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AGENDA MEETING OF THE MCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 7:30 a. m. , Tuesday, October 12, 1976 The Statler Hilton Hotel, Washington, D. C. Financial Report for Four Months Ended September 30, 1976. MCA Safety Publications Program. Proposed Allocation Under Plastics Financial Program - - Contribution to American Society of Civil Engineers for Design Manual for Plastics Structural Components. Secretariat of ASTM Committee E-IB on Analysis and Testing of Industrial Chemicals. Current Issues Confronting the Chemical Industry. CMA 061892 ] MINUTES OF MEETING MCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Statler Hilton Hotel, Washington, D. October 12, 1976 C. Following breakfast at 7:30 a. m. , the meeting was called to order by the chairman. There were present: James G. Affleck, Chairman Earle B. Barnes William J. Driver Douglas H. Freeman (for William S. Sneath) Richard E. Heckert Tom K. Smith, Jr. Harvey J. Taufen Alexander B. Trowbridge (for John T. Connor) Robert A. Winslow John H. Pickering, Outside Counsel Bruce M. Barackman, Staff Counsel George E. Best, Secretary-Treasurer 1 Financial Report for Four Months Ended September 30, 1976 Mr. Best reported the information shown in Exhibit A and drew attention to the lowering of the reserves level to below the desired 50%-of-budget level as a consequence of recent and current budget amendments. Whereas the original projection for the 1976-77 fiscal year was for income and outgo to be essentially in balance, added appropriations (including those on today's Board agenda) will make for an operating deficit approaching $200, 000. 2. MCA Safety Publications Program Mr. Driver reviewed the attention which has been directed to the issuance of technical publications, particularly Chemical Safety Data Sheets, the upshot of which was outlined in an attachment to the tentative agenda for this meeting -- see Exhibit B. He explained that an intercommittee group has been formed to lay out revised procedures. It has been estimated roughly that staff and consultation expenses may add as much as $250, 000 to the cost of these publications. There is confidence that they will be attractive at a price of even several dollars a copy, however, so that there should be off-setting income. Mr. Pickering further emphasized the prime necessity of commit ment of technical manpower from member companies as being the only way to insure technical validity. It was agreed to approve continuation of the safety publications program with the proviso that the legal recommendations be satisfactorily accommodated and that the program be financially self-supporting. CMA 061893 2- - 3. Contribution Toward Design Manual/Structural Plastics It was agreed to recommend approval of a contribution of $12, 000 of Plastics Financial Package funds to the American Society of Civil Engineers toward the development of a manual to aid engineers in the design of plastics structural components. 4. Secretariat of ASTM Committee E-15 on Analysis and Test ing of Industrial Chemicals It was agreed to recommend extending for two years (to December 1, 1978) MCA responsibility for the E-15 secre tariat. 5. Current Issues Confronting the Chemical Industry A sum mary of the latest opinion poll, based on responses from about 400 representa tives of 1 7 member companies and MCA professional staff, was distributed in advance with the tentative agenda. Mr. Driver mentioned his use of similar earlier surveys in conjunction with MCA budget recommendations, but that its special consideration today stemmed from Mr. Winslow's letter concerning identification of MCA program priorities with particular reference to the Executive Committee's attention to them. It was suggested that a number of the topics listed in the poll were quite broad, and that the results would be more useful if the identities were narrowed. As to areas deserving special attention under Executive Com mittee direction, amendments to the Clean Air Act and OSHA regulatory developments were mentioned. Additional federal control of corporations (e.g., chartering), while of importance, was referred to as an example of matters affecting industry broadly in which it would be more appropriate for other organizations to take the leading role. In respect to OSHA, Dr. Barnes referred to a recent letter from Mr. St. Clair (Shell Chemical) encouraging activity through MCA con cerning OSHA's development of an occupational exposure tolerance limit for benzene. 6. United Nations Environment Program Mr. Driver reported having attended a meeting in Paris recently the purpose of which concerned planning for a Seminar on the Chemical Industry to be held next year. The objective of the seminar is to formulate suggestions for the developing countries regarding environmental controls. He learned of much interest in the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology among the European chemical industry trade associations. Representatives of the European federation (CEFIC) hope to visit with the MCA Executive Committee and Board, possibly at the time of the May 1977 meeting. CMA 061894 -3- 7. Toxic Substances, Control Legislation Mr. Heckert re ported his understanding that the Toxic Substances Control Act had been signed into law, and stated that the first meeting of the MCA Senior Ad visors on this continuing matter is scheduled for October 19. Certified correct; vi James G. Afffleck, Chairman Exe cutive' C ommitte e ieorge E. Best Secretary - Treasurer L CMA 061895 EXHIBIT A REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-TREASURER October 12, 1976 Dollar amounts rounded from tabular details ($000) INCOME & EXPENSE June 1, 1976 - September 30, 1976 - 4 Months (33%) Income - Membership Fees Other $2,763 257 $3,020 Expense - Operations - Projects $ 818 68 $ 884 Percent of Budget 100.473% 52.449% 93.210% 28.062% 18.082% 26.960% ASSETS (As of September 30. 1976) Cash Investments Miscellaneous ^ 2o 7,344 6 $7,370 CMA061896 Exhibit B MCA Safety Publications Program In the light of recommendations of Outside Counsel and the Legal Advisory Committee (l:MCA's Safety Publications Program" memorandum dated July 29, 1976, distributed with September 14th Executive Committee agenda) on procedural strengthening to minimize legal risk, the technical committees most directly concerned agree that the program should be con tinued because these safety publications serve important needs of member companies and others. Although endorsing counsel's recommendations in principle, reserva tions have been expressed about some of the suggestions for implementation, particularly item (2) on monitoring of literature, item (3) on citing unsup ported statements of hazard, item (4) on registering recipients of the Dublications, and item (5) on review by outside experts. There is confidence, however, that the objectives can be satisfactorily accommodated, with the recommendations serving helpfully as guidelines. Much emphasis was placed on the vital need of enhanced commitment on the part of member company representatives who are the principal source of information In these publications. A.t the same time, a substantial in crease from the present modest price, e. g. 75 cents a copy for Chemical Safety Data Sheets, is anticipated to compensate for much higher production costs. MCA EC-10/12/76 CMA 061897