJt to.be?present In PVC contalners^that'could. result;in"employee' J exposures^ As a^result of chahges: In process technology and EPA regulations dealing with residual VCtf concentrations In siurriesrduring?processing, the potential for-significant levels of residual VCfTto exist in PVC products 1 sxextremelyl ow^Howevery. despi te? theses changes^theatOSH/teregul ati on* has not^beeir'Changed^^ .J y'" 3AJ- 000070587 3. Q. PC I HAVC A POTENTIAL FOR EXPOSURE-TO VCM WHILE WORKING IN: A PVC (PRODUCT) FABRICATINGS PLANT?? 7 J ^ ` ^, : A. Sttttes^1 ir WC^fabrlcating^ piant& have* shownsthatimeasuredtexposuresz to*: employees,handling PVC Is well below the* OSHA PEL of 1.0 pom*and:generany 'DRAFT 11/29/83 - -Page 2 below- the action level of 0.5 ppm. 4. Q. WHAT ABOUT PVC PUST7 IS IT TOXIC? A. Exposure-to PVC dust itself is a concern when handling the product; PVC dust is-MHfltfVHkHVUEfc classed as a nuisance dust. Nuisance dusts have little adverse effect on the lungs and do not produce significant organic disease or toxic effect when exposures are kept under reasonable control. Long-tenn exposures to large amounts of dust could result in simple obstructive lung disease. The OSHA permissible exposure limit far nuisance: dust is 15 mg/m3. This is a level at which you would probably have visibility problems as well. Normal good ventilation practice and housekeeping would maintain exposures far below this level. 5. Q. TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADEQUATE AND INADEQUATE VENTILATION. j A. This is a difficult question to answer without knowing any specifics of your workplace. In general ventilation should be designed to control PVC UL-*' yj dust. It should prevent accumulation of dust in the air during a working fVJ, ^^ { period. (^Botfr localized (i.e. hoods) and general building ventilation are usual!v used to accomplish this by capturing dust at specific work stations and creatin9 a1r changes per hour in large working areas. ^ ^<kVf. - e." Q. HAVEN`T HI6HER INCIDENCES OF CANCER BEEN'REPORTED IN PVC WORKERS? A. There is often confusion concerning health effects observed in PVC workers. These reports.deal with workers in plants that either manufacture VCM or convert VCM1 into PVC resin through a process called polymerization. No cancer-cases'attributable to VCM exposure have been-reported, among workers employed;-in PVC fabricating plants. SAL 000070588 "DRAFT 11/29/8* Pfcgfr'3! 7. Q. WHAT CHEMICALS AW I EXPOSED TO DURING THE PROCESSING OF PVC? A. Depending on the end use for PVC small amounts of various additives are * blended with the resin to give the plastic desired properties. These additives Include plasticizers, flame retardents, and other stabilizers. During thermal processing, these additives can'cause distinctive odors In the processing areas. Although you can smell them, the concentration in the air is very small and in most cases undetectable in air samples taken from the workplace. 8. Q. I HEAR THAT PVC PRODUCES POISON GAS WHEN IT'S BURNED. ARE THESE POISON GASES PRODUCED IN MY FACTORY? A. All organic materials can bum. When burned, they release a lengthy list /<V" of chemical by-products. For Instance, when wood (a natural organic) is burned, as many as 175 different fire gases may be produced. Polyvinyl O' V V* v\ ^^ chloride produces numerous by-products when burned -- many of which are exactly the same as those produced by burning wood. Carbon dioxide, carbon rA51 v: Js\ tP monoxide and hydrogen chloride (HCl) account for approximately 97t of the total volume of gases produced by burning vinyl. The remaining 2% consist of benzene and an assortment of other gases. Again, these gases are produced only when PVC is burned. 9. Q. I HEAR THAT POP AND DEHP CAUSE CANCER - WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME? SAL 000070589 PVC Dust--Questions 1. What is it? 2. What happens when it comes into contact with your eyes, skin, when you inhale it? Long term affects? 3. Can it harm cars, vegetation, etc.? 4. Will it contaminate soil, water, air? 5. What kind of regulations are there on emissions? Q. How can you say that PVC is not considered a carcinogen? The tag on the car says it is. A. The tag is put there by law. The cancer causing agent is not PVC but VCM, one of the chemicals from which PVC is made, and which is almost totally changed to PVC in the reaction. Q. Isn't there some unreacted VCM remaining in the PVC? A. Yes, there is a minimal amount of VCM remaining in PVC. It has been reduced substantially in recent years to a level at which there is no hazard. We have gotten the residual VCM so low, OSHA and EPA do not regulate our customers. That is, studies have shown that there is no significant VCM exposure to workers in PVC fabricating operations. EXAMPLE: The residual VCM level in PVC is typically below 1 ppm. Other examples of low level carcinogens in food, for comparison are: aflatoxin - peanuts, soybeans benzene in gasoline 1-5% lead in hair preparation arsenic/selinium in the soil CMS -- PNA's (?) Q. You say that PVC is not a cancer causing agent. I have heard of a toxicity test which listed PVCasa cancersuspect agent. A. There was a study where tumors were formed in animals. In that case pieces of PVC were implanted under the skin and tumors formed in the vicinity. This is thought to be a local irritant-type reaction because the same reaction did not occurwhen powdered PVC was implanted. SAL 000070593