Document JJJ45nGx8qBOakp4VXaa0MK02

WILMINGTON NEWS JOURNAL Tuesday, March 29, 1977 GGC 000349 THEY COMPLY ^3%^r?7 But 2 Companies Face Threefold Problem in Making Vinyl Chloride This is the third article in a six- vinyl chloride situation in Dela But in January 1974, a horror part senes on occnppticnil heslth ware. Workers appear to have story began to unfold at the B.r, By WALLACE C. JUDD JR. adequate protection from the Goodrich Co. po.vvinyJ chloride chemical's immediate Gangers. plant in l^fMsvJlc. Ky,. where Frank J, Rjcoardt ics'. his job at The issues facing the vinyl chlo three workers died of a rare liver Stauffer Chemical Co in Dela ride industry in the state are disease -- angiosarcoma. This dis ware City because tests showed he these* ease could be traced to the vinyl had a weak Ijver. 9 What to do with workers chloride in Ibe air Since then, Riecardi thmks he is healthy developing abnormal liver read there have been at least 29 other enough to work But Stauffer pro ings that may or may not be relat deaths in 10 countries traced to cesses a ehomicil ea:i*d vinyl ed In exposure to vinyl chloride vinyl chloride exposure. chloride -- a chemical known to cau%e cancer of the liver. Stauffer doctors snsisl. after several tests, that Riccard; s f.vor problems are a Whether to hire fema'es for production johs in light of federal ) SHA thi n set -Inrdards to studies that show exposure to drastically lower I no amount of vinyl chloride may cause birth de vinyl chloride which tould be in- not related to vinyl chloride. fects. holed by u worker The Environ I But, since the company could D Worker apathy concerning mental Protection \gt-ncy also , not find another job for him.where there would bo no risk of exposure to vinyl chloride, Slau/Lr said it had to let him go That was last the potential hazards of vmyl chlo ride now that initial attention to the dangers has subsided Two Delaware companies. set standards limit mg vinyl chlo ride fii'charge>outside plants Ah hough studio* are continuing in both govi-rnnunt and private April, Hierarch says he has been Stauffer and Diamond Shamrock, lahoi atories w^iy h.ti yet dis unable to find -*nr>; s n ;e the gasfous vinyl chUrde to covered any d.-og'T in the finish Riecardi re:; -os to talk He says make the po!.. viny J chloride resins ed pruned s. .Kcmung in a report he is preparing a lawsuit against that eventually wind up in hun from OSHA iiy the time the prod the company to get his job back dreds of everyday plastic products uct reaches the consumer stage, But some of h.s friends in Local rang.r.g from car seats to paci the wnyl chloride has been chemi 1154 of the United Paper*orkers fiers for babies cally locked sr.t j the product International Union -- the union at Both companies are providing One of the biggest problems in Stauffer -- are angry worker protection up to federal Jinking liver cancer to vtnvl chlo "I think they i management) standards, according to Bart ride is that it is almost impossible could have found somethin? Chadwick, Baitimoro-area direc to tell whether liv er abnormalities around the plant for him to do," tor of the Occupational Safety and are caused by alcohol, hepatitis or says Francis X. Bleyor Jr., local Health Administration vinyl chloride, according to doc president. `Td like to see the re sults of the physicals for manage ment -- the people who do not regularly face the threat of expo sure -- to see if any of their liver "To the extent we know the proolem. both Diamond Shamrock and Stauffer arc in compliance with the vinyl chloride stand ards." says Chadwick, tors from both companies. Since vinyl cUinde is a gas, it is difficult ir> contain m the work place. When a pipe or joint springs a leak, the worker can be tests showed as high as Riccar- di s. I want to see if they kept their jobs/'said Bleyer. Unul 1974, vinyl chloride was thought to be safe. Once it was thought to be so harmless it was exposed to a dote, which although probably not lethal, can accumu late in the body to work on de- Richard L>all. an employ*- at Diamond Shamrock, model* the rumbcrfiofne filter mttflk s-iuyl chloride worker* Riccardi's story illustrates the used bnefiy as an anesthetic. See PROTECTIVE--Page 5, Col. 1 must wear when there 10 a threat of exposure beyond allow able standard*. Protective Masks Are Ponderous (`dA<!nii*4 fftA Ptft- 0*i* stroying tin* lixor lo to 20 years later. No case of angiosarcoma has been diagnosed at either Diamond Shamrock or Stauffer The problem, according to lx>lh Robert K Nagy, the former plant manager at Diamond Shamrock, and Blcycr. the union chief at Stauffer, is worker apathy Work* ers do not always wear the protective equipment they are supplied OSHA says workers cannot Ik* exposed to mote than one part vinyl chloride to a million part*, of air over an eight-hour shift That is the lowest amount measurable. Compliance with that standard doesn't necessarily moan having workers w ear cumbersome masks and breathing devices all the lime Up lo-daie and well monitored manufacturing equip ment can achieve the same objec tive. And at both Stauffer and Diamond Shamrock, whvm every thing is running smoothly, work ers need not wear protective masks. But accidental leaks can and do occur. When that happens. a monitoring device detects the leak and workers in the area are instructed to don their masks. If they don't or if they are exposed to the leak t>cfore it is detected, the neirby workers are almost certain to get a whiff of vinyl cldoiido uverOSMA limits The masks weigh five and a half pounds. "These things are heavy, sweaty and impair vi sion," says Nagy, who has been promoted to a marketing post at Diamond Shamrock headquattors in Cleveland ' ! <i In? less than honest if 1 didn't sa> we had a tough time getting people to wear masks when necessary, Oldltmers who have had nulhing show up on the liver tests don't want to wear them Our policy N to en force masks and discipline work ers who don't use them, But we've never reached the point of having to fire any lx>dy," At Staufler. Blcycr says that during the day. when most man agement officials are around and when OSHA inspectors are likely to Ik* present, rules are strictly enforced But he says, on the late shifts when a foreman may lie a Utile over/enlous to increase production or a worker lazy, en forcement of the rules may get a little lax "It's Hie union man s fault just as nuuh a*, anything else. lie doesn't want to t>e hassled. The warning lights come on Some times lie doesn't see them,'* Blcycr said. Diamond Shamrock's Boh Barrish. senior engineer, says the attitude anumg workers there is one of "cautious concern." He sqys workers rarely initiate a vinyl chloride question at the monthly safety meetings because "1 think we do our best to keep our workers informed We don t try to fluff this o\ er " filenn W Kirk, an operator of one of the units at Diamond Shamrock, his co-workers a:e fairly conscientious about wearing masks but not overly worried about the canrer-cnusing nature of the material they work with "I figure we all have to go some way That <vmyl chloride! is just one of the m.inv things out there to get you." he said And .Vigy.suvx that since vinyl chloride has m-on tagged as ha/- aidous, no Diamond Shamrock workers have asked to lie trans ferred No workers have quit And no prospective employe when in humed of the dangers and company safety programs, has refused a job, he says Also, Nagy says Diamond Shamrock is still trsing to decide policy on luring females with clnld-tHMiing potential as produc tion workers OSHA has no stand- aids for this, hut recent federal tests show Mini vblonde may cause birth defects And Nagy says flatly that if abnormal liver leadings arc found, (lie worker will be transferred to another sec tion of the plant where he will not be exposed to vmyl chloride lie says if there is no job available, he will make one Diamond Shamrock employs 1TI woikers m its polvvinyl chlo ride operation at Delaware City, with alxiut 72 having a chance of being directly exposed The company also manufactures ehlu* nne at the site, with an additional 135 workers The company has spent $5 2 million since luT-l m upgrading its equipment so Hie QSHA standard can lie met, The company has installed monitoring devices and uses them. Iieyond OSHA speci fications, Nagy said Charles A, Burkins, safety and loss prevention supervisor at Dia mond Shamrock, says annual physicals have turned up two rases of abnormal liver readings among Diamond Shamrock pinploves vmce li74 line ea^e was diagnosed as hepatitis and involv ed an employe who does not work in an exposeuro area He was Heated Another case was diag nosed as a person with alcohol problems He has since left the vompans Stauffer has spent <f* million at Delaware City in the last year to meet OSHA standards according to Dr Herbert!, Northrup. direc tor of the company's occupational department. Stauffer omplovi 275 workers at Delaware City and about 2d<) of them f.u-e the daily threat of exposure to vinyl chloride. Northrup says since annual ph> Meals began in IhTt, two cm(doves have had abnormal liver leadings Northrup savs tests showed Uth cases were not di- reedy related to vmyl chloride exposure He refused to talk .ilxiul either of the ea-.es, saving lie was not going to get into "per sonal medical histories " He said company policy is that when tests show any abnormality is not related to vmvl chloride exposure, the ease is turned over to the employe's private physi cian If the physician is willing to certify a worker can return to the chemical processing plant. Stauff er will allow the employe to keep his job If the physician is unwill ing to appiove. he says. Stauffer w ill try to find an alternative job But in the ease of IHceardi, the company could not find him another job -- not even cutting the grass outside the plant, ac cording to C W Hager, personnel and safety manager Hager said the company "had to follow OSHA regulations" and prevent Kiccardi from becoming exposed to vinyl chloride He said there was no place within the plant boundaries where there was not a risk Industry sources say dial be cause of the nature of the two plants. Diamond Shamrock has more non-exposure jobs available for potential transfers. Industry sources say that be cause of the nature of the two plants. Diamond Shamrock has more non-exposure jobs available (or potential transfers, On the issue of luring women, Northrup says the company wil not hire women with child-bear ing potential lo work where there is nsk of exposure. "I can't really come down on the company for what U has done to protect the worker." says Blovor at Stauffer "When they had to meet the requirements, they did everything they could " Tomorrow: Chlorine, toxic and pervasive. GGC 000350 Sunday Newsjournal Wilmington, D.I., March 27, 1977 ectr rtf d^Liu y,( Leisure Travel Paget 9-9 Paget 10-11 j Classified Paget 15-21 This artjr/e opens a six-part senes on occupational fooaith in Dein ware. This senes u HI contin `It's u'hat tee don't knots that really scares ue in the Evening Journal this week me,'says a government official in discussing carcinogens. First ofa six-part series. Bv MAF.Y JO ftTEISNXR led WALLACE C, SUDD XR. wick. Baltimore area director of tar and soot, and even wood and Sa.'ctv and health officials are the Occupational Safety and leather There are others. scared So are a lot of factory Health Administration jOSHA), Because some of these sub workers, industry executives, And. when Chadwick talks about a stances are so common ar.d be sacr ists and consumers "scare." he isn't referring to the cause other occupational hazards What they're afraid of is some things used in the workplace that arc just coming to light, protect thing that ras only recently begun are known or are suspected of ing the worker has become much to receive a great deal of atten causing cancer. more complex Whereas m the tion, and is becoming more fright ening every da; It's a problem that few people can avoid The b:g concern is a seemingly relentless assault by waves of "Wc have a pretty good handle on what we know," he says. "It's what we don't know that really scares me." past providing a safe workplace meant ventilation, steel-toed shoes, guard rails and other tangi ble pieces of equipment, nowa days employers and employes are chemicals and other substances In Delaware the problems and confronted by more subtle and in that cause cancer, nervous disor uncertainties are no less frighten sidious hazards ders. respiratory diseases and other chronic health problems. And, although there is disagree' nent as to ho* many of these health problems can be attributed to on the-job exposure, no one denies that people are becoming Sicit and dvmg because of condi tions where they wor* "There's no doubt about it, the scare is there," says Bart Chad ing. But. safety and health offi cials claim -- and labor and man agement generally agree with them -- that most of the known hazards are being controlled. A partial list of known occupa tional carcinogens reads like an index to a chemistry book, arsen ic. asbestos, chromium. benzene, betanaphthylamine, lead, mer cury, vinyl chloride, nickel, coal as Union, industry and government officials are being forced to wage a battle on two fronts, both of which cover enormous territory. The first involves trying to mini mize or eliminate worker expo sure to the health hazards already known. With 63 million workers in 5 million workplaces in the United States, the task seems overwhelm ing. Operations on the second front only add to the burden on the first. Here, officials are trying to keep one step ahead of the game by identifying carcinogenic or haz ardous substances. With several thousand chemicals m commer cial use and a thousand new ones being introduced each year, this too is a formidable task. As scientists begin to look more intensively, there is the almost universal feeling that things "are going to get worse before they get better. "We're tiptoeing around on the top of a giant iceberg." says Chadwick, And. the very nature of diseases like cancer prevents the iceberg from coming into view more quickly. Dr. Irving J, Selikoff. director of environmental sciences at ML Sinai Medical Center in New York, has said that "pan of the problem is that most cancers due to occu pational agents have a Jong period of clinical latency -- 20 to 40 years. Identification of the relationship between cause 2nd effect isn't alu ays easy," Also hindering the search is the fact that even short, one-time exposures can later result in can cer. And cancer may not stem from 2 single specific agent, but rather one agent in combination with another. Lifetime . animal studies to determine whether a chemical causes cancer take years and costs up to JiOC.OC-O to perform. But most research facilities, incuding the Du Pont Co.'s Haskell Laboratory for Toecology and Industrial Medicine, recently have be cun to use quicker labora tory tests to screen chemicals for possiblecancer-causing activity. OSHA's Chadwick sums up the status of oceupaiicna! health in Delaware in terms of the overall problem. "You are wrong if you don't think there is an occupational health problem in Dclt** are," he says. "We re just cracking the ice berg As a whole. Delaw are is bad because the situation is bad every where. But, compared to other states, Delaware is probably as good as or belter that) them," o Chadwick and Alor.zo Gridin, director of the W.lm.nzton area for CSKA, claim that large Dela ware chemical companies such as Diamond Shamrock Corp., the Du Pont Co , Stauffer Cncmcal Co., Haveg Industries and Globe Union, which are involved in the See OCCUPATION AL-P. hC.3 Continued from Page 1 production or use c.f hazardous chemicals like vinyl chloride, asbestos, lead and chlorine, are operating withm the OMiA stand ards. "I am satisfied that to the extent we know the r*Chlcm -- the state o' the art -- they arc in compli ance," Chadwick says, Hut hr adds the ever-present warning"Next year we may find out that something else is just as danger ous. "Ninety-eight per cent of the people out there dying of nemoa* Uonal causes aic using stuff we don't know about or don't have regulations for," he says. Chadwick gives the example of his grandfather who died from emphysema tlumclu u> have b.s> n caused |>y cicarctte smoking, "We know now there ts a considerable probability he cot emphysema from the dust in Uic quarry where he worked." These unknowns combined with "secondary users" of hazardous substances m Delaware content Chadwick the most He chums that the processors of rarcinct t ri le materials, like Havog Indus tries with asbestos, are remit carefully watched and controlled. The pioblem, he says, lies with "the people who use the products Asbestos makes," especially con* stniction woi kers The same holds true with lead, Chadwick sa>s The cancers of lead poisoning are present both for workers who us<? lead in various industrial processes and for wmkers and consumers wliu use it on a less regular be'is Griffm claims "lead is not really a problem" at the Globe Union plant in Middletown, wh'ch manu facturers batteries. "Giubo t'mon cm Id be stacked up now tr anv bMlery plant m the country. It's one of the best." be says. The real problem is wokers who get casual exposures or "the guy v.iio is spray-painung or finishing his boat." na* In addition, dust and noise pro duced by all types of industrial processes are a major problem in Delaware. Griffin says his staff is currently inspecting the Phoenix Steel plant in Clayrnont for these hazards. Large chemical companies using adequate controls and watched by OMiA are not without ihoir hazards, however. l-oahs of dangerous chemicals can and do happen, and when they occur it's up to the company to stop them. "lt`s not our job to correct these problems," Chadwick says. "lt's the employer's. Our job ts to push them to the furthest extent of the the form of a union -- rmiM shoul In w tn gvt them to comply." der the burden of seemthat If a company tivvi-a't comply something is done, In the p.iu five immediately or a wn-v^r doesn't or mv years, several imcm.Miunal make use of personal protective unions h.ivv conto to the foivfitmt equipment when it's required, the of the safety and health field, de lu.ziird is there. claring that wages and bum fils "It's jut as much the umon are no lunger the workers' only man's fault as management's," says t-Tancia X. Hlever dr , piesi* dent of the United Poporworkors Union. i^>cnl llM. it Stauffer ( hoimral Co. in Delaware City. com ern. "'] ho Oil, Client leaf and .Vomit" Woikcrs and the Umled btet* woikers v,uv the light live years ago. Yew have super-gtxvj i y.ifcty The plmt makes po*\ vinyl chlo and health) professional staffs ride resins out of vinyl chloride, a r.aseot'K chemical that causes liver cancer. "The worker doesn't like to be hassled with the mask It he is and they do a good job." Chadwick Says. At the local level, howeveu, some unions haven't "picked the ball up" or arc loo weak to eifer* rearing the comple-imi of Ins job, he won't take the time to put it on. Sometimes lie doesn't see the warning lights. Ami, sometimes a foreman, who warts tn look good with increased production, won't warn, Pul during the day when all of the management is working and an USHA inspector is likely to come around, everybody is pretty careful about the rubes." lflcyer saw usija officials in Delaware must "rely a lot on voluntary com* piiance" u ith the federal agency's standards and regulations, Chad* wick sjys because Delaware dues not have ns own state plan, the federal government operates Die agency in the .(Me 'iTirre cur rently are six OMiA inspectors to oversee $,',000 b SO.OtN people tn Delaware workplaces, a problem of number* Uni has phgued OSH\ since it* m< epimn in ii?0 "They ithe workers) raise hell lively pressure a company to clean up its w-nrkplayo lih-wr saj * he ins rhanm-U d the case of A former Stauffer worker to P-a international United Pajvrv/ori:ers Union. The worker was let no by thrt company because he h;.d abnormal liver readings, accord ing to both Die worker and the Company Chadwick claims that a "pood local union doesn't want OMIA to come into ? plant and inspect If the local union at a plant on ac quire aiivthin* good.thev want the umon tu he recognized for it. not OSHA. So they come in ami learn everything they need to know and then they talk to the romu.u.v about jt Thai's a smart union ai.d I appreciate people Ukc that." hu says Ultimately, however, it'* up to the individual worker to decide whether a potentially harmful or lethal r\(*<>ure is justified with us because w*Te not dmmt Companies mvuived with hazard enough. And lhey*re right." Chad* ous inhitaneet claim very few wick says. "We're damn near worker* turn dow-n or qmt a ;eto swamped with complaints If I had heeai.se r.f the (Veupatuuul dan* W per.ple in this rfli t\ I d go nut gers Nome workers are pbihisouh- and inspect everywhere. Dut we ie.il *Imhi( tl'.f whole qucMinn of au don't " increa'jngly hazardous world. localise of this lack of manpow* "I figure we all h.ivt to co mne er, Chadwick says, the majority of way." say* a worker at Diamond tilings that ret dime, get (tone be* Shamrock's judyvmyl c blonde- cause the employe r do them." plant. "Vinyl chloride n just one u of the many things out there to get you." If an employer l.i not providing a safe wcukplaee and OMIA is una* In tomorrow's Evening Journal: ware of it. the workers -- often in Aiheitos, the deadly dun. ooc 000352 Leisure Travel Page* 8-9 Pages 10-11 Classified Pages 15-21 This article opens a six-part series on occupational health in Delaware. This senes will contin `It's what tee don't know that really scares ue m the Evetuntt Journal this week. me, ' says a government official in discussing carcinogens. First ofa six-part .series. By KaRY JO UR1SNTR ad WAXXACSC* JUDD JR. Safety and health officials are scared So arc a lot of factory workers, industry executives, scientists and consumers. W'hat they're afraid of is some wick. Baltimore area director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration <CSHA). And. when Chadwick talks about a "scare." he isn't referring to the things used in the workplace that tar and soot, and even wood and leather There are others. Because some of these sub stances are so common and be cause other occupational hazards are just coming to light, protect thing that has only recently begun are known or are suspected of ing the worker has become much to receive a great deal of atten causing cancer. more complex Whereas in the tion. and is becoming more fright ening every day it's a problem that few people can avoid. The b:g conrcrn is a seemingly relentless assault by waves of *'We have a pretty good handle on what we know." he says. "It's what we don't know that really scares me." past providing a safe workplace meant ventilation. steeliced shoes, guard rails and other tangi ble pieces of equipment, nowa days employers and employes are chemicals and ether substances In Delaware the problems and that cause cancer, nervous disor uncertainties are no less frighten ders. respiratory diseases and ing But. safety and health offi other chrome health problems. cials claim -- and labor and man And. although there is disagree agement generally agree with ment as to how many of these them -- that most of the known health problems can be attributed hazards are being controlled. to on-the-job exposure, no one A partial list of known occupa denies that people are becoming tional carcinogens reads like an sick and dying because of condi index to a chemistry book, arsen tions where they work. ic. asoestos. chromium, benzene, "There's no doubt about it, the beta-naphthylamice, lead, mer care ts there." says Ban Chad cury . vmyl chloride, nickel, coal confronted by more subtle and in sidious hazards. mm Union, industry and government officials are being forced to wage a battle on two fronts, both of which cover enormous territory. The first involves trying to mini mize or eliminate worker expo sure to the health hazards already known. With 63 million workers in 5 million workplaces in the United States, the task seems overwhelm ing Operations on the second front only add to the burden on the first Here, officials arc trying to keep one step ahead of the game by identifying carcinogenic or haz ardous substances With several thousand chemicals m commer cial use and a thousand new ones being introduced each year, this too is a formidable task. As scientists begin to look more intensively, there is ihe almost universal feeling that things are going to get worse before they get better, "We're tiptoeing around on the top of a giant iceberg." says Chadwick. And, the very nature of diseases like cancer prevents the iceberg from coming into view more quickly Dr, Irving J. Selikoff. director of environmental sciences at Ml, Sinai Medical Center uiNew York, has said that "part of the problem ts that most cancers due to occu pational agents have a long period of clinical latency -- 20 to 40 years. Identification of the relationship between cause and effect isn't always easy " Also hindering the search is the fact that even short, one time exposures can later result m can cer. And cancer may not stem from a single specific agent, but rather one agent in combination with another. Lifetime animal studies to determine whether a chemical causes cancer take jears and costs up to JJOC J to perform But mc>l resesren facilities, incud'ng tr.e Du Font Co's Ha.xcil Laboratory lor Toxicology and Ind^st-.2l Medtcme. recently have be^un to use quicker labora tory tests to screen chemicals for possible career-caunr.g activity OsKA's Chad-ick sums up the status of occupational health in Delaware in terms of the overaj problem "You are wrong if >ou don't th.rk th-:re is an occ-pamoral health prcblem in Delaware,' he says "We re just cracking the ice berg. As a w hole. DeSa w are is bad because the s.tujtmn ,s bad eyerywnere. But. compared to ether stales. Delaware ,s prcaaniy as good as or octter than them." BBS Chadwick and Alonzo Griffin, director of the Wilmington area for OSHA. claim that large Dela ware chemical companies such as Diamond Shamrock Corp.. the Du Pont Co.. Stauffer Cr.cmical Co . Haveg Industries pnd Globe Union, which are involved ip the See OCCUPATIONAL--P- 3. C. J SSoooqo V '311 i '.\h H kviu Kj k> n i f( * i < CoKllnucil Iron) Tate 1 production cr mo c.f ha7nrrious chemicals like vinyl rhlm'ulo, ashrstos, lead and chlorine, arc opcratiiiK within the GSJiA stand ards. "I am satisfied that to (he extent we know the c.r.oWem -- the stoic of the art -- they ate in compli ance,'' Chadwick says. Hut he adds the ever-present warmup,: "Next year we may find out that something else is just as danger ous. '`Ninety-eight per cent of the people out there dying of occupa tional causes aie ttsu-.g stuff we don't know tihaut or don't have regulation:- for," lie says Chadwick gives the example of his grandfather who died firm emphysema thought to have he-wi caused hy ctcarctte smoking "We know now there is a cnm-iutrahle probability he got emphysema from the dost m Uie quarry where he worked." These unknowns combined with "secondary users" of liarardous substances in Delaware concern Chadwick the most He claims that the processors of carcinogen ic materials, like Have;: Indus tries with asliestos. are being carefully watched and controlled. The piohlcm. he says, lies with "the people who use the products asbestos makes.,# especially con* Slruclion woi l.crs The same hold* Imp with lend, Chadwick savs The- o/m-'ors of lead iK'isoiMPk; or*? present both for workers who us? lead in various insjustn.il privh'WS and for work ers and consume* s who use U on a less rrqulnr bacn Griffm claims "lead is not really a problem" at the Globe Union plant in Middletown, which n.iiuifeeUircrs butteries. "Globe Union mild be stacked up now In any battery plant m the country. It's one of the best." he says The real problem is wo;kers who get casual exposures or "ihe guy ubo is spiay-paimmfl or finishing his boat/* ncn In addition, dust and noise pro duced by all is pcs of industrial processes are a major problem in Delaware, Griffm says his xuif is cur/'Miily in<p<,ciirtt* 11.4 Phoenix Steel plant tn Ulayinont for these hazards. Large chemical companies using adequate controls and watched by OhHA are not without their hazards, however. l-oaks of dangerous chemicals can and do happen, and when they occur it's up to the company to stop them. "U's not our job to correct these problems." Chadwick says. "It's Uic employer's. Our job is to push 11 in cj '}-!.n <p u (p>/p r* 4^1o*' CJ c3 them to the furthest extent of the the form of a union ~ must j.houl** law to pel them to con* ply," der the burden of soon; that If a company (i'c-aVt comply something is done. In the past five immediately or a wu-fccr dp"sn't or six years, s. veral mtci national make uic of personal protective unions have come to the fori/i o.-.t equipment when it's required, the of the safety and health field, de hazard is there. claring Uiat wai'ei and b-mfits "U's jt st as much the union are no longer the workers' only man's fault ?s management's," concern. says J'raneis X, flivver -If . piesi- "The Oil* Cliomlc.il and Atomic dent of the rndod )\ipor\. orkerx Woikm find the United Stol- Union, Local MOL at Stauffer woikers saw the light live years (heimr.il Go. m Dclauai* City. ago Tbev have super-good i safety The plant make* polyvinyl chlo and health) professional statfs ride resins out of vmyl chloride, a and they do a good job," Chadwick rascovs chemical that causes says. liver cancer. At the local level, howevev, "The worker doesn't like to be Some unions haven't "picked the hassled with the mask ll` he is ball up" or are loo weak to ctfer* nearing the corv.plofmu of his job, lively pressure a companv to he won't lake the time to put it on. ck-an up us workplace Sometimes he doesn't see the sa>s he Ins chcnmUd Uic case of warning light*. And. sometimes a a former Stauffer worker to I'-e foreman, who w*ns to loak good itUcrnMumal loiied raporv.'ork- with increased production, won't warn, t.ut during the nay when all of the minagement is working and an USH\ inspector is likely to ers Union. The wimV.lt was let yo by ihe company because he tud abnormal hvvr readings, accord ing to both the worker and the come a round, everybody is pretty company careful About the ruMs," liicycr Chadwick claims that a "itood says, local union doesn't want O^HA to O.MIA officials in Delaware come mlo a plant and insi>ccl. If must "rely a Ki on voluntary com* the local union at a plant can ac piiancc" with the federal agency's quire aii.thm* good, they want the standards and p'gi.l.iinmi, Chad union to be recoynned for it. no* wick says because Delaware OsliA. So they come tn and learn does ml have in own state plan, everything they need to know and the federal government operates then they talJc to the cmnu.iuv the agency in the '`fate 'then? cur about it Thai's a smart union ai.U rently ate six OMtA inspectors to I appreciate people like that." ho oversee t.'.fkW t people In says Delaware workplaces, a problem Ultimately, however, it's up to of numbers lh.it has pligurd the individual worker to decide OSH \ since it* ineeptmu m l!*7G whether a potentially harmful or "They Mho workers) raise hell lethal ^xpoture is justified, with hi bccausp v*Te n<*t doing romp.mms involved with hazard enough And ih*v'rr m'hi." tlud- ous vmManrr* r).um very few wuk says "We're damn near workers turn down or quit a job swamped with coicr hunts If I had bu`jt,\e nf ihi <v*ei,naiinn.il dan* G<) pe< j>lc in this c.fuvv, I'd r.o out cer Sumo workers arc pMdosoph- and inspect everywhere. Hut we iral iln'ut (he whidr question of a*i dorr*." inerea*:nyly hazardous world. |'"\*asr of this lack of manpow- "I fig.ire we all have to b> er. Chadwick savs, the majority of way." nys a worker at Diamond thing! that *vt dime. r*`t dune be* Shamrock's f>d/vinyl chlond* cause the employ* rs do them." plant, "Vinyl chloride ju%t or.** MB* ol the many ihu\gs out there to *et you/* If an employer is not providing s tafe woikpijre and UMIA is una* In CnmArr<i*s f.vmlnk Jtfuratlt ware of U, the workers -- often in Atbritoi, (hr deadly duu. GGC 000354 WILMINGTON NEWS JOURNAL Tuesday, March 29, 1977 * THEY COMPLY [^2l/c****p fX*ts***- f But 2 Companies Face Threefold * j Problem in Making Vinyl Chloride ,.*V 1 ) This is the third article in a six- vinyl chloride situation in Dela But in January 1974. a horror \\ 1 pan senes on occupational health. ware. Workers appear to have story began to unfold at the B F. By Wallace c. judd jr. adequate protection from the Goodrich Co. polyvinyl chloride chemical's immediate dangers, plant in Louisville, K>.. where Frank J. Riccardi lest his job at The issues facing the vinyl chlo three workers died of a rare liver Stauffer Chemical Co. in Dela ride Industry in the state are disease -- angiosarcoma. This dis ware Caty because tests showed he these ease could be traced to the vinyl had a weak liver. B What to do wuh workers chlor.de in the air. Since then, Riccardi th.nks he is healthy developing abnormal liver read there have been at feast 2S other enough to work. But Stauffer pro ings that may or may not be relat deaths in 10 countries traced to cesses a chemical called wnyl ed lo exposure to vin> 1 chloride. vinyl chloride exposure chloride -- a chemical known lo cause cancer of the liver Stauffer doctors insist. after several tests, that Riccardi's liver problems arc not related to vinyl chloride. But. since the company could not find another job for him, where there would be no risk of exposure to vinyl chloride, Stauffer said it had to let him go. That was last April. Riccardi says he has been unable to find work since Riccardi refuses to talk. He says he ts preparing a lawsuti against the company to get hi* job baik But some of hi* friends in Local IJ34 of the i'mted Paperworkers International Union -- the union at Stauffer -- are angry "I think they * management) B Whether lo hire females for production jobs in light of federal studies that show' exposure to vinyl chloride may cause bj*th de fects. fl Worker apathy concerning the potential hazards of > inyf chlo ride no* that initial attention to the dangers has subsided. Two Delaware companies, Stauffer and Diamond Shamrock, use the gaseous tinvl chloride to make the polyvinyl chloride resins that (vemually wind up in hun dreds of everyday plastic products ranging from car seals to paci fiers for babies. Both companies arc providing worker protection up to federal standaros, according to Bart OSIK thm set standards to drastically lower the amount of vtn>l chloride which could be in haled by a worker The Envirtmmcnial Protection Agency also set standards limiting vinyl chlo ride discharges outside plants Although studies are continuing in beth government and private laboratories, nutxidy has yet dts covi-srd any danger in the finish ed prrimiets, according lo a repor from OSH A. By the time Iho prod uct reaches ih-i con^umi-r stage the vinyl chloride has tvi-n chemi cally locked mtu the product. One of the biggest problems in linking Uvcr cancer to wnvl chlo ride ts that it is almost impossible i A. ft. ?c- could have found something Chadwick, Bahtmore area direc to tell whether liver abnormalities arcund the plant for him to do,*' says Francis X. Bleyer Jr, local president 'Td like to see the re sults of the physicals for manage ment -- the people who do not regularly face the threat of expo sure -- to see if any of their liver tests showed as high as Ricear th's. I want to see if they kept their jobs," said Bleyer. Riccardi'* story illustrates the tor of the Occupational Safety and are caused by alcohol, hepatitis or Health .Administration. "To the extent we know the probiom. both Diamond Shamrock and Stauffer are in compliance with the vinyl chloride standards/'says Chadwick. Until 1974, vinyl chloride was thought to be safe. Once it was thought to be so harmless it was vinyl chloride, according to doc tors from both companies. Since vinyl dome is a 3S, u is difficult to contain in the work place When a pipe or joint springs a leak, the worker can be exposed to a dote w hieh although probably not lethal, can accumu late in the body to work on de- used briefly as an anesthetic. See PROTECTIVE--Page 5, Col. I iull IIns* trj | --) Richard Lyull, an employ** 'ut Diamond hhamrock. model* the cumfcw-r&ome filter mak *inyl chloride workers muni wear vhi'n there i* a threat of exposure beyond allowable tandartb. GGC 000355 Protective Masks Are Ponderous fnn P*|f One stroying tin* liver 10 to 20 years later. No ol ongiosnrcoma has t>ccn diagnosed at either Diamond Shamrock or Stauffer The problem, according to txith Uuliert K Nagy. the former plant manager at Diamond Shamrock, and Hleyer. the unum chief at Stauffer, is worker apaihy Work ers do not aluavs wear the protective equipment they are supplied. OSHA says workers cannot be exposed to mote than one part vinyl chloride to a million parts of air over an eight-hour shift That is the lowest amount measurable Compliance with (hat standard doesn't necessanl> mean having workers wear cumbersome masks ami breathing devices all the time Up-to-date and well monitored manufacturing equipmcnl can achieve the same objec tive And at Isoth Stauffer and Diamond Shamrock, when every thin!; is running smoothly, work ers need not wear protective masks. But accidental leaks can and do occur. When that happens, a monitoring device detects the leak and workers m I he area are instructed to don their masks. If they don't or if they arc exposed to the teak Indore it is detected, live nearby workers are almost certain to get a wluff of vinyl chloride over OSHA limits, * The masks weigh five and a half pounds. `'These things are heavy, sweaty and impair vi sion," says Nagy, who has tx'en promoted to a marketing post at Diamond Shamrock headquarters in Cleveland, `Td lx.1 less than honest if l didn't say wc hart a tough time getting people to wear ma*ks when nevess-uv oldlinv ers who have had nothing show up on the liver tests don't want to wear them <Jur policy is (u en force masks and discipline work ers w ho don't use them But we've never reached the point of having to file anyUxly." At Stauffer. Hleyer says that during the day. when most man agement officials are around amt when OSHA inspectors are likely lo l>e present, rules are strictly enforced Hut he says, on the late shifts when a foreman may be a little ovcnteulous to increase production or a worker la/y. en forcement of the rules may get a little lax "It's the union man's fault just as much as anything else. He doesn't want to be hassled. The warning lights come on Some times he doesn't sec them." Hleyer said Diamond Shamrock's Bob Barrish, senior engineer, says the attitude among workers there is one of "cautious concern" He says workers rarely initiate a vinyl chloride question at the montlih safety meetings bemuse T think we do u\iv hed to keep our workers uifaimed We don't try to fluff this over " (ilcnu W Kirk, an operator of one of the units at Diamond Shamrock, says his co-workers are fairly conscientious about wearing masks but not overly worried alxwt the cancer-causing nature of the material thev work with ' l figure we all have to go some way 'lhat ivinyl chloride) is just one of the many things out there to get you." he *aid. And Nagy says that Mine vmvl chloride has been tagged as hi/.aidous no Diamond Shamrock woikers have asked to he Ironsfrired No workers have quit And no piuspcctiw employe when in formed of the danger* and company safety programs, has refused a job, he says, Also, Nagy says Diamond Sham lock is still trving to decide policy "0 hiring females with child-bearing potential as produc tion workers OSHA has no stand ards for this, hut recent tederal tests show vinyl ehlondo may cause birth defects. And Nagy says flatly that if abnormal liver readings are found, the worker wdl he transferred to another sec tion of the plant where lie will mil lx* exposed to vinyl chloride He says if then* is no |oh available, he w ill make one Diamond Shamrock employs i:n woikers m its jurtyvinvl chlo ride operation at Delaware City, with about 72 having a chance of being directly exposed The company also manufactures chlouuo at the site, with an additional l!15 workers, The company has spent $5 2 million since l!)74 m upgrading its equipment mi the OSHA standard can lx met The company has installed monitoring devices and uses them beyond OSHA speci fications. Nagy said Clnnles A Burkins, safety and loss prevention supervisor at Dia mond Shamrock, says annual physicals have turned up two eases of abnormal liver readings among Diamond Shamrock cmphucs smee l')71 One case was diagnosed as hepatitis and involv ed an employe who does not work m an expoMMuc area He was treated Another ease was diag nosed as n person with alcohol problems He has since left the company Stauffer has spent million at Delaware t'ltv m the last year to meet OSHA standards, according to Dr Heibfrtl. Northrup. direc tor of the compjnv's occupational department Stauffer employ s, 275 workers at Delaware Uity and about 2H0 of them face the daily threat of exposme to vmvl chloride, Northrup savs smee annual physicals began m PH4, two em ployes have had ahnmma! liver readings Nmihiup says tests showed Ixdh eases were not di rectly related tu vinyl chloride exposure He refused to talk alxoit either of the cases, saymg he was not going lo get into "per sonal medical histories," He said company policy is that when tests show any abnormality is not related to vinyl chloride exposuie. the ease is turned over to the employe's private physi cian If the physician is willing lo certify a woiker can return to the chemical processing plant. Stauff er wdl allow the employe to keep his job If the physician is unwill ing to approve, he sav*. Stauffer will ti y to find an alternative job, But in the case of Iheeanli, the company could not fmd him another job -- not even cutting the grass outside the plant, ac cording to C W Hager, personnel and safely manager Hager said the company "had to follow OSHA regulations" and prevent Iticcordi front becoming exposed to vinyl chloride He said there -was no place within the plant boundaries where there was not a risk Industry sources say that be cause of the nature of the two plants. Diamond Shamrock has more inm-exposure job* available for potential transfers. Industry sources say that be cause of the nature of the two plants. Diamond Shamrock has more non-exposure jobs available for potential transfers On the issue of hiring women, Northrup says the company wti not hire women with child-bear ing potential to work where there is risk of exposure "l can't really come down on the company fnr what it has done to protect the worker." says Hleyer at Stauffer, "When they hud to meet the requirements, they did eveiytlnng they could " Tomorrow: Chlorine, toxic and pervasive. GGC 000356 THEY COMPLY Biii 2 Companies Face Threefold Problem in Making Vinyl Chloride This is the third article in a sixpart series on occupational health. By WALLACE C. JUDD JR. Frank J. Riccardi lost his job at Stauffer Chemical Co. in Dela ware City because tests showed he had a weak liver. Riccardi thinks he is healthy enough to work. But Stauffer pro cesses a chemical called vinyl chloride -- a chemical known to cause cancer of the liver. Stauffer doctors insist, after several tests, that Riccardi's liver problems are not related to vinyl chloride. But, since the company could not find another job for him where there would be no risk of exposure to vinyl chloride, Stauffer said it had to let him go. That was last April. Riccardi says he has been unable to find work since. Riccardi refuses to talk. He says he is preparing a lawsuit against the company to get his job back. But some of his friends in Local 1134 of the United Paperworkers International Union -- the union at Stauffer -- are angry. "I think they (management) could have found something around the plant for him to do," says Francis X. Bleyer Jr., local president. "I'd like to see the re sults of the physicals for manage ment -- the people who do not regularly face the threat of expo sure -- to see if any of their liver tests showed as high as Riccardi's. I want to see if they kept their jobs," said Bleyer. Riccardi's story illustrates the vinyl chloride situation in Dela But in January 1974, a horror ware.' Workers appear to have story began to unfold at the B.F. adequate 'protection from the Goodrich Co. polyvinyl chloride chemical's immediate dangers. plant in Louisville, Ky., where The issues facing the vinyl chlo three workers died of a rare liver ride industry in the state are disease -- angiosarcoma. This dis these: ease could be traced to the vinyl What to do with workers chloride in the air. Since then, deyeloping abnormal liver read there have been at least 29 other ing's that may or may not be relat deaths in 10 countries traced to ed to exposure to vinyl chloride. vinyl chloride exposure. Whether to hire females for production jobs in light of federal studies that show exposure to vinyl chloride may cause birth de fects. Worker apathy concerning the potential hazards of vinyl chlo ride now that initial attention to the dangers has subsided. Two Delaware companies, Stauffer and Diamond Shamrock, use the gaseous vinyl chloride to make the polyvinyl chloride resins that eventually wind up in hun dreds of everyday plastic products ranging from car seats to paci fiers for babies. Both companies are providing worker protection up to federal standards, according to Bart Chadwick, Baltimore-area direc tor of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "To the extent we know the problem, both Diamond Shamrock and Stauffer are in compliance with the vinyl chloride stand ards," says Chadwick. Until 1974, vinyl chloride was thought to be safe. Once it was thought to be so harmless it was JSHA then set standards to drastically lower the amount of vinyl chloride which could be in haled by a worker. The Environ mental Protection Agency also set standards limiting vinyl chlo ride discharges outside plants. Although studies are continuing in both `government and private laboratories, nobody has yet dis covered any danger in the finish ed products, according to a report from OSHA. By the time the prod uct reaches the consumer stage, the vinyl chloride has been chemi cally locked into the product. One of the biggest problems in linking liver cancer to vinyl chlo ride it is almost impossible to tell whether liver abnormalities are caused by alcohol, hepatitis or vinyl chloride, according to doc tors from both companies. Since vinyl cloride is a gas, it is difficult to contain in the work place. When a pipe or joint springs a leak, the worker can be exposed to a dose, which although probably not lethal, can accumu late in the body to work on de- used briefly as an anesthetic. See PROTECTIVE-Page 5, Col. 1 Stilt PM* by Daaagbty Brown Richard Lyall, an employe at Diamond Shamrock, models the cumbersome filter mask vinyl chloride workers must wear trhen there is a threat of exposure beyond allot* able standards. .asKs when necessary. Oldtims who have had nothing show up -- -3Z -J J - f` * million smee 1974 m upgrading its -'"prevent'Riemarfrorirbecdmu^'i " - ** - OSHA stand11 1 1' -- i* rotective Masks Are Ponderous CmUnmS frta Pig* Om *stroying the liver 10 to 20 years ater. No case of angiosarcoma has been diagnosed at either Diamond Shamrock or Stauffer. i The problem, according to both Robert E. Nagy, the former plant manager at Diamond Shamrock, and Bleyer, the . union chief at vinyl chloride question at the cases of abnormal liver readings^. " monthly safety, meetings because ; .among Diamond Shamrock emjn. . "I think we do our best to-keepf ployes since 19.74. One case waiLt ; . our workers informed. We don't diagnosed as hepatitis .and involy- r 51 try to fluff this over." : ^ ed an; employe who does not work jorror, Glenn W. Kirk; ap operator of ? in an exposeure area/; He wasj B.F. one of the unitsT at Diamond/ treated/''Another case was diag- loride' Shamrock, says' hisco-workers? nosed as a person with alcohol ivhere are fairly conscientious about ; problems. He has since left the \ liver wearing;.masks hut not overly. company., y,-- Js dis- Stauffer, is worker apathy. Work- worried;about the cancer-causing Stauffer has spent $6 million atvinyl ers do not always wear * the--.;nature 0f the material they work protective equipment they are,. with. Delaware City in the last year to / then, meet OSHA standards, according other supplied. OSHA says workers cannotbe exposed to more than one part . vinyl chloride to a million parts of ` air over an eight-hour shift. That is the lowest amount measurable. Compliance with that standard doesn't necessarily mean having workers //wear cumbersome masks and; breathing devices all the1 time.;?Up-to-date and well monitored'manufacturing equip- ment can achieve the same objec tive. And at both Stauffer and Diamond Shamrock, when every thing is. running smoothly, work ers, need not wear protective masks. r But accidental leaks can and do occur. When that happens; a monitoring device detects the "leak and workers in the area are instructed to don their masks. If they don't or if they are exposed to the leak before it is detected, the nearby workers are. almost certain to get a whiff of .vinyl chloride over OSHA limits/., ' haT^Dounds5 ``These uhfnes^re ,/ "I figure we all have to go some./ to Dr. Herbert L. Northrup, direc* ' way. That (vinyl chloride) is just' tor of the company's occupational one of the many things out there department. - /' v to get you," he said. Stauffer employs 275 workers at And Nagy says that since vinyl Delaware City' and about 230 of chloride has been tagged as haz them face the daily threat of ardous, no Diamond Shamrock exposure to vinyl chloride. workers have asked'to be trans-, Northrup says since annual ferred. No workers have quit. And physicals began in 1974, two em no prospective employe when in-; ployes have had abnormal liver formed of; the `dangers and? readings. Northrup ` says tests company safety programs, has showed both cases were not di- refused a job, he says. rectly related to vinyl chloride Also, Nagy says Diamond exposure. He refused to talk Shamrock is still trying to decide about either of the cases, saying policy on hiring females with he was qot going to get into "per child-bearing potential as product sonal medical histories." tion workers. OSHA has no stand-. He said company policy is that ards for this, but recent federal : when tests show any abnormality tests show vinyl chloride may is not related to vinyl chloride cause birth defects. And Nagy exposure, the case is turned over says flatly that if abnormal liver to the employe's private physi- readings are found, the worker .cian. If the physician is wUling to will be transferred to another sec certify a worker can return to the tion of the plant where he will not chemical processing plant, Stauff- be exposed to vinyl chloride. He rer will allow the employe to keep ' says if there is no Job available,, - his job. If the physician is unwill- /he will make one. ^ Diamond Shamrock employs ing to approve, he'says, Stauffer will try to find an alternative job. ed to - -vate ret disfinish- report e prod- stage, chemi st. ems in d chlo: to tell ies are titis or to doc- , s ^ js ' ^ork* i0int _ ca_ ^ Sfe:i33 workers in its polyvinyl chlo- Butin the case of Riccardi, the although ' sion,"".s^ays Nagy, who .has-been promoted: to a marketing-postiat Diamond Shamrock headquarters. operation at Delaware City, ' company could not find him accumu. with about 72 having a chance of /another job -- not even, cutting * on <je. being directly, exposed. The the grass outside the; plant,. ac- ; company also manufactures chlo- cording to C. W. Hager, personnel l,CoLl Richard . mod Is the ci must wear wl all wable stand ferine at the site, w.than additional honest if I didnt say we had.,a, kers ' tough time getting people Jo wear h ' t 2 er^who'have ha^nothimz s^ovruDfi mUlion.since.1974 in upgrading its on/the Uver the OSHA stan|ard and safety manager. ' ( Hager said the company "had , to follow OSHA regulations" and r prevent Riccardi'from becoming exposed to vinyl chloride/He said 1 wear them.- Ourjpolicy) iS/ta1 en-/ ,met`.company .has eforrsciwehmo adsokna't'aunsdeidthisedmip; lBinuet^welvei-?.*?: OSHA sp?ci never reached the point of haying ^lcat^ons' Nagy said, to fire anybody^' , V/"? - At,- Stauffer,-^Bleyer- says that ' during the day, when most man agement officials are around and. /Charles A.iBurkins,'safety and loss prevention supervisor at Dia mond Shamrock, says annual physicals have turned ui there was no place within the plant boundaries where there was not a risk. '/ Industry sources say that be cause of . the. nature of the two plants, Diamond Shamrock has ' more non-exposure jobs available . for potential transfers/' wheri,.OSHA inspectors are likely to bepresent, rules are strictly cause of ..the , nature qf ;the two enforced. But. he says, on the late plants. Diamond Shamrock ' has shifts when a foremanjpay be a little overzealous to/increase' - more non-exposure Jobs .available f for potential transfers, ;^ VV/.-J production or a worker, lazyf/en- ;, ' On the (issue of hiring tyomen, forcement of the rules'may.get a I : Northrup says the* company wii little lax. . "It's the. union man's faultjjust- as much as anything else.?7He not hire women with child-bear ing potential to work where '.here .is risk of exposure. doesn't want to be hassled.' The? warning/lights come on. Some times.-: he `doesn'.t-see .them,". Bleyer said.v. r\i ^ yyy t-wJ C Vi n m vrt/iV'c RnK . "I can't really come downvon the company for what it has dc to protect the worker," sa^ Bleyer at Stauffer. "When GGC 000358