Document KRvV74Y9r8MNQdgdjx01w3k6N

H H 0t00iflfA Friday. Jun* 28,1974 THE WASHINGTON POST COPIES TO: KliS CLW WRS [ (FK)' DVP (EAS REL) Vinyl Chloride Coasts On Safety Seen High By Richard E. Rolman WMhliMion Port fltaU Writer A vice president of Tcnneco.i Inc., a huge vinyl chloride manufacturer, predicted yes-1 terday that it would take two to three years and at least $10 million to reach safety levels five times that of proposed government standards. Testifying at Occupational Safety and Health Administra tion hearings, Joseph Fath called the government's at tempt to eliminate detectable traces of vinyl chloride "unrealistic and impossible." In some stages of the gas' formation into records, seat covers, electrical insulation and paint, workers reduce its presence to 25 to 50 parts .per million with gas masks. But artificial air can only be used for short periods of time with out causing harm to lungs and nostrils so something else must be devised, the Industry and government have ''agreed. Ventilation, outdoor manu facturing, and improved Evidence has been mounting j valves, flanges and hose con recently to link vinyl chloride nectors can . reduce harmful --a key chemical used in the levels. But engineering com- manufacture of many plastics ; pletely airtight connections is --with angiosarcoma, a rare so difficult that the industry cancer of the liver. Of 13 now loses 5 per cent of its known cases of workers con product, Fath said. tracting the disease, only The Industry has predicted three workers remain alive. that if the 4.6 billion-pound fa Taking a position identical to vinyl manufacturers and processors, Tenneco represent atives called workers' deaths "tragic" but denied any had had the disease in their em ploy. Twenty workers con nected with Tenneco's vinyl chloride processing have died In the last 17 years, although none, the company said, have had angiosarcoma. brication of vinyl chloride were shut down, 2.2 million jobs and as much as $00 bil- , non In production would be lost. A labor leader has called the statistics "blackmail." In earlier testimony, United Rub ber Workers President Pete Bommarito, supported the gov ernment's efforts despite the possible loss In jobs. ! One possible solution for re ducing the effects of harmful levels of the chemical is the use of respirators and other artificial air sources. Before "This is no easy position io take," Bommarito said, "but there is no alternative. "We have both pur jobs and our lives at risk*" April 5, the government had The Labor Department also allowed 500 parts of vinyl chloride per million of air disputed the industry's conten tion that new standards would until the suspicious deaths stop vinyl chloride nroduction had changed standards to 50 parts per million. The "no and use. However, some mar ginal firms, the department detectable level'' is 1 or 2 admitted, might be threatened parts per million. if forced to raise prices to pay for safety standards. " In New York, an AFL-CIO meat cutters union official re vealed that cutting meat wrap ping with hot wires releases fumes which cause dizziness, wheezing and a lack of breath. The official, Ralph Quatrocchi, said, "Occupational ill nesses which result in cancer. and ultimately death is a price1 no worker should have to pay for his protection." THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Wednesday, June 26,1974. i U.S. Unit Defends Vinyl Chloride Curbs,' \ Saying They Aren't Too Hard on Firms'- Ht a Waij. STKKKT Joiirnai. Staff Rrporti-r maintenance." It concludes that "the tech WASHINGTON - A Labor Department nology appears to be readily available," and report disputed the plastics industry's claim thus "substantial development' costa" won't that a proposed government standard for re* be needed. strlcting handling of vinyl chloride would force numerous plastics plants to close. The Industry has contended that the pro* posed ruling, which would bar exposing workers to any .``detectable" amount of the chemical, can't feasibly be met, and the in dustry warns that adoption of the ruling would close down the large part of the plas tics Industry that uses vinyl chloride and its derivatives as raw materials. But the government report says flatly that evidence to date doesn't Indicate "that promulgation of the proposed standard will stop vinyl chloride production and use." The report, a draft version of an environ mental Impact study on' the proposed strict vinyl chloride standard, was made public yesterday at the start of a week of hearings on the standard. The hearings are expected to be dominated by plastics-lndustry spokes men questioning the scientific research on vinyl chloride and warning of economic dis ruption if the standard is issued. Vinyl chloride, a gas, is thought to be re sponsible far 21 world-wide cases of a rare and fatal liver cancer, angiosarcoma. Tens of thousands of U.S. workers are directly and Indirectly exposed to the chemical daily because U la the base product from which companies make polyvinyl chloride, a pow- i dery substance used to form a multitude of 1 everyday plastic products. In April, the Labor Department cut : workers' allowable exposure to vinyl chlori Ide to 60 parts per million In the air they breathe. The proposed rule being debated at the hearings would slash that further, bar ring any "detectable exposure." The study concedes that "production in some plants could be curtailed if rc-engf- neering is required," and it predicts "mar ginal" companies may need federal loans to help pay for improvements. But it says equipment needed to meet the standard doesn't necessarily need to be elaborate, and much progress can be made by improv ing "poor housekeeping and inadequate The contradictory industry position, which warns of economic chaos, was at tacked at the hearings by the AFL-CIO as "blackmail." Peter Bommarlto, president of the United Rubber Workers Union, said, "This country survived for nearly two hundred years without polyvinyl chloride and we can survive in the future without it." But he also disputed Industry contentions that the standard would end polyvinyl chlor ide output, saying older plants can be al tered, and In new plants the task of meeting the standard is a problem "characterised by the will, not the ability, to do the job." Mr. Bommarlto also accused the Indus try of trying to whip up a "hysterical" pub lic relations campaign predicting the de mise of the Industry, and he said the AFLCIO will call for a congressional investiga tion of the industry's public relations effort. The Industry also proposed its own stan dards for handling vinyl chloride. Instead of barring any "detectable exposure," it urged gradually decreasing exposure ceilings, starting with 40 parts per million this year In polyvinyl chloride plants to be decreased to 23 parts in late 1976. In plants handling raw vinyl chloride, the industry plan calls for a 2S-parts-per-miilion celling this year, decreasing to 10 parts per million by 1977. In both kinds of plants, ac tual average exposure over an eight-hour day would be less than the full celling, due to differing emissions of the chemical at dif ferent times of day. There also was evidence at the hearings, however, that even average exposures below a lb-parts-per-milllon level can causa disease. Dr. Irving Selikoff, noted occupa tional health researcher, reported he has found noncancerous liver diseases among workers at a Dow Chemical Co. plant in Michigan where levels of average exposure last year were generally below 10 parts. He cautioned, however, that it wasn't known whether the diseases were contracted before or after exposure was dramatically lowered / t i A j 1 i v ii *{ f i<i h n V by Dow in the early 1960s. j] VRD '0 082014493 . ounecr version | ClKU-Rte* x.h----- YORK w -- More than pounds of vinyl escapes into the atHere each year from ^States manufacutring Cri'EnvirOnmental Pro* Agency scientist said . teen, cases of, a rare ___ , incer; angiosarcoma, 13 of'tfeni in' file United States, have been discovered in worfcfirs exposed 'to vinyl chlo ride, ia chemical widely used w-JUvtr damagehas been-dis- [ in a small number of _____ /using the plastic poly:?$ifrttfitoride,Jinmaking floor " ' WtoHiwly-jdtlorwe - is awiderdngb 6f prod ucts. pounds popolation that toaybC'eX- ^at abeuf lO polyvinyl cffi&flfe ..THE FOOD AND DRUG Administration and the EPA recently, recalled several dozen aerosol products in which, vinyl chloride was used as a propellant. quantities ;bf -, . ____ .posed are not known, Dr. plants. , ride, probablyi "exceeding. 50 '-SchweTteer indicated. , - , m--ill--ion pounds, are being dis- , One needed study, the EPA ' The results Should - able within Several charged into me environment scientist said, is of populations, during the jwlyylnyl^cWoride : productionprocess.?;` near chemical plants that are ' likely tohave beenexposed to . Dr. .Schweitzer also tola meeting, held by "' Dr. Glenn Schweitzer, direc tor of the office of toxic sub stances of the EPA,. discussed "Environmental Concern Beyond the Workplace.'' at a' special scientific- meetihg in' response to the recent discos ery> of the rare liver cancers. York Academy :of chlbnde^escapes directly is the atmosphere -air ema1Industry,'' he sioife,with lesseraiikjunts dis- `such efforts wrsehasiipcdoh,"ntoswibsiillulit,pyhpeoolrpft,,..1''..swcthtiaeiatnhttyc,etahasen' -dCpArooomhpthetorersbirecrdaAo.nrcgTtCaonahxidaziccas^ti&^oSSndu&sdb,B^-'1 s o,l V e alk.%a^^ streams, !and; entrapped to,^h' ' 4ii a joint congressional 'Cdnfri . mittee for two! months. sludge and solid wa^S^o]^-^^100tf res,dents; , . :i .,!`ThOs/V. he: . said,. "a . "There is no doubt," Dr. Schweitzer said, "that in the United-States -substantial, 0<5CT*as SCHWEITZER SAib - , powerful tool foraddr particulates : in.'aif. emission, ,, EPA'recently began a nation- ; the , vinyl chloride suspended solids In water ef- wide' *>tripling and ahh^s ' find' SUnildr'' pWblenis fluents and components d program to determine the other - chemicals, in at amounts of vinyl chloride --' solid wastes*..-.;;--. .:>>/$$ t ytorl, chloride7lOTels invafcv quatesmannerJs notav probably exceeding 200 million The riskSto segments of the water, and semi-solid effluents to the federal governm iD 0002014494 Copies to: JDLJDBu KL^S-'ttiV {FK) CLW (E^S-m) DVP WRS BE^Vfnatex) K_ ***< STREET JOURNAL, Friday, June 14, v ravnre 'Lftf'SSH Tux> Cancer Deaths Verifiedfor First Time Al For Polyvinyl Chloride Industry Workers 1 ` By Barry Kramer man declined to Identify the factory In Staff Reporter o/ TH WALL STRUT JOUUAL volved, and a Labor Department spokesman A second death from Angiosarcoma of in Washington identified it only as a Strat-j the' liver, a rare form of cancer previously ford plant that makes polyvinyl-coated fab-1 United to vinyl chloride occupational expo* lies. A further investigation is being under sure, has been discovered in' the polyvinyl taken to learn if the accountant ever worked chloride .plastic fabricating'' Industry, the on the production line. - Connecticut Health Department ..announced Although a definite relationship between In Hartford,.- ,, ,v.^ 1 occupational exposure and angiosarcoma In The two deaths Increase concern that the the two polyvinyl chloride workers cannot occupation danger*, of eancari from vinyl be made, the Labor Department spokesman chloride, ' a gas vUed ,t^; ma|te , polyvinyl said contact with all other chemicals, drugs chloride plaatic,?may. be mpre widespread and dfiiPBitrn that can effecf the liver had than had been thoughts SlnccrJanuary, U been ruled out in the two cases, leaving only cases of Uver angiosarcoma-have been de polyvinyl chloride as a known possibility. tected among vinyl chloride workers from plants that manufactured the gas or that polymerlzed the gaa into the plastic. Six other cases have been reported abroad. But the Connecticut cases are. the first known in the polyvinyl chloride1 fabricating Industry, which turns.the plastic Into a myrr lad of finished products ranging from furni ture to coated fabric to electric cable cover ing. German scientists recently - reported finding `precursors" of angiosarcoma In the livers of six workers In & plant^that,turned polyvinyl chloride-plastic tnt&floof .tiles. ,. But the Connecticut case^ confirmed as Connecticut's cancer registry,.which im- covered the two cases and which ik ope of tile oldest and most accurate in the nation, Hats six confirmed cases of angiosarcoma! of the. Uver since the registry was be'gun hi 1939. The other' four cases didn't have known exposure to .either vinyl chloride* or polyvinyl chloride, according to Dr.' Bar bara Christine, chief 6t the health, depart ment's,chronic disease section. She said the link between polyvinyl chloride and the two angiosarcoma deaths "might 'Just/ be chance.''V . angiosarcoma by the National Canfcerlnatitude in Bethesda,- JS&,;'artrtftffirst actual . Thejlnk between* vinyl chloride gas' and Uver aqrtjearcoina is strong, apd scientists case#. In th^tf.S.vper sons wdrk in the vinyl chloride industry, while the number working in the polyvinyl belleve^uat If a link is determined j$&e$n exposure. to polyvinyl chloride plastic; `and the rare cancer It will be because .the plastic chloride Industry numbers-til the hundreds contains pockets of unpolymerised", ylnjrl of thousands.. ... . ,; ' . The Connecticut Health Department v an chloride monomer that are. liberated ,ln heating the plastic when It is fabricated Into nounced the.first -case last week, and Gen-' different products.,s oral Electric Co. disclofed thsit it waa a 60- . Labor Department hearings designers year-old employe who tor SO years had oper set permanent standards for vinyl chku$4 ated machines at a Bridgeport cable manu- atmospheric, concentrations in. iactorieMNi facturflfipjtlant that processed various plas scheduled to begin June 29 In Washlngtop^ tics^ tBMttHng polyvinyl chloride. The man temporary celling of 50 parts vinyl chlqtfoi OB said. per million parts ol air la currently In effect .Y-j The .second case . Involved a.man who and the Labor Department has proposbd&n worked, fts an accountant in a polyvinyl limit at levels too small to be detected, 4m> - chkeidei fabricating plant in the same part qidreraent the industry has said -wouIcLm of this-state. A health department-spokes- impossible to meet. ^ - -gwr VRD 0002014495 Letters NIOSH on vinyl chloride SIR: "The May 20 issue ol C4EN (page 16) says In an article on vinyl chloride, "A major question mark concerns what was said by MCA to the National Institute tor Occupational Safety and Health in July 1973 and earlier." A review of NIOSH records and staff notes discloses the following pertinent In formation concerning NIOSH's earliest knowledge of the possible effects upon an imals and workers exposed to vinyl chlo ride: 1. On Jan. 30, 1973. NIOSH published in the Federal Register a request for Infor mation on potential hazards associated with occupational exposure to 23 chemical substances and physical agents. Vinyl chloride was among these; all were taken from the top of the NIOSH 1972 priority list. Three responses on vinyl chloride were received. MCA, in a letter dated March 7, 1973, forwarded its recommended precau tionary label as taken from MCA's Chemi cal Safety Data Sheet SD-S66. There was no mention of toxic effects upon animals or workers. (The second and third responses, dated March 16, 1973, and May 3, 1973, respec tively, were provided by a mine safety ap pliance firm and an Industrial safety equip ment trade group. Neither dealt with toxic effects upon animals or workers.) 2. On July 17, 1973, i and several mem bers of my staff met at MCA's request in the Parklawn Building with an MCA dele gation which included representatives of Imperial Chemical Industries, Ethyl Corp., Dow Chemical, and Union Carbide. 3. At this meeting, the ICI representa tive critically reviewed the work of Prof. P. L. Viola. The representative pointed out that the tumors Viola had induced at very high levels of vinyl chloride were of the Zymbal gland or Zymbal gland tumors met astatic to other sites, and not primary lung tumors as Viola had interpreted. The ICI representative also reported an uncompleted, industry-sponsored study of several rodent species at more reasonable levels of vinyl chloride. He said that several tumors interpreted as confirmation of Vio la's work had been observed. NIOSH asked MCA to keep NIOSH advised of progress with the MCA study. 4. At this meeting, there was no mention of angiosarcoma of the liver in humans or animals, no reference to production of liver tumors in animals by another Italian inves tigator, and no reference to Prof. Cesare Maltoni by name. 5. On Jan. 22, 1974, NIOSH received word from B. F. Goodrich Co. of three deaths from angiosarcoma ol the. liver among employees of the Goodrich plant in Louisville. On the same day. the MCA rep resentative for the first time informed NIOSH of Prof. Maltonl's studies and pre liminary results. NIOSH promptly sent a team to Louisville to investigate. Obviously, this pertinent Information contradicts a statement issued recently in Great Britain by the Chemical Industries Association that NIOSH was told of Prof. Maitoni's observations of angiosarcoma of the liver in mid-1973. NIOSH did not know in January 1973; NIOSH was not told in July 1973; and NIOSH learned only after three deaths from angiosarcoma of the liver were reported in January 1974. Marcus M. Key, M.O. Assistant Surgeon Genera/, Director, Na tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Rockville, Md. Something to think about SIR: Your recent article "NAS profiles Ph.D. jobs, salaries in 1973" (CAEN. May 6, page 16) reminded me of your remark able article "Employers tell how they avoid layoffs" (Dec. 3, 1973, page 13). It also reminded me of a letter in your columns (which I will never forget), which said: "To become unemployed means to die." When I discussed this important subject with friends, someone remarked: "The elimination of layoffs is Impossible in a capitalistic system, it can be achieved only in a totalitarian economy." This widely held tenet Is contradicted by a number of large and not-so-large firms in the U.S. which manage to avoid dismissals by "good man agement practices." Japan is a good ex ample where a Job means lifetime employ ment. It would be difficult to deny that the Japanese have a very successful capitalis tic economy. During the recent energy cri sis they were hit much harder than we, yet they did not dismiss any of their employees. If they can manage it as a na tion, why couldn't we do it? I am wondering whether companies that lay off their employees at a decline of sales realize the disturbing psychological effect on the morale of their work force. It is well known that the most valuable asset of every firm Is the loyalty of Its employees. Apart from. such considerations which are of primary importance for the lasting fi nancial success of a firm, there is another ethical aspect. To throw out a man on the street who worked loyally for years Is not a very nice thing to do. As a matter of fact, it is pretty terrible and no self-respecting company should do It. Not long ago, a civic-minded organiza tion helped the families of inmates at a Minnesota state penitentiary. A released prisoner, who had just completed an 18year term, declared: "If the community had shown this much interest In me when I was a teenager, I probably wouldn't have wound up in prison." Something to think about. The sooner we realize that we are our brothers' keepers, the better for us. Andrew A. Recsei, Ph.D. Reese/ Laboratories, Santa Barbara, Calif. maybe ^ isatoic anhydride will be your "magic" molecule, too IA (or leatolc Anhydride) is fourth In volume among organic anhydridea. It Is a most versatile molecule. IA Is more than an anhydride... its "ring" is easily opened by reactions with a variety of active hydrogen compounds to form Anthranilic Acid derivatives. These derivatives are convenient intermediates for a variety of heterocyclic compounds. Relatively clean reactions and yields of 80-90% are frequently obtained, making IA the key to many ortho substituted aromatics and the "magic" molecule for the formation of a vast number of heterocyclic systems. Another Intriguing aspect of IA (or the derived Anthranilic Acid) is the generation of benzyne via anhydrous diazotlzatlon in an aprotic solvent. Sample? Technical literature? Just write to: Sherwin Williams Chemicals, P. 0. Box 6520 C. Cleveland, Ohio 44101 June 10, 1974 C&EN 3 VRD 0002014496 The Chemical World This Week ILK. DISASTER HURTS CAPROLACTAM SUPPLY Tragedy struck Nypro's caprolac tam operations at Flixborough in the U.K. June 1, when an explosion almost completely demolished pro duction units there, resulting in a loss of 28 lives. Fixe raged out of control for several days and many houses near the site were damaged. Financial losses may be as high as $100 million. Nypro. owned 55% by DSM of the Netherlands and 45% by the U.K.'s National Coal Board, had a total annual caprolactam capacity of nearly 75,000 metric tons. Be cause the company was the only British producer of the product, the blast will seriously affect the coun try's nylon 6 plastics and fibers in dustries. All raw material for nylon 6 now will have to be imported, and caprolactam supplies are already tight the world over. The accident also will affect fertilizer supplies; about 190,000 metric tons per year of by-product ammonium sulfate were produced in the Flixborough operation. Indications are that Nypro will rebuild, but a new plant is not likely to be completed for at least two years. Two caprolactam units were lo cated at Flixborough. The newest one, a 50,000 metric-ton-per-year plant costing about $60 million, started up less than a year ago (C&EN, July 23, 1973, page 7). It was based on an improved process, tradenamed HPO (for hydroxylamine phosphate oxime), developed by DSM's engineering subsidiary, Stamicarbon. DSM's wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Nipro, Inc., has a 75,000 metric-ton-per-year capro lactam plant at Augusta, Ga., which uses the HPO process. It will "double capacity there by late 1976 or early 1977. It's still not clear what went wrong at Flixborough. Leslie Granger, Nypro's chairman, thinks the explosion might have involved the highly explosive initial air-oxi dation step, in which cyclohexane is converted to cyclohexanone. But nobody can explain how the explo sion and fire could have spread throughout the entire plant in a few seconds unless a conjunction of cir cumstances led to the disaster. The only part of the plant still intact, though badly damaged, is that in which cyclohexanone is converted to caprolactam by the HPO pro cess. That leads one DSM observer to guess that that part of the oper ation didn't trigger the accident. He also points out that the HPO process has been used by Japan's Ube Industries without any prob lems for the past two years or so. British nylon 6 makers are still uncertain about how severely they will be affected by the sudden cut off of a major portion of their feed stock. The U.K. consumes 5000 metric tons of nylon 6 polymer an nually for plastics production. Courtaulds and British Enkalon, the two major producers of nylon 6 fibers, between them make about 116 million pounds of that product, and plant expansions now under way should raise their combined capacity to about 140 million pounds per year in 1975. The British blast could affect U.S. caprolactam supplies. Nipro vice president Clem White says DSM in the Netherlands is looking into the possibility of shipping cap rolactam from the U.S. to the U.K. "We would certainly exert every ef fort to be helpful to customers of Nypro in Great Britain," he tells C&EN. Such help could worsen the cur rent caprolactam shortage in the Financial loss from blast at Nypro caprolactam works may reach $100 million U.S., where Nipro already has cus tomers on allocation. Although Mr. White agrees that sending capro lactam to Europe would present problems, he adds that the raw ma terials pinch, which has cut into production, seems to be easing. The two other U.S. producers of caprolactam, Allied Chemical at Hopewell, Va., and Dow Badische at Freeport, Tex., both have cur rent capacities about double that of Nipro. Both also are expanding their plants. Allied's output is now entirely for captive use. One U.S. market observer, however, thinks DSM will be able to scrape up enough production from the other worldwide plants in which it has an interest to meet the needs of the British market. EPA asks emission data on vinyl chloride The Environmental Protection Agency has requested 27 U.S. chemical companies that make vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chlo ride to provide the agency with "process, emission, and air quality data" on 49 plants by June 14. In letters to manufacturers dated May 30, EPA says it wants the in formation "for possible use in the development of air pollution control standards for vinyl chloride in ac cordance with the Clean Air Act of 1970." At present, no federal air pollution control standards exist for vinyl chloride. Meanwhile, EPA has been taking samples for the past month near 14 plants to determine amounts of the tas present in ambient air. Public isclosure of EPA's findings is im minent. These findings probably will show existing vinyl chloride ambient air levels near plants to be higher than the levels the Occupa tional Safety and Health Adminis tration has proposed for inside plants. A likely outcome of all this is that EPA will set an air quality standard near to or identical with the OSHA in-plant standard of "no detectable level." EPA also wants ambient air quality data collected by the manu facturers near 14 vinyl chloride and 35 PVC plants. Further, EPA wants the manufacturers to identify in each of their plants "emission t u n i a m f l QUA points in the manufacturing process and the amounts lost from these points" and "emission control pro cedures that have been or could be instituted and an evaluation of their effectiveness." And EPA wants "cost and economic data, in cluding the capital and operating costs for each emission control de vice or procedure." For instance, in the economic data category, EPA wants information such as total in vestment cost, cost of installation, and operating and maintenance cost including details on labor costs, capital charges, cost of utili ties used, fuel costs, and costs of chemicals and other materials. And, the agency requests the com panies "give amount and value of any material recovered, both annu ally and per unit of production." EPA authority to require submis sion of such information is con tained in section 114 of the Clean Air Act of 1970, which authorizes the agency to "secure any informa tion deemed necessary for develop ment of standards." The agency's letter points out that any informa tion supplied will be made public "unless a satisfactory showing has been made" to the EPA adminis trator that "the release of the infor mation obtained would divulge a trade secret." In any event, EPA says that emission data "will al ways be available to the public." And it warns that information can not be withheld because a manu facturer considers the information to be confidential. High court reaffirms equal pay for women The Supreme Court may have writ ten the final chapter to the long fight to obtain equal pay for equal work regardless of sex. Last week in a five-to-three decision, the court found that the Equal Pay Act of 1963 "is broadly remedial, and it should be construed and applied so as to fulfill the underlying purposes which Congress sought to achieve." The court rules that the act's ob jective in cases where depressed wages are due to discrimination "is not to drag men workers to the wage levels of women, but to raise women to the levels enjoyed by men." This must be done not only as a matter of simple justice to employees, but also as a matter of market economics since wage dis crimination on the basis of sex con stitutes unfair competition. A Labor Department official tells C&EN that the ruling will have a "tremendous impact" on the whole Goodyear, Tosco team spectrum of pay discrimination cases, since the ruling affirms that to recycle scrap tires there "just cannot be any discrimi nation in this area. He further Schemes for making use of the 200 speculates that the decision will million worn-out tires discarded impel many employers who had annually in the U.S. have pro been dragging their heels to begin liferated in recent years--from di looking seriously at their practices rect use as offshore reefs for protect in this area. ing game fish to processing and The decision came in a case recovery of the materials in the brought by the Labor Department tires. The latest effort directed to against Coming Glass Works, ward recovery, revealed last week, charging them with violating the teams Goodyear Tire & Rubber with act by maintaining wage differen Oil Shale Corp. (Tosco). tials that had their origin in the The companies are joining in a 1920's between day and night shift program to apply Tosco oil shale inspectors. At that time women technology to recovery of energy day-shift inspectors were earning 20 and re-usable materials from scrap to 30 cents per hour, but men per tires. Basically, the program in forming the same work at night had volves further demonstration of to be paid 53 cents per hour to do scrap tire processing technology what was regarded as "women's that Tosco began developing in work." 1971 and which it has tested in a 25 The court further ruled that Cor ton-per-day pilot plant. A pyrolysis ning did not achieve full compli technique, the process involves ance with the act in 1966 when it heating ground-up tires by direct opened the higher paying night jobs contact with hot ceramic pellets. to women, nor in 1969 when the In the first phase of the program, company equalized future pay Goodyear will supply ground-up scales but maintained wage prefer waste tires to Tosco's Rocky Flats ences for employees already enjoy research center near Golden, Colo. ing them. The companies will carry out eco nomic feasibility evaluations, com piling data on the cost of building Albert Plant named editor of C&EN and operating a recovery system and evaluating the quality of recov ered products. The program, the companies say, is expected to lead Albert F. Plant to commercialization. has been ap According to Goodyear chairman pointed editor of Chemical Charles J. Pilliod, Jr., a full-scale scrap tire recovery plant could han and Engineer ing News. He dle 8 million scrap tires a year and recover enough petrochemicals and comes to this other materials to build an addi ition from ustrial Re tional 2 million tires. Such a plant has the potential for annually turn search, with ing out 15 million gallons of oil, 73 which he has been associated since million pounds of carbon black, 1968, having been editor since 1972. and 2 million pounds of steel. The Mr. Plant is a graduate in chem oil, he says, could be further refined. istry from Carnegie Institute of A major factor most likely on the Technology and also holds a degree list of items to be investigated is in industrial management from whether the quality of recovered Carnegie. He began his professional carbon black is good enough for the career in 1954 with Shell Chemical material to be useful. Carbon black in Houston, Tex. Fiom 1960 to 1965 has been something of a stumbling he worked with Fisher Scientific in block in the economics of some re product development and instru covery schemes proposed by others, ment design, after which he became since the costs made recovered ma director of research for Kontes terial economically unattractive, Glass, a position he held until join compared to virgin carbon black. ing Industrial Research. In addition However, the new economic climate to his editorship, he was responsi being created by changes in fuel ble for direction of the IR-100 con and feedstock availability and ference and award competition. prices should enhance the econom Mr. Plant will assume the editor ics of recovered materials. For ex ship of C&EN June 24. He replaces ample, carbon black users face the Patrick P. McCurdy, who resigned threat of substantially higher prices November 1973 to become editor- as well as shortages (C&EN, June in-chief of Chemical Week. 3, page 12). K June 10. 1974 C&EN 5 VRD 0002014498 Add this datatowhatever you alreadyknowabout lotion stabilization. Here's information that describes a new way to stabilize lotions. With this data, you can broaden your capabilities. It involves hydrogen bonding techniques and uses of amino acids as neutralizing agents, with Carbopol resins in stabilizing moisturizing lotions. Included are several formulations that will help you evaluate the practicality of tins new technology. Well gladly send you a copy, Simply write and ask for data on Carbopol Resins in Moisturizing Lotions. B.F.Goodrich Chemical Company, Dept. CN-54, 6100 Oak Tree Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44131. B.E Goodrich Chemical Company 6 C&EN June 10, 1974 Environment VRD 9092014499 VCM EXPOSURE STUDIES by Maltoni (left) led to discovery of liver cancer in rats. How they found vinyl-cancer link Research on animals in Italy and U.S. uncovered hazard, may be used to predict other chemical-cancer links Predictive cancer research in labora tories almost 5,000 miles apart has shaken the $65-billion/year vinyl chloride busi ness to its core. The Labor Dept/s Occu pational Safety and Health Adminis tration is expected to rely heavily on data from the Institute of Oncology in Bo logna, Italy, and Industrial Bio-Test Lab oratories in Decatur, 111., in setting safety standards that will determine the future of the product (CIV, July 3, p. 7). And there could be widespread reper cussions because similar research could be applied to other chemicals that are suspected of being carcinogenic. The big question is: How much stake can be placed in the predictive research effort? The emergency standard of SO ppm. of vinyl chloride monomer as an air con taminant, set in April by OSHA, has al ready been challenged by data from the two laboratories. Angiosarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer, has been reported in test animals subjected to inhalation stud ies at the 50-ppm. level. In the Beginning: The trigger was pulled on vinyl chloride in the fall of 1972 by Cesare Maltoni (see also p. 56), whose work at the Institute of Oncology was sponsored by Montedison, ICI, Solvay and Rhone-ProgiL Maltoni came to suspect vinyl chloride in 1970 as a result ofwork by Pier Luigi Viola of the Regina Elena Institute for Cancer Research in Rome and pilot checks Maltoni made of sputum cytology in Italian chemical workers who had been exposed to mate rials such as chromium, chlorine, caustic, nitric add and VCM. Viola had found evidence of a VCM* cancer link in research for the Solvay plant in Rosignano, Italy, and reported on it at the 10th International Cancer Congress in Houston, Tex^ in 1970. But evidence was largely discounted--even by Viola--as having- no correlation to hu mans because of the high dosages Viola used in his research and impurities in the gas. Maltoni's sputum pilot checks were made at the request ofMontedison with a view toward longer-range studies. On the basis of his findinga, Maltoni decided on a project of integrated experiments in vi nyl chloride carcinogenicity. The work was encouraged and supported by Mont edison, whose health service supplied the Bologna institute with technical data on occupational exposure. This, Maltoni ex plains, made possible the reproduction of occupational conditions among lab ani mals. Later, the three other European chemical companies joined in sponsoring the project. Different Design: A three-man com mittee from the Manufacturing Chemists Assn, that visited Bologna in January 1973 came away with praise for Mahom's work and methods. But some ehany in design, which ihey thought could affect the results, were instituted for MCA's own studies at Bio-Test's Decatur labs. One basic change was the animals that were nsedl Maltoni experimented only with rate, but Bio-Test uses mice and hamsters, in addition to rats. M. L. Keptinger, Bio-Test's manager of toxicology, says the lab has had extensive experience with the strain of mice it uses and knows that tumors do not occur spontaneously in the Another basic change was in the length of exposure. Maltoni's rats were exposed to VCM gas for four hours a day, five days a week. At Bio-Test, the animals are exposed for seven hours a day, five days a week. In addition, the cage sizes are different. Bio-Test uses four inhalation chambers, about 8 ft. high and 6 ft wide said to be about the largest such test chambers available. Maltoni used much nmnller cages. Keplinger feels that large chambers are an advantage because all the animal* ex posed to a certain level of VCM can be kept together. Maltoni had to maintain carefhl controls of VCM levels in several cages to make sure the animals got the same exposure. There has been-some criticism of Mal toni for feeding the animals in the expo sure cages. Except for. an "ancillary" con trol, test feeding is not carried out during the Bio-Test exposures. Maltoni calls this criticism "sheer so phistry." He says that food does not ab sorb VCM and that even animals that regularly slept during treatment and did not eat also contracted angiosarcoma. He explains that food was administered to keep the rats from fighting and causing lesions. In fact, many of the Bio-Test ani mals died from cannibalism. Test Methods: Maltoni's project in volved a series of 15 experiments to de termine the effects of VCM administered by inhalation, ingestion and peritoneal and subcutaneous injection. Doses were administered for varying periods of time at different concentrations and included continuous and intermittent treatment of atiimau of different species and strains, sex and age. For example, in one experiment 481 Sprague-Dawley rats in. seven groups 30 CHEMICAL WEEK July 17. 1974 Sischnologynewsletter ^ -`XTHEMICALWEEK ' 'A , .... Monomer grafting will prove a cheaper route to nonflammable cotton, tar- nishproof silver and pemanendy_fdyeable^glass fiber, says Polymer Research Corp. of America, a BrookIyn,N.Y., contract research firm. Hie company has formed a joint venture with Gulf + Western Industries (New York) to exploit the know-how. In the grafting process, monomers are attached to substrates that include plastics, metals, wood, natural and synthetic fibers, glass, paper and biological materials. Once attached, the monomers can be built up into long chains called "whiskers" by linking more monomer molecules to them. Key to. the technique: proprietary grafting catalysts developed by Polymer Research. Dried plant material may become an important source of electric power. A study by Stanford Research Institute (Menlo Park, Calif.) for the National Sci ence Foundation shows that a ton of dried plant material--costing about $9.70 to , grow and collect--would yield 15 million Btus. if it were burned directly to gener ate electric power. (A ton ofcoal costs about $7 and yields about 20 million Btus.) Alternatively, the plant harvest could be converted into SNG, providing about 1,000 cu.ft. of methane per ton of plant material. Plants that might be used on a "biomass" plantation include eucalyptus, sorghum, kenaf, sunflower, sugar cane and fast-growing trees. A 1,000-megawatt, high-pressure, direct-fired generating plant, operating at an annual load factor of 80%, would consume 15,000 tons/day of biomass, harvested from a 245-sq.mile plantation. It would produce electricity for about 13 mills/kwh. vs. about 12. mills for a plant using average-priced coal. A new way to add flame retardants to polyester warp-knit fabrics has been developed by Guilford Mills (Greensboro, N.C.). Details are vague, but the tech nique is described as a "chemical intrafusion process," possibly electrostatic bombardment with bromide fire retardants, which become an integral part of the yam. Guilford is using the method on women's and children's outer wear, em phasizing its belief that within five years manufacturers will have to treat such garments with fire retardants, as children's sleepwear is now. Deuterium Corp. has won a $1,495,000 judgement in its long patent battle with the Atomic Energy Commission over the use of the dual-temperature iso tope-concentration system (U.S. 2,895,803) developed by the firm's president, Je rome S. Speyack. The litigation, pending since 1965 (CW, Aug. 14,1965, p. 26) in the U.S. Court of Claims, sought compensation for government production of heavy water since 1950 at the Savannah River plant Action on a Cabinet-level department of energy and natural resources will be delayed until next year. Senators Henry M. Jackson (D., Wash.) and Abraham Ribicoff (D., Conn.) and Representative Chet Holifield (D., Calif.) were ready to move for establishment of the department this year, but the Nixon Adminis tration bargained to set up the Federal Energy Administration and the Energy Research and Development Administration as stopgap measures. These agencies would become part ofthe new department 29 i-i-.'A VRD 0082014590 '? When you compound with Ivans Thio dipro pion ales... your customers get a setter product You get even more! From shipment to shipment, you get consistent quality with Evans Thiodipropionate additives. You also get a wide selection. And you get delivery on short notice; products tailored to your specifica tions; and personal service second to none whether your needs are large or small. Many manufacturers are profiting from the use of Evans Thiodipropionate additives listed below: DilauryL Thiodipropionate* Distearyl Thiodipropionate* Thiodipropionic Acid* Di (Tridecyl) Thiodipropionate (Others, if you want them.) -F.D.A. approved for food and food packaging materials. Samples available on reauest. cHemencs, me 90 Tokeneke Road Darien. Connecticut 06820 Phone: 203-655*6741 Cable: EVANSCHEM TWX: 710-457-3356 32 CHEMICAL WEEK July 17. 1974 Environment were tested, Doses of inhalation ranged from. 10,000 ppm-to 50-ppm. for one year. One control group received no ex* posttre. Vinyl - chloride was regularly checked for purity. Doses were checked by gas chromatography and, recorded hourly. Afto e year in the exposure chambers, the rats verb removed to live out, their lives. All the animals were kept under ob servation until they died. Each underwent autopsy, which included histological studies of zymbal and saliva glands, tongue, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach, parts of the intestine, bladder, brain, paws, and fat between the shoul ders. All exhibiting tumors were X-rayed regularly. Each of Bio-Teat's large test chambers holds 200 animals--Charles River CD-I outbred albino mice, Charies River CD outbred albino rats, or Golden Syrian hamsters. Each series of the newly weaned animal* is equally divided by sex VCM mixed with air is fed through the chamber at a rate that assures a steady VCM concentration--50 ppm., 200 ppm. or 2^00 ppm. A gas chromatograph checks for stable concentrations. Tumor Surprise: Seven months into the year-long study at Bio-Test, the develop ment of tumors in mice exposed to 50- ppm. VCM came as a "surprise;'' "We felt obligated to report this immediately to MCA" instead of waiting for the monthly report, says Keplinger. MCA, in turn, reported Immediately to the Envi ronmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and also issued a public report The quick response to test animals to VCM exposure had also surprised Mai- torn. When his studies began in late 1970, it was thought the work would be com pleted in time to report to the 11th Inter national Cancer Congress in Florence in October. But it became dear in the fall of 1972 that VCM inhalation at 250 ppm. was producing three kinds of tumors in rats: zymbal gland carcinoma, nephrob lastoma (cancer of the kidney) and angio sarcoma. The information was immedi ately transmitted to Maltoni's sponsors, who, he says, informed MCA. At Bio-Test, after seven months of test ing, none of the control mice shows any cancer signs. Of those exposed to 2,500- ppm. VCM, 19 had visible tumors; to 200 ppm., six had viable tumors; to 50 ppm., four had tumors. Only mice have devel oped tumors so far because they are smaller, have higher metabolism and breathing rates, Keplinger believes. Bio-Test has a contract with MCA to do further VCM testing to determine a "no effect" level, or to "prove a nega tive"--Le., find the level at which no dele terious effect occurs. "You can say chemicals are toxic, or none is toxic, de pending on the dose," Keplinger explains. Maltoni also is involved in further in halation studies, at doses ranging from 25 ppm. to 1 ppm. No-Man's-Land: What does aU this evidence mean for humans? "We're in a no-man's-land as far as extrapolation to humans is concerned," Keplinger ob serves. Says Maltoni, referring to the death of a PVC worker from angiosarcoma re ported in January: "Do you think that without the death at the B.F. Goodrich plant, much attention would have been paid to my work?" The general procedure with fpod addi tives is to find the "no effect" level for an animal that is sensitive. One hundredth of that level is considered safe for hu mans. In occupational situations, the safety level is usually one-tenth the high est "no effect" level. Maltoni says there have been questions about extrapolating animal carcinogenic ity tests to humans. But, he claim*, the correct occupational conditions and so phistication of equipment used in his tests "actually prove the validity of using animal* in laboratory experiments. Un der carefully controlled conditions, we have provoked a rare cancer in rats never spontaneously seen before, and then sud denly we detect the same cancer in hu mans linked to the same cause." He feels that the impact of the success of his predictive testing goes far beyond vinyl chloride. "Vinyl chloride is prob ably only one tree in a large forest I am very suspicious of all compounds of the carbon-chloride group," Maltoni says. The Institute of Oncology is now en gaged in several projects to assess the car cinogenic risk of other chemicals, includ ing chromium compounds, asbestos, various plastic resins and alloys. At this point Maltoni is unwilling to be more precise, preferring to maintain a professional silence until definitive results are obtained. He points out however, that there seems to be a high risk in vitalium implants. Maltoni says his work so far "should serve as an example of the need to test other industrially produced substances before they are released into the human environment This is my mission as a sci entist" VRD 000201 4 *101 VRD 0002014502 The Austin Method: a remarkably efficient discipline that improves returnon facility investment Time is frequently associated with money. That association is especially relevant if you're planning a new facility. For the sooner your new facility is on stream and productive, the sooner your cash flow begins. At Austin, we know this. But our method is more than a discipline to com plete your facility at a predetermined time. It's also a method for holding construction costs to a predetermined budget. The Austin Method assumes a single responsibility for the study, design, engineering and construction of any new facility. The advantages are these: The cost estimate in the design stage becomes a budget that Austin controls in the con struction stage. The determined time schedule becomes the con struction schedule, it is control CONSTRUCTION BEGINS PLANT ON-STREAM If requested, Austin plan ners, designers and engi neers will work directly with your people to determine the optimum productibn solutions. When desired, Austin people can perform economic analysis of many factors from site location, to assembly techniques, to evaluation of available production equipment. So, whether you need a facility such as chemical or food processing, process water ana waste treatment, or pulp and paper, The Austin led by one consultant, Austin, not Method will deliver it. several. And controlling time The Austin Method is a disci means avoiding the costly delays pline that can improve your return which not only add up construc on investment, and put your facil tion costs, but drag out start-up ity on-stream, on-time and on- date. budget. It's a capital idea worth And besides controlling con considering. struction costs, Austin engineers For further details, write can help control production costs. The Austin Company, Cleveland, Ohio 44121. m THE AUSTIN METHOD A CAPITAL IDEA METALS CHEMICALS VRD 0002014503 Aluminum producers buy time on bauxite The spreading fight over vinyl chloride With only mild public protests, the ma jor U. S. aluminum companies--Alumi num Co. of America, Reynolds Metals, and Kaiser Aluminum--this week sub mitted to the will of the Jamaican gov ernment. They agreed to increase the tax and royalty payments on their bauxite mining and alumina process ing activities in Jamaica this year from $25-million to $200-million. The result will be higher prices for aluminum products in the U. S. In effect, they had no choice. The U. S. aluminum companies have a gross capital investment in Jamaica of $800- million--which they could have lost if they had refused to-bow to the Jamai can government's order. Even more important, Jamaican bauxite and alu mina supplies today account for a criti cal 40% of the aluminum produced in this country. "We will pay the additional revenues . . . but will do so under protest," ac knowledges John D. Harper, chairman and chief executive officer of Alcoa. Along with Reynolds and Kaiser, Alcoa has requested that the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (a body formed under the aus pices of the World Bank) rule on the le gality of the Jamaican government's increased tax and royalty action which, the companies claim, breaches long term contract agreements. While the investigation proceeds, however, the increased payments will be made. And this, plus a growing shortage of aluminum in the U.S., could force the price of aluminum ingot, now running at per lb., up to 364 to 384 by August and maybe as high as 404 by yearend. Where ft hurt*. Because they do not de pend equally on Jamaican bauxite and alumina, the big U.S. aluminum pro ducers will not be equally hurt by the Jamaican. tax boosts. Alcoa, for ex ample, will have to pay only an addi tional $21-million because it gets only about 15% (or 775,000 short tons) of its alumina from Jamaican bauxite. For Kaiser and Reynolds, the in crease will be a much tougher pill to swallow. Reynolds gets 60% of its baux ite from Jamaica, and its royalty bill "will climb to about $50-tniUion gross before any tax effect, based on esti mated production of about 4.5-million tons this year," says Richard S. Rey nolds, Jr., president and board chair man. Reynolds, the largest U. S. user of Jamaican bauxite, pays export taxes Alcoa's Harper: Aluminum expansion will more likely be In the U. S. not only on the 3.4-million tons of Jamaican bauxite it ships to its U. S. plants each year but also on 1.1-million tons of ore it sends to the Jamaican alumina plant it owns with Kaiser and Anaconda Copper. The Kaiser bite will be somewhat smaller--an additional $46-million pay ment. But between 70% and 75% of Kaiser's U. S. alumina requirements are totally dependent on Jamaican bauxite. So the effect on the company's over-all costs--and thus on its prices-- cannot fail to be more sweeping. Looking elsewhere. Over the longer haul, though, the Jamaican tax boost could force even more important changes in the U. S. aluminum industry. The outlook Is for higher prices for aluminum products In the U. S. "Bauxite may well be pricing itself out of the market," concedes Alcoa's Harper. "This doesn't mean that we are walking away from Jamaica. But it means that our future expansion will more likely be in the U. S." Aluminum, he continues, is a very common element in the earth's crust. It is contained in anorthosite, in laterite ore, in clay, and there are big amounts in coal mine wastes. "We will not go ahead with domestic ores until we have demonstration plants built," says Harper. "And then it will take two to three years to get new facilities operating." But implicit in the active interest of U. S. aluminum producers in developing alternate sources of aluminum is the knowledge that other bauxite-rich countries in the Caribbean and Africa may not be long in following Jamaica's lead in demand ing far higher taxes on bauxite. In May, the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration issued a proposed standard that would limit the concentration of vinyl chloride in a plant's atmosphere to "no detectable lever-in practice, about one part per million. Next week, producers and users of this chlorinated hydrocarbon, which is the monomer used to make polyvinyl chloride (pvc), industry's most versatile plastic, will square off against osha at public hearings in the hope of squashing the new standard. Already, OSHA has extended the Washington hearings beyond the four days originally scheduled. Some wit nesses have asked for as much as three hours to testify. Controversy is hardly new to osha, which has seen most of its standards hotly contested, but this, says an official, "is going to be the big gest show we've ever had." The fight is over osha's attempt to protect workers against angiosarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer. Vinyl chlo ride, normally a gas, has long been a suspected carcinogen, and European scientists had previously reported tu mors in rats exposed to heavy doses. Then in January, B. F. Goodrich Chem ical Co. reported that several of its long-time vinyl workers had died of angiosarcoma, osha quickly dropped the previous exposure limit of 500 ppm to 50 ppm as a temporary measure. In April, studies sponsored by the Manu facturing Chemists Assn, showed that 2 of 200 rats exposed seven months to. 50 ppm developed tumors. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed deaths due to angiosarcoma among Vinyl workers, worldwide, has reached 21. "And we've only begun to look at the problem," says William Lloyd, head of the health surveillance office of the National In stitute of Occupational Safety & Health (niosh). Under the proposed standard, work ers exposed to detectable amounts of vinyl chloride would have to wear res pirators. But, as it did in earlier stan dards, osha says it will insist, where feasible, on engineering controls and work practices that avoid contamina tion of the air in the first place. Crippling standard. The vinyl industry's position is, first, that rat tests to date do not prove the need for a 1-ppm limit for human beings, and second, that such a limit is technologically and eco nomically not feasible. The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) has called the proposed standard "excessively and BUSINESS WEEK: June 22, 1974 29 VRD 0002014504 unrealistically restrictive." Anton Vit- tone, Jr.f president of B. F. Goodrich Chemical, states bluntly that the 1-ppm level "cannot be obtained at this time or in the future." A spokesman for Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. puts the case more strongly: The standard, he says, "would literally cripple this in dustry." The threat, moreover, is not confined to those companies that make the monomer and the polymer. The stan dard, says Vittone, "could displace not only the 6,500 vinyl chloride workers and pvc production workers, but also hundreds of thousands of other em ployees in the companies that use pvc." Some 5-billion lb. of the plastic was used in the U. S. last year to make such products as pipe, wire insulation, pack aging film, and floor tiles. The danger to PVC processors lies in the small amounts of unreacted vinyl chloride that remain in the polymer. That danger took on added weight last week with reports of deaths due to liver cancer of two Connecticut pvc workers. One had worked on a General Electric Co. wire-coating line in Bridgeport, the other on a fabric-coat ing line at Ross & Roberts, Inc., in Stratford. "We're afraid the problem extends far out into the plastics indus try," says niosb's Lloyd. Disputed report. No one has bad time to calculate fully the economic impact that the new standard could have, but spi. this week released some prelimi nary findings of a study made for it by Arthur D. Little, Inc. adl researchers figure that a shutdown of vinyl produc ers would result in a loss of at least 1.6- million jobs and $35-billion in annual sales. Hardest hit would be the automo tive and construction industries, heavy pvc users, adl is studying the possible use of substitutes for pvc in some ap plications and will present its findings at next week's hearings. Even in advance of the spi report, however, Sheldon Samuels, director of occupational health, safety, and envi- ronmental affaire of the AFL-CIO, called it "meaningless." The report, he says, assumes that the standard cannot be met. "But we're getting data showing that the standard can, in fact, be met." His data show, Samuels says, that plants making less than 100-million lb. a year oTvinyl chloride will have to re sort to respirators; plants of 100-mil lion lb. to 200-million lb. can afford to put in engineering controls; and larger plants could be made "airtight" The AFL-CIO says it is determined to fight for the tough standard even if it does mean throwing some people out of work. But Peter Bommarito, president of the United Rubber Workers' union, echoes Samuels' confidence. Industry, he says, is trying to "scare everybody about losing a job." e MONEY & CREDIT A new set of rules for floating currencies "We hope we have taken a first step back toward more stability in cur rencies," said a central banker fresh back in Europe from last week's Com mittee of 20 monetary reform negotia tions in Washington. That first step was an agreement on some rules for managing today's floating exchange rates, and this week monetary author ities in both the U. S. and abroad were mulling over how to make those rules work. There is no longer a prayer of the sort of full-scale reform that govern money from newly rich oil nations that will help poorer lands pay their oil bills. Most significant, though, was the agreement on rules for floating. Much of the technical side of these rules re mains to be worked out, and there is no guarantee that nations will follow the rules. The imp will help draft them, but it cannot force a government bent on competitively devaluing to obey them. "The rules simply express a hope," as one central banker sees it. Tinkering. The aim of these rules for floating is to insure that governments avoid competitive devaluations that might damage the exports of other na tions. Technically, the rules went into effect last week. In practice, it will be a while before they are applied* and there probably will be tinkering with the present relationship of rates first. In coming months, governments in bilateral talks with the IMF staff will Delegates from 20 nations conferred on money at a two-day meeting In Washington. ments had in mind when they created the C-20 two years ago: a dramatic re turn to fixed exchange rates. "Well never see the 'big reform'--just a lot of small steps," says one European. Yet in a world of floating rates, roar ing inflation, and deteriorating econo mies, even small steps look important. At the least, the negotiators have in sured that international monetary co operation is not dead. Faced with the unpleasant prospect of returning home empty-handed, the officials buckled down in Washington and reached some substantive agreements. Further, the Washington meeting produced a much- strengthened International Monetary Fund. The IMF has a new, more attrac tive special drawing right (SDR) to hand out-one that will be of use not only in government but in private transactions as well. And the IMF gets to manage a $3-billion "oil facility"-- work out confidential "target zones"-- or ranges of fluctuation-for each cur rency. Thereafter, a government would be obliged to keep its currency trading within these zones--intervening if nec essary to keep it there. If a govern ment wants to change its zone, either to correct a past mistake or to accom modate future economic policy, it will be expected to consult with the imp. And the fund staff, based on its own models, may suggest when it thinks it is time for a government to move a zone up or down a bit. The IMF can only suggest-not order. It does get- some muscle from the crea tion of a new, ministerial-level interim consultative committee. This com mittee, including the same 20 ministers who made up the Committee of 20, is to meet yearly to supervise the implemen tation of the rules for floating. The committee per se will have no real 30 BUSINESS WEEK: Jurw 22.1974 VRD 0002014505 Top of the news Safety takes a beating An aerosol plant explosion, a fire at a borax facility and a rail mishap rocked the chemical industry last week. At the same time, a Congressional report criti cized existing rail safety measures for hazardous materials as inadequate. In Milford, Conn., about 20 employees of Connecticut Aerosols were injured, five of them hospitalized, in an explosion at the company's packaging plant. Fire officials said that a fire that touched off the blast may have been caused by vapors from chemicals used in aerosol pack aging. In Boron, Calif., a fire at U.S. Borax & Chemical's plant destroyed a guard shack, personnel office, two vehicles and a rited. There were no injuries. The fire occurred while 300 striking workers pick eted outside the plant's main gate, de manding higher wages and benefits. The sheriff's office termed the fire "sus picious" and said it was investigating the possibility of arson. Production at the bo rax and boric add plant is being main tained by managementpersonnel. And in Norman, Okla., the derailment of a Santa Fe freight train carrying phos phorus trichloride caused 23 drums of the chemical to rupture, sending clouds of acrid vapors over the vicinity and result ing in-evacuation of about 7,000 persons from their homes in Norman, Moore and Oklahoma City. Four persons were treated in hospitals for the effects of the chemical, which forms toxic and irritating hydrogen chloride in the presence of moisture. It was part of a 76,000-lb. ship ment being sent by FMC to Mexico. PHOSPHORUS TRICHLORIDE CLOUDS covered Norman, Okla., after rail mishap. Socked on Safety: Meanwhile, a House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Com mittee report charged the Federal Rail road Administration with laxness in safety inspections ofrailroad facilities. According to the report, railroad acci dents reached a 16-year peak in 73-- 24.7% above the number recorded in *72. From Jan. 1, 73, through Apr. 74, there were 124 railroad accidents involving hazardous materials, the report stated. In these accidents, the report continued, there were seven fatalities and 159 in juries, 29 incidents of contamination with potentially lethal chemicals, 34 fires, and 92 cases in which hazardous materials were spilled out of their containers. The report claimed that 27% of the accidents in 72 and two-thirds of the mishaps in 73-74 (through April) were caused by defective tracks. Barge transport safest? Shipment of hazardous materials by barge is generally the safest and cheapest method, according to a recent study made by Arthur D. Little for the U.S. Maritime Administration. The six-month study analyzed 10 com modities: acrylonitrile, anhydrous am monia, benzene, caustic soda, chlorine, ethylene glycol, methanol, styrene, sugar and sulfuric acid. It considered only bulk shipments of these materials where all modes of transportation are availablebarge, truck, rail, pipeline. It w9$ found that acrylonitrile ship ment by barge is both cheaper and safer than by rail, while ammonia shipment by barge is much safer than by pipeline, but not as cheap. Barges were also found to be the safest and cheapest form of transportation for caustic soda, ethylene glycol, styrene and sulfuric acid. On the other hand, truck and rail are safer than barges for trans porting chlorine* although barge ship ments cost more than rail transport For benzene, trucks are safest and barges cheapest while methanol shipment by barge is rated "slightly less hazardous than truck and much safer than rail." The study also found that shipping sugar by barge is cheapest but presented a slight water pollution risk. The Maritime Administration ordered the study in response to the Federal Wa ter Pollution Control Act Amendments of 72, which require the Environmental Protection Administration to draw up a list of "hazardous products." EPA-has not yet prepared the list, but commodities analyzed are likely to be on it. *r W Focusing on fabricators Fear that angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer, may be an occupational hazard in the polyvinyl chloride fabricating indus try was raised this month by two more workers' deaths that were attributed to the disease. Previously, investigators suspected that the alleged carcinogenicity of vinyl chlo ride monomer was a danger only to the estimated 6,500 workers employed in VCM or PVC production plants. But word from the Connecticut Health Dept of the death of a man who worked with PVC insulation for wiring at General Electric's Bridgeport plant and of a clerk in Ross & Roberts* Stratford PVC-coated fabrics plant seemed to indicate that the danger of exposure may also be a prob lem for hundreds of thousands of em ployees in the PVC processing industry. The expanded scope of the carcino genicity inquiry is likely to be a factor in the Occupational Safety and Health Ad ministration's attempts to set a safe worker exposure level for VCM. OSHA has proposed a "no detectable level" of exposure, reduced from the 50 parts/million standard now in effect This week, OSHA is holding hearing in Washington to get reaction to that pro posal. Several companies already have said they don't believe such a level can be achieved. The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) last week issued a report, prepared by Arthur D. Little, stating that at least 1.6 million U.S. workers would be out of jobs "if an unrealistic occupational health regulation, limiting worker exposure to vinyl chloride, forces a shutdown of the industry." The cost, in terms of lost sales and production, would eventually amount to at least $65 billion, according to Little. Ralph L. Harding, Jr., SPI president, says that technology needed to enable manufacturers to meet the "no detectable level" standard is not feasible. He adds that if such a standard were adopted, "the vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride resin, producing industries will be forced to close down immediately." As for using substitute materials for VCM and PVC, Harding adds that many materials that might be considered as PVC substitutes are now in very short supply. SPI reports that Little is looking into the possibility of using substitute mate rials on a short-term basis to replace PVC in some applications. Little's analysis will be presented at the OSHA bearings. 14 CHEMICAL WEEK June 26. 1974 Top of the news VRD 0992914506 cedes. Export business now accounts for less than 20% of the Donaldsonville plant's sales and the percentage at Fort Madison is even smaller, he adds. Operations at First Mississippi's trou blesome Melamine Chemicals joint ven ture with Ashland Oil are improving. Corrosion and erosion problems in the reactor have been reduced, and daily pro duction is much improved. He forecasts that the company will produce 60-70 mil lion lbs. of melamine in fiscal 75 (ending June 30, 75). Bauxite may go to court Three major U.S. aluminum com panies last week asked the World Bank International Center for Settlement of In vestment Disputes to arbitrate its dispute with Jamaica over the country's decision to raise bauxite taxes sharply. The three companies: Aluminum Co. of America, Kaiser- Aluminum & Chemical and Rey nolds Metals. Although Kaiser agrees that the cur rent tax is unrealistic and unfair, since it was set in the late '60s, President Cornell C. Maier considers the level set by Ja maica as too high. The higher taxes are effective June 22. Alcoa says it plans to make the additional payments required under the Jamaican law but will do so under protest Alcan Aluminum last week said it would head a group of companies, in cluding Reynolds, in a $ 170-million proj ect to produce bauxite from reserves in the Trombetas area of Brazil's Amazon River basin. Alcan claims that its decision to proceed with the project had no rela tion to the Jamaica tax increase. And while the Jamaica situation has brought serious considerations about al ternative materials to replace bauxite. Revere Copper & Brass said it is consid ering a $ 160-million expansion joint ven ture, with six Japanese partners, that would greatly increase the capacity of its Scottsboro, Ala., aluminum reduction plant, using Jamaican bauxite. In addition to the tax hike, Jamaica's Prime Minister Michael Manley de manded a new partnership between the aluminum companies operating in Ja maica and the Jamaican government The government intends to negotiate re purchase of the surface rights of the lands now owned by the North American aluminum producers. Manley expressed the desire of his country to also achieve, in the long run, an equity ownership posi tion in bauxite and alumina companies operating in Jamaica. Another big quarter shaping up Several chemical companies expect their second-quarter sales and earnings to match or exceed the percentage gains that were registered in the first quarter over the comparable 73 period. Sales and net income of B.F. Goodrich in the June quarter, for example, "should exceed the percentage gains that were achieved in Ihe 74 first quarter," says Chairman 0. Pendleton Thomas. Better results in non-tire businesses, especially chemicals and plastics, he explains, are offsetting setbacks caused by the current lower level of domestic car tire sales. Borden sees second-quarter earnings at least 12% higher than the 694/share re corded in the year-earlier period, accord ing to Treasurer Joseph E. Madigan. In the first quarter, the company posted a 15% gain. Union Carbide forecasts second-quar ter net of about $2.20/share, up from $1.27 a year ago, on sales of about $1.3 billion, up from $962.3 million. American Cyanamid sees second-quar ter profit about 50% above the 60C/share in the 73 period. For the full year, the company expects income of at least $2.90/share, up from $2.37/share. Chairman R. B. Pamplin says GeorgiaPacific will notch record earnings in the second quarter, about $60 million, up from the year-ago $56.6 million, although the percentage gain will not be over whelming. He adds that the company is considering a major project to add 200,000 tons/year of pulp capacity at its Crossett, Ark., plant GEORGIA-PACIFIC'S PAMPLIN: Record earrings likely, pulp expansion possible. Second-quarter profits of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical are expected to exceed the $1.22/share earned in the first quarter, says Vice-President William Hobbs. Kaiser had income of 76f/share in 73's second period. Hobbs adds that full-year per-share income should be more than double the $2.17 of last year. Williams Companies says second-quar ter earnings will rise to about $25 million from $17.1 million a year ago.. Reichhold Chemicals revised substan tially upward its sales and aaminy projections for '74. President Henry H. Reichhold upped the earnings forecast to $4/share from $2.50 predicted earlier'this year, and the sales estimate was lifted to $450 million from $400 million. It's Not Unanimous: There was at least one1 discordant note, thought Central Soya says its earnings in the quarter ended May 31 fell about 16% below the 73 period's level of $6.8 million (gales then were $341.2 million). Chairman Dale W. McMillen, Jr., blames the de cline on a sharper-than-expected drop in agricultural prices. Mobil to diversify? One week after a giant paper company, International Paper, unveiled plans to ac quire an oil company (CW, June 19, p. 23), a major oil firm said it is considering making a tender offer for a corporation with a large stake in paper products. Mo bil Oil disclosed last week it may bid for 51% interest in Marcor, parent company of Container Corp. of America and Montgomery Ward. Mobil currently has 4V4% of Marcor common stock, which it acquired in 73. To obtain an additional 46%% could cost Mobil more than $500 million. But that is still far away--Mobil says terms and tim ing of the offer have not yet been de cided, and Marcor management hasn't disclosed how it views the idea. If Mobil goes ahead with the offer, it will be the company's first major diver sification effort outside energy products and petrochemicals. Some industry analysts say Mobil may want to take ad vantage of its cash-rich position to get control of an undervalued company. Mobil says the idea of such, a bid is based largely on fears of future restraints on its U.S. oil and gas investments. The company will not comment on what ef fect such diversification would have on its petrochemical operations. June 26. 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 13 im iiz m (in Copies for: KLS CLW HRS DVP (REL EAS) (FK) 32 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Tuesday, June 25,1974 .Debating Health vs Jobs 1 Plastics Industry Mobilizes to Thwart r Tough Rules on Handling Vinyl Chloride &: By Walter Mossrero ations could cause the polyvinyl chloride Staff Kt+.rttr of THS Who. STKKKT Johnnaj. powder or realn to release trapped quanti WASHINGTON -- As Ute federal governmeat moves closer to adopting xlrtngent controls over handling of the ubiquitous In dustrial chemical vinyl chloride, manufac turers who use It are mobilizing to try to show that Uie controls would prove economi cally disastrous. ties of raw vinyl chloride gas. Lost week the Society of the Plastics In dustry, a trade group, asserted that suffi cient technology doesn't exist to meet the proposed slsndard and warned that mueh of the vinyl and polyvinyl chloride Industry might have to close if the standard goes Into The rules would be utterly unworkable, effect. The society predicted that 1,9 million the companies say, and Industry would lose Jobs and "at least SOS billion" in tales and an essential manufacturing material. In consequence, they add, makers of plastic production could be lost. Ralph Harding Jr., president of the soci pips, auto parts, phonograph records and ety, said that the proposed standard "Is many more products would he driven to the technologically Infeasible to achieve, even wall. And, they contend, thousands of Jobs would vanish. wtth the highly sophisticated methods of Inplant control that have been developed by This gloomy picture Is likely to dominate the Industry over the years. If the proposed Labor Department hearings, beginning today, on planned standards for eliminating the exposure of plastlca-lnduslry workers to 'no-detectable-level' standard Is adopted, the vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride resin producing Industries will be forced to the chemical, which la suspected of causing cancer. close down Immediately." Exposure to vinyl chloride, a gas, has The Labor and Health View been linked by researchers to IP cases of a A number of labor-union and occupation rare liver cancer, angiosarcoma, among al-health experts are expected to dispute the workers handling It In the If.S. and other society's claim at the hearings. They con countries; In IP of these cases, death re tend that It la possible to meet the standard sulted. In addition, angiosarcoma haa re without closing the Industry. cently been blamed for the death of two But harsh predictions ore contained In employes in plants -handling polyvinyl many of the more than 123 letters from plas chloride, the powdered derivative of vinyl- tics firms already on file with Um Labor De chloride gas that la fabricated into a wide partment. The letters, representing the writ range af plastic products. (Two other deaths ers' fcrmal "comments" on the planned tram angiosarcoma have been discovered rules, give an Indication of the probable among people living In the vicinity of plants tone of this week's hearings. Although moat using polyvinyl chloride.) letters concede that some controls ore In April, the Labor Deportment's oc cupational safety and health administration imposed a temporary emergency standard limiting workers' exposure to vinyl-chloride gas to 90 parts per million tn the air they breathe, a sharp reduction from the pre vious limit of 900 parts. Now. the agency la proposing--and witnesses at this week's hearings will debate--a standard cutting ex posure permanently to "no delectable" le vel at all. Although the plastics industry opposed needed on vinyl chloride, most contend that the proposed measures would mean nothing less than the collapse of their Industry. Almost all the letters come from users ol polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. and not compa nies directly handling vinyl chloride Itself or those turning u Into PVC. In most cases, they explain that their suppliers of PVC have told them the standards will make It Impossible for them to continue producing the raw plastic. Urged to write to the gov ernment, the PVC users have done so, fore the emergency ruling, its voice has so for casting their financial ruin. been weaker than that ol organised labor "Unless a reasonable approach is and various scientific groups, which back taken," wrote prank Qroeneveld Jr., presi the tough rules. dent of a plastic-plpe-extrudlng firm In Flor Doom (or the Industry? At this week's hearings, however, the in dustry is expected to argue strongly that the "no-detectable'' exposure plan would spell doom for the several damn plants that make vinyl chloride gas or turn it Into polyvinyl chloride powder or resin, and for most of the hundreds of plants that turn polyvinyl chloride Into plastic products. The standard would require that most operations In the production of vinyl chlor ide and polyvinyl chloride, which employs an estimated 6.AOO workers, be conducted in dosed-off, regulated areas where exposure can be controlled hy ventilation devices or other methods. In addition, some operations of plants turning polyvinyl chloride into products, which are said to employ up to 700,000 workers, would be subjected to simi lar stringent engineering rules If those oper ida. "it could mean the destruction of many small businesses such as ours where we have Invested our life savings." R. J. Clayton, chairman of Louver Drspe Inc., a California maker of PVC window blinds and folding doors, wrote that `*37 years ago, at the depth of the depression, 1 started a one-man business which has grown today where we do approximately ft million worth of business end employ over 250 people." If the new rules are Imposed, he sold, "we'd be back to a one-man busi ness overnight." One firm, Custom Trim Products Inc., which makes plastic trim for several big auto makers, warned that the new rules could cut off Us supply of PVC resins, end ing its production end causing it to risk law suits by Detroit for failure to fulfill supply contracts. The firm, an officer wrote, "would undoubtedly be forced Into bank ruptcy." Hubbard Apiaries, a beekeeping com pany in Ousted, Mich., wrote to declare that It couldn't remain in business If PVC sup plies were threatened because its honey is sold in PVC bottles and glass bottles are scarce as e result of a soda-ash shortage. In fact, many of ths fetters contended that PVC Is already tn sliort supply, highly versatile and absolutely necessary for a va riety of Important uses. Spokesmen fa- the record Industry In stated that the plastic te vital to ito opera tions. MCA Records Inc. contended that if the standards forced PVC production to end, "our Industry would be forced out of busi ness." The National Association of Homs Build ers said ths standards could drive the rising costa of housing even higher by forcing builders te abandon economical PVC hous ing components. It warned that such a de velopment could mean "sorely needed hous ing would be beyond the reach of an In creasingly large segment of the public." Norton Oo.'s plastics and synthetics divi sion. which makes tubing for medical uses, warned that If the new rules curbed supplies of PVC. detosrately needed equipment used in kidney dlelyeie and heart surgery might become unavailable. And GranltevUle Co. of Granitevllle, 8.C., a maker of fire-retardant tents and tent material, called PVC "the most Important component'* In Us products. What's more, Arthur Culbertson, a Flor ida plastics executive, and Gerald Kessler, an officer of an OMo plastics company, urged modification of the proposed stan dards on tbs grounds that they themselves had hod long personal exposure to vinyl chloride without IU effects. Moat of the letter writers acknowledged the need to protect workers from the possi bility of Uver cancer. But they urged delay In Imposing such harsh restrictions, both to give adentlus time for further research and to allow the bustnesaes to phase In the new cootrol*. But one writer took a decidedly less sym pathetic view of the dangers of death from vinyl chloride. Jameson Crane, of Crone Plastics Inc., in Columbus, Ohio, wrote, "We continue to be impressed with the com parison of the number ol deaths annually due to stSdde prompted by loss of Jobs, ver sus the ts angiosarcoma deaths world-wide over 9$ years oi PVC production," Government n <39 S3 Vinyl chloride cancer controversy contlnuas I MCA and NIOSH apparently are at odds on disclosure chloride], but not at 50 p.p.m." (MCA's emphasis). These exposure levels agree with those from Prof. Mal of Italian research results linking vinyl chloride toni's paper discussed before the Occu pational Safety and Health Adminis tration on Feb. 15, 1974 (C&EN, Feb. 25, page 16). exposure to tumors in rats MCA's chronology states, "While it had been recognized for decades that exposure to high concentrations of vinyl chloride ... might cause liver and More information has emerged on the kidney injuries, the U.S. chemical in "confidentiality" of an Italian animal dustry was not aware of any cancer-re toxicity study that helped link vinyl lated potential of [vinyl chloride] until chloride exposure to deaths among May 1970." Such a potential was then U.S. polyvinyl chloride workers from a suggested through the research of Dr. rare, invariably fatal form of cancer, P. L. Viola, of Regina Elena Institute angiosarcoma of the liver. C&EN, in for Cancer Research in Rome, Italy. its May 20 issue, said that "prelimi A preliminary report of Dr. Viola's nary, albeit significant scientific find studies was made during the 10th In ings" from the Italian work had been ternational Cancer Congress in Hous held in confidence by U.S. and Euro ton, Tex., May 22-24, 1970. Subse pean chemical firms and a U.S. trade quently, the research was published association for at least a year (C&EN, [Cancer Res., 31, 516 (1971)1. In this May 20, page 16). published account, Dr. Viola reported A spokesman for the National Insti tumors of the skin, lung, and bones in tute for Occupational Safety and rata exposed to 30,000 p.p.m. vinyl Health firmly denies that agency offi chloride for four hours a day, five days cials had knowledge of the studies of a week, for 12 months. Prof. Cesare Maltoni, director of the MCA invited Dr. Viola to come to Istituto Di Oncologia, Bologna. Italy, the U.S. "as a guest of the industry" to prior to learning of the deaths of U.S. discuss his results with the trade asso workers from this rare cancer on Jan. ciation's occupational health commit 22, 1974. (See also letter by NIOSH di tee on May 5 and 6, 1971. During these rector Marcus M. Key, page 3.) meetings, Dr. Viola is said by MCA to However, the Manufacturing Chem have referred to other studies that, ac ists Association, in a "vinyl chloride cording to the trade association's state chronology" released last month, states ment to OSHA on Feb. 15, 1974, were that during its meeting at NIOSH on "completed or under way." MCA at July 17, 1973, "a representative of the this hearing further stated that Dr. European group (a physician), re Viola at the MCA meeting "declined to porting on the European studies, said reveal details" of these unreported that tumors had been observed in rats studies. down to 250 p.p.m., but that an epide In any event, on May 6, 1971, MCA's miological survey had indicated no in occupational health committee recom crease in gross mortality from cancer mended that U.S. vinyl chloride and and no increase in cancer morbidity or polyvinyl chloride producers sponsor incidence of cancer among workers ex animal exposure and epidemiological posed to [vinyl chloride]. ' MCA does research on vinyl chloride carcinoge not identify the sponsor of the epide nicity to be administered by MCA, ac miological survey, nor the physician. cording to the chronology. The sponsors of Prof. Maltoni's study The chronology then traces MCA ef are Montedison, Imperial Chemical In forts to learn more of the other studies dustries, Solvay, and Rhone-Progil. under way and to plan its own studies. Presumably, the tumors at the level Among the highlights (supplemented of 250 p.p.m. vinyl chloride in air were here, in part, by MCA's Feb. 15 state from rate in Prof. Maltoni's study. ment to OSHA): MCA's chronology also notes that "a At a Nov. 16, 1971, meeting in further progress report of Prof. Malto Washington, D.C., which included rep ni's studies was given to MCA by a resentatives of U.S., Canadian, and European group representative" on European firms, a "European represen Nov. 28, 1973. According to MCA, tative of Solvay et Cie. reported that "Results confirmed earlier observation he was aware of further studies just be of malignant tumors in rats at 10,000, ginning in Europe." 6000, 2500, 500, and 250 p.p.m. [vinyl On March 30, 1972, "Seventeen U.S. firms had agreed to financially support [vinyl chloride] studies." During April-June 1972 "overtures were made by MCA to establish tech nical liaison with the new European re search mentioned at the Nov. 16, 1971, meeting in Washington." A letter dated Aug. 16, 1972, "sent on behalf of the European sponsors," was received by MCA. The letter, MCA says, offered "technical coopera tion" subject to a confidentiality re striction whereby there was to be no release of information outside of indi viduals comprising a task group "with out the specific consent of the Europe an group." MCA adds that the "pur poses" of the restriction were "that preliminary indications not be released until they had been validated, thereby to minimize unwarranted speculation" and "that releases remain subject to the control of the project's proprie tors." During December 1972, in an MCA "communication" to a European group representative, MCA and partic ipating U.S. firms agreed "with great reluctance" to confidentiality. e On Jan. 17, 1973, the U.S. vinyl chloride-polyvinyl chloride industry technical delegation "visited the Euro pean sponsors and Prof. Maltoni's fa cilities to learn in more detail about his experimental procedures and re sults." At a Jan. 30, 1973, MCA meeting, "a brief oral progress report on Prof. Maltoni's work was presented by those who had visited him. It was reported that, in experiments with rats, in addi tion to tumors of the ear canal, tumors of the kidney and liver were observed at concentrations as low as 500 and 250 p.p.m. [vinyl chloride], but not at 50 p.p.m. nor in the controls." MCA-administered animal toxici ty and human epidemiological studies were contracted for subsequently. Prof. Maltoni's rat studies resulted in the observation of the first angiosar coma of the liver during August 1972, he has disclosed. The scientist is also said, by U.S. sources, to have dis cussed his results during the Second International Symposium on Cancer Detection and Prevention, April 9-12, 1973, in Bologna, Italy. A preprint of his results is said to be available. The July 17, 1973, meeting with NIOSH officials included representa tives of MCA, Union Carbide, Dow Chemical, Ethyl Corp., and Imperial Chemical Industries, the trade associa tion has acknowledged. 12 C&EN June 10, 1974 VRD 0002914509 We rewrotethe book on fluorosurfactants. Askfor it. company's present staff of 30 profes sional chemists and support personnel in the next three years. Another company in the color chem icals business, Inmont, also has been busy restructuring its technical organi zation and has been building new labo ratories as a result. The company began this effort about two years ago, with three goals in mind. It wants to relocate operating group laboratories closer to each group s market place, to consolidate long-range research for all groups at the corporate research labo ratories at Clifton, N.J., and to expand key European laboratories to include more R&D projects for both overseas and domestic ends. A number of projects grew out of this reorganization. Current construction includes a technical facility at a new plant for automotive paints and related after-market products at Clermont de TOise, France. Laboratories already completed in the Inmont program have brought transfers for many U.S.-based person nel. The company built a 20,000-sq.-ft. automotive development center at Whitehouse, Ohio, to serve the compa ny's important automotive market in Detroit. Inmont also has tripled floor space to 10,000 sq. ft. at its Morganton, N.C., technical service laborato ries, chiefly to assist customers of fin ishes for furniture and building prod ucts. One specialties company keeping research closer to headquarters is Lubrizol. This firm has been adding 35 to 50 professionals this year to staff the $2.5 million expansion of its additive research laboratories at Wickliffe, Ohio, that it completed last fall. Philip A. Hunt Corp. is another specialties producer expanding its lab facilities. The company is spending the last $1 million this year of a $3.5 mil lion capital program in R&D begun in 1969. Laboratories being renovated and enlarged are a research center for or ganic chemicals near Providence, R.I., and a research center for chemical ap plications in image-forming systems in Palisades Park, N.J. When your product needs a supersurfactant, it's time for you to ask for ZONYL, Du Pont's family of fluorochemical agents with superior surface active properties. Du Pont rewrote the book on fluorosurfactants --anionic, cationic, nonionic and amphoteric Five fluorosurfactants--all with outstanding chemical and thermal stability and all bearing the ZONYL name. Whether you're in adhesives, automotive products, cosmetics, maintenance products, paper, paints and finishes, elastomers, metals, mining, petroleum and petrochemicals, plastics, textiles or whatever; if you need a super-surfactant, ZONYL frequently can do the job better, quicker and at lower cost. To find out how, use the handy coupon to order your FREE copy of Du Pont's new technical bulletin on ZONYL products. *!4UtNTl>lf ZONYL Fluorosurfactants Du Pont Company Orchem Dept., Room 23970A Wilmington, DE 19898 Please send me my FREE copy of Du Pont's new 16-page technical bulletin on ZOnYL fluorosurfactants. NameTitle Company Address City _______________________________________StateZip. June 10, 1974 CAEN 11 Top of the news 90 Cosmo: mixed reviews It was cosmetics show time at the New York Coliseum last week. On stage: CosmoExpo 2, the second annual trade show and conference for the cosmetic, fragrance, toiletry and proprietary indus tries. And like many a show on Broad* way, it received mixed notices. The primary reaction was that this year's show was bigger and better at tended than last year's. According to Robert Grayson, of sponsoring Grayson Associates, registration of exhibitors was up to 180, from about 120 last year. But some exhibitors were disappointed by the product mix. They felt there was too much emphasis on -packaging--glass and plastic bottles, caps, tubes, aerosols, labels and decorating materials. Exhibits by manufacturers of cosmetic and toiletry items and suppliers of raw materials were relatively few. Others, however, noted that there were more of these exhibitors than there were last year and saw this as an encouraging sign. Grayson Associates has been working to broaden the appeal of the show, con ceived to bring suppliers and marketers together (CW, Sept. 27, *72, p. 37). For example, a small "machinery row" for packaging, processing and labeling equipment made its debut And seminar sessions in the morning were expanded, to include technical and research and de velopment topics as well as marketing. New Products: Some companies found the show a good time to introduce new products: The Lacquerite Division of Supronics Corp. (Livingston, N.J.) showed off its new nail enamel technology. The enam els are "seasheli" finishes--include pink in the bottle but with a blue flash on the nail, and orange with a red flash. Both Richford American Corp. (New York) and Bakan Plastics (Kansas City) exhibited mechanical aerosols ca pable of producing fine mists. NL Industries touted the benefits of Bentone-gelled perfume systems, said to help prolong fragrance release. Meyercord Co. (Carol Stream, 111.) showed a high-speed decal application process for cylindrical glass containers for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Other companies found the show an opportunity to reinforce corporate mar keting. Among them: Union Camp Chemicals, out to boost its stake in the cosmetics industry, and Gentry Inter national (Fair Lawn, N.J.), an essential oils house beefing up its work in com pounded fragrances. WtDC WORLD EXPLOSION AND FIRE at Nypro plant caused 29 deaths. $96 million in damage. Blast will hurt nylon The explosion and fire that last week destroyed the Nypro plant in Flixborough, England, killing 29 persons and injuring more than 100, virtually wiped out the U.K.*s sole supply of cap rolactam--the chemical intermediate es sential for producing nylon-6. Moreover, according to Britain's Na tional Coal Board, which owns 45% of Nypro (Dutch State Mining owns the rest), the destruction of the 70,000tons/yeax plant may have significant re percussion on world nylon production. It accounted for one-seventh of total world caprolactam output Courtaulds was Nypro's biggest cus tomer (about 35,000 tons/year), and Brit ish Etikalon, a subsidiary of Holland's Azko, was No. 2 (25,000 tons/year). Pro duction of caprolactam at Flixborough was below capacity. Only last June, Nypro had brought a new, $36-mtilion, 50,000-tons/year cap rolactam unit onstream at the six-yearold, $48-million complex. The explosion is being tentatively blamed on a cyclo hexane leak--one of the highly flam mable materials used in making caprolac tam--but Nypro officers say they are still uncertain about the origin. Although Courtaulds and British Enkalon are reluctant to comment on the ef fects of the explosion on their nylon pro duction, both companies are scrambling for alternative sources. So far, neither company is willing to say how much is available and at what price, although DSM, which has a reported caprolactam 14 CHEMICAL WEEK June 12. 1974 capacity of 336,000 tons/year, "would do" everything possible" to assure supplies the British nylon makers, according * London sources. Although it will take two yean to rebuild the Flixborough plant, at an esti mated cost of $96 million, the benzolbased cyclohexane that was supplied by Stavely Chemical (45% owned by the Na tional Coal Board, 45% by British Steel, 10% Continental Oil) could be shunted to other caprolactam facilities. VCM probe goes outside The Environmental Protection Agency last week asked 27 producers of vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride to supply detailed information on VCM emissions into the air from their plants. EPA says the data will be used to help it decide whether rules to restrict the emis sions aTe necessary. Acting under the Clean Air Act of *70, EPA already is taking air samples outside some of the 14 VCM and 35 PVC plants on which it has requested data. A spokes man says the agency also expects to study liquid and solid wastes from the plants. EPA has asked the 27 companies to supply information about: Points in the manufacturing process where there may be vinyl chloride emis sions and in what quantities. Emission control procedures that have been or could be instituted, and cost estimates for installation and operation of necessary equipment. Any results of ambient air studies the firms may have made by using their own monitoring equipment. For several months before the EPA air study began, workplaces had been the major areas of concern in investigation of the possibility of a link 'between VCM and angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer. Nineteen cases of angiosarcoma had been confirmed among health records of dead and living VCM and PVC plant workers. Now, the focus has broadened to include the possibility of health hazards to per sons living near the plants. The New York Times reported last week that New York state lists six cases of angiosarcomathree of them are persons who had worked in Goodyear Tire & Rubber's Niagara Falls PVC plant, and three are women who had lived in the Niagara Falls-Buffalo area. Goodyear, however, says its own monitoring of air around the plant has turned up no measurable amount of VCM contamination. It also disputes the Times' assertion that one vic tim had lived downwind from the plant. A vote for oxo alcohols W.R. Grace and Commonwealth Oil Refining said last week they had reached agreement on (1) new, higher prices of feedstocks for their Oxochem Enterprise joint venture in Penuelas, Puerto Rico, and (2) plans to expand capacity of the unit 70%. Grace also hiked tabs on oxo alcohols and said it plans to build later in this decade another 500-million-lbs. /year plant for this product. The agreement, retroactive to Jan. 1, came after about two years of negotia tions in which Corco sought an increase in prices of the propylene it supplies to Oxochem from its Puerto Rico Olefins joint venture with PPG Industries. Corco claims that Oxochem had been getting the propylene at below cost because of escalating crude oil prices Corco has had to pay. Neither Grace nor Corco would say what the new prices would be, what the total additional cost to Grace will be, nor why the negotiations took so long. The expansion at Penuelas will lift ca pacity of the unit, which came onstream in *71, to about 500 million lbs./year by 76. A Grace spokesman says the boost reflects the company's feeling that oxo al cohols are a "good business" for the com pany. Indication of that is seen in new prices posted by the company last week, effective June IS. Isobutanol is slated to go to 16*/lb. from 14, n-butanol to 17*/lb. from 16*, 2-ethylhexanol to 18*/lb. from 17*. Grace says the site for the additional plant has not been selected, and it has not yet decided whether the unit will be a joint-venture or solo effort. Dow looks at the desert Add Dow Chemical and Saudi Arabia to the rapidly growing list of U.S. chem ical companies and Arab countries plan ning petrochemical joint ventures. Dow Chemical Europe said last week it had entered into a letter of intent with Petromin, the national petroleum firm of Saudi Arabia, to evaluate a joint effort to pro duce petrochemicals in that country. Cost of the project, according to Dow Europe President Zoltan Merszei, could eventually be about $400 million. Dow says the site has not been decided, nor is it known when the project would be com pleted or which petrochemicals would be produced. The venture is apparently the first in volving Saudi Arabia and a major U.S. chemical company. But several other U.S. chemical firms, including Du Pont (with Iran) and Ashland (also with Iran in a deal that may fizzle), recently negotiated joint ventures with Arab countries to gain access to their crude oil supplies. Dow also has been acquiring domestic energy companies and facilities. So far this year, for example, it has leased 12 Louisiana oil producing wells owned by Quintana Production and bought a 20% interest in U.S. oil and gas producing properties of McMoRan Exploration. Tariff cuts mean little Last week's U.S.-Common Market agreement calling for European Commu nity tariff cuts on several products is less important to U.'S. chemical companies in itself than in its probable effect of spur ring passage of the stalled trade bill. Enactment of that measure, in fact, ap pears to have been the Common Mar ket's prime objective in making the con cessions. To compensate the U.S. for loss of trading advantages with Britain, Den mark and Ireland when the three coun tries entered the Common Market, the EC will cut tariffs on polyamides to 16% from 17.6% and on antiknock prepara tions based on tetraethyl lead to 13% from 15.8%. The tariff cuts in these and other products will begin Jan. 1 and af fect up to $1 billion/year worth of U.S. exports. Du Pont notes that only 4-5% of total U.S. nylon shipments, and also 4-5% of Du Font's, are exported and most of those are in specialty products such as Qiana. Since U.S. producers cannot now meet nylon demand, exports to the EC are unlikely to increase substantially, the company adds. Another producer says that the percentage tariff reduction corre sponds to an extra l*/lb. on staple nylon. This, the company says, might make a difference in normal times but not now, when yarn is on allocation and prices can be raised with regularity. Progress on BUI: Reacting to the con cessions and to other developments, the Senate Finance Committee last week be gan to mark up the trade bill in executive sessions. Committee Chairman Russell Long (D., La.) privately has assured the Administration that he wants to move the measure through the Senate by the end of this month. One chemical observer, however, rates the bill's chances of enactment still at less than 50% and says its failure would markedly hinder this year's international trade negotiations. o Top of the news <55 Trying to sew up a padE Production ground to a halt in tlffe men's and boys' apparel industry last week as 110,000 members of the AmalgS mated Clothing Workers of America walked off their jobs. However, manufac turers of synthetic fibers said the strike would not affect them unless it is pro longed. The workers, who struck 750 plants na tionwide, demanded higher wages, costof-living allowances, better health and pension plans and more fringe benefits. The walkout did not affect clothing work ers outside the men's and boys' field. Un-1 der the union's expired three-year con tract, the workers' average wage was $3.50/hour. Talks between the strikers and clothing manufacturers broke off when the walk out began, but were slated to resume later in the week at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service offices in Washing ton. Synthetic fiber producers did not seem worried about the strike. "The clothing makers are not direct customers," said a Celanese spokesman, noting that it would take some time for the strike's effects to reach fiber producers. Monsanto stated that fibers for the fall season are already at the mills, adding that spring of '75 would be the earliest the company could be affected. Du Pont said that if the strike lasts two or more weeks "we would expect the ef fects to be quite widespread." None of the firms CW talked to believed that a prolonged strike would lead to plant clos ings and layoffs. U.P.I. MACHINES lie idle in New York after 110.000 garment workers walked off jobs. June 12, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 13 PERFUME A FLAVORING MATERIALS Mint OIK Supplies Are Tight; New Crop Materials Due Soon Trad* horh report that tteieka of pep GERANIUM OIL- Asotbar product permint and apoarmlat alia *r* currently which om aoureo claim* it around, but vary tltbt and In aoma eaaaa avan aoM ml gain at inflated price*, it geranium oiL But a now crap U due lo ba harvotttd tom Production to being carried out on a tab- tin* Mxt month and preHminery report! lanital level, but maker* of tha oil are de Meat* tkat relief la on .the war. manding higher prices tor it. AccerdtBf to m producer, grower* Bourbon material to quoted by om brok have na mora material to tell otter than er at about (il par kilo, whiia Egyptian ail cam* minimal amaonta that hav* boon car la being quoted at about MS per kilo. ried ever tram the tact aaaaoa. The** wtth ROBE OIL- Despite its price, roe* oil oil, rtn aaothcr aourea. hav* alraady con U om of th* most axtaiialvaiy used Batumi tracted It oat. Either way, claim cam* deal perfume materials in th* creation of tbaao- er*, (pat (tack* in very tight or avan told caUad "elastic" typ* fragrance*. Any **- oat aMb* proaoat Urn*. tahliahad fine perfume, aay eouree*. eon- Th* new crop, however, aaaort* om pro taint rose oil and, although then an a ducer, a&ooid aarva (omawhat to aBaviato- the prevent ritnatke, New material tbould atart earning in with tb* cutting of native ipccrmlBl aomatim*. In Juno, followed by harveatiag of the. peppermint crop in An- foal and ending aemettrae in October il a aeccad euttlag of apearminl take* place. Ha warn*, however, that tide acbeduie could be diaropted by unexpected weather coadl- --ttone and adda that already the aebadula haa baas ttttnd lightly hr weetber. Mevertbelei*, grower* Indicate that th* crop took* goad thni tar. 8em* area* are reporting potential yield decreaiee while otbera are anticipating inereaae*. Although that* are merely preliminary report*, lay* oo* aonreo. H would teem that overall out put tol* year ahould average out lo be at to*at.at good tartye*r. Soonal* ventur- ing, though, to maka any firm torecait at tha moment at Ita 1* reportedly too aeon tor number of lyntbaUc material* poaaaaaing ou* or more of to* characteristic* of too oil, But even if th* upcoming, yield> torpatt tbace at tan year, th* addittonal ttock* will not Unger for long, 11 at all. According to am obearver, demand for mint oil* ha* bean Hatagmnoiatontty yearaltaryear, perttoulnriyina/ra*a*toartat,Pe*atlc conr tha natural nbetaoe* will ploy th* domi nant role In th* anccoas of future fregtcnt.ni. Om of th* higheat-prieod essential oils, rose oil nevertheless to in great demand at all times, to much to that production, while tumption ha ctotm*i'hat mereor leu lev- increasing over ton past taw years, baa net atad ott btt'U toroign canntrtea a* more bean able to kcop abreact of world-wide Md moU peopta are aapoaad lo progrua they are baying and uatag product* <bi( re- ' coosumption. 77** el! is produced in * muster of quin mint dU*. anah-aa teathpactu and eoaferttannrle*. - 1 cauntrioe, but it to the Bulgarian, rose "otto" that is couriderod tb* (inert. Its . Aa `e rtenh."tocre*Md `availability of warm, .deep floral, cpciy and rich odor, hunt oil* fcightbefVe tritoftoa price* into* blond* extremely well with other florale, Tte%xt' fdew^r`*ooMdadtuhlru/katCt*ifoiaaildrlitnemg'potroarikly*- particularly incmin. which to om of tb* most frequently used combinations. Ena and accompanying tiring print in tb* tong In minimal amounts, rose oil can wort wonden in a perfume formulation. On* of tb* reitont for tb* bop* of higher ytoldf Ihia year 1* that acreage baa not di minished ti mpeh ad had boon projected. Grower*, which ware reportedlytempled to turn to more profitable erppa, have not de fected on U large a teato a* predicted. There teem* to havb boon (om* of that ihitting, aayt on* obearver, but mint grow ing team* to havo become profitable too. "If* good newt all around. The grower* are growing and oil should bo around," de clare* on* tourct. Spot price* for natural peppermint oil nr* given at . about lit per pound. Spear mint.price* rtnge irom (B.M to 110 per pound for native material and (IT to (17.SO (or.acoteh variety. Bucaose .of the demand placed on th* materia] and the depletion of stocks from the last crop, toe market for roe* oil la cur rently described a* vary tight. Ifoat materi el, s*ya om trad* member, that to arowot most likely has Mon contracted alraady. At a remit, no prices era being offered b] sources Th* next harvest ia expected to com< about toe end of June. At that time tcudini will resume at ita former level*. At the mo msnt, says on* knowltdieabl* source (Acre are oo indications at what Alton availability and prices might b*. Accordini to him, Bulgarian producers an awaitini to* outcome of toe Moroccan, Turkish am Persian crops before establishing'* prieeo their own. The last price being ackad for tha pravi ESSENTIAL OILS ou* crop, he adds, was (1,100 per kilo, l.o.l Sofia. Whether it will be lower or high*' CANANGA OIL- Canxnga aU to availa ble in com* aactora of the Induitry But price* have riien dramatically tine* the atart of tha year. On* aanrea report* that In aom* butane** price* hav* more than dou- to uncertain at the present timo, but 1 seems that whatever to flaaafly agrees upon to not likely to dissuade the industry from continuing Ha use of this valuable per fume oil. bM'over tte-paMcoupi* of month*. Tb* chtof rvaton for the tacreaaat and AROMA CHEMICALS the tightening of nrpplie*. to aome caac*. la tbeKkrelty oi ylxng-yUng *V Yltng os It taidto be aimoat Impoeriblo to gel arid ai a rewrite aaara aro-turning to cananga at a <cbedtut*. On* broker contacted leaf weak r(eSpOopreteMddtthoa. t cananga to telling for SOS to CLOVE OILS- Ciov* alia an an exem pt* af available malarial* being told at high price*. Although tha rib ar* considered to- be available in ample, or at toait sufficient, qvantitie*, price* for it hav* also risen aver to* peal few month*. CITRAL- Producers of both synthetic and naturally-derived aroma chemicals re port that overall industry ccodlttoas hav* not shown any improvements sloe* tb* boftnnlng of tb* year. In (net, on* manufac turer feels that th* currant situation has couflnaed tha dire speculations ba har bored back in January- Raw malerlaii for the production of a large array of chemicals have become very tight or virtually extinct, as have chemicals used In the production process. Om of tbs Ctovabud oil I* quoted by a broker at material* hit hard bat been eitraL about fig par pound, up at toait N in to* Om maker of natural cltral says that tb* part two month*. Clovetoaf oil, which told price of hto raw material, lamangraaa oiL tor abaut (4 per pound at toe end of Febru has risen to much in the past few months ary, ia now batng quoted at about (10 per that it has become necessary to sefl his pound. product at (9 per pound. o W rsj We have substitutes ~ lor substitutes. S Meer. Now that many gynthetica--the original substitute*-- are presenting problems to the manufacturer and proc essor, it may be the right time to consider natural sub stitutesfor thosesubstitutes. We have already been of considerable help, hare at Meer, to companies in paper, foods, textiles. As leaden in natural products--gums, oleoresint, extracts, botan ical*--we have unusual skill in their application for all lcvrido of products. Further, our long-established world wide relationships generally assure ua of e steady, de pendable flowof qualitymaterials. We can't fill in for everything, but chances are that Meer technical service will be able to offer viable sub stitutes for many substitutes* Gall ustoday. /^erCorpoicton 7J0t Rsilresd Avtses, Monk Bergen. N.J. *7047 / (MI) Stl-fto* For exempt*t Gum Trxgooenth for propyl*no glycol alginate*. - Sample Qllddan Organics Synthesized Esaantial LemonOil. Ormy synthesized oil in the line. Tomsto. Lima. Spearmint Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Samples and literature ire youre free. The sample oil wM convince your senses with quality. The literature will convince yourtnlnd with tacts. Facteon the stability and availability of synthesized oils. On eliminating crop failures and treeing capital lied up In raw ma terial inventories. Juet check the samples or literature you'd like, fib in the coupon and mall It to Gliddon Organic*. Lemon 003 Tomato []{D Lime [SCD Spearmint E Cinnamon [511X1 Nutmeg dJ [13 MAMSTTTLB BBS* OLfDDEN OROANICa INTERNATIONAL cm eoipgMnon, *o- sqm * g<rmciwv*.ic no*** saaoi I l l l I l l I l l l l I I i May 27, 1974 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER 17 AVAILABLE NOW... POTASSIUM PERSULFATE POLYPROPYLENE PVC RESIN ' > * POLYSTYRENE _ POLYETHYLENE, LD/H0`- PHENOL . .>. STYRENE MONOMER DIETHANOL AMINE MONOETHANOLAMINE TRIETHANOLAMINE CAU VS FOR DIFFICULT TO GET ITEMS MORGAN CHEMICALS, INC. 1200 Niagara Street, Buffalo. N.Y. 1*5213 71 f> - 084-6000 * TELEX 91-9133 CABLE-MORC ANCHEM Distilled VINYL STEARATE and other Vinyl Esters Custom Distillation of Host Sensitive Materials \ 645 Lancaster Street. Leomrnter, MasasehusMts 01453. (6171637 0074 ' specialty catalysts and Inhibitors Invites yToouurr inqOiiie* tor proprietary custom synthesis of organic pecialtiess*. P1 ilot throug. h large scale production capabilities availsble including solids handling and drying. Quality Custom Chemicals arco chemical co. 118 FAIRFIELO AVI. P.O.BOX 3817 PHONE 803/328-8338 ROCK HILL, S.O. 29730 LIQUID AND SOLID ORGANIC SPECIALTIES f * Competent Scientists -- Reliable Producers Writ* or call LINPflU CHEMICALS INC. L CbLUMBJA, SOUTH CAROLINA 29202 P.O. SOX 641 (803) 779-3652 13 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER May 27,1974 M--ATIN- G--A PLASTIC MATERIALS 135 Vinyl Chloride Data Hassle ? Pits MCA Against NIOSH Manufacturing Chemists Asaocia- tential seriousness" of tbe heeltahstard lon called "totally inaccurate" last reek a charge implied in a report by until January of this year. 1974, after Goo drich bad reported deaths attributed to anglosarcotne among its PVC workers. It was Jitmlcal Engineering Newt that the then. Dr. Lloyd says, that Industry repre rode association bad withheld perti- sentatives first mentioned Dr. Mahonl by lent information on the carcinogeni- name and revealed the significance of his tty of vinyl chloride for more than a findings Even then. Dr. Lloyd says, the information was given "In confidence" as ear. A spokesman for MCA said that coming from a foreign group. The first paly he trade group is preparing a "ehro- Uc disclosure of Dr. Maltoni's work wasn't idlogy" of its Involvement in aequir- made until Dr. Maltoni himself testified at ng and passing-on to government lealth officials data compiled in the OSHA hearings is Washington on February IS, 19T4. iow famous Maltooi animal studies on /CM toxicity. The spokesman said that the "chnmoio. r" will show that HCA acquired InformsIon on the studios conducted by Dr. Cessu-o Maltooi at hit Institute la Balogna only tfttr "months" of necociatloo with the Eu ropean chemical firms who had commisiloned the study, and wss finally granted he informstJoa on condition that the Amercan trade aiaociatioo would make no uni. aUrai disclosure of It. MCA says that it lbjected to that condition originally, and acquiesced only in order to gain access to he (cat materiel*. MCA claims that It lought to be released from the "rule of eonadentiaUty" later, but that, until released, it was "contractually obliged" to respect K. MCA says that U did not conspire to Or. Lloyd also saya that the so-called withhold or conceal the teat results. Ac ' rule of confidentiality under which MCA op cording to the MCA spokesman, a repreaen- erated may bpve bean of Uttlo force since tillvo from the group visited Europe In Oc be lays that Dr. Maltoni mailed a now tober, 19T2, end first learned of the Halloa! paper to him last week la which tbe investi tody Chore and was told that soon* of the gator inys that "as soon as" Ms VCM find respite wore "surprising," In November, ings became clear "one god a hull years ini. the representative reported what ha ago" ha "Immediately communicated this knew to an MCA meeting. It was not until Information to" European trade group* December of that year that MCA agreed to `end other major producing companies In the condiClone In order to get more informs- tha world." That would have been la the Hon. In January. 197J, MCA lent a techni late Summer or Fall of 1FI1, . cal delegation to visit Mahonl and that In addition. Dr. Lloyd says, Dr. Mahocki group delivered an oral pragma report on reed a paper on hie taut results at an thkab* HalCoal's work to MCA members at a meet- nations! cancer convcction in Bologna, in lag.later drJr tha that month. iprlBg-ot.ivn,. MCA -- aayi.it mat .AMpplrUilatiiUtT.TI.oIrLkJwtoodu.ldb,qawtoatiqTjrttibhallAq.tiih'faotnnDir-. wtth officials froth the National fastifule Uon whOa MCA was (tfiTraspocUng fhcrols for Occupational Safety and Health, indud- Of confidentiality imposed upon It lag die Director, Dr. Marcus Key and bis A spokesman for tbe United Chemical, staff, along with reprosantativea from the and Atomic Workers, which repreaents concerned European firms. MCA say* that workers in VC and. PVC plants, caned at that meeting the Industry raprmntativee told what they knew: they "basically HCA's rule of confidentiality "the meet leabla excuse in tha world." Dick WHson, dtocusBcd Maltooi,'* including his results spokesman for NIOSH, said that "it la to and the further tests that MCA had com cumbant on MCA to reveal who. mot wfth missioned an American research firms Maltoni" and the whole story of their to (Blo-Tast Labs.) to conduct. voivemont Dr. Lloyd said he was "prond af The MCA spokesman lays he doesn't be KIOSK'S response" ones It know of the aerlieve MCA bad any further contact with kuiSBeas of tba throat, and "objects to NIMH until January of thla year: charge* that NIOSH knew last year and A spokesman (or NIOSH denies that the failed to act." full story was revealed to staff members at the July meeting. Accessing to Dick Wil son, press repreaentillve for NIOSH, the PRIME PIGMENTS only researcher discussed by name was Dr, P.L. Viola, who in 1*70 had published re CADMIUM PIGMENTS- effective May sults from animal atudiea that showed tu 31 Gkdden la increasing prices on Uthopooe- mor* in tbeearctnataof rats at 36.000 ppm. type and concentrated cadmium pigment*. and later at ,000 ppm. The only.rufannce Utbcpooedypo reds are being Increased by to Maltooi. according to Wltson, was men Mc.-Yle. per pound t a now price level of tion of "another Italian investigator" who 14-19 to K.7I Pur pound, Yellows are up was undertaking similar work. Thera was Sc.* Me- pur pound to a naw price level of no mention of Maltooi by name, nhr of tbe gl-94 to 93.n per pound. appearance of sagtoaarcomas Iwhich was a Concentrated pigment*, light fyellow and marked naw development beyond Viola's orange purus), an all up by (Sc. per pound work), nor of the discovery Of tumors in ani- to jM.M per pound. Dark oraufes in up by mala exposed to levels of VCM as low as ISO a rangoef TPc.dec. par pound tot newlsvel ppm. of SKIS to g.m par pound. AU rads an up Dr. William Lloyd, a senior official at by a range of Ac.-gt-TT per pound to n now NIOSH who did not pcraonally attend the price level gs.lt la tll.M per pound-- mooting bui is familiar with tbe notes of the All pries* aro lor truckload quantities. proceedings, said last week that the MCA representatives "pooh-poohed" Viola's re sults, having been discovered after such a high level ol exposure and not revealing anything like angiosarcomas, end suggest- MISCELLANEOUS METALLIC STEARATES-In order U Kl that "the other" Investigator's finding! dispel any contusion arising from the pub were of the same order. Uthing Hi CMR over the past two tsaues e Dr. Lloyd itld that his Initial response separate announcements In the Drags am upon first raiding the notes ol the meeting ' Coatings Markets ol MalUnckrodt'a urn and speaking with aids who attended, was prices lor metafile stearates, which quoto "Nothing very startling there." different prices reflecting different ship Ilia MCA spokesman said that bis orga ment quantities and packages, the com nisation thought the results wsrc important plete new prtee list follows. and warranted "urgent'' follow-up work Effective May 7 aluminum great* at and that U why. Bio-Test was conmla Ce.44c. in carloads and trueUeadi Mooed. 8tc,dtc, lor S.000 pound to truckload quar Dr. Lloyd said that be didn't believe any titles, (Tc.-Mc. for quantities of 20CDSH body at NTOSR bad information on the po Continued on Page M VRD '*0 0 2 8 1 4 5 1 4 Copies to: JJL JDBu KLS LNV iFK) CLW (EAS REL) DVP WRS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Friday, June 14,1974 Ttw Cancer Deaths Verified for First Time For Polyvinyl Chloride Industry Workers ; By Barry Kramer man declined to identify the lactory in RJo// Reporter of THE WAIJ. STREET JOUJIHAI. volved, and a Labor Department spokesman A second death from angiosarcoma of in Washington identified it only as a Strat the liver, a rare form of cancer previously ford plant that makes polyvinyl-coated fab linked to vinyl chloride occupational expo rics. A further Investigation la being under sure, has been discovered In the polyvinyl taken to learn if the accountant ever worked chloride plastic fabricating industry, the on the production line. - Connecticut Health Department announced Although a definite relationship between in H^tford. occupational exposure and angiosarcoma in The two deaths increase concern that the the two polyvinyl chloride workers cannot occupation danger of cancer from vinyl be made, the Labor Department spokesman chloride, a gas used to make polyvinyl said contact with all other chemicals, drugs chloride plastic, may be more widespread and diseases that can effect the liver bad than had been thought. Since January, 13 been ruled out In the two cases, leaving only cases of liver angiosarcoma have been de polyvinyl chloride os a known possibility.? tected among vinyl chloride workers from plants that manufactured the gas or that po lymerized the gas into the plastic. Six other cases have been reported abroad.' But the Connecticut cases are the first known in the polyvinyl chloride fabricating Industry, which turns the plastic into n myr iad of finished products ranging from furni ture to coated fabric to electric cable cover ing. German scientists recently reported finding "precursors" of angiosarcoma in the Uvcrs of six workers in a plant that turned polyvtnyt chloride plastic Into floor tiles.' But the Connecticut cases, confirmed as Connecticut's cancer registry, which un covered the two cases and which is ope of the oldest and most accurate in the nation, lists six confirmed cases of angiosarcoma of the liver since the registry was begun in 1939. The other four cases didn't have known exposure to either vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride, according to Dr. Bar bara Christine, chief of the health depart ment's chronic disease section. She said the link between polyvinyl chloride and the two angiosarcoma deaths "might just be chance." angiosarcoma by the National Cancer Insti- The link between vinyl chloride gas and tude in Bethesda, Md., are the first actual liver angiosarcoma is-strong; and scientists cases. In the U.S. an estimated 6,500 per believe that if a link is determined between sons work in the vinyl chloride industry, exposure to polyvinyl chloride plastic and while the number working in the polyvinyl the rare cancer It will be because the plastic chloride industry numbers in the hundreds contains pockets of unpolymerised vinyl of thousands. chloride monomer that are ; liberated in The Connecticut Health Department an heating the plastic when it is fabricated Into nounced the first case last week, and Gen different products. . ,1,;,$^ eral Electric Co. disclosed that it was n AO- Labor Department hearings designed to year-old employe who for 30 years had oper set permanent standards for vinyl chloride ated machines at a Bridgeport cable manu atmospheric concentrations in factories are facturing plant that processed various plan- scheduled to begin June 26 in Washington; A tics, Including polyvinyl chloride. The man temporary celling of SO parts vinyl chloride died last July, GE said. per million parts of air is currently In effect The second case Involved a man who and the Labor Department has proposed a worked as an accountant in a- polyvinyl limit at levels too small to be detected, a re chlnridc fabricating plant in the same part quirement the Industry has said would, be of the state. A health department spokes impossible to meet. THE WAIX STREET JOURNA L Moiuliiy, June .7,1974 EPA Considers Limits On Plant Emissions Of Vinyl Chloride By a Wau. STRKKT JoirnaL Staff Reyorttr WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is considering setting emission limits (or plants that make vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride has been implicated in 19 cases world-wide of a rare form of liver cancer among workers involved In the con version of the chemical, which is a gas, to polyvinyl chloride, a plastic, the EPA noted. Similar cancers also have been produced in experiments exposing rats and mice to vinyl chloride. The EPA said it has asked 27 companies for data on how much of the two substances are lost into the air in the manufacturing processes at 14 vinyl chloride and 35 poly vinyl chloride plants they operate. The agency said It wants the Information for use In the possible development of emission standards for the plants. The EPA has been taking air samples near about one-third of th^'plants. Officials said the substances have been detected in j the air as far as a mile from the plants. The agency said, though, ft didn't have sufficient data for any conclusions and that health risks from such emissions is unknown. In April, the EPA suspended from sale and ordered a recall of all pesticide aerosols for indoor use containing vinyl chloride. The Food and Drug Administration and the Con sumer Product Safety Commission have also moved against aerosols in their juris diction that contain vinyl chloride, which Is used as a propellant for the sprays. OS r> <S9 ,7 h* r K- j. c ^u ^ C 9^\ Tuesday, June 4. '74 1 DETROlT 1-KEE PRESS at Dow OUND -- (AP) -- The of a medical research m said Monday he has i '`a small number of unu- sual thtngj that require imme diate attention" during a can cer screening at Dow Chemi cal Co. Dr. Ervin Selikoff of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City would not say if the prob lems are related to the chemi cal vinyl chloride* which has been linked to a rare form of liver cancer, angiosarcoma, "W e shouldn't extrapolate CHEMICALS RESEARCH JUN6 1974 beyond what we know now, 1 but we should be urgent," Dr. | Selikoff said. "When we find i unusual things, we call the j \ man's doctor. At the request of the patient I will tell ihe union and the company. Medi cal records are personal and private." SELIKOFF SAID the learn I- examined more than 200 Dow 1 workers Sunday and Monday, .j and planned to look at a total . of 400 this week before moving i on to a Union Carbide plant in j South Charleston, W. Va. j He said' the staff of 16 has j been studying vinyl chloride J for more than three months, j The work is sponsored by the i j Department of Health, Educa- * | (ion and Welfare and the ! American Cancer Society, hf - 1 said. | A Dow spokesman .said the ' plant makes vinyl chloride and uses some of it to produce 1 r Saran Wrap and industrial res- ' 1 ins- Vinyl chloride also is sold to , other firms for production of j plastic materials, including | the rubbery substance polyvi- ! nyl chloride. Dr. Selikoff said Dow physi- ! cians have been co-operative ! * i n providing worker health { statistics. I . ! I "BUT DOW studies were not ] based upon our current know!- j ' edge," Dr. Selikoff said. "No j one knew cancer might he an i occupational hazard." Some of the workers at the. : Dow facility, which was struck March 18 by the United Steel- , workers Local 12075, have j been working with the mate- i rial for 20 to 30 years. j Dr. Selikoff said the exam- j inations include X-rays and tests of blood, lungs and urine. -Earlier tests were performed at the Goodyear plant in Niag ara Falls, N. Y., and a Tenneco plant in New Jersey. O' L,J. Schuman May 8, 1974 - Wall Street Journal / cc: JOB, FK, JJ L, KLS, AJA, RDG PB, LNV Vinyl Chloride Hazard Stressed by Safety Panel Dll fi Walt. Stkket JuLT.mal Stn.ff Reporter WASHINGTON--The Consumer Product Safety Commission joined ether federal agencies in warning consumers that the use) of aerosol sprays propelled by vinyl chic-ride may bo a health hazard. Vinyl chloride has boon tinned with a rare form of liver capcer among industrial workers involved in converting the gaseous! Ichoniicnl to tan plastic polyvinyl chloride. I |Vinyl chloride is one of several substances jthat can be used 03 a propellant for ocvocol sprays. Besides warning that tiio chemical could present a substantial product hu?.nr-\" the commission asked past and present makers of vinyl chloride-propelled sprays to submit information about the distribution and use 'patterns of their products. Last month the Environmental Frotcc'ttc.n Agency recalled and banned pesticide 'aerosols containing vinyl chloride and the jPVod and Drug Administration recalled ccrItain cosnudie products employmu: the rliemjlcai. It the Product Safety Commission dc* irides that other products tiah'g vinyl elderlide are hazardous, it could b,m the r sale. CHEMICALS RESEARCH MAY 101974 rTM.. - --I WR5 Li1/* i i-- . i glTD i0902014 517 0002014519 . THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Thursday, May 9,1^ ',! "4 Restriction on Vinyl Chloride Exposure JProposed by Labor Unit to Guard Workers By* Wall Spun Joumul ttaff Bejorttr volved in making vinyl chloride and turning WASHINGTON--The Labor Department it Into polyvinyl chloride. But a huge fore# proposed permanent restrictions on work* of about 700,000 workers Is estimated to be. era' exposure to vinyl chloride that would Involved in turning the polyvinyl chloride limit the chemical's atmospheric concentre* Into finished plastic products. - tiooa in work areas to. levels too small to be The proposed permanent standard could detected. ; ?. . affect, tens of thousands of the estimated The proposed permanent^standard, which total workers who. handle the chemical and can take effect only after' affectedpartiea Its derivative; ^ ~r have had a chance to comment oh-It, follow^ "A* section of the new standard places re by about.a.month the department's issuance strictions on the handling of polyvinyl chlor* of a temporary, emergency standard that lde in making plastic products where~'tha , cut allowable vinyl chloride exposure tn polyvinyl chloride can be shown to be re plants to 00 parts per million, a sharp reduc leasing detectable amounts of vinyl chlor tion from the previous limit of 000 parts per ide. ' million. The temporary standard wUl stay In Vtorms of Exposure Aren't Clear force for up to six months, or until the per* It isn't clear how many polyvinyl chlor manent standard Is made effective. ide processes cause release of the vinyl The imposition of the standards results chloride molecules, but researchers believe 1 from the discovery earlier this year that ex* some workers may be exposed Just by open*' posure to vinyl chloride may be a cause of a ing containers of polyvinyl chloride1- iuid rare form of liver cancer, angiosarcoma. In breathing in quantities of "raw" vinyl chlor January, B. F. Goodrich Co. disclosed four ide molecules that-may ding to the pro workers at Its Louisville vinyl chloride con* cessed material. In other cases, researchers version plant had died from the cancer. believe, "raw" vinyl chloride particles.that Other deaths and cancer cases among vinyl have remained in bubbles In the finished' chloride workers have been reported, at polyvinyl chloride can be released during standard would force ma- to handle vinyl chloride and lyvinyl chloride In "regulated and impose strict monitoring of the. air in those areas. A program of engi neering .measures and work practices is specified for such areas, and free continuing ndical-exams for workers are mandated, lybtecijvet. clothing 7 and equipment also inUst^l^suppUed., ' t i The AFL^CIO's safety- experts, who had been, prodding the Labor .Department's Oc- qi^at^maJ^Safety and-Kealtlr AdminIstra- ^oftftibir-the vinyl - chlqrlde problem, ex* prjeBsed'.'genera] export for the proposed permanent standard. But the union said It might ' flgfit to change one section of the 'standard that defines the notion of "detects* Me" levels of vinyl chloride. . AFLUrgee Tighter Measure, V'.*?/, r standard sets allowable exposure^ itectable level;" usJng.^quiptnent cap- ^tt-gwasuring concentrations- of One But*union experts contend ,^f^5immerclally available that eVtasmaller levels than this, .y', such^flner measurement other plants since then. extrusion processes. , > v- : . Vinyl chloride, normally a gas, Is con Though the proposed rule covers workers . verted at plants such as. the Goodrich facil at several stages of the plastics procugglt' ity into a powdery - substance called poly specifically excludes workers handllng^S^I rtg" alio- havef embarked , get the;agency to toughen temporary vinyl chloride vinyl chloride, from which a wide range of fabricated products, made from polyvinyl everyday plastic products is made. It Is esti chloride, presumably because it isnhobwi mated that about 6,BOO U.S. workers are In lieved these fabricated products give off At a meeting with agency officials y, a labor committee headed by Ansafety director of the machin- vinyl chloride. urged that the temporary stan* partsper million exposure level be to tbp same "no detectable level" for the permanent standard.-yv rifCefalo contends the SO-parts level ir b carver causing, especially to women od-,child-bearing age,, workers with liver damage and .workers with past heavy expo* ^3&oqeZ',Z Jjepirtment" officials haven't the indon-bld, but the^ b^canjpihppe. to-avoid tinkering with ^'teOTjjpraj^'measure. .since, they .^Ijrftis^the'. proposed Tp .iajon as ruleS fbr obtai 3^itaifbe'met.'hey*ar^v_. .te^b^Mul^-for raeetmg !>-'^cpedl' tfce^proiidsr py'late, summer., VRD 0002014519 TULSA DAILY WORLD Saturday, May 11, 1974 Copies to: WRS DVP (EAS REL) ;ekj Vinyl, Chloride Called Threat to Users NEW YORK W -- The first indication that vinyl chloride may be a hazard to thousands of industrial workers outside the plastic manufacturing plant was reported Friday. Six cases of liver disease In workers converting the fin ished plastic onto floor tiles was reported at a special sci entific meeting by Dr. W.v K. Lelbach and others front , the University of Bonn. The liver disease was marked both by functional im pairment and cellular changes that could be precursors of a rare liver cancer, angiosar coma, 13 cases of which have been among plastics workers in the United States. The workers with the in variably fatal liver cancer were involved in the use of vinyl chloride, a colorless gas used as propellant, and its conversion to polyvinyl chlo been attributed to the rare di*l rides in the manufacturing ease. In addition, two, other-5 plant. About 6.500 American cases of angiosarcoma have workers are employed at this been reported in Louisville;-l stage. three at the Goodyear plant-hi ]j Many thousand others are Niagara Falls, NY.; two. at a'j involved in the phases of - Union Carbine plant in West molding, forming, extruding, Virginia; and, one in Pott-1 shaping, covering paper for stown, Pa. rj use in many products, includ Animal experiments have j ing food wrappers and con shown a variety of cancers tainers, tiles, detergent bot produced in rats, mice and tles. hamsters in various doses of "This Is a very important proportion of workers," said Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, of the vinyl chloride given by' various routes, such as injec-; tion and Ingestion. Mount Sinai School of medi Dr. Cesar Maitoni, of the In- 5 cine, co-chairman of the meet stitute of Oncology and Tumor- ing with Dr. E. Cuyler Ham Center in Bologna, said' ex- mond of the American Cancer posure of rats to 50 parts per ? Society. . million of vinyl chloride -- the >1 The meeting was sponsored- by the cancer society, the Na tional Institute of Environ mental Health Sciences and the National Institute for Oc-i cupational Safety and Health. 4 The question of risk to the,] \ ; , emergency allowable level ,of-J exposure for workers now -- 3 produced three cancers in* some rats but he cautioned the^ rats were very old, 130 weeks, r comparable to, 70-75 years ,(op man. nod consumer is unresolved, but; . Much more study will be* re^ the United States Consumer' , quired before scientists dls- ; Products Safety Commission- , cover just how serious a prob- j said May 7 it intended to ban lem the vinyl chloride problem 5 the use of vinyl chlorider In* is for society, said Dr, tHam* ij most household sprays. mond. 1 At least five deaths, among workers of the B. F, Goodrich plant In Louisville,, Ky., here g is tm d d TIME May 13, 1974 The Plastic Peril Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas that has been used as a propellant in such popular products as hair, disinfectant and insect sprays. It is also the prin cipal ingredient of polyvinyl chlorides, the plastics that go into a host of fa miliar products including food wrappers and containers, suitcases, detergent bot tles and garbage bags. No one questions vinyl chloride's utility, but a growing number of doctors now suspect its safe ly. Increasing evidence links vinyl chlo ride to a crippling bone disease and a rare .but invariably fatal form of cancer. Evidence of vinyl chloride's toxicity has been around for years. Production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was begun m 1938 by B.F. Goodrich Co. That year experiments showed that the vinyl chlo ride gas used at the plant was danger ous to animals. A 1949 Russian study showed that vinyl chloride (VC) caused nonmalignant liver damage in 15 of 48 workers exposed to the chemical; sur veys in other European countries over the next decade and a half confirmed the connection. In 1966 and 1967 Brit ish scientists examining PVC workers reported a high incidence of acro-osteolysis. a condition partially character ized by distortion of the skin and bones of the fingers and feet. Mini-Epidemic. The connection be tween VC and cancer was first made in 1970 by Publio L. Viola of the Univer sity of Rome, who found tumors in the lungs, skin and bones of rats exposed tb high concentrations of the gas. The link was strengthened in 1973 when re-, searchers from Bonn University found evidence of liver damage in 19 out of 20 PVC workers at a single plant. The bombshell really burst early this year when B.F. Goodrich Co. reported that three men who worked with VC in its Louisville, Ky., plastics plant had died of angiosarcoma of the liver since 1971. Since then doctors have identified nine more cases of the cancer in the U.S., one in Great Britain and another in Norway. Their findings are all the more sig nificant because angiosarcoma of the liver is so rare that it has been re ported only about 100 times in med ical history; a major hospital in Los Angeles found only one case in 52,000 autopsies. The discovery of a dozen closely linked cases thus constitutes a sort of mini epidemic of the disease. Since such cancers may not develop for at least 15 years after initial ex posure, environmental health research ers suspect that more cases will be un covered. Says J. William Lloyd, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): "1 would suspect that this is going to be the oc cupational disease of the century." His prediction could prove correct, for in the U.S. alone some 6,500 work ers are involved in making VC gas or converting the gas into PVC; thousands more are engaged in converting the plas tic into finished products. European and Japanese firms are also heavily involved in VC production. Whopping Levels. So far, at least, there is no clear evidence that consum- ' J ers are in any danger from VC. The UJS. Food and Drug Administration and the i Environmental Protection Agency have, as a precautionary measure, put a halt to the distribution of spray products us- - ing VC propellants.* The FDA had already ordered companies to stop bottling whisky in PVC bottles; whisky.', dissolves the plastic. Other PVC prod- 'hi ucts offered to the consumer have yet to v ' be proved unsafe. But the risks to plastics workers are . real. A research team headed by Dr. Ir-^ ving SelikolT of New York's Mount Sinai 1 School of Medicine has found that work- ; ers at one plant are exposed to VC lev- i1 > els of 400 to 500 parts per million of the . gas. more than enough to cause liver dis- J _ ease in rats. Workers involved in clean- : ing the reactors in which VC is convert-1 ed to PVC are exposed to even higher ''-V concentrations of the gas. One study V showed that VC levels in these cookers , range from 600 to a whopping 1,000 ' parts per million. Neither Japan nor the European na tions have done more than start studies on VC, but American authorities are moving to reduce the risks from the plas- , tic peril. The Department ofLabor s Oc- cupational Safety and Health Admin istration has issued emergency regula tions reducing allowable VC levels to 50 parts per million. Whether this is ad- .. equate to provide long-term protection for plastics workers remains to be seen. * An industry-sponsored study has shown i* that when mice are exposed to those lev- ; els, they develop angiosarcoma. '* 'The majority of spray-product manufacturer* use Freon gas. - _--1~ u_, .J I / i VRD 0002014521 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER May 20, 1974 Copies for: MRS DVP f Toxicity Debate Escalates; PVC Men See OSH A Threat The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's proposed permanent standard , for levels of vinyl chloride gas in work environments, and its as sociated medical and supervisory pro cedures, has made the issue of VC tox icity the first concern of the PVC in dustry, according to some sources in that industry. The proposal, and its po tential impact if formally adopted, has, these sources say, superceded feedstock shortages as the most worri some challenge faced by the industry. OSHA's action reflects only one aspect of the current government inquiry into the health threat posed by VC, other research .is being conducted by FDA and EPA. but the proposed standard represents the first significant move toward regulation of the chemical intermediate and has thereby magnified and focused the toxicity issue. Although the proposed regulations apply to "any area or operation in which vinyl chloride is manufactured, reacted, re leased, repackaged, stored, or used," it is . in polymerization facilities where environmental levels of the gas are highest and , where the impact of the standard would be greatest.' But PVC is'also the heart of VC use. consuming virtually all that is pro duced and in turn supplying one of the broadest, -strongest, and most economical end-use markets in the entire plastics in dustry. Thus the impact there will be felt with virtually equal force both up and downstream, The key sentence in the proposed rules is this: "The proposed standard for em ployee- exposure is set at no detectable level, as determined by a sampling and an alytical method capable of detecting vinyl chloride at concentrations of 1 ppm with an accuracy of Ippm plus 50.percenl.'' This su percedes a level of 500 ppm, in effect up until April of this year when an emergency temporary standard of 50 ppm was put into effect. The Society of the Plastics Industry promptly responded by calling the standard "excessively and unrealistically restric tive." In a statement issued within hours of the proposal, on May 10, SPI said that adop tion of the standard "would make it virtual ly impossible for plants to operate." Spokesmen for a number of PVC producers backed-up SPI's assessment. One said "nobody can operate at that level/' another said, "the disruptions would be enormous/1 others said "we'd have to design new plants," "it would shut us down," "you could close the industry down because nobody could operate1," "the economic impact would be enormous," and "no expo sure would mean no industry." Some others were more reserved. "I don't say it can't be done," one informed source at a large producer said, "but it would be very difficult and expensive. We're quite concerned, but it's part of the cost of doing business.'.' Goodrich, the major producer of PVC in the world, said in a formal statement that "the `no detectable level' clause is imprac tical and not justified," but added that "it intends to continue to operate its plants and meet any reasonable standard." Many pro ducers expressed confidence that the final standard adopted would be above that pro posed. Maurice Johnson, M.D., chief medi cal officer at Goodrich, said last week that Goodrich is. currently operating with a work-place environmental level of about 15 ppm at most of its plants. However, other smaller manufacturers claim they have spent "hundreds of thou sands of dollars" just to get beneath the 50 ppm emergency standard, and added that 25-3(1 ppm would be as low as they could go in the near future. Summing up the indus try concern, one informed source said "the question now is `How do you stay alive?' The next two or three months will be criti cal." "TOO HIGH" i *Jj| Sidney Wolff, M.D.. Director of Health^ Research Group which has heen instrument tai in pushing government recognition of? VC toxicity, has complained that the pro/ posed standard is "too high." He argues: that while it "goes in the right direction"? and that the non-detectable performance.: level is proper, the wording of the proposal^ in effect establishes a threshhold level of 1, ppm. He adds that there is "no cvidencej that any carcinogen is safe at any level. ,, OSHA, he believes, should insist that non**1 detectable means on Instruments of any^ sensitivity, available now or available In: the future. This he says was the intent of NIOSH's recommendations, as well as those of OSHA's own Carcinogen Advisory Committee when it suggested a level of no exposure in January with regard to 14 other. suspcct-carcinogens that it was convened to. study. ` *7V)` Bert Coltine, a staff legal associate at" HRG, says that industry always complains it will be put out of business when faced I with safety regulations. He suggests that j (hey provide evidence to back-up their-: claim, that the emphasis be on technical feasibility rather than just economic feasiv bility, and that each company case be ha-v ndled individually, with individual evidenti ary hearings on hardship, and individual . rulings on performance and deadline de* ferrments. '.i The Organization of Plastic Processors, a Washington group representing plastics fabricators and end-users, had no immedi ate comment on the OSHA proposal but act*; ing director Michael Lang said that the ex/ eoutive committee had been convened.to: study the development and establish formal policy toward It. A source close to thfcj group, however, said the OSHA move "Ul not going to be helpful. It is going to disrupt* supplies even further." Then he yielded tOi the fact: "There is certainly a health probr! Jem." j-frj get everyone mad at you," he sayB. Clark notes that he told many volume customers iu 1972 that a tight market was coming and they could only receive 75% of their 1972 purchases in 1973, and at an 8% to 10% price increase. A California glass manufacturer and some other customers refused the deal and went looking for other sources, only to return empty-handed in the 'Saying no,' says Clark, 'Is ap unpopular message, however you phrase It1 second quarter, offering to pay 40% more for the same amount of board. By then, Fibreboard had none to sell. The company claims that it gave all ac counts three to six months notice and promised that it would not abandon any customer who might be unable to find alternate sources of supply. The company, McLaughlin stresses, acted "in the most gentlemanly manner." And Clark says, "The scabs are begin ning to heal." Not so, several major canners claim. Says one food customer: "We can't quarrel with the Fibreboard decision. They weren't making much money in the food business. But the peremptory way they cut us back left a sour taste in a lot of people's mouths." Deraid K. Garrison, vice-president of production services for Del Monte Corp., is another less-than-satisfied customer. He says that Fibreboard still offers "good boxes and service," but he feels Fibreboard "is taking the short term viewpoint" in its marketing strategy. Another unhappy beverage and food packer has seen its Fibre- board business drop in one year from more than $100,000 to less than $10,000. Incentive formula. To back up its new ap proach to customer service, Fibreboard also performed some needed surgery. Early in 1972, the group closed three unprofitable paperstock and carton mills and trimmed 10% of the com pany's sales and work force. Fibreboard then tutored the remaining Bales staff in the fine art of selling contain ers and cartons for profit. Eighty sales men went through an intensive, twoweek training course, learning, says McLaughlin, "how to become solution salesmen, not box salesmen." With salesmen's salaries fixed at $12,000 a year, says McLaughlin, "we also decided you can't motivate them to jump tall buildings at a single bound." So the company came up with an incen tive plan, allowing a salesman to triple hiB pay to $3,000 a month from $1,000. The new formula is based on the profit ability of a given product, rather than the total dollar sale. This way, , the salesman is better off selling industrial containers than basic cannery cases. He earns 10% of an account's profits, and industrial containers pull in mar gins of from 10% to 15% vs. the 4% profit on sales of basic cannery cases. "Our objective is to maximize profits per limited resource, and under this in centive system, there is a direct corre lation between the profits the company makes and those that the salesman makes," says Verbey. If an account is not profitable, he adds, "we pay no compensation, and the salesman is told, 'Get it positive, or get it out.' " While Fibreboard has been criticized for the way that it "cleared out the oldtimers," new industrial container salesmen are happy with the new sys tem. One of these, Jack Van Horn, is now averaging twice the fixed salary that he received 13 months ago at Aluminum Co. of America. Van Horn claims that this year, it is "very pos sible" that he will reach the $40,000 ceiling for Fibreboard salesmen. At the plant level, the previous policy of fulfilling nearly every customer need led to under-utilization of plant equip ment and odd-hour shifts. At a paperboard mill in Antioch, Calif., for instance, the "equipment profile"-- meaning the number of different pieces of equipment needed at the plant--was cut from 36 units in 1972 to 16 units Fibreboard developed a simple resource allocation risen from 40% of total output a year ago to 65% today. At the same time, corrugated cases for glass containers and other low-margin products have been eliminated. As McLaughlin ex plains it: "The industrial market is so strong in Los Angeles that we could not afford to have so much business tied up in beverage cases." And if cus tomers don't like that, McLaughlin and other Fibreboard executives suggest that they "find another supplier." INDUSTRIAL BRIEFS Engineers apply Demand for engineers and scientistiHlL March reached its highest montQy level since 1969, according to Deutsch, Shea & Evans, Inc., a New York re cruitment advertising agency. The agency's demand index for the first quarter, derived from the nationwide volume of recruitment advertising and using 1961 as a base of 100, was 124, about one-third higher than for the same period last year. Welding In space The prospects for metal fabrication in outer space--spacecraft repairs, for ex ample-got a boost last week when re searchers of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration revealed the results of the Skylab experiments in brazing and electron-beam welding. In both cases, surface tension proved enough to hold the molten metal in place despite its weightlessness, and successful joints were made with a number of materials. The Soviet Union conducted welding experiments; also apparently successful, on a 1969 flight. it is making brass and aluminum parts for customers by a squeeze casting pro cess it calls sqz. In squeeze casting, widely used in the Soviet Union, mol ten metal is poured into a lower die and then put under pressure by an upper die while it solidifies. Parts made this way have the high strength of a forg ing, but cost much lesB. Several U. S. companies are believed to be using the process in-house, but Doehler-Jarvis is the first to offer custom parts. 02 D BUSINESS WEEK: May 18,1974 INDUSTRIAL MARKETING INDUSTRIAL MARKETING When to sacrifice customer goodwill There is one thing-and probably only one thing--to be said in favor of to day's shortage economy: It forces com panies to do some things they should have been doing all along. A case in point is Fibreboard Corp., a middlesized San Francisco forest products company. For years, Fibreboard, like many other companies, stressed vol ume in its marketing and let the prof its take care of themselves. Now it can no longer afford to do business that way. Strapped by raw material shorts ages and rising costs, Fibreboard is being forced to choose its customers for the profit, and not the volume, poten tial in their business. In terms of cus tomer relations, that is proving to be a tough and often painful decision. But Fibreboard is plowing ahead anyway. As part of a wide ranging, two-year reorganization of its Paperboard & Packaging Group, which accounts for more than half of Fibreboard's $269million in sales, the company has dropped or cut back production on scores of unprofitable products, dosed three unprofitable mills, trimmed the sales force, set up special training and incentive programs, and changed its approach to customer service. Rather than satisfying nearly all customer needs, as it did in the past, the group is now choosier about the products it offers and the customers it deals with. Along the way, the group has gone from a combined loss of $1.8-million in 1971 and 1972 to a $1.8-million profit in 1973 on sales of $136.8-million. Like more and more companies in the same position, Fibreboard has also rewritten a basic canon of modern marketing that stated that a company should focus not on selling a given product but on satisfying a given market need. In today's seller's market when materials are scarce, the supplier can afford to re verse those two priorities if he is will ing to sacrifice some , of his customer goodwill. Fibreboard is willing, and it is almost a textbook case of how to make the transition. `Xerox hotshots.' For most of its 57 years, Fibreboard let its customers call the tune. "Volume," as President Mel vin L.. Levine puts it, "was a way to protect business." Levine, who became president in 1971, brought a different thinking to the company. "We don't have the resources to be everything to everybody," he insists. With just 160,000 acres of timberland, compared with millions for some of its competi tors, Fibreboard lacks the base needed to make a profit from cutting down trees as a commodity. So Levine de cided to stress higher margin products-and customers. As one of his first orders of business, Levine recruited wbat one customer calls "two Xerox hotshots." Robert J. McLaughlin, former director of na tional technical services for Xerox Corp., became marketing vice-presi dent in late 1971, and Robert S. Verhey, a former financial analyst and planner for Xerox, joined Fibreboard early in 1972 as director of product planning. McLaughlin went to work on one of the company's biggest problems, an over-reliance on volume customers who used the leverage of large orders to drive hard* bargains. Since 1971, Fibreboard has cut the dependence of the average plant on a single customer from 33% to 18% last year. The top five customers for low-margin corrugated food and beverage cases accounted for 14.6% of Fibreboard's container reve- Levlne: `We don't have the resources to be everything to everybody' nues last year, compared with 21% in 1971. By 1976, McLaughlin plans to cut cannery and beverage container sales from 46% of the Paperboard & Pack aging Group's 1972 volume to 22%. The slack will be taken up by higher margin industrial packaging, a $300-million market on the West Coast. Margins on basic corrugated cases for food and beverages, McLaughlin notes, range from "nonexistent to nar row." Such basic commodity sales might earn 3% or 4%, at best. On the other hand, industrial containers for instruments, furniture, toys, and tele vision sets--"anything with a high value that the customer wants to protect"-might bring 15% to 20%. The key to profits, McLaughlin stresses, is the value added to the basic paperboard by graphics, laminations, die cuts, and other services. Allocation. Fielder A. Nordstrom, vicepresident of the Carton Div., readily concedes that there was "some conster nation" when the Paperboard Group pulled out of volume accounts to "spread the risk" and expand "our cus tomer profile." One California food products packager, for instance, boosted its industrial packaging orders from $5,000 in the beginning of last year to nearly $150,000 six months later. Other major accounts--including California Canners & Growers, Camp bell Soup, Del Monte, Safeway, Stokely-Van Camp, and Tillie Lewis Foods--were put on allocation. Procter & Gamble Co., which one Fibreboard executive describes as "a notorious price buyer," was cut off entirely. While some customers harbored no U1 feelings, others were angry. Jerry Clark, manager of business planning for the Container Div., con cedes that saying no to customers "is an unpopular message, no matter how carefully you phrase it." Most of Clark's time last year, in fact, was spent allocating board between major accounts and smaller regional accounts. "1 didn't realize that it was possible to McLaughlin: "The key to paperboard profits is value added by graphics and services." INDUSTRIAL MARKETING BUSINESS WEEK: May. 1S. J974_ . 82C Top of the nevffi; U.K. tackles VCM Four British chemical makers, which account for all of the nation's 400,000 tons/year of vinyl chloride and 400,000 tons/year of polyvinyl chloride produc tion, plan to spend $9.6 million to reduce workers' exposure to VCM at their nine plants. IQ, BP Chemicals, Vmatex and British Industrial Plastics said last week that they will install ventilating equipment, moni toring devices and automatic autoclave cleaning systems at the plants. And, through the UJC.'s Chemical Industry Assn., the four companies will advise fab ricators on proper ventilation and moni toring methods. Delays Expected: Industry sources say B.F. Goodrich's ultrahigh-pressure watef-jet unit is the favored cleaning system. But the companies daim they face long delays in deliveries of monitoring equip ment as well as the cleaning devices. Up shot: concentrations of VCM at polymer ization plants will stay at "an average of 50 parts per million" for some time. Gov ernment limit in the U.K. is 200 ppm. According to Barry Barnes, an ICl di rector and head of the industry's VCM Committee, all plants will be at 50 ppm. within two months and will aim at reduci ing that level to 25 ppm. by year's end-- presumably depending on the delivery of equipment Barnes says the level could be -a reduced to as low as 10 ppm., but he ^7 claims "the industry would come to a stop", ifzero exposurewere required. i ^Harold Walker, Parlimentary Under secretary of the Dept of Employment, observes-that medical information "is not sufficient to enable a safe exposure limit to be determined." He favors an interim standard ceiling of 50 ppm. and a timeweighted average of 25 ppm. "Wherever practicable, exposure should be brought as nearly as possible to zero concentra tion," Walker adds. Making the best of it Ways in which drug firms can meet Food and Drug Administration quality control standards in the face of shortages ofhigh-grade raw materials got top atten tion at the Drug, Chemical and Allied Trades Assn. Midwestern seminar in Chi cago last week. Robert Singiser, vice-president for sci entific affairs in Abbott Laboratories' pharmaceutical division, reported that he has had to increase his staff by at least 8% this year in order to evaluate materials suppliers' positions as well as potential methods of substitution of materials. Singiser maintained that the extra atten tion demanded by materials shortages has not yet cut into Abbott's development of new products, but he added that the situation seems to be getting worse and may "dilute" new-product development later this year. In the past, Abbott shipped directly bade to suppliers those materials that did not conform to FDA standards, Singiser said. Now, he added, the company takes a second look at previously unacceptable materials to see whether they might be upgraded. For example, metal contami nation might be removed, materials might be recrystallized or sterilized, or particles of coarse materials might be re duced in size. Hugh Anderson, director of corporate purchasing for Upjohn, recounted similar experiences in making substitutions for previously unacceptable grades of raw materials. He noted, for instance, that Upjohn now makes some use of "regular grade" sodium hydroxide instead of the specially purified form it used until late *73. He added that the company also has increased materials concentrations to cut down on the use ofsolvents and has insti tuted a solvent-recovery program. Meanwhile, in a related development last week, Union Carbide assured its pharmaceutical customers that they would receive the same amount of feed stocks for life-saving drugs as they did in *73. Carbide added, however, that cus tomers will have to attest that chemicals being ordered "are necessary for the manufacture of drugs used to preserve patients' lives." FMC walkout ends A month-long strike that had shut down FMC's Pocatello, Ida., phosphorus plant (CW, Market Newsletter, Apr. 24), ended last week. The strike began in April when about 350 members of the In ternational Assn, of Machinists (AFLCIO) walked off the job after refusing a company contract offer. Supervisory per sonnel had returned the plant to partial operation just a few days before striking employees agreed to return to their jobs. Terms of the settlement were not dis closed. Resumption of full operations at the plant, which accounts for about 25% of total U.S. phosphorus capacity, will be sure to ease the crimped phosphorus sup ply situation. An FMC spokesman con cedes that by the fourth week ofthe strike, supplies to the company's three phosphate production plants were getting tightp Also last week, a short strike by coig struction workers, which had stopped) work on millions of dollars of new cheng ical plant projects in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, was ended with tentative agreement on a new contract* Terms call for a wage increase of 804/hour, effective May 20, and a 404/hour boost in January. This amounts to about a 12% increase over the 17month period covered by the contract World roundup Belgium's Solvsy's *73 sales rose 23%, to $1.59 billion,, and net pipits 16%, to $38.5 million.. . .. Italy's tyoutedluon has bought a 50% share in detergent-maker Snla Casa, a subsidiary of Snia Viscose. Snia Casa's '73 sales reached $21 million. Monted already controls about one-third of Snia Viscosa, Italy's largest fiber maker. West Germany's BASF will boost capi tal spending about 19% this year, to $560 million. Parent company outlays will rise about 20%, to $300 million, of which $80 million will go for andpollution projects. Melamine capacity at Ludwigshafen will be increased from 15,000 tons/year to 40,000. Britain's IQ will spend $29 million on a 22,000-m.t/year expansion of its poly ester staple fiber plant in Wilton, Teesside. Output from fhe new plant, which is expected onstream in July '76, will boost IQ's polyester staple capacity in the U.K. 50%. It will bring ICTs total staple and filament capacity to 130,000 m.t/year. The company will complete construction of a 10,000-m.L/year polyester staple unit in Wilton this year. A company official says raw materials for the new unit could come from a $240-miUion ethylene plant that will be built jointly by IQ and Brit ish Petroleum at Teesside. France's Soc. Nationals des Petioles (TAquitalne (SNPA) has become one of France's biggest drugmakers by acquiring Laboratoires Castaigne, which had sales of $52.8 million in *73. Earlier, SNPA ac quired interests in drugmakers Labora toires Labaz and Soc. Michel Robilliait and cosmetics-maker Yves Rocher. . . . Finland's Kendra, will build a $ 15-mil-lion, 300,000-tons/year sulfuric add plant at Kokkola. Onstream target: early '75. Meanwhile, Pekema, Finland's major producer of polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, has earmarked $45 million for expansion projects that will boost LDPE output to 50,000 tons/year by *76 and PVC to 23,000 tons by '75. May 29, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 15 Top of the news Open for inspection State air-quality inspectors can enter a company's plant grounds to make visual pollution checks without permits, the Su preme Court ruled last week. In a unanimous decision that over turned lower-court rulings, the high court noted that visual tests don't involve enter ing a company's plant or offices, inspect ing its equipment or trespassing or enter ing areas from which the public is prohibited. The case stemmed from a June '69 in spection on the premises of Western Al falfa Corp. by an official of the Colorado health department The official entered Western's outdoor yard, without the company's knowledge or consent, to make an opacity reading of smoke plumes being emitted from the plant's stacks. On the basis of that reading, Colo rado's Air Pollution Variance Board or dered the company to cease emissions. But a state district court and then an appeals court set aside the board's ruling on the basis of the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment rights against unrea sonable searches. Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice William O. Douglas said that the inspec tor "had sighted what anyone in the city who was near the plant could see in the sky--plumes of smoke" and that the in spection did not violate the company's rights of privacy. The federal government's Environ mental Protection Agency has the right to inspect plant facilities under clean air and water legislation, which was enacted sub- SMOKE PLUMES may be monitored with out warrants, according to high court ruling. 16 CHEMICAL WEEK MAY 29. 1974 sequent to the '69 Colorado incident. EPA's authority has not been challenged, but the government normally prefers to have state officials do the inspecting and enforcement "We are pleased with the decision. Any other would have put unreasonable re strictions on enforcement," says Robert Baum, EPA's deputy assistant for general enforcement New look for Olin "We have stopped doing things we weren't very good at and we have begun to concentrate our resources ... on things we can do well,*' Olin President John M. Henske told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Stamford, Conn., last week. He referred to a "new Olin" that will exist after the spinoff of the company's Olinkraft forest products subsidiary and said that the remaining entity will be "es sentially based on chemical and metal lurgical technology." Henske declared that 25-30% (or about $130 million) of Olin's '74 chemical sales are expected to be in agricultural prod ucts. First-half profits will be about 65% higher than in same-period *73, he added. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Occidental Petroleum Chairman Armand Hammer told the company's shareholders that profits in the first four months of *74 were $107.6 million, up 620% from the same period last year. Hammer justified the large increase on the basis of Occidental's low profit level last year. He also reported a major North Sea oil discovery the company is heading and said that a $180-million loan to the U.S.S.R. by the U.S. Export-Import Bank will pave the way for the company's massive fertilizer deal with Russia (see alsop. IS). Despite the good news, several stock holders assailed management for not paying dividends since '72. Are grass fields safer? The Consumer Product Safety Com mission last week began processing injury data it received from the National Foot ball League Management Council. Ob ject: CPSC is reconsidering whether to ban the use of artificial playing surfaces or issue standards for their use. The information--the raw data on which a '69-12 Stanford Research Insti tute National Football League injury study was based--was sent to CPSC on May 17, the deadline set by the commis sion when it requested the information on Jan. 14. CPSC Chairman Richard O. Simpsq said that if the owners had failed to meet the deadline, he would have issued a su poena for the data under provisions 6f the Consumer Product Safety Act ^2 The Stanford study compared the fits quency and severity of injuries sustained on artificial surfaces and grass. The own ers' group submitted the data in com puter tape form, with the names of the players, physicians and trainers coded to prevent disdosure. After the findings have been analyzed by CPSC computer specialists, the com missioners will decide whether to recon sider their decisioa last year to deny a pe tition by the National Football League Players' Assn, to ban artificial surfaces or set standards governing their use. The players' group claims artificial surfaces cause injuries more frequently and in juries of greater severity. If CPSC finds in favor of the players, it could be a setback for makers of syn thetic turf. No one has commented pub licly, but industry observers say synthetic turf sales have been disappointing, and they doubt that producers are showing much of a profit on the material. Insuring OPIC's future Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) won a new lease on life last week following a top-heavy House vote that would extend its existence until the end of *77. The bill now must be reconciled in a conference committee with a somewhat more restrictive Senate measure. During the past three years OPIC has settled 32 claims amounting to SI20 mil lion. Reserves, meanwhile, have swelled to nearly $200 million. Outstanding claims amount to only $4 million.- An Anaconda claim for $154 million and one by ill for $92.5 million are awaiting ar bitration, but OPIC's lawyers are confi dent they have a winning case. Moreover, Chile has begun to repay its OPIC obliga tions, and the agency hopes in time to re cover a substantial part of the roughly $100 million Chile owes. Despite its healthier financial stance, however, OPIC still is saddled with a lopsided portfolio. Marshall Mays, OPIC president, con tends that the agency should go beyond passively insuring U.S. investments in de veloping countries and should actively promote them. Mays says that long-term management or product-sharing plans or technological agreements may increas ingly supplant traditional investments. - 2 Tightening up on VCM A "no detectable level" standard for exposure to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) in the workplace was recom mended last week by the Labor Dept's. Occupational Safety and Health Admin istration. Hie recommendation, set forth as a proposed permanent standard for worker exposure to VCM, is certain to stir up in dustrial opposition as too expensive to comply with. A spokesman for one major producer, Goodyear, says: "We would be unable to operate under this level, and we doubt anyone else could." Just last month, OSHA issued a 50parts-million temporary emergency stan dard that came under fire from organized labor as too lenient (CW, Mar. 27, p. 22). The permanent standard is scheduled to take effect June 10, unless it is stalled by objections and hearings. In addition to setting an exposure level, the proposed permanent standard would limit manufacture, use and handling of VCM to specified areas of a plant It also would require sensitive monitoring equipment throughout the workplace to determine minimal worker exposure, continuous-flow and pressure-demand respirators for workers wherever VCM reaches a detectable level, protective clothing for workers in all VCM areas, and annual company-paid medical exam inations of employees. New Mortality Study: Also last week, the Manufacturing Chemists Assn.- re ported results of its study of the health status of workers continually exposed to VCM for at least a year prior to the end of '72. The study, conducted by Tabershaw-Cooper Associates, determined the health condition of 7,128 former (352 of whom were deceased) and present work ers in 35 VCM and polyvinyl chloride plants in the U.S. According to MCA, the findings indicate that the mortality rate for employees exposed to VCM was about 25% less than the rate for the entire U.S. male population and compared fa vorably with the rate in other industries. Meanwhile, the Consumer Product Safety Commission still is attempting to gather information on aerosol products using VCM as a propellant that may come under its jurisdiction. Last week, in its latest move, the agency ordered all makers of aerosol household products containing VCM to produce data on pat terns of use, toxicity, and period of pro duction. The agency says it is considering a ban on these products.. /- ' "" \ Tops in chemical industry (Dollar amounts in millions of . constant-value '67 dollars) Employees' and proprietors' earnings in chemical Industry* Projected Change for `90 from '71 New Jersey Texas $2,662.4 +108.8% 1,800.4 +163.7 New York 1,697.1 + 87.1 Illinois Ohio 1.435.6 +129.6 1,311.0 +113.4 Tennessee Pennsylvania < 1,243.5 +126.8 1,197.7 +105.8 California Michigan 1,178.0 +126.7 1,029.2 +107.8 Delaware 827.7 +105.1 Virginia Indiana 777.2 +119.0 727.8 +138.2 North Carolina Louisiana 666.8 +176.2 655.3 +140.4 Missouri South Carolina 632.2 +138.2 698.8 +153.1 West Virginia 471.3 + 81.6 *Waos, salarlat. other labor Income and proprietor*' income. $ourca: Buraau of Economk Analysis, Uj, Dept, of Commerce. V- Mapping CPI growth Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina will be big gainers of chemical industry Operations during the '70s and '80s, a team of Commerce Dept, economists pre dicted last week. Chemical companies also will be stepping up .their activities in Louisiana, Missouri and Indiana, the group believes. Nationwide, according to the depart ment's newly computed projections of population and personal income, the chemical industry's employees and proprietors will receive $22,549 billion in '90, up 120.7% from their '71 earnings. The increase reflects a rise in the number of employees and also a continuing esca lation of salaries and wage rates; but all the projections of income are in copst&ffi^ value '67 dollars. - More moderate increases in individ uals* earnings are expected in three other - chemical process industries: pulp and pa per, 99.6%; petroleum refining, 53.7%; primary metals, 38.1%, If the projections are on target, Texas and Tennessee will each advance one place among top-ranking states in chem ical industry production and adminis trative operations, and North Carolina will leapfrog from 16th to 13th place (table, above). ... more and more in '74 J; ... More sales and services ... More capacity s |G Sx CO TJ 6 c I Mora competitive prices i 'cu a o .. Prompt deliveries S iII2 . Unexcelled quality 1 a JZ - a. 5 E '55 22 3S o V) 1 < Unexcelled know how Nepera Chemical Company Inc. Subsidiary of . Warner-Lambert Company . Harriman, N,Y. 10926 TEL: 914^-782-8171 f ; TWX: 5102494847 May 15, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 2 Do you work with powders? Withholding of vinyl chloride data hinted w ^ Foam Is No Problem Fight foam with this Hodag combination-- a complete line of antitoam products and the technical knowledge to apply them effectively. Superior Products FOA-approved and industrial antifoams developed over many years to meet the toughest foaming conditions. Technology Special knowledge of surface activity helpa many Industries abate unique processing foams. Technical Faculties Equipped and staffed to develop |ust the antifoam you need. Let us help solve your foaming problems. . Use this coupon to get the Hodag combination of products and technical service. Please send me information on Hodag antifoam agents for - Please send sample for this purpose. Please have representative contact me. Firm narrt* AtfdraM City Nama Stria . Tllta Zip HODAG CHEMICAL CORPORATION 7247 N. Central Park Avenue Skokie, Illinois 6007S ___________________ ____________c CIRCLE 40 ON REAOER SERVICE CARD European nnd l!.S. -1 mm ion I firms, to wenllh of now rnndicnl findings now gather with the Manufacturing Chem appearing on vinyl chloride exposure, ists Association, a U.S. trade group, partly through the May 10-11 meeting. held in confidence for at least a year MCA'h epidcmiologicril study on 7128 preliminary, albeit significant, scientif vinyl chloride workers, for exnmplc, ic findings on vinyl chloride as an finds thnl cancers of the liver (primari agent causing liver cancer in rats. ly angiosarcoma), respiratory system, C&EN learned early last week. U.S. brain, and cancers of unknown primary chemical industry sources say they site, as well as lymphosarcoma, "oc were bound by an agreement under curred more often than expected in which four European firms controlled those members of the study population any release of animal test data ob with the greatest exposure," with the tained by Prof. Cesare. Maltoni, direc caveat added that although these ex tor, Istituto Di Oncologia, Bologna, cesses "were not statistically signifi Italy. cant, the findings warrant further The first public disclosure of Prof. study." And a major bias in the study MaltOni's findings came on Feb. 15, is the "discovery"--too late to include 1974, in the U.S. The disclosure came it--of 1500 to 2000 workers with the after B. F. Goodrich's announcement longest exposures, up to 35 years. on Jan. 22, 1974, of three deaths due to In August 1972 Dr. Maltoni found angiosarcoma of the liver since 1971, his first angiosarcoma in the first of a among workers at its polyvinyl chloride series of studies that, according to data plant in Louisville, Ky. Subsequently, available to C&EN, began about Sept. the number of confirmed cases of an 5, 1971. A key, second experiment at giosarcoma at the BFG plant, at other levels of 200, 150, and 100 p.p.m. U.S. PVC plants, and at plants abroad began about July 6, 1973, when it was has risen steadily to a total of 19, in observed that the 250-p.p.m. level cluding 13 U.S. cases. 17 of the workers "was still showing oncogenic effects." have died of the liver cancer; two U.S. In January 1973 a team of three U.S. workers are still living. The U.S. chemical industry scientists visited deaths date back to 1961. Prof. Maltoni in Bologna to learn of his Prof. Maltoni's animal data have results and to see his slides. Borne been a key to much of the regulatory months of negotiations with the Euro actions taken by the Occupational pean company group preceded this Safety and Health Administration, in visit. The group is made up of Monted February, the lowest dose level of vinyl ison, which first approached Prof. Mai- chloride in the Italian scientist's study toni to do the study. Imperial Chemi at which liver angiosarcoma developed cal Industries, Solvay, and Rhdne- was 250 p.p.m. Guided, in part, by Progil. All four were supporting the these findings, OSHA on April 5 set an work at the time of the 'visit, U.S. emergency rule that lowered the per sources say. missible OSHA worker exposure level Subsequently, the liver angiosarco to 50 p.p.m. from the previous ceiling mas in four U.S. deaths of workers of 500 p.p.m. have been judged by OSHA to be "his Since then, additional animal data tologically indistinguishable" from the have appeared. At a May 10-11 meet angiosarcoma tumors Prof. Maltoni has ing of the New York Academy of Sci found. And he believes that his experi ences and American Cancer Society, ments were "predictive"-of what was Prof. Maltoni disclosed that he had subsequently recognized in man. foun.d one liver angiosarcoma in his Much remains to be answered in the rats at 50 p.p.m., together with several way the release of the Maltoni data has other types of tumors. At higher levels been handled. There are allegations, of exposure there were more tumors of unfounded from all that C&EN can various types, including liver angiosar learn, that word of early results was comas, as he reported earlier (C&EN, passed to U.S. and Italian government Feb. 25, page 16). officials. A major question mark con On April 16, MCA announced that. cerns what was said by MCA to the preliminary findings on mice in its own National Institute for Occupational study under way at Industrial Bio-Test Safety and Health in July 1973 and Laboratories tended to confirm the earlier. As the trade association testi Maltoni data then available publicly. fied before OSHA on Feb. 15, 1974, And as presented by MCA before the "MCA's first direct contact with May 10-11 meeting, the-data show that NIOSH specifically on vinyl chloride under conditions of exposure of seven led to a conference between an indus hours per day, five days per week, for try delegation, including a European eight, months, liver angiosarcomas de representative, and Dr. Marcus Key velop as follows: 2500 p.p.m., 28 liver (NIOSH director] and staff on July 17, angiosarcomas; 200 p.p.m., 11; and 50 1973, at which time the MCA program p.p.m., two. MCA's study also showed was presented in some detail, and other types of tumors. Teats also have study protocols, industry statistics, and just begun at dose levels of 25, 10, and selected items from the scientific liter 5 p.p.m. ature were provided." MCA has shed Besides the animal data there is a no new light on these contacts. 1 r. rc.rH T "i"* r I ) t f i Ur i r t: Top of the news tA VJjD 080 20 14 52 9 The vinyl chloride fight is on Chemical companies are filing objec tions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's proposed per manent exposure standards for vinyl chloride (CW, May 15, p. 25). But despite the outlook for prolonged hearings and accumulated data from many studies, OSHA is still hoping to adopt the stan dards, which call for "no detectable level" of VCM, by October. Calling the proposed standards "im practical," "unachievable" and "a disas ter for the industry," producers of vinyl chjoride and polyvinyl chloride are bas ing objections on three main points. These are, they allege, the unavailability of manufacturing technology to eliminate VCM completely, the economic impact on the industry (they'contend that plants will be closed, jobs and markets lost) and lack of data to support the new rules. But industry chances of changing the standards appear to be getting worse, if last week's New York Academy of Sci ences meeting on toxicity of VCM and PVC is any indication. Charges of blood, liver and respiratory abnormalities result ing from exposure to vinyl chloride were added to the known cases of angiosarcoma.- Standard Setting: The new standards proposed by OSHA define "no detectable exposure level" as being determined by devices capable of detecting concentra tions of 1 ppm. with an accuracy of 1 ppm., plus or minus 50%. "That's going to be tough to achieve," says Daniel Boyd, director of the agency's standards devel opment office. But Boyd observes that a combination of engineering controls, work. practice methods and respirators could be used in complying with the rules. The standards would put plants in three categories: those at which "feasible engineering con trols" would be used to reduce exposure below detectable levels, those at which respirators would supplement work prac tice and engineering changes, and those at which respirators alone would be used because "no feasible engineering control or work practice method can be instituted immediately." But industry is saying that these cate gories are not practical. Reason: there is no technology available to completely eliminate exposure, so there has to be re liance on respirator systems. And these, industry adds, are dangerous and won't work. "Maybe we can build a new plant to approach the proposed standards," says Harry Connors, general manager of Diamond Shamrock's plastics division, "but we can't adapt existing plants to it" More Studies: What choice is left to in dustry? The answer could come from a series of economic impact studies that are being undertaken. One will be done by OSHA, although a contractor to do the work has not yet been hired. The Society of the Plastics In dustry has hired Arthur D. Little to study the economic impact of the new regu lations. That study could be ready within two months. In formulating its VCM rules, OSHA relied heavily on evidence of develop ment of angiosarcoma in mice at 50-ppm. exposure during tests sponsored by the Manufacturing Chemists Assn, at Indus trial Biotest Labs. And now those labs and those of Cesare Maltoni, in Bologna, Italy, are going to run further tests on mice at 25,10 and 5 ppm. But the indus try contends that much of this data doesn't relate to human exposure. Con nors cites cases of 17 workers at Diamond Shamrock's Deer Park, Tex., plant who have had 20 years' exposure, he says, without damage. Also under investigation is emissions of vinyl chloride from manufacturing plants. The Environmental Protection Agency maintains that there are 6% VCM losses from PVC plants and concentra tions of 1-2 ppm. in air outside plants. Several PYC makers have been installing ventilation systems as protection for workers. Closing this outlet for air pollu tion reasons will prove an added hardship for the already-hard-pressed makers of VCM and PVC. And if limits are put on the amount of unreacted VCM on PVC resins, as is being considered by EPA, the industry may find it has "nowhere to go," as one company spokesman put it Dart takes the plunge Improved market conditions have trig gered one polypropylene expansion, and more may be in the works. Dart Industries, which had been con sidering expansion for some time (CW, Apr. 11, 73, p. 15), said last week it will build a 150-million-lbs./year polypropyl ene plant near Houston in a joint venture with El Paso Products, a subsidiary of El Paso Natural Gas. Startup is expected in 76; cost was not disclosed. The partnership already operates a 130-million-lbs./year polypropylene plant in Odessa, Tex. That unit will be debottlenecked to up capacity by 10 million lbs./year, according to Dart's chem ical group president, Ralph M. Knight. Knight said the decision to build a new plant was based on forecasts that U.S. polypropylene demand will double, to about,6 .billion lbs./year, by '80. Recent increases in prices of the material, he adds, should offset higher costs. Site for the new plant will be $50 acres in Bayport, Tex., recently acquired by the partnership from Friendswood Develop ment Knight said the site was chosen be cause it is close to other petrochemical complexes and to shipping facilities. Polypropylene is tight although not as scarce as some other resins. Prices are firm, and industry observers say addi tional capacity is needed, since only Her cules and Amoco Chemicals have major U.S. expansions now in the works. Shortages won't vanish Shortages of vital feedstocks will be a major and long-lasting problem for the plastics industry, Amoco Chemicals' en vironmental coordinator, Victor A. Denslow, said last week at the annual techni cal conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers in San Francisco. The short ages, he predicted, will last at least three years, perhaps 10. Denslow maintains that new feedstock capacity has been discouraged by low rates Of return on investment ("3-5% in recent years, sometimes almost zero"). In addition, he says, environmental considerations have limited the avail ability of energy and feedstocks. He cites these examples: nuclear plants, which could free hydrocarbons for chemical use, have been held up; the Alaska pipe line has also been delayed; Santa Barbara channel oil has not been available; and sulfur and strip-mining restrictions have cut the availability ofcoal. All these factors, Denslow notes, will result in reduced availability of plastics and higher prices. "We can't yet assess the effect of higher prices on demand for plastics," he adds, but he says that it will probably lead to a drop in demand. Conference leader John J. Haher, gen eral sales manager for Borg-Warner Chemicals, emphasized that "the plastics industry must prove to the oil companies that plastics represent a favorable'return on investment to their refineries." To get a share of available crude oil, he added, plastic producers will have to pay much higher prices. May 22, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 19 Top of the news VRD 6002914530 Taxes undermine mining Texasgulf last week dramatized the growing concern of chemical process companies about tax measures now being considered in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. The company said it postponed indefinitely its planned $95-million mine expansion at Kidd Creek, Ont., citing tax uncertainties. The mine expansion would up copper-silver-lead-zinc ore production to 5 million tons/year from 3.6 million. The Ontario proposals pending in the legislature could tax "new" mine produc tion by large firms, such as Texasgulf, at rates as high as 77%, according to mining sources. Texasgulf, however, has said that it believes the new proposals also will contain some offsetting incentives, espe cially regarding processing and explor ation. Meanwhile, federal tax proposals that would increase levies on mineral profits to 50% also are pending but their future may depend largely on the out come of the new Canadian elections now set for July 8. The Ontario proposals followed disclo sures by both British Columbia . and Manitoba that they want a bigger tax bite. One mining company calculates that the combined effects of the British Co lumbia and federal taxes could be a 104% assessment against its income. Falconbridge Nickel Mines comments that it will be re-evaluating expansion plans in the Sudbury area. Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting President H.A. McKenzie says the company's Stikine copper project in northwestern British Columbia is "in jeopardy." But International Nickel Chairman L. Edward Grubb asserts: "We cannot help but believe that as the long-range impact of the various tax programs becomes clearer, modifications will be made." Chlorine demand shifts After *75, the inorganic chemical indus try will move up behind organics to be come the second-biggest consumer of chlorine. That was the prediction of Al lied Chemical's H.W. Schultze at the Chlorine Institute's bicentennial sym posium in San Francisco last week. Next year, said Schultze, total chlorine demand will reach about 12 million net tons. The breakdown by industry, he added, will be organic chemicals, 8.43 million tons; pulp and paper, 1.42 million tons; inorganic chemicals, 1-15 million tons; water treatment, 527,000 tons; mis cellaneous uses, 471,000 tons. Schultze asserted that the growth of 20 CHEMICAL WEEK May 22, 1974 chlorinated hydrocarbons (especially vi nyl chloride, chloromethanes and propy lene chlorohydrin intermediates) will have the biggest impact on the growth of chlorine demand. He cautioned, how ever, that feedstock shortages and envi ronmental problems in manufacture, use and disposal of chlorinated hydrocarbons could curtail that growth. In inorganics, said Schultze, the in crease in titanium dioxide production via the chloride route also should boost chlo rine demand. One industry that Schultze said would reduce its demand for chlorine is pulp and paper. Reason: recent success of the oxygen bleaching technique in paper pro duction could substantially cut back chlo rine use in bleaching. Schultze forecast a growth rate of 6% for chlorine in the U.S. and 7-8% world wide during the next 10 years. The faster foreign rate, he said, is a result of more rapid gains abroad by organic chemicals, particularly plastics. Schultze stated that demand will not increase as fast for caustic soda, caustic potash, metallic sodium, potassium ni trate, magnesium and other by-products of chlorine manufacture as for chlorine. How now, biphenyl cow? About 1,000 Michigan dairy cows were quarantined last week after a 10-month investigation by federal and state agencies tied a drop in milk production to feed tainted by a fire-retardant chemical. The investigation disclosed that the af fected cows, producing both consumerand industrial-grade milk, were given feed contaminated with brominated biphenyl, a flameproofing material for roofing and textiles. The chemical was ac cidentally blended with magnesium ox ide, a milk production booster, in special feed mixes prepared by Michigan Farm Bureau Services (Lansing). The probe found that the fire retardant and magnesium oxide were packaged in similar brown bags by the manufacturer, Michigan Chemical (St. Louis, Mich.). Michigan officials say the tainted milk may have been distributed, but add that there is little health threat to consumers because in the packaging process it was greatly diluted with milk from unaffected herds. Health authorities are uncertain of the effect of brominated biphenyl on hu mans, but state officials say the level of the chemical in the milk was "considera bly" higher than is permitted under fed eral regulations. GCA'S COLE: Powder coatings sales will jump, but fall short of earlier forecasts. Coated with uncertainty Sales of powder coating materials and application equipment will pick up sig nificantly during the rest of the decade-- but perhaps not as quickly as had been expected. That was the forecast of GCA Associates President Gordon E. Cole, Jr., at a powder coatings conference spon sored by New York University in New York last week. Because of the uncertainties about au tomotive and glass bottle developments. Cole said, GCA's earlier sales forecast of 250 million lbs. of powder coating mate rials in '80 probably will not be reached until '82 or '83. In *74, he predicted, sales of the material will amount to 40 million lbs. Large automatic coating installations will grow in popularity, Cole said, be cause they save on energy and raw mate rials; On the other hand, the use of pow der coating for automobile tops will be "deferred," he said, because manufac turers are busy converting to the produc tion of compact cars, lack the extra capi tal needed to develop new coating equipment for car tops. Cole also stated that it is nob certain when there will be large-volume powder coating of glass bottles for carbonated beverages. He said much will depend on the actions of soft-drink producers and on consumer protection legislation. The biggest '73 powder coatings mar kets, said Cole, included piping; electri cal, fire and marine equipment; appli ances and wire goods; metal furniture. Epoxy, vinyl and polyester coatings went into these applications. t KWwxi-;v!11"~Lh 1 state health inspector. The inspec Academic R&D spending has tor entered the company's yard to doubled in past eight years University R&D spending, $ millions take an opacity reading on the smoke coming from Western Alfal fa's chimneys during a drying oper 4000 r -......... - ation. Subsequently the company was told that its emissions violated state standards and was ordered to cease and desist. Writing the court's opinion Jus tice William O. Douglas said that Fourth Amendment protection does not extend to sights seen in "the open fields." Further, he observed that the field inspector did not enter the company's plant or of fices, or inspect either its equip ment or its files and papers. "He had sighted what anyone in the city who was near the plant could see in the sky--plumes of smoke," Justice Douglas said. He also noted that although the inspector was on com 1964 6S 68 70 72 73 pany property, "We are not advised that he was on premises from which B* year 1967, basad on groai national product implelt prlca deflator. Source: National Science Foundation the public was excluded." Hence invasion of privacy, if it can be said to exist, is "abstract and theoreti cal." Further, this group received $96 million or 9% more R&D monies in 1973 than in 1972. Federal funds accounted for $35 million or 89% of Argentina plans huge the increase. NSF adds that the 20 largest institutions accounted for chemical program "41% of federally financed R&D performed by all academic institu tions in both 1972 and 1973." And, NSF says, that "almost one half, or $56 million of the support from foundations and voluntary health agencies was concentrated in these 20 institutions in 1973." Argentina is launching a massive $1 billion investment program to de velop its chemical and petrochemi cal industry. Some of the plans were unveiled last week in Buenos Aires, when president Juan Peron was on hand at the signing ceremo ny involving members of his gov ernment and senior officials of Ita ly's Montedison. Montedison will High court eases pollution inspection act as general consultant to Argen tina for the development. Though full details are not yet available, Argentina wants to set The Supreme Court has ruled that up a variety of projects during the government air pollution inspectors coming eight years. These include do not need a search warrant or plants for making polyolefins; basic other permission to enter a compa organic chemicals such as ethylene ny's unrestricted grounds to visual oxide and acetic acid; and man ly monitor the smoke being emitted made fibers and fertilizers. from its chimneys. An Environmen Montedison will be directly in tal Protection Agency spokesman volved in the first stage of the plan, says that the agency is very satis which will cost an estimated $400 fied with the court's decision since million and includes a major petro it makes the job of monitoring air chemicals center to be sited at quality easier. Bahia Blanca, about 350 miles The unanimous ruling overturned southwest of Buenos Aires. The two lower court decisions that held Italian company also will invest in that conducting such tests without an aluminum plant that Italimpi- either a warrant or the company's anti, a major Italian construction consent constituted an unreason firm, will help build at Puerto Ma- able search within the meaning of dryn, 325 miles farther south. the Fourth Amendment. Other West European chemical The air pollution decision firms are expected to take part in stemmed from a June 1969 inspec the overall plans. Like Montedison, tion made on the grounds of West they will have a financial stake in ern Alfalfa Corp. by a Colorado I the new plants. Vinyl chloride issue focus of U.K. group Reflecting growing international concern about vinyl chloride, the U.K.'s Chemical Industries Associ ation has set up a committee to coordinate research into possible health risks involving the monomer and to recommend ways of avoiding them. On the committee are represen tatives of the four U.K. polyvinyl chloride makers--British Industrial Plastics, BP Chemicals Interna tional, Imperial Chemical Indus tries, and Vinatex, a subsidiary of Continental Oil--which can pro duce a total of 410,000 metric tons of PVC annually. Also represented are the British Chemical Industry Safety Council, the British Plastics Federation, and the Chemical In dustries Association itself. The companies have agreed to spend about $10 million for detailed stud ies on in-plant safety conditions, for reducing the atmospheric vinyl chloride vapor levels in their plants to 50 p.p.m. or less, and for devel oping improved monitoring sys tems. The funds also will be used for animal experiments and epide miological studies. Committee chairman A. W. Barry Barnes of ICI's plastics divi sion, stresses that the move is a positive one on industry's part to counter a recently recognized in dustrial problem head-on. He also strenuously denies that the indus try has been responsible for keeping the lid on release of research results of Italy's Prof. Cesare Maltoni, who has shown that vinyl chloride vapor at concentrations down to 50 p.p.m. induces onset of angiosarco ma, a liver cancer, in rats (C&EN, May 20, page 16). Focal point of the committee's attention is the polymerization pro cess, where workers run the great est risk of vinyl chloride exposure. Mr. Barnes points out that atmo spheric concentrations of the mono mer in U.K. plants already have dropped dramatically from a level of about 1000 p.p.m. 20 years ago to 150 p.p.m. by the middle of last year. Improvements in operating conditions and the installation of leak-proof valves and the like have brought the level to 50 p.p.m. to day, he adds. "The ultimate for most existing plants is 10 p.p.m.," Mr. Barnes claims. "New plants with the most modern technology might achieve 5 p.p.m." But amounts below this "are not conceivable," in Mr. Barnes' view. May 27. 1974 C&EN 5 -l.S H 6i000 THE NEW YORK TIMES Saturday, May 11, 1974 Copies for: WRS DVP (EAS REL) (fit) Vinyl Chloride Parley Told of Danger to Workers By JANE E. BRODY to thetens of thousands of workers at a Goodyear plant United ..States Department *of Workers exposed to vinyl workers who fashion polyvinyl in Niagara FaJis, N. Y., tends Labor yesterday, published : a chloride, a widely used chemi chloride- into thousands of com to support the European find proposed ' -fiewV occupational cal in the plastics industry, monly used plastics products, ings,,, according to data pre standard' that . would outlaw face an increased-risk of de ranging from 'floor* tiles to sented ,;by ,-Dr. Ruth, Lills of workers' exposure to detectable veloping blood, liver and res piratory abnormalities as well as dyinj^from ifl variety of cancers, the first international meeting-' On'Jtherchtmical' was told yesterday. * The hastily called confer ence, held under auspices of the New York Academy of Sci ences, was organized in response to the discovery in January of four cases of a rate liver cancer among vinyl chloride workers at a B. F. Goodrich plant in Louisville. Today, as a result of indus clothing r to } pharmaceutical products.... r ... As yet, there is no hint of any danger to consumers, who use the products. But the Food and: Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency recently recalled sev eral dozen aerosol products in which vinyl chloride was used as a propellant. In reports to the conference, physicians-from the University of Bonn in West Germany said that they had identified a syn Mount Sinai Medical Center here.' - Of 348 Niagara Falls workers whose, lung function was stud ied, 58 per cent showed.slgnificant obstruction of the airways, Dr. Albert Miller of the Mount Sinai team reported. He added that this obstruction was found in a large percentage of nonsmokers as well as smokers, "suggesting that occupational exposure is a factor." : Measures Suggested A study of deaths that oc levels of vinyl chloride; The standard ''iwould require the wearing 'M* respirators by any workers who might inhale measurable levels of the chem ical and*would require the, company to provide annual medical examinations for all ^ts employes. j The industry is expected to ask for a hearing on the pro posal Among the cruciat issues are whether present technology , permits such a lowering of the vinyl chloride level 'Inside'' a plant and whether workers trywide searches of records and examinations of workers, 19 cases of this cancer -- angiosarcoma of the liver -- are known to have occurred among vinyl chloride workers, i3 of them in the United States. Plastics workers involved drome they call vinyl chloride disease. .Among the symptoms commonly found are abnormal ly low numbers of blood ceils called platelets, which are cru cial to clotting, slowed liver function, enlarged liver and spleen, and excessive produc tion of immature. red blood curred among the Niagara Falls workers hinted at an increased risk of dying of cancer of the lymph and blood-forming or gans and the brain, as well as the liver cancer. An an in dustry-sponsored study of 352 deaths among vinyl chloride workers at plants around the could feasibly wear respirator equipment. Currently, the in dustry is trying to conform, to the emergency standard of 50 j parts of vinyl chloride per mH- ! lion parts'of air, a lever at which the liver cancer has been produced in experimental ani-, mats. ; The finding of this unusual cells, country pointed to an increased To define further the ill ef cancer was assumed to repre A report from Rumania in risk of developing cancer of the fects of vinyl chloride and how; sent just the tip of an iceberg dicated that nearly half of the respiratory and digestive sys it may interact with other of an ijlness that may be oc vinyl chloride workers may tems, the lymph glands, the agents. Dr. E. Cuyier Ham-; curring unnoticed among the have spasms in their blood ves liver and the brain. mond, a vice president of the nation's 6,500 workers . who sels, and 10 per cent - of the Although the legacy of pre American Cancer Society, a co make vinyl chloride or poly Rumanian workers had tempo vious vinyl chloride exposure Is sponsor of the meeting, said j vinyl-chloride, and the reports rary hormonal disturbances that expected to last many years-- that a large group of workers presented to the 300 scientists in some cases were manifested possibly ' decades--to prevent would be studied, going: back gathered here from eight coun as sexual impotence that disap further risk to workers the 10 or 15 years. > *i tries confirm this suspicion. peared during vacations. The reports also indicate that The results of an intensive the risk of disease may extendi examination of nearly 400 .H 0Z 000 m i /Vl|M^ CtW 24 {AWf ' European Chemical News. May 24, 19M |Ht.ech1 ni*caTl wee( * ir^KuJiCrr -aie CIA argues case against zero VCM exposure limits at a press briefing held last week in penetration of PVC in to a wide range London on vinyl chloride (VCM) toxi of market applications, as a major city the UK Chemical Industries Asso industrial material where alternatives ciation (CIA)'s vinyl chloride committee are not available in the quantities nor stressed that the PVC industry would in most cases with the properties stop dead if society demanded zero required, the CIA stated. exposures to VCM in the production, The four UK producers of PVC are fabrication and use of PVC to elimin so far spending over 4m. this year to ate the risk of industrial injuries. reduce the maximum possible atmo The vinyl chloride committee, which spheric concentration of VCM exposure was set up about three months ago, to plant operatives to 25 ppm hv has as its terms of reference, "to volume, from the existing legal limit enquire into the nature and extent of of VCM exposure of 220 ppm. the hazard to health of vinyl chloride, Currently, 12 cases of angiosarcoma whether in the free state or as a con of the liver (a rare liver cancer) have stituent of polymerized material. been discovered in the USA, one in the Secondly, to establish in collaboration UK, and around five in continental with expert bodies both in the UK Europe, These diagnoses (two cases are Table 1: UK usa of PVC In 1973 still surviving) have occurred over a ten- Application Tonitaga used Main uaaa Market year period. panatratlon % Of the 18 cases, Pipes A fittings 100000 (30 000 miles of pipework) Electric cables 46 000 Hard flooring Packaging '30 000 a Watsr mains, rainwater pipe, soil pipe, electrical conduit House wiring, motor vehicles. domestic appliances, power cables Tilts A continuous vinyl flooring 30 90 75 26 100 too 70-30 40-50 60 seven have occurred on one plant in the USA (B. F. Good rich), a further three in another US plant (Goodyear), with the incidence elsewhere being very low. Average exposure (a) Poll A film 24 000 lb) Bottles 13000 Foil: margarine tubs, biscuits, chocolates Film: fresh meat A vegetables Fruit squash. 20-25 lime of the known cases approaches 20 years. However, the levels of vinyl (400m. bottles) (c) Bottle closures 6000 Records (phonographic) 21 000 (140m. records) Cars 20000 Footwear 20 000 70m. pairs cooking oil, SWtat Jars, food and drink products all records are PVC Upholstery, roof Interiors wiring Shoes (36%) and shoe uppers 60 50 30 100 95 100 chloride monomer to which these workers were exposed, thought to be at least 1000 ppm,, is ex tremely high compared with present permitted levels. Colliery 6 000 conveyor belting (about 1 000 mile*) Underground safety belting 100 Average exposure levels in the UK are ----------------------- now 5 ppm for plant and overseas as well as with govern atmospheres in VCM production, 50 ment departments, the actions neces ppm in plant atmospheres for produc sary to safeguard the health of workers tion of PVC from VCM. and generally and users and to make recommenda 0-5 ppm in plant atmospheres for fabri tions for their speedy implementation." cation of PVC articles. Vinyl chloride A major reason for the committee's absorbed in a human diet is about 0-001 determination to arrive at a satisfactory ppm of the diet solution to the VCM carcinogenity Thus the CIA considers that the problem is the importance of PVC to problem, if one still exists, is confined the UK national economy. to the industrial process of converting Four companies, BP Chemicals, ICT, VCM into PVC. Levels in food are British Industrial Plastics and Vinatex infinitesimally small, and atmospheric (jointly owned by the National Coal exposure levels in the fabrication in Board and Conoco), produce 400 000 dustry, where they may at present ton of PVC annually in the UK, in exceed 5 ppm, can easily be reduced volving 2 000 workers. by improved ventilation, the CIA main Table l shows the extent of the tains. Therefore the committee's work is being focused on the VCM poly merization process itself. It estimates that average atmospheric concentra tions in the UK were 1 000 ppm in the 1945-1955 period, 400-500 ppm in 19551960, 300400 ppm in 1960-1970, 15.) ppm in mid-1973, and is now 50 ppm. Major improvements in the past six months have come mainly from the elimination of procedures which per mitted vinyl chloride to escape into the plant atmosphere (within the prescribed limit of 200 ppm). Ultimate Levels Further improvement will come from detailed plant modifications to eliminate or reduce adventitious leaks, according to the CIA committee, with the ultimate for most existing plants at 10 ppm. However, entirely new plants using the latest available technology might achieve 5 ppm, as the lowest possible level attainable, the CIA states. In contrast, OSHA, the US Govern ment body concerned with the VCM problem has just proposed a standard of less than l ppm for atmospheric VCM levels. The proposal is however open to public comment before being adopted as law and the US Society of the Plastics Industry has already re sponded by calling the now standard "excessively and unrealistically restric tive." Up till now a temporary limit of 50 ppm has been established in the USA. Nevertheless a limit of less than l ppm is tantamount to a zero exposure, and therefore zero risk. The CIA stresses that it is impossible to prove a zero risk. In the case of VCM there has always been some risk, as VCM presents a fire and explosion risk very similar to that of butane and other liquefied gases used for heating and lighting. There have been more deaths from fire and explosions of such materials than from industrial disease and in the case of VCM, on a world wide basis, more people have died from these causes in the past ten years than from cancer, the CIA committee stated. As far as fabrication of PVC is con cerned, the CIA is recommending that fabricators achieve atmospheric concen trations of less than 5 ppm. However, the fact remains that the concentration of VCM in freshly-produced PVC ex plant is in the range of 200400 ppm by weight, although the level drops on storage. Typical levels on delivery to a custo mer arc around 250 ppm, hut aft r processing this drops further to some where between 0.5 and 20 ppm hv weight, depending on the fabrication involved. m t m je t iu -ju U.K. tackles VCM Four British chemical makers, which account for all of the nation's 400,000 tons/year of vinyl chloride and 400,000 tons/year of polyvinyl chloride produc tion, plan to spend $9.6 million to reduce workers' exposure to VCM at their nine plants. Id, BP Chemicals, Vinatex and British Industrial Plastics said last week that they will install ventilating equipment, moni toring devices and automatic autoclave cleaning systems at the plants. And, through the UJC/s Chemical Industry Assn., the four companies will advise fa1> ricators on proper ventilation and moni toring methods. Delays.Expected: Industry sources say B.F. Goodrich's ultrahigh-pressure watef-jet unit is the favored cleaning system. But the companies daim they face, long delays in deliveries of monitoring equip ment as well as the cleaning devices. Up shot: concentrations of VCM at polymer ization plants will stay at "an average of 50 parts per million" for some time. Gov ernment limit in the U.K. is 200 ppm. According to Barry Barnes, an ICI di rector and head of the industry's VCM Committee, all plants will be at 50 ppm. within two months and will aim at reduc ing that level to 25 ppm. by year's end-- presumably depending on the delivery of equipment Barnes says the level could be reduced to as low as 10 ppm., but he claims "the industry would come to a stop" if zero exposure were required. Harold Walker, Parlimentary Under secretary of the Dept of Employment, observes that medical information "is not sufficient to enable a safe exposure limit to be determined." He favors an interim standard ceiling of 50 ppm. and a time-, weighted average of 25 ppm. "Wherever practicable, exposure should be brought as nearly as possible to zero concentra tion," Walker adds. Making the best of it Ways in which drug firms can meet Food and Drug Administration quality control standards in the face of shortages ofhigh-grade raw materials got top atten tion at the Drug, Chemical and Allied Trades Assn. Midwestern seminar in Chi cago last week. Robert Singiser, vice-president for sci entific affairs in Abbott Laboratories' pharmaceutical division, reported that he has had to increase his staff by at least 8% this year in order to evaluate materials suppliers' positions as well as potential methods . of substitution of materials. Singiser maintained that the extra atten tion demanded by materials shortages has not yet cut into Abbott's development of new products, but he added that the situation seems to be getting worse and may "dilute" new-product development later this year. In the past, Abbott shipped directly back to suppliers those materials that did not conform to FDA standards, Singiser said. Now, he added, the company takes a second look at previously unacceptable materials to see whether they might be upgraded. For example, metal contami nation might be removed, materials might be recrystallized or sterilized, or particles of coarse materials might be re duced in size. Hugh Anderson, director of corporate purchasing for Upjohn, recounted similar experiences in making substitutions for previously unacceptable grades of raw materials. He noted, for instance, that Upjohn now makes some use of "regular grade" sodium hydroxide instead of the specially purified form it used until late *73. He added that the company also has increased materials concentrations to cut down on the use of solvents and has insti tuted a solvent-recovery program. Meanwhile, in a related development last week. Union Carbide assured its pharmaceutical customers that they would receive the same amount of feed stocks for life-saving drugs as they did in *73. Carbide added, however, that cus tomers will have to attest that chemicals being ordered "are necessary for the manufacture of drugs used to preserve patients' lives." FMC walkout ends A month-long strike that had shut down FMC's Pocatello, Ida., phosphorus plant (CW, Market Newsletter, Apr. 24), ended last week. The strike began in April when about 350 members of the In ternational Assn, of Machinists (AFLCIO) walked off the job after refusing a company contract offer. Supervisory per sonnel had returned the plant to partial operation just a few days before striking employees agreed to return to their jobs. Terms of the settlement were not dis closed. Resumption of full operations at the plant, which accounts for about 25% of total U.S. phosphorus capacity, will be sure to ease the crimped phosphorus sup ply situation. An FMC spokesman con cedes that by the fourth week oftire strike, supplies to the company's three phosphate Top of the news production plants were getting tight Also last week, a short strike by con struction workers, which had stopped work on millions of dollars of new chem ical plant projects in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, was ended with a tentative agreement on a new contract Terms call for a wage increase of 804/hour, effective May 20, and a 404/hour boost in January. This amounts to about a 12% increase over the 17month period covered by the contract A V. World roundup Belgium's Sohray'a *73 sales rose 23%, to $1.59 billion, and net profits 16%, to $38.5 million.. . . Italy's Montedlson has bought a 50% share in detergent-maker Sola Casa, a subsidiary of Snia Viscosa. Stria Casa's *73 sales reached $21 million. Monted already controls about one-third of Snia Viscosa, Italy's largest fiber maker. West Germany's BASF will boost capi tal spending about 19% this year, to $560 million. Parent company outlays will rise about 20%, to $300 million, of which $80 million will go for antipollution projects. Melamine capacity at Ludwigshafen will be increased from 15,000 tons/year to 40,000. Britain's IQ will spend $29 million on a 22,000-m.t/year expansion of its poly ester staple fiber plant in Wilton, Teesside. Output from the new plant, which is expected onstream in July '76, will boost ICTs polyester staple capacity in the U.K. 50%. It will bring IQ's total staple and filament capacity to 130,000 m.t/year. The company will complete construction of a 10,000-m.t/year polyester staple unit in Wilton this year. A company official says raw materials for the new unit could come from a S240-miUion ethylene plant that will be built jointly by IQ and Brit ish Petroleum at Tcesside. France's Soc. Nationals des Petioles cFAquitaine (SNPA) has become one of France's biggest drugmakers by acquiring Laboratoires Castaigne, which had sales of $52.8 million in *73. Earlier, SNPA ac quired interests in drugmakers Labora toires Labaz and Soc, Michel Robilltart and cosmetics-maker Yves Rocher. . . . Finland's Kemira will build a $15-mil-TM lion, 300,000-tons/year sulfuric acid plant at Kokkola. Onstream target: early 75. Meanwhile, Pekema, Finland's major producer of polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, has earmarked $45 million for expansion projects that will boost LDPE output to 50,000 tons/year by 76 and PVC to 23,000 tons by *75. May 29, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK IS Top of the news Open for inspection State air-quality inspectors can enter a company's plant grounds to make visual pollution checks without permits, the Su preme Court ruled last week. In a unanimous decision that over turned lower-court rulings, the high court noted that visual tests don't involve enter ing a company's plant or offices, inspect ing its equipment or trespassing or enter ing areas from which the public is prohibited. The case stemmed from a June '69 in spection on the premises of Western Al falfa Corp. by an official of the Colorado health department The official entered Western's outdoor yard, without the company's knowledge or consent, to make an opacity reading of smoke plumes being emitted from the plant's stacks. On the basis of that reading, Colo rado's Air Pollution Variance Board or dered the company to cease emissions. But a state district court and then an appeals court set aside the board's ruling on the basis of the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment rights against unrea sonable searches. Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice William O. Douglas said that the inspec tor "had sighted what anyone in the city who was near the plant could see in the sky--plumes of smoke" and that the in spection did not violate the company's rights of privacy. The federal government's Environ mental Protection Agency has the right to inspect plant facilities under clean air and water legislation, which was enacted sub- SMOKE PLUMES may be monitored with out warrants, according to high court ruling. 16 CHEMICAL WEEK MAY 29. 1974 sequent to the '69 Colorado incident EPA's authority has not been challenged, but the government normally prefers to have state officials do the inspecting and enforcement "We are pleased with the decision. Any other would have put unreasonable re strictions on enforcement" says Robert Baum, EPA's deputy assistant for general enforcement New look for Olin "We have stopped doing things we weren't very good at and we have begun to concentrate our resources ... on things we can do well," Olin President John M. Henske told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Stamford, Conn., last week. He referred to a "new Olin" that will exist after the spinoff of the company's Olinkraft forest products subsidiary and said that the remaining entity will be "es sentially based on chemical and metal lurgical technology." Henske declared that 25-30% (or about $130 million) of Olin's '74 chemical sales are expected to be in agricultural prod ucts. First-half profits will be about 65% higher than in same-period '73, he added. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Occidental Petroleum Chairman Armand Hammer told the company's shareholders that profits in the first four months of '74 were $107.6 million, up 620% from the same period last year. Hammer justified the large increase on the basis of Occidental's low profit level last year. He also reported a major North Sea oil discovery the company is heading and said that a $180-million loan to the U.S.S.R. by the U.S. Export-Import Bank will pave the way for the company's massive fertilizer deal with Russia (see also p. IS). Despite the good news, several stock holders assailed management for not paying dividends since *72. Are grass fields safer? The Consumer Product Safety Com mission last week began processing injury data it received from the National Foot ball League Management Council. Ob ject: CPSC is reconsidering whether to ban the use of artificial playing surfaces or issue standards for their use. The information--the raw data on which a *69-72 Stanford Research Insti tute National Football League injury study was based--was sent to CPSC on May 17, the deadline set by the commis sion when it requested the information on Jan. 14. CPSC Chairman Richard O. Simpson said that if the owners had failed to meet the deadline, he would have issued a sub poena for the data under provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act The Stanford study compared the fre quency and severity of injuries sustained on artificial surfaces and grass. The own ers' group submitted the data in com puter tape form, with the names of the players, physicians and trainers coded to prevent disclosure. After the findings have been analyzed by CPSC computer specialists, the com missioners will decide whether to recon sider their decision last year to deny a pe tition by the National Football League Players' Assn, to ban artificial surfaces or set standards governing their use. The players' group claims artificial surfaces cause injuries more frequently and in juries ofgreater severity. If CPSC finds in favor of the players, it could be a setback for makers of syn thetic turf. No one has commented put> licly, but industry observers say synthetic turf sales have been disappointing, and they doubt that producers are showing much of a profit on the material. Insuring OPIC's future Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) won a new lease on life last week following a top-heavy House vote that would extend its existence until the end of '77. The bill now must be reconciled in a conference committee witha somewhat more restrictive Senate measure. During the past three years OPIC has settled 32 claims amounting to $120 mil lion. Reserves, meanwhile, have swelled to nearly $200 million. Outstanding claims amount to only $4 million. An Anaconda claim for $154 million and one by ITT for $92.5 million are awaiting ar bitration, but OPIC's lawyers are confi dent they have a winning case. Moreover, Chile has begun to repay its OPIC obliga tions, and the agency hopes in time to re cover a substantial part of the roughly $100 million Chile owes. Despite its healthier financial stance, however, OPIC still is saddled with a lopsided portfolio. Marshall Mays, OPIC president, con tends that the agency should go beyond passively insuring U.S. investments in de veloping countries and should actively promote them. Mays says that long-term management or product-sharing plans or technological agreements may increas ingly supplant traditional investments. VKD 0002014535 HEADLINES I 4TM? Crash UK programme cations to eliminate emissions. The manual cleaning of auto claves is apparently one of the to cut VCM cancer risk major areas of risk, and a great deal of work has been done to ensure that the VCM levels in the autoclaves during the operation are no higher by Adrian Wright Following the discovery of the link between vinyl chloride monomer and angiosarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer, the four UK PVC manufacturers, 1C1, BP Chemicals, Vinatex and British Industrial Plastics, have embarked on a crash and of the 18. seven occurred at B. F. Goodrich's Louisville plant, and three others at Goodyear's Niagara Falla plant, which means that the world-wide incidence is low. Moreover, the average period of exposure to VCM of the danger level, but that could not be assumed. The Intention is to bring the level down to the minimam. About 4 million is being spent over the next six months by the UK manufacturers to bring the level down to 25ppm, than the overall IcveL Automatic cleaning is being progressively introduced, and in time, manual cleaning will disappear entirely. Members of the committee also welcomed cooperation shown by the union side during the last six months. The UK Government has an- programme to bring the VCM exposure levels at polymerisa tion plants, where exposure levels are highest, down to 25ppm. The combined cost to the four companies ' has been estimated at about 4 million. Speaking in London last week, Barry Barnes, chairman of the CIA Vinyl Chloride Committee that is co-ordinating the work, emphasised that a great deal had already been cases discovered was nearly 20 years, and the levels of VCM to which these workers were exposed was high by modern standards. Precise levels in earlier years are difficult to determine, but it is estimated to have b$en about 1 OOOppm between 1945-55, 20 times today's aver age level. Barry Barnes said that it was possible that plants were al ready operating below the and Barnes estimated that the ultimate level for existing plants is lOppm, and for new plants possibly 5ppm. Work carried out so far, which hats reduced the level to 50ppm, was concentrated on the elimination of procedures which permitted vinyl chloride to escape into the plant atmos phere, within the prescribed limit of 200ppm. The work now planned will involve detailed plant modifi nounced that it is considering a code of (practice covering the use of VCM. This will be on much the same lines on which the industry itseH is working. Speaking in the House of Commons last week, Harold Walker, parliamentary under secretary at the Department of Employment, said: "It would seem sensible to adopt as an interim standard a ceiling value of 50ppm, and a time-weighted average of 25ppm." achieved. In toe five months since the first cases of angiosarcoma ICI overseas markets boost profitswere discovered in PVC workers, at (he B. F. Goodrich plant at Louisville, Kentucky, tiie avenge exposure levels at UK plants has been reduced from lJOppm to SOppm. Virtually all UK polymerisa tion plants in the UK are now able to operate at the 50ppm leveL The discovery of the link be tween VCM and angiosarcoma is primarily due to research work started by Dr. Cesare Maltoni at the University of Bologna, and carried on by a group of manufacturers from the UK, France, Belgium and Italy. Without this work, says the Vinyl Chloride Committee, it is almost certain that "the problem would not yet be recognised, and the world's PVC industry would be con tinuing production, unaware that a health hazard existed with its major raw material." To date, 12 cases of angiosarcoma have been dis covered in US workers, one in the UK, and possibly five in Europe, The normal incidence of angiosarcoma in the general population is 20/year in US and 4-S/year in UK. The position should be viewed, however, in the light of the. fact that these have occurred over a 10-year period. ICTs first -quarter results an nounced this week show sales to external customers at 661 mflBon, compared with 487 million for 1973, while profit before taxation and grants was 122 milkon (63 million), ftofit' after tax was 67 mil lion (39 milkooX Jack Gatiard, ICI chairman, speaking at the agm, also an nounced that new investments totalling 300 million had been sanctioned for 1974, an increase of 50 miHkm on the figure given in March. Group safes in the first quarter ot 1974 amounted to 661 miltioo, 36% higher than in the corresponding quarter last year. Sales in She UK in creased from 220 milUoa to 273 milKon (up 24%) and those overeeas from 267 mil lion to 388 milKon (up 45%). The fob value of exports rose from 93 million in the tint quarter of 1973 Co 154 mil lion on the current quarter (up 66%X This included exports to the EEC, which rose by 93%. The substantial increase in group sales was due mainly to sales made overseas, both from local manufacture and from UK exports. About two-thirds of the record group profits in the flnt quarter arose from buahteas overseas, especially exports from the UK on which margins were substantially higher than on home sales. Demand in the UK was somewhat restricted by the energy crisis and the three-day week but helped by Id's own electrical generating capacity, output was maintained at a high vokune. Jack CsBaxd claimed ICTs contribution to the UK balance of payments in 1973 was a -net 220 million. The group's liquid resources increased by 113 million to nearly 200 million. However, he warned that the direct re lationship between profits and investment was often forgotten. For the rest of 1974, the pic- ICI comparative results <m) 19731st qtr Group sales Group pra-tax profit 1973 2nd qtr Group sales Group pre-tsx profit 1973 3rd qtr Group sales * Croup pre-tax profit 1973 4th qtr Group sales Group pra-tax profit Total salts Total profit 19741st qtr Group sales Group pre-tax profit 487 63 937 74 991 82 991 92 2166 311 661 122 ture was far from clear, and it was impossible to predict with any certainty the precise level of demand for Id's pro ducts, both at home and abroad, and the company's prosperity was dependent on maintenance of high output "We are particularly concerned that world trade stays- at a high level." ICTs raw materials bill will be higher than last year--by 180 million in the UK alone. "Our current investment plans have been made on the assumption that UK prices can not be held below world prices for much longer, but if the distortion is allowed to con tinue it is bound to affect our .plans." The differential was still 30-40%, he added. Speaking of the effects ot inflation, Callard explained that if depreciation was taken on a replacement cost basts rather than the oormal histori cal cost system, 1973*s group pre-tax profits of 31! million would have been some 50 million less and profitability below die 18% reported. "Bearing in mind the present cost ot new money, you will see that in real terms oar 1973 profitability is no more than adequate for the future pros perity of the business." 9U H 0ZIM < i i CHEMICAL ACE M MAY 1974 MARKET Montedison link issues Hercules, UCC agree to curb new detergent challenge Sob Viscose and Montedison are joinog forces to challenge Mena Lanza and four major foreign companies in the Italian market for detergents and allied products. Montedison has reached agreement with Snia Viscoea to take a 50% interest in Soia which was created1 some months ago to develop Soia Vrsoosa's activity in the sector. Swi* Chsa expects to register about 25 000 msHkn lire of sales to 1974. Industry sources estimate national sales for the detergents and allied products sector reached 223 000 million Kre last year, and will rise to 240000 mtilioQ tire ia 1974. Snia Casa would thus have about a 10% share of the national market Tbe four fonsgn films have about a 50% share with each reported to control from 10*15%. Mira Lanza, controlled by the Bonomi group, leads the market with one-fourth or mote of sales. It reported sales volume above 70000 milttac lire for last yew. As the country's biggest pro duccr of basic chemicals, Montedtaon is the major sup* piier of materials to companies manufacturing detergents. Its only rival, on a smaller scale, is SIR. Tbe Montedison conglomer ate is in a good position for giving Mira t* strong com petition via Soia Casa. Mont edison controls Italy's biggest chain of supermarkets and de partment stores, and also is expending a big national whole saling-warehouse operation for its own and other products. The detergents and allied products industry is considered to be in a stage of aoobiaed growth. This would indicate that Montedison's expansion in the sector could lead to even greater competition atncog tbe already great number of brands crowding grocery shelves. One industry forecast puts sales at 255 000 million lire in 1975 and 270 000 msHion Kre in 1976. Montedison and ENI are the biggest shareholders of Snia Viscosa. So far the ENI group has not shown great interest in detergents, although it also is a major producer of basic chemicals via ANIC. Snia Casa reported sales of 13 000 million lire in 1973 and Montedison 4 000 million lire, the latter for insecticides, whiteners, perborates, glues and other items. For 1974, Snia Casa has ex pected sales of 19000 million lire and Montedison 6 000 mil lion, an increase of nearly 50% over last year on now com bined operations. on advertising The US Federal Trade Com mission is to accept consent orders from Union Carbide and Hercules in which the com panies agree that they will not advertise their pesticides as safe when required labels on the containers state that the con tents are dangerous. It is to formulate a trade rule requir ing all manufacturers to square advertising claims with pre cautionary warnings. Future advertising must be submitted to the US Environ mental Protection Agency or other scientific tests, the FTC said. The companies agreed to the consent order to stop prosecu tions on a company-by-company basis. UCC said it thought that the company-bycompany basis was unfair, while Hercules maintains that it does not use tbe word * safe * when advertising Toxaphene. Hungary buys its phosphate UK H2SO4 consumption falls from Morocco UK consumption of sulphuric tonnes); and sulphur content rose by 9-3% to 147 358 acid in toe first quarter of 1974 of HjS and other sulphur tonnes, and miscellaneous Tbe Hungarian foreign trade organisation Chemoiimpex has arranged with the Moroccan Phosphate Corp for deliveries over the next six years of 1285 000 tons of raw phos phate, and 20 000 tons of triple superphosphate to the Hun garian Nitrogen Works at Pecs. The initial delivery in 1975 will be 135 000 tons of raw phos phate; thereafter the Moroccan Phosphate Corp will supply fell by 2-4% 1-043 million tonnes, including recovered and imported add, according to the National Sulphuric Add As sociation. Production of new add increased by 4-6% to 948 283 tonnes, representing a capacity of 1-124 million tonnes, of which 84*3% was in use. Of the total production, 89-1%--845 300 tonnes -- was manufactured from imported 0-1% (1300 tonnes). Almost all trade uses showed a decline in consumption for tbe first quarter, with the ex ception of chemicals, which uses, which increased by 2*3% to 114 745 tonnes. The largest falls were re corded by oil and petrol, down by 18% to 10 532 tonnes. Consumption of sulphuric acid and oleum in UK First quarter, 1974--1 January to 31 March TRADE USES Fertilisers and agricultural Metric Tons 100% H*SO 325823 Percentage Increase/ Decrease Over 1st Qtr 1973 - 2-0 230000 tons per year. Chemoiimpex has also con tracted for 100000 tons of phosphate from Algeria, to be delivered-this year. There have been negotiations with Algeria for a long-term arrangement, but the results have not been sulphur, while 1-7%, or 15 700 tonnes was produced from home recovered sulphur. Other feedstocks in terms of add produced were zinc concen trates 4-4% (42000 tonnes); anhydrite 4*2% (39 300 tonnes); pyrites 0-2% (2 000 tonnes); (inch 267 936 metric tons for phosphatic fertilisers and 57 047 metric tons for sulphate ammonium) Paint and pigments Natural and man-made fibres and transparent cellulose film Chemicals (incl. 33121 tonnes for plastics 22 770 tonnes for sulphates of 146146 155 353 147 35B - 3-2 -- 6-4 + 93 disclosed. spent oxide 0*3% (2 700 aluminium, barium, copper, magnesium Potasse 24% price rise allowed and zinc 24574 tonnes for hydrofluoric acid Potasse cTAlsace has received authority to raise potato prices 24% from 1 May. Management and trade unions were re portedly hoping for more from Che Ffoaaoe Ministry but were disappointed. with the market Company president Julien Martin had asked for an increase of at least 30%, with effect from 1 January. The state-controlled company, which produces more than one-tenth of world pot 4 242 tonnes for hydrochloric acid) Detergents and soap Metallurgy (Inel. 26629 metric tons for steel pickling) Dyestuffs and intermediates Oil and petrol Miscellaneous uses (incl. 22 737 metric tons for exports) 93 059 30 392 22181 10 532 114 745 -10-7 - 7-7 - 3-8 -18-4 + 2-3 Further pressure is expected ash, last year made a profit TOTAL 1 045 589* - 2-4 for additional price rises so for the first time in five years "Includes 19 528 metric tons of imported acid and 47 901 metric tons that tiie French rate lines up (CA, 19 April, pi9). of recovered acid. CHEMICAL AGE 24 MAY 1B74 I j I | PVC producers gird for battle against cancer Link between angiosarcoma and worker exposure to vinyl chloride monomer results In tighter work practices. OSHA will consider tougher permanent standards Polyvinyl chloride has been shaken to data and launched new studies in the VCM also has been used as a co its manufacturing roots by the evident U.S. and overseas (CW, Feb. 13, p. 14). propellant in paint and hair sprays but link between angiosarcoma, a fatal rare Glenn Schweitzer, head of the Envi has been withdrawn from the market liver cancer, and worker exposure to vi ronmental Protection Agency's toxic sub And there is a bigger question: Since nyl chloride monomer. And no one is cer stances office, is directing an "agency workers were exposed to VCM for more tain where the reverberations will end. wide" task force that will recommend than 20 years before a cancer link was Late last month the Labor DepL's Oc "procedures for manufacture, distribu discovered, how can any chemical be cupational Safety and Health Adminis tion and disposal" ofVCM and PVC "be considered absolutely safe? tration issued emergency ex Government scientists were posure standards of SO ppm. just as dumbfounded as indus (CW, Mar. 27, p. 12). The new try by the VCM-angiosarcoma temporary standard, which is. discovery. As epidemiologist supported by the Manufac William Lloyd, director of turing Chemists Assn., is welt health surveillance and biosta below the 500-ppm. threshold tistics for NIOSH, puts it: limit previously demanded by "This has to be one of the OSHA. Meeting the standard most startling finding* ever in in all phases of the polymer industrial medicine." ization process will be no It also raises questions about simple task. the original 500-ppm. expo Producers are spending sure limit set by OSHA. "The heavily on new, sophisticated documentation isn't really monitoring devices and fol dear. It had something to do lowing general housekeeping with vinyl chloride's early use procedures recommended by as an anesthetic," says Donald the Dept of Health, Education Lassiter, special assistant to and Welfare's National Insti the head ofOSHA. tute for Occupational Safety The decision was based on and Health. NIOSH devel some conflicting research work oped these recommendations and recommendations of the for B.F. Goodrich's Louisville, American Conference of Gov Ky., plant, where the cancer ernment Industrial Hygiene. incidence was first reported in ACGtH later lowered , its rec January. ommendation to 200 ppm. and Moreover, OSHA will hold some foreign countries went hearings before the six-month along (e.g., England and temporary standards expire to France). But OSHA stayed consider even tougher perma with the 500-ppm, figure. nent standards. NIOSH rec Moreover, producers ..were ommends "no detectable- VCM MONITORING: Carbide worker wears pump-carbon vial device. more concerned about the lever' for vinyl chloride possibilities of explosions and monomer. And Tony Mazzochi of the yond its place of production." The task fires that can occur when VCM concen Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers force is working with other government trations exceed 3-4%. As long as concen union, says there is no threshold limit, agencies, including the Food and Drug trations were well below the explosive calls for zero exposure by use of "sealed" Administration, expects to complete its level, plants thought they were doing manufacturing operations. report by mid-May. welL "We were complacent before Janu "Workers are tired of being guinea Big Questions; The implications are ary, but we insist on strict compliance pigs," Mazzochi says. His union repre staggering. Even if VCM and PVC work with work rules now," says Zeb Bell, sents about 1,200 workers in monomer ers are protected, what about the thou manager of environmental control and and polymer production facilities. sands who work in plants that convert, industrial health for PPG, one of the ma In the U.S. there are some 1,500 work mold and fabricate the products? What jor VCM producers. Compliance with ers in 14 plants producing about 5.3 bil about exposure of consumers? wbrk standards at PPG includes the lion lbs./year of VCM. And most of it is There are reports that FDA will clamp wearing of respirators by .maintenance used by 5,000 workers in 37 plants manu restrictions on the use of PVC in food workers when breaking into the process facturing polyvinyl chloride. The 12 re packaging. The agency confirms that new lines. ported cases (worldwide) of angiosar rules are "in the works," but will not say In fact, exposure levels at vinyl chlo coma among PVC workers has .speeded what they include or when they will be ride plants are said to be well within the up industry efforts to gain carcinogenicity disclosed. 50-ppm. limit set by OSHA and much April 3, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 31 VALUABLE! NEW SPECIFIER'S GUIDE & CATALOG ... describes WAUKESHA'S complete line of Rotary Positive Displacement Pumps and Accessories in corrosion-resistant stainless steel and ductile Iron... plus automatic systems for measured transfer or in line processing of liquids and slurries. Over 500 options are available to handle any type of liquid, semi liquid, viscous, hi/low temp, volatile, abrasive, or shear sensitive product... at temperatures to 240F. and viscosities from less than 1 to over 250,000 CPS. Write for Your Free Copy Today! WAUKESHA OlfS^C FOR THE l CHEMICAL INDUSTRY WAUKESHA FOUNDRY COMPANY, INC. Pump Division 1300 Lincoln Avenue, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53`186 AN 1C INDUSTRIES COMPANY Circle 014 on Mgt. Info. Service Card WFP-5E CHICAGOLAND INDUSTRIAL SITES Investigate prime locations along the EJ81E--Chicago's Outer Belt--where there is room to grow. Serving nine counties in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, the EJ&E offers at tractive industrial sites in all sectors of the expanding metropolitan area. Circle 015 on Mgt. info. Service Card 1 -* - . J. E. Arado, Duc<tor indu-tnol Development ond fleoi Br-tvtc \nELGIN, JOLIET and EASTERN RAILWAY Lby If S-i C-- I 60d0i CE 6 PiCC DIRECT CONNECTIONS WITH Alt RAILROADS ENTERING CHICAGO 32 CHEMICAL WEEK April 3, 1974 Environment lower than at polymerization units. (THB new limit is said to be the equivalent oQ teaspoon of vinyl chloride in a roofttf 20x20x10 ft) Exposure at a VCM plan! can result from leaks around pumps dr packing glands, maintenance, at sampling stations and during loading operations. Because vinyl chloride plants are gen erally automated they can be built with out enclosures. But polyvinyl chloride production is labor intensive and in the colder dimates it's necessary to enclose the plants. "Less than half are open,** guessed one company spokesman. Reactor Role: Although four basic pro cesses are used for PVC production--sus pension (for more than 75% of the ton nage), emulsion, solution and bulk--the reactor or autoclave, where polymer ization takes place, is the key piece of equipment in each. Conversion of 85% of the monomer is considered high. Un reacted monomer is removed from the unit by vacuum for recycle to the process before the polymer is dumped into a dry ing tower or storage tank. And, several industry spokesmen tell Chemical Week, operating economics dictate fast turn arounds and minimal monomer removal. Moreover, some polymer sticks to the reactor sides, hardens and accumulates, lowering the heat transfer in the units. When the heat transfer becomes too low, or a different resin is produced, it be comes necessary to dean the reactors. Frequency of dean-out varies--from every batch for some of the older, smaller (1,200 gaL) reactors, to bimonthly for new, larger (60,000 gaL) reactors. Manual Labor: Manual scraping of these residues was common practice-until the incidence of acro-osteolitis, a bone and skin disease, began occurring in the mid-'60s. The symptoms disappeared when the workers were removed from the job. In the U.S., high-pressure waterjets are used to do the bulk of the cleaning. But in some older plants, the ports in small kettles are positioned so that water jets can't be used. In Europe, hand cleaning is common. But recent outbreaks of acro-osteolitis among cleaners in German and British PVC plants will probably change that In addition to lowering the exposure stan dards from 200 ppm. to 50 ppm., the Brit ish government is demanding that work ers wear protective clothing and respirators in the autoclaves. Industrial hygiene has "failed when you need respirators," says Union Car bide industrial hygienist Donald Deese. "Have you ever tried working all day with a respirator on?" asks OCAWs Mazzochi. PVC producers are reassessing work practices, reviewing manufacturing procedures. An MCA committee is study ing revised work practices recommended by Union Carbide. Monitor Modes: NIOSH has recom mended monitoring of the general work areas as well as the personnel; For ex ample, Dow uses a Teflon bag collector, others use a vial of activated carbon pinned near the worker's chest The col lectors are attached to an air pump strapped to the waist Carbide's Deese says collection efficiency for gas chro matograph analysis can be 98%. Plants also use colorimetric tubes made by Mine Safety Appliances and organic vapor-, analyzers by Century Manufac turing. These are not specific for vinyl chloride, but where there is no inter ference from other materials they are said to give measurements below 50 ppm. More expensive devices such as flame ionization units from Analytical Instru ment Development Corp. and infrared analyzers from Wilks Scientific Instru ments are being purchased to give more accurate measurements. Study Program: Even before angiosar coma was discovered at the Goodrich plant, MCA had commissioned two stud ies because work by Cesare Maltoni of the Institute for Cancer Research (Bo logna, Italy) had indicated a link between the rare liver cancer and VCM. A twoyear inhalation study has been under way for six months at Biotest Labs (North brook, 111.). It's too early to tell yet whether Maltoni's work will be dupli cated. And Tabershaw-Cooper (Berkeley, Calif.) will issue a report mid-April on its study of health records and death certifi cates from the 37 PVC plants. Tabershaw is also doing a separate study for Goodrich on past and present employees at the Louisville plant Good rich is also paying for a $300,000 study at the University of Louisville to develop . medical examination and registry records. Meanwhile, the question is: What should the threshold value for VCM be? Industry spokesmen say that operating a PVC plant with zero exposure is impos sible. "We just don't know how to do it," says Harry Connors, general manager of Diamond Shamrock's plastics division. And Tom Carmody, vice-president for safety and health at Union Carbide's Chemicals and Plastics Division, says flatly: "At zero exposure, industry won't be able to operate." (GROUPE RHONE-POULENC) DIRECTION COMMERCIALS EXPORTATION 25, QUAI PAUL-DOUMER F 92408 COURBEVOIE 776.41.51 - TELEX ROGIL 61500 F AGENCIES ALL OVER THE WORLD Circle 013 on Mgt. Info. Service Card April 3, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 33 0H H 0ZW Engineering so C=l How long CPI must wait for equipment <*> s--------------------------------------------------- Boilers, packaged Boilers, field erected Condensers Heat exchangers, steel Heat exchangers, alloy Heat exchangers, air cooled Heat exchangers, finned tube Heavy wall exchangers and reactors Reactors and columns Separators Tanks, steel Tanks, aljoy Tanks, field erected Agitators Large compressors Compressors, centrifugal Compressors, reciprocating Compressors, refrigeration Delivery time, weeks 44-60 72-86 40-44 36-60 40-52 35-44 36-40 86 60 24-36 40-60 40-60 60-104 20-24 95-104 52-60 40-52 40-48 Cooling towers Pumps, centrifugal Pumps, rotary Pumps, reciprocating Electric motors to 250 hp. Electric motors over 250 hp. Plastic pipe Steel pipe, coated and wrapped Stainless-steel pipe Condenser tubing Flanges Valves, 6 in. and smaller Valves, 6-12 in. Valves, 14-20 in. Valves, 24 in.and larger Reinforcing bars Structural steel insulation, calcium silicate Delivery time, weeks * 42-52 30-56 20-26 32-42 20-38 32-60 10-20 30-42 32-42 20-40 28-34 24 28 40 24 52 52 26-30 Shortages continue to stretch delivery schedules Tight supplies of steel, other metals and plastics plague equipment makers, add to delivery times quoted last year Prices rise as products are decontrolled Shortages of steel plate, castings, aluminum ingot and plastic resins con tinue to push back delivery schedules of most process equipment. And as price controls are lilted, CPI companies find they have to pay 5-10% more for equip ment than they did last year. These are the findings of a Chemical Week survey of equipment suppliers and engineering companies. The table above Is a composite of data from engineering and construction companies on jobs al ready completed. In some cases, there may be a difference between these figures and those now being quoted by equip ment makers. The slow delivery on pumps, the pro cess industries' workhorses, illustrates the state of the equipment market. Gil Jen sen, president of Roper Pump (Com merce, Ga.), says delivery times are "ter rible-much worse than six months ago." Although Roper has not raised prices in the past year, Jensen notes that prices of steel and other materials have risen con tinually. Milton Roy Co. (St Petersburg, Fla.) says delivery times have doubled for con trol-volume pumps and proportional feed systems. Individual components require three to 10 weeks for deliveiy, custombuilt systems take several months. The company says it is experiencing consider able delays on deliveries of castings and plastics used in its equipment. And it does not anticipate any decrease in deliv ery times during the next six months. A 5% price increase was put into effect at the first of the year. Delivery schedules have more than doubled during the last six months for standard pumps manufactured by the Tulsa plant of Borg-Warner's Byron Jabkson Division. In general, delivery times that ranged between 45 and 60 days six months ago now have stretched to a minimum of 120 days--and as much as 150 days. Fred Minter, sales manager for Joy Manufacturing Co.'s Buffalo, N.Y., plant, says delivery times on large centrifugal compressors are now 11-12 months, com pared with 8-10 months last fall. Prices went up 10% during the last six months. He does not expect delivery times to im prove during the next six months. As for prices: "Frankly, we see an additional 10% increase" because of artificially low prices and shortages, Minter adds. Better Times: But there are also some signs of improvement Honeywell's In dustrial Division reports it has not been forced to extend delivery times for its line of instrumentation. In fact most products can be delivered in 15 weeks, the com pany says. And Martin-Decker (Santa Ana, Calif.) expects delivery times to improve for its line of electronic and hydraulic weighing equipment Reason: increased produc tion capacity and fewer delays in material deliveries. Used Equipment: Because of long de livery schedules, many companies are turning to the used-equipment market. For example. Perry Equipment Co. (Hai nesport, NJ.) reports a 30% increase in the sale of used equipment last year. And sales this year are 26% ahead of business in the corresponding *73 period. Says Perry's Sales Manager Ray Pi sano: "About 85-90% of our business is with large chemical companies. In the past, used equipment was not high on their list. Major CPI companies would come reluctantly to the used-equipment market unless they had a tight budget. Now, they're turning to us first, or cer tainly earlier than ever before." Pisano adds that large CPI companies are well suited to buy used equipment be cause they have maintenance staffs that can decide whether an item can be rebuilt to fit the plant Generally, prices of used equipment are up about 20% over a year ago. 34 CHEMICAL WEEK April 3. 1974 VRD 0002014542 Government with the key role in hammering out reasonable compromise on the total Administration split on clean air changes package, which, Mr. Train says, will "provide EPA with the flexibility needed to achieve compliance with air The Nixon Administration, as prom nondegradation of clean air would "re quality standards without weakening ised, has proposed a package of move the authority of the Federal Gov the basic thrust of the statute." All of amendments to soften Clean Air Act ernment to promulgate standards more which tends to make the controversy requirements, claiming the changes are stringent than those set to protect pub over changing the Clean Air Act less needed to help ease the nation's energy lic health or welfare," EPA says. In es exacerbating and improves chances problems. sence, the Administration proposal that Congress will act favorably on As expected, the proposals have would negate a court order that re most of the proposals after some tin sparked controversy, not only among quired EPA to prevent "significant de- kering and perhaps heated debate on the White House, Congress, and envi terioration",,of the nation's air quality. the provisions on which Mr. Train has ronmentalists, but also within the Ad The U.S. District Court for the District voiced objections. ministration itself. Environmental Pro of Columbia ruled that allowing states tection Agency administrator Russell to permit deterioration of clean air is E. Train has issued clear signals that "contrary to the legislative policy" of Emergency rules set he takes a decidedly dim view of two of the Clean Air Act. It ordered EPA to for vinyl chloridethe Administration's key proposals. issue new rules to prevent "significant These proposals allow for some degra deterioration" of air quality. dation of currently pristine air and EPA then developed four alternative Immediate steps taken by the Govern allow use of intermittent or alternative sets of*regulations to prevent clean air ment to safeguard workers from dying control strategies rather than perma from getting dirty. EPA proposals re of a rare liver cancer most likely due to nent controls such as low-sulfur fuels quired use of "best available" control vinyl chloride exposure won't unduly or scrubbing technology for power technology for 16 categories of air pol burden most firms either making the plant emissions. And he may either op lution sources including sulfuric acid monomer or converting it to polyvinyl pose both or offer different options in plants, petroleum refineries, and any chloride. Small producers of finished Congressional testimony. "EPA does other stationary sources that emit more PVC goods may find complying with not support proposals in these areas," than 4000 tons per year of any pollu the interim ceiling of 50 p.p.m. vinyl Mr. Train says, but "other agencies tant covered by national standards. chloride in work-place air costly, de feel strongly that legislation is needed, Under other provisions of the Ad pending upon the analytical method and we agree that these matters repre ministration's amendments to the required. But the real rub for many sent issues that should be examined by Clean Air Act: firms, big or small, will come later in Congress." The President could require plants meeting the 1-p.p.m. vinyl chloride ex EPA notes that other agencies feel to burn coal rather than oil or gas until posure limit proposed for a permanent that indefinite use of intermittent con 1980, provided health-based standards standard. trol systems will be "significantly are maintained. Two rules on vinyl chloride by the che_aper, use less energy, and result in EPA could temporarily suspend Occupational Safety and Health Ad less solid wastes than some stack gas emission limits for power plants until ministration were due to appear in the cleaning technologies." On the other November 1974 if necessary fuel is un Federal Register late last week or early hand, EPA believes that "sulfates available, and subject to conditions this week. OSHA will set an emergency formed from sulfur oxide gaseous emis preventing imminent or substantial temporary standard and propose a per sions are causing public health prob danger to public health. manent standard to succeed it. The lems now, that permanent controls will EPA could extend by five years rules will affect all plants handling the be necessary to protect public health in the clean air deadline for 38 metropoli chemical. the future, and that costs could be tan areas that could not meet 1977 air The emergency ruling will lower the greater in the long run should new re quality standards, and an additional current ceiling of 500 p.p.m. vinyl quirements to deal with sulfates force five-year extension could be granted. chloride to 50 p.p.m., OSHA chief expensive retrofits." EPA would get authority to waive John H. Stender said in a March 22 The Administration's proposal on new source performance standards to statement. It also will call for work encourage innovative and experimental place monitoring and, when the new control technology, provided that pri ceiling is exceeded, wearing such gear mary air quality standards are met. as air-supplied respirators as well as EPA would get authority to set impervious suits in some instances. design on equipment standards for The National Institute for Occupa sources when it is not feasible to set tional Safety and Health is urging emission or performance standards. OSHA to require use of an analytical Civil penalties of up to $25,000 per method involving a gas collecting tube day of violation of air quality standards tied in with a gas chromatograph. The by stationary sources could be levied. method's sensitivity is about 1 p.p.m. Environmental impact statements vinyl chloride. The technique is criti by the Federal Energy Office would be cized by one industry expert as being required when ordering certain coal "too expensive" and not providing conversions or coal allocation actions of "real-time" analysis. For PVC finishing more than one year's duration. operations, he adds, a simpler method, Federal auto emission standards using, for example, a Dr&ger tube at a for the 1975 model year for carbon cost of $1.00 per test, would be ade monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen quate to demonstrate compliance with oxides would be extended through the the emergency standard. 1976 and 1977 model years. The ceiling reduction results from On balance, these Administration investigations (C&EN, Feb. 25, page proposals are more moderate than 16) of Prof. Cesare Maltoni, Istituto Di some options that were heatedly debat Oncologia, Bologna, Italy, Mr. Stender ed within the Administration. Indeed, says. "Maltoni's studies demonstrated some EPA officials credit Mr. Train that reduction from 500 p.p.m. to 50 April 1, 1974 C&EN 11 VRD 0002014543 p.p.m. provides a considerable degree of protection from the 260-p.p.m. con centration (of vinyl chloride in air) ob served by Maltoni to be cancer-causing in animals, while those exposed only to 50 p.p.m. showed no apparent ill ef fects," he explains. (Prof. Maltoni is running further tests with greater numbers of rats at the 50-p.p.m. level, however, to confirm or refute this "no effect" finding.) Just hours after Mr. Stender's brief statement to the press was issued, or ganized labor ana chemical industry officials met privately and separately with him. Industry has opposed an emergency rule, preferring to await the results of ongoing epidemiology and Stondor: interim coiling of SO p.p.m. animal toxicity studies, while working methodically toward a new, permanent to become so, not work "directly in rule. Organized labor, meantime, has vinyl chloride monomer operations." asked for a tough emergency rule at Prof. Maltoni found that the offspring once with "no measurable exposure" of rats exposed to 10,000 and 6000 and medical tests, among other things. p.p.m. of vinyl chloride developed sub Sheldon Samuels, safety and health cutaneous fibrosing angiosarcomas. director for AFL-GIO's industrial union "Serious objections" to NIOSH't department, criticizes the emergency medical protocol are raised by Dr. Sid rule as ineffective. The new ceiling "is ney Wolfe, of the Ralph Nader-affili so high," he says, "that the United ated Health Research Group. For one, Rubber Workers Union tells us that he tells C&EN, it "seemi absurd" not only 20% of the plants it represents to cover workers in contact with vinyl would have to make any changes at all chloride in operations other than the to meet it." At least six PVC plants monomer and polymer plants. What's and one vinyl chloride plant now oper more, liver function testa should be ate at levels of 10 p.p.m., he says. done every four months, he urges, to PVC plants inside buildings occa detect the cancer sooner. sionally exceed the new ceiling, partic ularly in the area of polymerization re- Actors. Workers who clean reactors are BLS releases nuclear apparently those most susceptible to manpower figuresthe liver cancer. Researchers have found that during reactor scraping op erations, after polymerization, concen With AEC and the nuclear industry in trations close to the worker's hand the midst of a major gearing up on the ranged from 600 to 1000 p.p.m. [Arch. breeder and other nuclear power proj Environ. Health, 22, 79 (1971)]. Clean ects, the Bureau of Labor Statistics up methods now are safer. (BLS) has released new figures on how OSHA's Stender visited Dow Chemi many people are employed at what in cal and Union Carbide plants in Free the atomic energy field in the U.S. port and Texas City, Tex., respective As of last July (latest available fig ly, before opting for the emergency ures), BLS says that about 171,000 rule. "Theoretically," he says, a per persons were employed in atomic ener manent standard "can be on the books gy work with employment almost as early as June." It's expected that equally divided between Government- OSHA will bypass setting up an advi owned establishments operated by con sory panel for the permanent rule and tractors (85,100) and privately owned that a public hearing will be requested. establishment! (86,800) including non OSHA last week was expected to profit institutions. BLS adde that em adopt most of the medical surveillance ployment has steadily declined at Gov programs urged by NIOSH. The pro ernment-owned facilities since 1967-- gram covers all monomer and PVC when about 101,500 were plant employees, including clerical and employed--and dropped by about managerial staff. Besides such lab pro 10,000 from 1971 to 1973. However, cedures as complete blood count, uri employment in privately owned estab nalysis, and chest x-ray, the program lishments believed by AEC to be en recommends five mandatory liver func gaged in atomic energy activities has tion tests: total bilirubin, alkaline increased by 24,300 above a 61,500 phosphatase, serum glutamic oxalace- level reported in 1971. BLS attributes tic transaminase, serum glutamic py about naif (12,900 employees) of the ruvic transaminase, and gamma gluta increase in private employment to new myl transpeptidase. The tests are to be establishments added in the two-year* done yearly, except when abnormalities period, and the remaining 11,400 to show up or when a worker already has growth in the private eector. had 10 years of vinyl chloride exposure. BLS collected these and other em Significantly, NIOSH urges that ployment data from about 60 Govern pregnant women, or those who expect12 ment-owned and about 740 privately owned establishments. Excluded were employees of federal, state, and local governments, those working in urani um mining and construction (other than reactors), and personnel employed in non-AEC-connected university atomic energy research and teaching. More than 45% of the atomic energy workers surveyed in 1973 were ecientiats, engineers, and technicians, BLS eaye. Engineers made up the largest group (33,000), followed by technicians (31,800 including nuclear reactor oper ators) and scientists (13,600). Chemical engineers accounted for 2300 of the en gineering work force with 1100 of the chemical engineers engaged in R&D. Chemists accounted for 3700 of the sci entists' work force, with 2500 engaged in R&D. Overall, about 45% (20,800) of-the scientists and engineers were working on R&D projects, with about 34% of the engineers and about 70% of the sci entists engaged in R&D. Of the 11,200 engineers working in R&D, 8000 worked in Government-owned facili ties, and 3200 in privately owned facili ties. About 9600 mathematicians and earth, physical, and life scientists were employed in R&D projects, with 8200 working in Government-owned facili ties, and 1400 working in privately owned facilities. BLS points out that of 20 different industrial segments surveyed, three segments employed nearly 80,000 employees or 47% of the atomic energy manpower: Weapons development and pro duction. Total employment: 31,600. About 4300 of these workers were engi neers, about 2600 scientists. Chemical engineers accounted for 296 of this work force, chemists 779 positions. Reactor and reactor component design and manufacturing. Total em ployment: 26,900. About 5900 of these workers were engineers, about 500 sci entists. Chemical engineers accounted for 286 of this work force, chemists about 100 positions. e Design and engineering of nuclear facilities. Total employment: 21,600. About 9200 of these workers were engi neers, about 400 scientists. Chemical engineers accounted for 211 of this work force, chemists about 45 posi tions. All other segments of the atomic en ergy field surveyed employed 91,000 workers, including 13,600 engineers and 10,100 scientists. Chemical engi neers in the "other segments" category numbered 1507 and chemists 2776. About 56% of all scientists and engi neers in atomic energy activities were supported by federal funds, BLS says. In the private sector, only 17% of the scientists and engineers were supported with federal funds in 1973. This com pares with 26% in 1971 and 32% in 1970. Private industry's own funds sup ported 63% of their scientific and engi neering work force, other sources the remaining 20%, BLS says. 12 C&EN April 1. 1974 . mVRD i f l f T M Distribution: RWG JDBu JJL LNV JDBr (FK) ' KLS LJS RDG EMS GFT RLL CLW WRS DVP EAS Firestone Says Death THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Thunder, April 18, 1974 9q A0 i Of Worker Seems Tied reported among its employes. In January, B. F. Goodrich Co. said the death of three workers at a plant in Louis To Polyvinyl Chloride ville, Kyv. from angiosarcoma of the liver may be related to polyvinyl-chloride opera tions. Union Carbide Corp. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. later reported other liv Ay <i WAN. STMXT JOl'tNAl Staff Reporter AKRON. Ohio--Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. said the 1969 death of a worker at its er-cancer deaths among their vinyl-chloride workers. Potlatown, Pa., plasties plant "appears to In March, the Labor Department's Occu have been related to angiosarcoma," a form pational Safety and Health Administration of Uver cancer that la apparently associated Issued an emergency temporary health with the use of vinyl chloride monomer in standard, which sharply cut the' allowable production of polyvinyl chloride. exposure to the industrial chemical. The Firestone said this is the first such death measure took effect April 8. Distribution: KDC CMS Ol'T RLL CLW WRS I)V f i:as THE NEW YORK TIMES Tuesday, April 16, 1974 f A 4 H H 0 Z 0 0 0 AHA CHEMICAL LINKED TO CANCER IN MICE Liver Disease Is Produced in Vinyl Chloride Study By JANE E. BRODY An industry-sponsored study of vinyl chloride Has indicated that when mice are exposed to the amount of the chemical that workers are currently per* mitted to inhale, the animals develop a rare fatal cancer of the liver that has been found in 12 vinyl chloride workers. Vinyl chloride, an explosive gas, is used to make polyvinyl chloride, the basis for much of modern plastics. Some 6,500 workers are involved in the vinyl chloride-polyvinyl chloride industry. In addition, vinyl chloride has been used ^ as a propellant in some aerosol' consumer products, including i hair sprays and pesticides. 1 The industry's laboratory i finding, presented yesterday to 1 a private briefing for Govern- ' ment and industry officials, . raises questions about the j safety of the current Federal emergency occupational stan- dard of 50 parts of vinyl chloride per one million parts of air. At this level of exposure for seven hours a day over seven months, several mice in the study, sponsored by the ManuI factoring Chemists Association, are reported to have developed angiosarcoma, or cancer of the liver. In a previous study. Prof. Cesare Mattoni of the Cancer Institute in Bologna, Italy, found the cancer in rats at levels of 250 parts per million and higher. Professor Maltoni's studies to date have shown no adverse effects at 50 parts per million, and it was partly for this reason that the U.S. Depart ment of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administra tion chose 50 parts per million for the emergency standard. Developed Spontaneously John O'Neill, chief of health standards development at the agency, said yesterday that the emergency standard would re main until "we have looked closely at the data and seen how good it is." He noted that mice sometimes develop angio sarcoma of the liver spon-: taneously. Mr. O'Neill said that thel agency expected to publish in the Federal Register next week a proposed permanent standard fqr vinyl chloride that would more closely reflect the judg ment of its scientific advisers, the National Institute for Oc cupational Safety and Health. They and other scientists have said that there can be no safe level established for exposure to a cancer-causing agent, and that workers should not be exposed to any detectable levels of vinyl chloride. The hair sprays in question, manufactured by Clairol and Bonat, Inc., are being recalled from store shelves. The En vironmental Protection Agency j* expected to release today the brand names of pesticides containing vinyl chloride. The agency said yesterday that all 23 manufacturers had agreed to substitute a different propellant, and all are being asked to vol untarily recall existing products containing vinyl chloride. The environmental agency is studying what to do about the more than 300 million pounds of vinyl -chloride that escape into the environment each year in the process of plastics manu facturing. Vinyl chloride had been used as an industrial chemical for more than 30 years in this country with relatively little concern about its possible toxic effects. In January, the B. F. Good rich Company announced that four workers in its polyvinyl chloride plant in Louisville, Ky., had developed liver cancer. There are seven cases known at the Louisville plant and five elsewhere. The announcement led to an industrywide search for the possible effects of the^ chemical. Mass medical evami- nations were given at one plant in Niagara Falls. Th latest study, supported by the chemists association and conducted by Bio-test Labora tories, Inc., in Northbrook, 111., was begun last summer, before the Goodrich announcement, in response to eariy reports of Professor Maltoni's findings. VRD 0002014546 MATERIALS Soft drinks finally get an all-plastic bottle V Coke will use Monsanto's nitrile resin bottle. Cheaper to ship and recycle Soft drink manufacturers have long dreamed of putting their product into a container as clear as glass but tough, and lightweight like aluminum. CocaCola Co. claims that it will.begin mar keting just such a bottle this year--a nitrile resin container called Lopac that is made by Monsanto Co. The Coke commitment may spur other carbonated beverage bottlers to develop plastic bottles of their own. Lightweight plastic can cut shipping costs by about 40% compared with glass and still provide a clear, disposable, and break-resistant container attrac tive to consumers. A successful plastic Coke bottle would open a broad new market to resin makers. They hope to capture around 10% of the estimated 30-billionunit market for disposable carbonated beverages next year, which would mean the sale of over 200-million lb. of resin and revenues of more than $100million. Despite current feedstock shortages, resin makers hope that by 1980 they will be selling 1-billion lb. an nually to bottle makers and bottlers. "We want our portion of the growth in disposable beverage containers," says Robert L. Walter, director of Mon santo's plastic bottle program. Tougher resin. Plastics companies al ready sell some 800-million lb. of such resins as polyvinyl chloride for use in food packaging and noncarbonated beverage containers. But the soft drink and beer market demands a tougher resin that will contain carbonation pressure while maintaining external strength. After several years of re search, Coke, PepsiCo, and other bot tlers began test marketing bottles in 1970 made from new compounds of nit rile resins developed by Monsanto, Du Pont, and Vistron, a subsidiary of Standard Oil Co. (Ohio). The compounds are at least 50% acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile, which help set up an impermeable bar rier against loss of carbon dioxide or oxygen in the bottle. The plastic com panies add styrene, methyl acrylate, or` methyl methacrylate, which ease mold ing of the tough nitriles. Sometimes rubber is added to make the bottle more break-resistant. Monsanto es chews rubber in favor of a processing step that aligns molecules in a break- resistant pattern. "The rubber weak age industry marketing manager for ens the carbonation containment," Anchor Hocking Corp., views Lopac as says a Monsanto spokesman. strictly a pilot operation. Owens-Il Monsanto got a big jump on other linois President Edwin D. Dodd says: resin makers by signing Coke to an "I remain bullish on glass." The rea agreement. After two Coca-Cola bot sons center on the cost and availability tlers in the Northeast sold 3-million Lo of materials. While glass uses sand, pac bottles in a test market in 1971, soda ash, and limestone, plastics need Coke agreed to introduce the bottle valuable and sometimes scarce petro this year, probably in New York. Prep leum feedstocks. Ben H. Wells, presi- arations for the new mar ket are impressive. Mon santo says it will complete a 630-million-lb. acryloni trile plant, largest in the world, in Texas City, Tex., by 1976, and is building a bottle factory in South Windsor, Conn. Mon santo's capital spending on the project may exceed $2G0-million, says one in dustry source. Neither Du Pont nor Vistron has announced contracts with bottlers yet, but Vistron says it is building a $9-million plant to produce 20-mil lion lb. per year of its ni trile resin, called Barex, by next year. Du Pont is expanding its Montague (Mich.) plant to produce 10-million to 20-million lb. of its Vicobar nitrile. Other companies are test- ing resins, including Borg-Wamer and Rohm & Haas in the U. S., and Mitsubishi in Japan. Marketing. The marketing potential of nitrile bottles is attractive to some bev erage companies. The bot tles are about , one-tenth the weight of equtval glass botjlaer'5 big plus for thtfshopper loaded | wjtn groceries. They, are * harder to break and do <s not shatter into dan- Monsanto's gerous fragments when Lopac bottles they do. And unlike poly vinyl chloride, alcohol does not eat into nitrile resins, clearing the way for plastic bottling of beer, wine, and li t of Seven-Up Co., says: "We are sticking with the glass bottle. Plastic botjtles, we estimate, will cost three quor. The Food & Drug Administration es more than glass." Such other declared pvc safe for food packaging in 1956, but last year it excluded alcoholic erage makers as Canada Dry, Royal >wn Cola, and Dr Pepper profess to products after discovering the alcohol unimpressed by plastic's potential. . a solvent on vinyl. If the consumer insists on plastic, says ^TTTnmnkrTR one company spokesman, "we'll give it shattered by the prospect of plastic to her." competition. E. Clifford Nelson, bever- Another soft drink industry source MATERIALS EEK: April 6. 1974 50 A VRD 0002014547 Why buy steel off the shelf? Start with parts from Ryerson... AND SAVE When you start with pieces and parts from Ryerson . . . metal plus first stage processing work . . . you save in these important ways. You can divert your skilled manpower to more productive operations. You can safely operate with smaller inven tories. We deliver and bill you as parts are needed . . . match your production rates. "Renting" our capacity lets you, in effect, expand yours without tying up capital. You get parts of known, final cost, Hidden expense factors such as rejects and downtime are our problems, not yours. Reasons enough ? For your company there may be even more. To find out let us apply our Cost Management Systems to your par ticular purchasing options. Ask your Ryerson representative or, if you prefer, go direct to Bill Loehrer, General Manager, Sales in Chicago, Box 8000-A, 60680. PHONE (312) RO-2-2121. Joseph T. Ryerson & Son. inc. Member ofthe inland Steel Family. 50 a The U^S. imports the 'Sophia Loren' bottle Alarmed at the interest of bottlers in plastics, a West German glass con tainer company set out to develop a lightweight glass bottle in the late 1960s. The result: a strong, thin-walled bottle up to 50%. lighter than conven tional bottles which looked so graceful that its maker, H-Heye Glasfabrik, nicknamed it "Sophia Loren/' Now Heye has licensed Kerr Glass Mfg. Corp. of Los Angeles to make lightweight bottles in the U. S. Kerr hopes to run test bottles out of its Plainfield (111.) plant by the end of the month. If U. S. beverage companies like them, "it will be more difficult for the plastic people to make inroads into beer and soft drink containers," pre dicts President William Kerr. The Heye process uses 10% to 25% less glass than conventional bottlemak ing by insuring uniformity in wall thickness. Traditional bottle manufac ture calls for a glob of glass to fall into a form for molding the neck. Then it is transferred to another form where compressed air blows out the glass to fit the body mold. Heye instead uses a plunger in the first mold to forcibly and uniformly displace the glass into a body shape. Then, as compressed air blows it out into final shape, small vac uums suck out air and gasses that are trapped between the glass and the mold wall, insuring an even tempera ture in the mold and thus a more evenly shaped bottle. Because conventional blowing metb ods resulted in uneven glass distribu tion, more glass had to be poured in to make sure that the thinnest part of the bottle wall was strong enough. Heye produced a one-third-liter bottle for a brewery that was 1 in. shorter and 2 oz. lighter than the normal 5 oz. model. "It was love at first sight," says the brew ery president, who called the bottle "Snobby, the world's lightest beer bottle." Kerr claims that the bottles are as strong and as inexpensive as conven tional bottles. A standard machine can be converted cheaply to make them, he says. But Heye claims it has designed a new machine that can turn out bottles three times faster than current models. And the bottles are 25% lighter than the superlight Snobby. "We want the bottles on the market this year," says Heye owner Hans Baum. sees the Lopac container in a some what better light--in 10-oz. sizes it may cost 50% more than a glass container, but costs are equal for 32-oz. and larger sizes, chiefly because the larger a glass bottle is, the more sturdily it must be built. Resin manufacturers claim that savings in shipping and storage will help balance off plastic's higher manu facturing costs. "We will be competi- Glassmakers argue that the raw materials they use are more readily available tive," says Monsanto's Walter. Mon santo will not only make the resin, it will make the bottles, too. "We can squeeze out more efficiencies," says Walter. "This is the only way to do it." Monsanto may also be able to stretch its resin further if it can properly align molecules in the plastic for greater strength, says one bottler. Then, of course, there is the material recovered in recycling, which resin makers say is an easier and less costly operation than glass or metal recycling. Plastic bot tles, they say, are merely melted and fed back to the bottlemaking plant. Monsanto says that it will pay $200 for each ton of Lopac bottles returned, equal to the price aluminum companies pay for used cans. Supply secure. There will be plenty of resin to go around if the bottle market opens up, the plastic companies say. "This is a high-margin end use," says Walter. "We own natural gas and oil wells, so we know we have supplies for the big new plant." Adds James W. Giggey, Vicebar's venture manager: "Based on all the checks we have made, we will be all right on supply." Glassmakers say those feedstocks will be rising in price, while some new production methods may cut glass bottle costs (page 50 C). But some of those anticipated hikes may be offset by plastic's low energy demand in manufacturing. After five cycles, ac cording to Monsanto, one glass bottle will consume 2.5 times the energy needed to make five Lopac bottles. In the 48-oz. and 64-oz. bottles, plastic consumes several hundred Btus less than glass. Says Thomas Maxfield, PepsiCo's vice-president for new ven tures: "The advantage there is impor tant. Roughly 12% of our customers buy 65% of our product, and when you drink that many soft drinks you don't want to carry a lot of bottles around." Even more energy can be saved, of course, if the bottle is returned and re filled. So far, nitrile trails glass badly there-the plastic can be contaminated if the bottle is used to store such liquids as ammonia or gasoline, and the carbonation pressure can slightly enlarge the bottle's size. Environmentalists ob ject to one-way bottles, and Oregon completely bans their sale. But resin makers claim that their MATERIALS We made it happen... New Orleans: Cruising down the river ...with a barge load of soybean meal. Our job: Inspect the shipment on ar rival for our contract customer and supervise transfer from the barge to a waiting export vessel, Simple. Except that en route a brush with the river bank dislodged an ant's nest releasing red ants into the barge. On discovery, our agent ordered fumigation of the barge thus saving the shipment of meal and preventing infestation and contami nation of the waiting cargo vessel. Sometime prevention is an important part of our business. A contract with Superintendence Company Inc___the largest inspection organization serving world trade ...as sures complete supervision and strictest attention to all details... including cer tification and verification ... involved in the shipping, handling and receiving of products from point of origin to final destination. Write for our new brochure on how a contract with Superintendence can make things happen ... Because we're always there Superintendence Company Inc. 17 Battery Place North New York, New York 10004 A World of Services For World Trade BUSINESS WEEK. April 6, 1974 50 C VRD 0002014549 IF YOU DON'T NOURISH IHEM, NOTHING wumnw. The fruit of the human body is the mind. If it's left to he uncultivated, its contributions wither Its mechanism falters And some thing. somewhere dies And that should fnghten you Because college-trained minds and results of college and university sponsored research have helped make your co what it is today And they are your biggest hope for / \ growth tomorrow. But what if the morey runs^uti The bright young college kids, . counting on will become scalte More ' expensive And if you think your company can afford to take up the training slack, think about this While half the coliege trained minds that are employed go into business, business contributes only about 15% of the voluntary support given to colleges That's a pretty good return on investment. So protect it Invest in progress and the future Give to the college of your choice. Advertising contributed for the public good, IBS Cound for Financial Aid to Education. Inc. GJ-H 6 East 45th St., New York. N.Y. 10017 No Slate or local Taxes On a Manufacturer's Personal Property inNewYork. In New York there ore no od valorem state or local foxes on a manufac turer's tangible personal property, I Commissioner Neal L Moylon New York State I such os machinery, equipment or Department of Commerce Iinventories. The state constitution prohibits property taxes on iniangib/e Dept. MBSV, 99 Washington Ave. I Albany, New York 12210 . (personal holdings, such os stocks, bonds, accounts receivable. For details, attach coupon to your letter head and mail today. Please furnish me more detailed I information on industrial-location advantages in New York State. I There's still room at the top. NewYork Stole. Where the smart money is. STATE ZIP bottles will have less adverse environ mental impact than glass or can$. A 10oz. plastic bottle may contain up to 800 Btus, making it an excellent fueftfor garbage-burning municipal power plants now coming on-stream, accord- ing to a report by the Society of the Plastics Industry. Environmentalist "bjrrtirnn tr thB_nnr,-,,ofnrc**li!> con~ fceifier could befmshed asideByTnari^t pressure. "If the consumer wants on^ way packaging, we've got to provide a Coke spokesman. Breakage. PefSlCu ylituus Cuke s enthusiam for plastic in theory but claims Coke: `If the consumer wants one-way packaging, we've got to provide it' that it is not yet satisified with current resin offerings. "About 25% of the Lo- pac bottles break when dropped from 4.5 ft., says Maxfield. "The public thinks of plastic as unbreakable, and we would want only 3% breakage from 10 ft." A Monsanto spokesman retorts that "we could put enough rubber in the bottle to make it bounce, but then you lose your carbonation barrier." Despite publicly stated reservations, PepsiCo and big container makers are working hard on plastic bottles that they hope will not trail too far behind Coke's entry. Reports that Monsanto is making progress in signing up inde pendent Coke bottlers spurs them on. "Let's face it, the guy who gets there first is going to hurt the rest of us," says one industry executive. Some beverage makers are hoping to get the best of both worlds' by using plastic-coated glass bottles, which have been on the market since 1971. Owens- Illinois, Dart Industries' Thatcher Glass Mfg. Div., and Anchor Hocking all make such bottles, using a coating of styrene or some other plastic on the glass. The bottle weight can be reduced up to 20% because the coating protects against damage and helps contain fragments if the container does break. Being glass, the containers can be re turned and refilled. Despite about a 10% premium on the coated bottles, sales are brisk. But beverage marketers lean -toward all-plastic containers because of greater weight savings and improved safety. Even Owens-Illinois concedes that plastic containers for carbonated beverages are now technically feasible. Percy Stone, who manages~the plastic beverage bottle operations at Conti nental Can Co., says, "We have no stake in glass, but we are actively pur suing a plastic bottle that offers safety and ease of handling." An American Can Co. spokesman says: "Plastic bev erage bottles represent a huge poten tial for us. We anticipate they will be a big factor in the market." SO O BUSINESS WEEK: April 6. 1974 MATERIALS o VCM Studied by MCA Evidence militating against human exposure to vinyl chloride air contami nation even at the 50 parts per million level established in current energency work place standards is mounting. Special tests being run for Manufac turing Chemists Association on laborato ry animals exposed to the chemical, ap pear to be pointing to confirmation of findings of Professor Cesare Maltoni. an Italian scientist, that the chemical is ca pable of producing angiosarcoma - a rare liver cancer - in some animal spe cies. This was reported by the association to the Occupational Safety & Health Ad ministration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety St Health and the Environmental Protection Agency at a special meeting last week. The tests are being run for MCA by Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc., which informed the association that its work - although very preliminary at this point - tends to confirm the find ings of Prof. Maltoni. In the MCA-administcred study, rats, hamsters and mice are being exposed seven houTS a day, five days a week, to 2,500 parts per million (ppm). 200 ppm and 50 ppm of VCM. After seven months of exposure, angiosarcoma has been ob served in mice at all levels, but not in rats or hamsters, MCA said. Prof. Maltoni reported at the OSHA hearings on vinyl chloride February 15 that he had observed the livercancer 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 level. Continued on Page i4 VCM Is Studied Continued from Page 3 MCA said that the animgl exposure study is continuing. Another MCA-administered study on the chemical, documenting the health experience of present and for mer employees who have worked with the material, is nearing completion and results will be announced when completed. Fur ther vinyl chloride testing is under consid eration, it was added. The preliminary results reported to the government agencies last week is expected to hasten the issuance of proposed perma nent work-place standards by the Labor Department to replace the temporary stan dards that were issued last March 22. John O'Neill, chief of health standards development of OSHA, said the proposed permanent standards may be published in the Federal Register this week and indicat ed that they would closely reflect the judge ment of NIOSH. NIOSH has proposed that zero tolerance standards be established in the workplace and that if any detectable level of vinyl chloride is present that the workers be re quired to wear oxygen-supplied respirators. Food it Drug Administrt tion and EPA are also involving themselves with the vinyl chloride problem. FDA is making a survey of the use of the chemical as a pro pellant in aerosolized drug and cosmetic products and is looking into use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) containers for packaging food to determine if the monomer might be leaching into food. EPA has a task force assessing the overall environmental impact of vinyl chlo ride and polyvinyl chloride on air and water, disposal of vinyl chloride and PVC wastes, and the ecological effects of vinyl chloride on the environment. Meanwhile, the death of another former plastics plant worker from apparent an giosarcoma was reported by Firestone Tire St Rubber Company. Firestone said that the worker who died in 1969 had been employed for twenty years at the Potlstown. Pa. plas tics plant in various jobs involving vinyl chloride material. EPA also last week released the brand names of twenty pesticides whose registra tion statements indicate that they con tained vihyl chloride as a propellant, and the names of ten manufacturers and dis tributors who refused to permit release of their brand name products. EPA identified the total of forty products with vinyl chloride listed in their registra tion documents. Release of the names was in response to a request from the Health Research Group, which is. associated with the Ralph Nader organization. EPA said that some of the brand names were not released because the manufacturers or distributors claimed that such information is confidential and subject to statutory protection, * VRD 00020145J been production problems with Rio Blanco. No additional stimulation tests have been planned. Meantime, government efforts on chemical fracturing technology ap pear more or less in limbo. GAO says that the Interior Department spent about $380,000 on chemical fracturing between fiscal years 1003 and 1973 before, in effect, abandon ing efforts to private industry. Until fiscal 1974, no federal funds had been spent on massive hydrau lic fracturing. AEC and Interior's Bureau of Mines have more than $1.2 million that could be used for hydraulic fracturing development in fiscal 1974. And Interior has more than $1 million budgeted for this technique in fiscal 1975. NCI's cancer testing management shifted Two major prime contracts have been awarded by the National Can cer Institute as it shifts the man agement of more of its program to outside contractors. Late last week, NCI awarded a $6.6 million, 15-month contract to Tracor Jitco, Inc., to manage the NCI testing program to identify cancer-causing chemicals and phys ical agents in the environment. Earlier in the week, a nearly $3.8 million, two-year contract went to Battelle Memorial Institute's Co lumbus Laboratories for manage ment of NCI's toxicology program for evaluating the safety and side effects of potential new anticancer drugs. Through bioassay contracts with 17 university and commercial labo ratories, NCI has studies under way on the effects of some 450 chemicals as well as ultraviolet radiation. Be ginning May 1, Tracor Jitco, Rock ville, Md., will start assuming prime responsibility for the con tracts now in effect with commer cial laboratories at a rate of about one a month. As the NCI contracts expire the company will negotiate each of them as a subcontract. Al though NCI will retain scientific control of the program, Tracor Jitco will direct and monitor all as pects of the bioassays, including ex perimental design, planning of re sources (materials, animals, labora tory facilities), conduct of studies, data collection, and analysis and presentation of results. Under the other contract, Battelle-Columbus, managing NCI's toxicology program from its office in McLean, Va., will establish a network of subcontracting laborato- ries, the number depending on availability of new drugs ready for toxicology testing. The network will be able to test at least 10 drugs at a time for toxicity and side effects. Both contracts are of the cost plus award-fee type, in which the actual fee awarded will depend on excellence of performance. The Battelle contract, for example, in cludes a two-year fee of $65,592 and an award fee that could reach a total of $149,004 over the two-year contract period. Of mice, man, and vinyl chloride Mice--like rats and, in all likeli hood, man--develop liver angiosar comas from vinyl chloride exposure. "Very preliminary" work on mice by Industrial Bio-Test Laborato ries, Northbrook, III., for the Man ufacturing Chemists Association ``tends to confirm the findings" of Prof. Cesare Maltoni, the trade group said last week. Prof. Mal toni, of Istituto Di Oncologia, Bologna, Italy, found liver cancer in rats from vinyl chloride ex posure. After only seven months' expo sure at levels of 2500 p.p.m., 200 p.p.m., and 50 p.p.m. vinyl chlo ride in air, Bio-Test found angio sarcomas in mice at all levels, but not in rats or hamsters. Such tumor development in mice is considered to be fairly rapid. The lack of rat tumors so far is also consistent with Prof. Maltoni's data. The death toll of workers in the U.S. and abroad due to contact with the chemical, meanwhile, is mounting. Firestone said last week that the death in 1969 of a worker at its Pottstown, Pa., polyvinyl chloride plant "appears to have been related to angiosarcoma." C&EN also has learned that Nor way's Cancer Registry now con firms that a Norsk Hydro PVC worker died in 1971 from the liver cancer. And there are two suspect ed deaths from the disease among Swedish workers. Confirmed ana suspected cases of the cancer, at this writing, total 16. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, meanwhile, has judged measures to control ex posures to the carcinogen "inade quate" at five vinyl chloride and two PVC plants visited in the New Orleans-Baton Rouge, La., area in a March 1974 survey report ob tained by C&EN. Without asso ciating firms with specific criti cisms, OSHA officials found a "general lack of concern for em- ployee health" and that actual ex posures are generally unknown at the five plants. For these five plants "most safety rules are de signed to prevent fires and prevent product loss." And for all plants OSHA finds that "preventative maintenance seems nonexistent." Price decontrols may hike chemicals supply The lapsing of federal price con trols probably will produce in creased supplies of chemical prod ucts in the U.S. So says an over whelming majority of members responding to a recent poll on the effects of price decontrol by the Na tional Association of Chemical Dis tributors, a Dayton, Ohio-based or ganization of about 100 small, re gional chemical distributors. The survey showed less unanimity on just when the chemi cal supply situation might improve, but the typical opinion was that it would be within about six months. One pessimistic respondent, how ever, believes that the recovery will take anywhere from tyvo to five years, depending largely on the availability of construction materi als, equipment, and capital. Almost all NACD members polled agree that the tendency for chemical users to barter and swap products in short supply has af fected their business, with nearly half finding that the practice af fects the market "very much." One distributor points out that it has distorted knowledge of consump tion, for example. However, only two of the 35 respondents admit to having actually engaged in bar tering. They agree unanimously, though, that legislation to prevent bartering and swapping of chemi cals will be unnecessary after price controls expire. On the other hand, they are about equally divided on whether bartering will continue when controls end. By about 5 to 1, NACD members believe that more of the products they sell will remain in the U.S. once price controls are lifted. About half of those surveyed say that an average of 30% of the products they deal in have been diverted to higher-profit overseas markets, in amounts up to 80%. NACD members generally agree that over the long term (1975 and 1976), price decontrol will increase the availability of chemical materi als and restore a balance in the market. They also think decontrol will result in increased production. April 22, 1974 C&EN S f THE WASHINGTON POST ThorMdar.Apra25.1974 Vinyl Chloride Sprays Can't Be Sold--EPA The Environmental Protec* Ant and Wasp Killer; Rexall Metered Air Sanitizer; Anchor tion Agency (EPA) yesterday Ant and Roach Killer; Wal Flea, Lice and Tick Bomb. issued a rare emergency order to halt the sale of thousands green Ant and Roach Killer; Flea Killer for Dogs and Cats; Barcolene Spray Disinfectant; F-L-T Bomb; Wayne Flea, Lice and Tick; Rogers' Insecti cide and Repellent; Total Re of cans of pesticide sprays Coop Dairy Insecticide for lease Insect Fogger; Crown containing vinyl chloride--a Milk Houses and Animals. "Total" Complete Release In chemical linked to a rare form Excelcide 16-ounce aerosol sect Fogger; Roberts' "Total" of liver cancer. The order, which takes ef fect immediately, covers 28 aerosol products intended for use in the home, hospitals, where food is handled or other enclosed areas. Outdoor sprays are not affected but the bomb; Navy Brand Thrifty 50; Complete Release Insect Mothrid Moth Proofer; Moth- Fogger; Chaperone Flea St rid Moth Proofer Cedar Tick Killer; Pyrethrin Insecti Scented or Activated Moth cide Pressurized Dairy Proof Spray Cedarized; Nok- Insecticide; Coop Pyrethrin out 25 Aerosol Insecticide; Insecticide Pressurized Dairy Strike--Wasp and Hornet; Insecticide, and Mid-am Brand Nokout 85 Insecticide; Sprits* P1yrethrin Insecticide. EPA said manufacturers are recalling them anyway. An estimated 19,000 cans covered by the ban are be lieved to be on the market, Vinyl chloride is used as a and an unknown number of to propellant in the aerosol others are likely to be In the sprays. Twelve cases of a rare hands of consumers. liver cancer have been found The industry was already in among workers at factories - the process of recalling the where the chemical was in sprays but EPA administrator use. Russell E. Train said the proc Train's action was believed ess was not moving fast to be the first of its kind enough. taken under the 1972 federal "While the public health Im 1 pesticide law which gives the plications of exposure to vinyl } agency power to issue an chloride from short pesticide . emergency order. The order bursts are undertermined, the halts the sale of the products link between the gas and the 1 involved at once, rather than cancer is suspected strongly : allowing a time period to pass enough to make it prudent first as is the case with other public policy to. ban further bans the agency may impose. use of these products," Train The EPA had earlier re said. leased the names of some of the products involved after it asked the manufacturers to identify theta. Yesterday it re leased all the names, includ ing some whose manufactur es wanted kept secret for for mula reasons. ' sjtfbi products are: jfBiriiiiii Bug Bomb; Paracide With Sevin; Demert Raw Etoacbi Ant and Wasp Killer; VRD 000 20 14 5 H Pk~ - iHAt S ^ V^L ,--'-r-cr*'^ Jks-f ~T~P*- U P/' ^) cr-^ ~f^. L'ty^l 6cr~&#~ &^*<~-g^--> P2' d^-dP <a> j s'*'*#' ~7%r~ /i^3 & U<23z3- V^f ^*--^~ Piif fjrt- ss-**c- t ) ^/Z^- r*^c^~ y/^ .- -"--P~~tsZZ* d^- ef+* <lPj/ f/-~ 7 ^*2^^e yj ^ U^ft ^ CHEMICALS' ^search APR 2 91974 serve Min^^0idered Shut Minnesotq.piant v . By WnXIAM E. FARRELL -i-f'' speui to tm Nw'7Drk~tia .`^MINNEAPOLIS, April ; 20*- &nd fttifticftttes of WlscocJin, A-' Federal judge ordered MichlgttLqnd Minnesota^ alriof Reserve Mining company today, whichwereplaintiffs. to shut. down, immediately, to . Reserve 'Mining, tile .-fudge huge plant in. northern' Midi said after a long hearing today, nesotabecause - its discharges discharges large amount? of mi- of "industrial waste? into- the mrte ampHihoie fiber?" into tfce dir and into the waters of Lake air . and jhto the.,extremelypure Superior '-`substantially endan waters of Lake Superior.' ger the 'health of the people" Prolonged exposure to the fi in five communities* including ber- particles. Judge Lord said, the city of Duluth. can produce asbestosis, meso- - Judge Miles Lord, accused thelicoma and. cancer of the Reserve Mining and its two lungrgastro-intestinal tract and parent companies, the Armco ,|>t$el.` Corporation and the Re ^^dflbers elpittAd by the de public steel Corporation,-of de fendant into Lake 'Superior laying tactics in' the face of a have the potential for causing health `menace." great harm "to - the- -health -of. He said that the plant, which those exposed to them," the employs 3,100 persons, would judge read as lawyers and offi stay closed until it la in com cials' of . Anndo 2nd'Republic pliance with ill state and Fed Ste# satiBefore- him. eral antipolludoh statutes. - The communities endangered, - The judge's decision, rend the judge said, were Superior, ered after a trial of nearly Wis., andDuluth, Two Harbors, nine months,* testimony by Cloquet apd Beaver Bay,' all in more than lQO witnesses $hd Minnesota. almost; 19,000. pages of-tran "The exact scope of this po script, was hailed as a signifi tential health hazard fa .impos cant victory fop the; Environ sible to accurately quantify at mental; Protection Agency, various ' environmental groups Continued on Page 37, Column 1 MINNESOTA PLANT IS ORDERED SHOT Continued From Page I, C6L 2 this tkne," the judge said. "Sig nificant increases in diseases associated with abestos expos ure do not develop untiM5.to 20-years after the initial expos ure to the fibers." Reserve : Mining has been dumping 67,000 tons of taconite into the lake each day for 17 years. The tailings are grains of ore from which magnetic particles of iron have been ex tracted. Economics Considered The judge said that he had beep reminded repeatedly dur ing the trial. that dosing. the company's plant in Silver Bay, Minn., "may result in a severe economic blow" to an area whose economy has been re juvenated by the construction of. the plant The plant has an annual payroll of- $46-million, according to company esti mates. But he said, "The court must consider the people down stream from -the discharge. Un der no circumstances will , the court allow the people of DuJuttj to be: continuously and M efinitely exposed to a known human carcinogen in order that the people in Silver Bay can continue working at their jobs." >He noted repeated attempts that he had made during the trial to encourage the Reserve Mining .Company .to develop a' feasible plan for disposing of its taconite wastes on lana. Instead, he said, Reserve Min ing, which earns profits of S60,. 000 a day for its parent com panies, "decided to' continue eSosing thousands daily to a sibstantial health risk.ih order to] maintain the current! profit ability of the present opera- tion and delay the capital .out lay needed to institute modifi cations." 4 ea os os > --In the last two days Judge*! Lord has repeatedly chided * the company for what-he cooSf* sjdered its delaying tactics dur2jSg the trial and for not producing requested alternative disposaltjAans that the cost` pany lohg had on file. He said that he was not which "a substance causes - cancer in experimental animals with the effect on humans largely speculative." j "Fibers identical and similar j to those emitted from Reserve's f plant have been directly asso! dated with a marked increase in the inddence of cancer, to humans." he said, py inh*46r, f* Stopped at Midnight - Faced with the "defendants' . intransigence," Judge Lord said, "die court must order an immediate curtailment of the discharge." The effect of his order meant the cessation of . plant operations at midnight to night until the company com plied with state and Federal pollution laws. The judge called a plan put - forth today by C. William ver ity, head of Annco and chair man of the Reserve Company board, "absurd" and "preporterous." In part, the plan called for state and Federal assistance on expenses the company would incur in changing to a . land. disposal system, and for per mits necessary to the mining operation to be issued for the expected life of the mine. Judge Loord said that Armco and Republic were two of the nation's wealthiest corpora-' . tions and that a request.for aid x was "absurd." Mr. Verity. also asked the court to rule that no health menace existed, and the judge : . called that "shocking and un- becoming in t court of law." Based on the evidence pre sented, Judge Lord said, such a was tantamountto ask- jdge f`to violate oath office and to^dltfegard pie responsibility1 that'he has hot only to the people but also ;to himself." . ., VA 9SJH0Z000 AM Possible danger THE HOUSTON POST FRIDAY, APRIL 1*74 10-story skyscraper ST. LOUIS (UPI)--The 10- story Wainwright Building in from cancer-linked downtown St. Louis was com pleted in 1892 and is generally regarded as the world's first, steel-frame skyscraper. vinyl chloride told Biofe WASHINGTON / (UPI)-A ,.-Tt also said there may he a Teaching yresearch group told the gov- 'similar problem in the Pai- erfiment Thursday there is a? nesville, Ohio, area and "fearful possibility" that? around Long Beach, Calif, - people living in the Houston;- The - center said it* hid area and two other.industrials learned that EPA's owii inea- areas--are being eXpcggg to -sureraenu showed 0.37 parts airborne doses ot vinyl chlo per -million vinyl chloride ride, .a chemical linked to liv along Route 225 in Pasadena, er cancer. Tex., "in the heart of the The Center for Science in largest vinyl chloride produc the Public Interest urged the ing region in the United Environmental Protection States." Agency (EPA) to have state It calculated that at the end agencies make measurements of each batch of polyvinyl near factories jjtjpjeaiftteiyi to chloride made in a 10,000-gal determine the extent, of,,the lon reactor there is a stack hazard^'.; V > emmission of 9,000 grams of KNOWI ' ``We regard this as a poten tially serious public health problem," it.said, `.`and: worthy of immediate in vestigation. Our research in dicates that certain towns and vinyl chloride gas. "A person unfortunate enough to be downwind 100 meters from the emission would .be exposed to 200 parts per million," it added. j cities* may be seriously affect ^-' Interim ,"government rules ed by vinyl chloride pollu*' limit in-plant exposure of vin- tion." ' yi'xfloride td*-50 parts per It singled out the Houston' tngllton. ....... area, Southern Louisiana and Just Wednesday EPA isWestern Kentucky as - the^ Sued an ''emergency order "LeL Genie dc three prime areas where fac banning the sale of 28 aerosol tories produce so much vinyl pesticide- products in which A si chloride that smokestacks are vinyl chloride was used as a venting the chemical. High propellant. The Food and rogt lecl humidity and other climatic conditions in those regions, it added, could make the situ ation worse. Drug Administration nas moved against hair sprays in which the industrial chemical was used. XJ^O Ik The A1 14771 MEMOR1 Page 17/A TRY DROMGOOLE'S Typewriters--Adding Machines Calculator Machines * Soles * Service Rentals 2515 Rice Blvd., 526-4651 i VRD 0002014557 NEWS fvT i f ^ Washington, E.C. Office W |). S. DEPARTMENT of labor t^J OFFICE OF INFORMATION, WASHINGTON, 0. C. 20210 Occupational Safety & Health Administration Contact: Malcolm Barr Office : (202) 961-3914 Home : (703) 354-0199 USDL -- 74-197 FOR RELEASE: 12:30 P.M. (E.D.T.) Tuesday, April 23, 1974 OSHA HEAD WARNS OF 'POTENT KILLERS' IN NATION'S WORKPLACES Assistant Secretary of Labor John H. Stender warned today his job safety and health agency is discovering that previously unsuspected "potent killers" are lurking in some of the nation's five million workplaces. The Labor Department official told the National Association of Manufacturers in Arlington, Va., that a "seemingly harmless chemical" long used in the manufacture of plastics (vinyl chloride) is, according to the evidence, the cause of a rare but deadly liver cancer. "How many other chemicals, thought to be relatively harmless, are going to turn out to have tragic and deadly effects on the men and women who work with them?" Stender asked, noting that there are more than 25,000 chemicals used by industry with little known about many of them. "The implication is clear and it is ominous," the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), continued. "OSHA will be giving more attention to chemicals, fumes and other health hazards . . . any company that produces dangerous waste products can expect more frequent monitoring for dangerous substances." On the other hand, Stender said, more information will be disseminated about health hazards, and more training will be made available. He said that already many firms have begun developing "closed systems" and designing engineering and protective equipment controls. - MORE 30 4 ) -2- r--a "They have begun research that is vital in the effort to come to grips with the silent killers in our plants," Stender told the manufacturers' qroup. He said preliminary steps have been taken to protect workers from the vinyl chloride hazard. OSHA has published an emergency temporary health standard limiting exposure. OSHA will propose a more stringent permanent standard in the near future. Stender reported that OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare are embarked on a $3.5 million, 30-month project to propose standards for about 400 of the most toxic substances. He said he expected 40 of the standards will be proposed in the first year. **# I 0 9 H 0 1 0 0 0 <10A THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Thursday, January 24, 1974 A Three Cancer Deaths May Be Job-Related, I B.F. Goodrich Says *** Former Employes at Louisville Plant All Were Involved in Polyvinyl Chloride Operation ( By n Wall Strket Journal Staff Reporter AKRON. Ohio -- B. F. Goodrich Co., in a move that sent ripples through the plastics and chemicals industries, said it is investigating the possibility that the cancer deaths of three workers at a plant in Louisville. Ky., may be job-related. Goodrich said that the workers affected were in its polyvinyl chloride operations, and that they died of angiosarcoma of the liver, a rare form of liver cancer. Dr. Maurice N. Johnson. Goodrich's direc tor of environmental health, said in the compa ny's statement that he had recently received medical reports concerning the death of an em ploye in late December. "A review of medical records uncovered that two other employes had apparently died from the same cause--one in September 1971 and one in March 1973," the company said. It was understood that a fourth death--in 1948--Involving a more common form of liver cancer was considered outside the reasonable bounds of the "grouping" of the three recent deaths, ail attributed to angiosarcoma. Goodrich said U had informed Kentucky j health officials and the Federal National Insti tute of Occupational Safety and Health that the company was investigating the possibility that the deaths might be "related to occupational causes." Will Begin Investigation Kentucky officials said they had just learned of the situation at the I^ouisviUe plant )ind had asked a medical expert to investigate. In Rockville, Md., a spokesman for NIOSH said a team of experts will arrive in Louisville this morning to begin an Investigation. Dr. Marcus M Key. director of NIOSH, said the institute also will step up efforts to deter mine the extent of angiosarcoma in the U.S., and in foreign countries with similar manufac turing processes. A spokesman for the institute said the best information available shows 21 deaths per year in the U.S. attributable to an giosarcoma. The recent deaths at Louisville, according to Dr. Johnson of Goodrich, involved workers in the company's vinyl products operations. An official of NIOSH said he understood that the workers had an average of 20 years' exposure to various chemicals and agents involved in vinyl operations. Goodrich said It has been conducting a pro gram to reduce exposure to hydrocarbons, par ticularly vinyl chloride, throughout its opera tions. Further steps to limit exposure and to describe the situation to workers in vinyl prod ucts production are being taken, the company said. Goodrich also said it Is providing medical examinations to all employes involved in any phase of vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride production, and la reviewing all its medical records of former or retired employes. About 1.200 persons work at the Louisville plant, of whom about 270 are involved In vinyl products operations. "Dropping of a Bomb" Word that the deaths might be job-related spread quickly throughout several industries. Said Louis Beliczky, an industrial hygienist on the staff of the United Rubber Workers union, which has many members involved in vinyl operations at various companies: "I look at this as the dropping of a bomb. It opens up the possibility of a whole new occupational dis ease." Mr. Beliczky said he suspected there might be a connection between the Goodrich prob lems at the Louisville plant and the problems of Borden Inc. at a vinyl-materials plant in Co lumbus. Ohio. Workers at the Borden plant (or several months have complained of a variety of ailments, some believed crippling, which they allege are connected with working condi tions. A medical expert at NIOSH. however, said | he doubled the difficulties at the two plants, were related. He asserted that the problem at the Borden plant has been defined as periph eral neuropathy, a disease that attacks nerves that control muscles in human limbs. The liver afflictions at the Goodrich plant seem unre lated to the problem at Borden, he said. Goodrich has four other polyvinyl chloride plants--at Avon Lake. Ohio: Calvert City. Ky.; Long Beach. Calif., and Henry, III. ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLA TION REPORT CHEMICALS. RESEARCH APR 2 9^974 Editor: Mary P. Kilc^jMa ER-118 April 25, 1974 Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board Hazardous Materials Advisory Committee Notice of Meeting A meeting of the Hazardous Materials Advisory Committee of the Science Advisory Board will be held at 8:30 a.m.. May 14-15, 1974, in Room 1112, Crystal Mall Number 2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia. This is a regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee. The agenda includes: 1. Staff Director's Report 2. Vinyl Chloride Discussion 3. Effluent Guidelines Review 4. Substitute Chemicals Project 5. Metabolism of Mercury Compounds by Microorganisms Presentation 6. Pesticide Strategy Review 7. Member Items of Interest 8,, Comments by Program Liaison Representatives. The meeting is open to the public. Any member of the Public wishing to attend or participate or to present a paper should contact: Dr. Winfred F. Malone, Acting Staff Director Hazardous Materials Advisory Committee (703-557-7720) THE SOAP AND DETERGENT ASSOCIATION 475 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016 (212)725-1262 Date mu;; uv J'cghijiu; ji/ilki-.-st Pages Agency *t |U<' -c _Lf" Ys-i \.ju.I t i JI((l 'VJ'l ` .JVr \ . r '>. V,^ April 11th The National Air Pollution Control Techniques'*' <-n Advisory Committee n Summary; This Committee will meet on May 21st and 22nd at 9Jam in the GAS Conference Room, 204A, Federal Office Building, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60604. The purpose of the meeting will be to reviewdraft regulations which implement portions of the Clean Air Act of 1970 including (a) continuous emission monitoring requirements (b) general clarifying amendments to hazardous air pollutants regulations and (c) expanded coverage of hazardous air pollutants regulations. The meeting will be open to the public. Anyone wishing to attend should contact Dan R, Goodwin, Emission Standards and Engineering Division, ERA, Research Triangle, North Carolina 27711 (919-688-8146.) April 24th 14542 Science Advisory Board Hazardous Materials Advsiory Committee Summary: This committee will meet at 8:30 AM May 14-I5th in Room 112, Crystal Mall Number 2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia. The agenda includes a Staff Director's report, vinyl chlordie discussion, effluent guide lines review, substitute chemicals project, metabolism of mercury compounds by micro-organisms presentation, pesticide strategy review, member items of interest, and comments by program liaison representatives. The meeting is open to the public. Anyone wishing to attend should contact Dr. Winfred Malone, Acting Staff Director, Hazardous Materials Advisory Committee (7 03*75 5 7- 7 7 20/, April 25th 14676-85 EPA Summary: Organic Chemicals Manufacturing Point Source Category - Effluent Guidelines and Standards and Proposed Application to Pretreatment Standards The purpose of this noticre is to establish final effluent limitations guidelines-1 for existing sources and standards of performance and pretreatment standards for new sources in the organic chemicals manufacturing point source category. In addition, EPA is proposing a separate provision which appears in this section stating the .application of the limitations and standards set forth to users of publicly owned treatment works which are subject to pretreatment standards under section 307(b) of the Act. Interested persons may participate in the rulemaking by submitting written comments within 30^days. CHEMICALS RESEARCH. MAY 7 1974 W. H. Brandt \<zA The Journal of Commerce April 29, 1974 o => hs *S CC RMH, JJL, JCMcC, LJS, KfeS, ''Vinyl Chloride Warning Given WASIJXNGTON- (UPD -- Vinyl chloride, already under assault lit hairsprays and pes ticides, has now been called into question as & possibly serious health threat to people ivlng near the factories where 7 it is produced. The widely-used industrial - chemical may be a particular problem m three areas of-the country -- Southern. Loui siana, Western Kentucky and the Houston, Tex., area --- where clusters of factories ex ist, the Center for Science 4n tlie Public Interest said. It told the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that state officials should be alerted immediately to make readings aimed at determin ing whether a hazard exists.. There could also be a problem in file PainesviUe, Ohio, area and aroundi long Beach, a- iif., the group added. The center said it had found out that an earlier EPA study showed 0.3? parts per million of vinyl Chloride along Route 225 in Pasadena, Tex., "in the heart of the largest vinyfl chic- ride producing region'll* the United States." Vinyl cliloride has been linked to 12 cases of an unusu- al form of liver cancer which -afflicted workers in plants where the chemical was -pro- / cessed. / CHEMICALS . research MAY 0 ^374 02014562 cattle manure (Chem. Eng., Oct 2,1972, p. 25), add whey (Chem. Eng., Mar. 20, 1972, p. 57), and cellulose in, for instance, munidpal solid wastes (Chem. Eng., Feb. 8,1971,p. 18). Vinyl chloride's circumstantial link with a rare bone disease, apart from its association with cancer of the liver (see item on next page), is creating a stir among govern mental, industrial and union officials in Britain. At least four cases of die bone malady, called aero-osteolysis, have been confirmed in chemical workers there since early this year. AH of them worked at manually cleaning out reactors in which vinyl chloride is polymerized. In extreme cases, the disease shortens the fingers and toes. The link between vinyl chloride and aero-osteolysis was established in die 1960s. A B. F. Goodrich spokesman points out that in die U.S., this led shortly after to a change in reactor-cleaning practices plus an established protocol for medical surveillance. Reformers for an ammonia plant will come from a moribund aulfur-from-gypsum project. Ekor Chemical (Midland, Tex.) is selling two steam-methane reformers at its Rockhouse gypsum-to-sulfur plantsite in Culberson County, Tex., to Good Hope Refineries (Houston, Tex.) for $5 million. The latter company plans to move the reformers to the Corpus Cbristi --Brownsville area of Texas, where they will become part of a two-train, 2400-ton/d ammonia plant Good Hope, which operates a 30,000-bbl/d petroleum refinery in Good Hope, La., and explores for oil and gas in southern Texas, says it will build the ammonia plant from new or used, and domestic or imported, equipment in accordance with die most favorable delivery schedules. By doing so, it hopes to have the plant completed by next spring. The reformers were built for Ekoris sulfur project in the late 1960s. But that project ran into both technical (Chementator, Dec. 14, 1970, p. 75) and market difficulties, and never became commercial. Still left, at the Elcor site is a heavy-walled, high^temperature reactor. Battelle (Columbus, Ohio) will study whether the vessel can be adapted for' semi commercial-scale coal gasification. New insight into air pollution by particulates, and a speedy way to analyze them, were de scribed at the American Chemical Soc.'s national meeting in Los Angeles early this month by Dr. Paul Cunningham of Argonne National Laboratory, near Chicago. Samples are collected by a commercially available four-stage inertial impactor, set up to determine particle size and the hour of collection. Then, the composition is analyzed by infrared spectrometry. Some compounds conventionally requiring several hours can now be analyzed in 20 min. Ammonium compound? and sulfates can be determined quantitatively; nitrates, phosphates, silicates, carbonates and (to some extent) hydrocarbons can be detected qualitatively. Preliminary runs based on Chicago-area samples show that the smaller particles collected (0.001 mm or smaller) from ambient air are predominantly sulfates. Also, these particles are more uniform than the bigger ones collected, and have a less-complex chemical composition. These differences reflect the differences in particle sources, say the Argonne researchers. Wood can be "glued" by oxidative coupling, and malathion pesticide may be a bad actor, according to two other papers at the Los Angeles ACS meeting: The U. of California's Forest Products Laboratory (Richmond) has filed for patents on a technique for assembling composite wood or wood-fiber products, such as plywood, particleboard, and corrugated board. Instead of using adhesives, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/APRIL 15, 1974 39 C m iB Z J M Ga A CHEMDffKfOft . . . the researchers employ considerably cheaper, undisclosed inorganic oxidizing agents that repct with the two surfaces to be joined. The free radicals thus created on the separate surfaces stabilize themselves by joining to form covalent bonds. Malathion, a nonpersistent organophosphorus pesticide very widely used in the U.S., can undergo either of two degradation processes once it reaches water. The degradation products formed in warm water (e.g., 85 F) are considered nontoxic to aquatic life. But when the breakdown occurs in water that is cold, acid derivatives are formed that have longer lifetimes than malathkm itself, and that seem to retain some of maJatirion's toxic properties, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Athens, Ga., laboratories. For a look at AIChE's national meeting in Tulsa, Okla., last month, see the article that begins on p. 52. In Washington ... Tariffs on methanol Imported for fuel use are to be ended by legislation now working its way through Congress. If the bills become law, a big stumbling-block will be removed from the concept of "converting" abundant gas in, e.g., the Middle East to: easier-to-ship methanol, then bringing tire latter to the U.S. A measure to end the tariffs was approved, virtually without opposition, by the House Ways and Means Committee early this spring. Smooth sailing is ex pected in the full House, as well as in the Senate. Observers believe that President Nixon is not likely to veto the legislation. Methanol imported for chemical synthesis will continue to carry a tariff. State and local pollution officials urged extension of waste-treatment deadlines by Con gress, during a Water Pollution Control Federation government affairs seminar in Washington last month. By the hundreds, die officials called for federal legislation that would extend the present 1977 deadlines for achieving secondary waste treat ment in municipal treatment plants. The rising cost of energy is the officials' main concern. Among other problems they cited: the cost of chlorine and other chemicals, scarcity of funds, and bureau cratic delays at the Environmental Protection Agency. One detailed look at energy requirements was presented by A. J. von Frank, director of environmental controls for Allied Chemical. He disputed 'estimates by EPA and others that the energy needs for complying with the 1977 target ace only 0.5 to 1% of total energy consumption in the U.S. When such factors as thermal-discharge control and the procedures for handling toxic substances are fully taken into account, he claims, tile figure becomes 2 to 4%. Virtually all this demand is for electricity, increasing electricity usage by 10 to 20%. The risk of getting liver cancer from vinyl chloride is affecting aerosols now, as well as polyvinyl chloride operations (Chementator, Mar. 4, p. 63). Following the recent of temporary emergency standards for industrial exposure to the monomer (50 ppm maximum) by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency now asks makers of pesticides and certain other products to stop using it as an aerosol propellant Deputy EPA administrator John Quarles says his agency has made no definitive determination on vinyl chloride's health dangers but adds that in light of existing evidence it seeins "prudent public policy" to request the change to other pro pellants. Meanwhile, EPA has formed an internal taskforce to assess the overall environmental impact of vinyl and polyvinyl chloride. 40 APRIL 15, 1974/CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Top of the news Expounding, expanding Expanding in the face of raw-material shortages and inflation was a recurrent theme at last week's chemical company annual meetings. For example, Chairman O. Pendleton Thomas contended that despite rapidly rising raw-material tabs, B. F. Goodrich will be able to maintain normal tire pro duction. Declining U.S. auto output has had an impact on Goodrich's tire sales, Thomas acknowledged to shareholders in New York. But he asserted that the long term outlook is bright and the lifting of the Arab oil embargo will result in tire sales returning "to more normal levels." Stauffer Chemical President H. Barclay Morley told stockholders in San Fran cisco that one of the reasons the company expects at least a 40% increase in earnings in '74 is because it's in a "relatively strong" position on energy. Morley said that Stauffer anticipated the crunch, bought ahead and stored energy supplies. The scarcity of petrochemical feed stocks has not significantly affected American Cyanamid's production of most items, Chairman Clifford Siverd re ported in Portland, Me. The company's product mix, he said, has helped reduce the impact, and most cost increases so far have been recouped in price boosts. Siverd unveiled plans for several new plants. For example, Brewster Phos phates, the company's joint venture with K.err-McGee, will build a $60-million phosphate rock mine in Hillsborough County, Florida, due onstream early in '77. Among other expansions now slated: "major" boosts for low-persistence pesti- CYANAMID'S SIVERD: Overcoming cost increases and expanding several plants. 16 CHEMICAL WEEK April 24. 1974 rides in the U.S. and abroad; a new phar maceutical and surgical products unit in Montreal; increased formulation and packaging installations at the Rezende, Brazil, pharmaceutical plant; a 20% ca pacity hike at the Fort Worth, Tex., hy drodesulfurization catalyst unit by mid'74; and a doubling of capacity for this product line in Michigan City, Ind., by '75. Vulcan Materials' chemicals and met als divisions' overcame increased costs during the first quarter because they were able to boost prices of products such as hydrocarbons and ammonia, according to President B. A. Monaghan. Higher export sales also aided chemical profits, he told shareholders in New York. PPG Industries executives informed shareholders in Pittsburgh of two new plants. One is slated to produce waterbased latex coatings in Cheswold, Del., in '75. The other, in Marshall, Minn., will fabricate glass-edged Twindow insulating units and is due onstream late in '75. Big profits on paper Prospects are bright for the U.S. paper and pulp industry, a three-man panel told fellow security analysts in New York last week. According to Benjamin Wright, a Model, Roland & Co. analyst, paper firms will continue to show earnings in creases throughout '74, even though de mand and production may slacken. Mitchell, Hutchins' Lawrence Ross said he doesn't agree with those who con tend that paper companies are now at a cyclical peak. He predicted that average eamings for paper firms will increase 20-30% in '74 and 20-40% in '75, assuming an upswing in the economy. Operations will be at 9596% of capacity this year, and average costs to companies will increase 10-11%, he added. Ross said that chemicals ac counted for about 7% of paper company costs during '73. David Taylor of Hanover Trust con tended that capital shortages may lead to relatively tight supplies within the next 510 years. He forecast operating levels above 90%. and "substantially higher profits." On the issue of how the increased value of the dollar abroad might affect pulp and paper company exports, the panel was split. Taylor said higher valu ation will reduce foreign demand. Wright and Ross asserted that exports would not be affected appreciably, since demand for paper is fairly inelastic. More evidence of danglr Exposure to vinyl chloride monomer apparently has produced angiosarcorcy-- a rare liver cancer--in mice. That's wbal Bio-Test Laboratories told represetives of the Manufacturing Chemists Assn., Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and En vironmental Protection Agency. Reporting preliminary results of VCM testing sponsored by MCA, Bio-Test said that several mice exposed to the chemical during a seven-month period (seven hours a day, five days a week) had devel oped cancer at each of three exposure levels--2,500 parts/million, 200 ppm. and 50 ppm. So far, simultaneous testing of rats and hamsters has shown no indica tion of cancer, Bio-Test added. MCA says it contacted the government regulatory agencies immediately after learning of the findings. It stresses that the results are only preliminary but may suggest the need for further research. MCA adds that it is not yet clear how the reaction of hitmans to VCM might corre spond to the reaction of mice. A report on results of a second MCA-sponsored study, documenting the health expedience of present and former workers who had been exposed to VCM, is expected next week. Government Moves: Meanwhile, OSHA, which last month set a 50-ppm. level for worker exposure to VCM as a temporary emergency measure, expects to have a proposal for a permanent worker exposure policy ready next week. EPA asked last week for the voluntary recall of 20 aerosol pesticides containing VCM as a propellant, and the Food and Drug Administration added 29 more aerosol products to its list of items that must be recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it still is trying to determine whether there are any products under its jurisdiction that contain VCM as a propellant. Such moves are not likely to have a long-term effect, however, since most aerosol manufacturers report they have already stopped using VCM as a propellant. The pressure to develop a sound VCM worker exposure policy was also in creased last week when Firestone re ported that the death of a worker at its Pottstown, Pa., polyvinyl chloride pro duction plant in '69 "appears to have been related to angiosarcoma." Cancer cases that may be related to VCM have been reported at B. F. Goodrich, Union Carbide and Goodyear plastics plants. Off to a strong start The healthy sales and earnings growth that typified over-all performance of chemical process companies in '73 (see p. 25) continued in first-quarter '74 despite higher costs of fuels and raw materials (table, right). Finns reporting record quarterly results last week included American Cyanamid and Monsanto. Higher raw-material costs didn't ap pear to be a major problem for most companies because the lifting of price controls allowed many increases to be passed on. Commenting on Cyanamid's quarterly showing, Chairman Clifford Siverd declared that "the price erosion that had depressed earnings since the late '60s was finally reversed toward the end of '73." He predicted "another record year" for the company in '74, adding that Cyanamid's major product lines are fairly well insulated from shortages. Because Cyanamid's main chemical stake is in specialties, he said, the firm's material needs "are modest in comparison with those of large-volume, basic chemical commodity producers." Monsanto broke down its report by op erating units, thereby revealing a more complete picture of upswings and down turns in different product lines. Monsanto Industrial Chemicals, for instance, boosted earnings to $38.1 million in the first quarter from $22 million in the yearago period. During the same quarter, however, Monsanto Polymers & Petro chemicals' earnings dropped to $12.3 mil lion from $13 million in first-quarter '73. Some Setbacks: CPI gains, although widespread, were not universal. Earnings of some glass and glass-fiber companies, in particular, seemed to suffer. OwensComing, Libbey-Owens-Ford and PPG Industries reported substantial drops in income vs. same-period '73. Owens-Coming President William Boeschenstein blamed "rapidly escalating costs of raw materials and energy and Phase IV rules" for his company's failure to translate increased sales into higher earnings. Both L-O-F and PPG also cited auto production and homebuilding slumps as factors hurting income. On the other hand, some glass com panies registered higher profits. Brockway Glass boosted quarterly sales to $74.4 million from $63.1 million in the '73 period, earnings to $3.9 million from $3.1 million Owens-Illinois reported record quarterly earnings, but Chairman Edwin Dodd added a note of caution about "uncertainties" that could in fluence second-quarter showings. Top of the nev I (Dollar figures in millions) CHEMICALS Sales Latest quarter Change from '73 Earnings Latest quarter Change from '73 ^ Profit margin American Cyanamid Dow Chemical Du Pont Ethyl W. R. Grace Hooker Chemical Inti. Min. & Chem. Monsanto Koppers Reichhold Chemicals Rohm and Haas Stauffer Chemical Texasgulf Union Carbide $410.50 +15.1% 1,016.60 +44.7 1,612.00 +15.1 196.25 +19.6 742.03 +20.1 340.22 +48.3 233.88 +47.9 838.20 +20.6 158.65 + 8.5 101.20 +68.6 228.97 +28.0 225.00 +30.7 105.483 +45.6 1,109.64 +22.6 $34.90 83.60 144.00 13.70 26.01 27.02 17.44 107.40 9.08 5.60 20.19 25.50 25.87 94.08 + 18.7% + 44.4 + 4.3 + 12.9 +128.6 +249.9 +131.11 + 455 +142.1 +124.0 + 30.3 + 55.2 +193.5 + 42.0 8.50% 8.22 8.93 6.98 3.51 7.94 7.46 12.81 5.73 553 8.82 11.33 2453 8.48 PHARMACEUTICALS Abbott Laboratories Baxter Laboratories Merck Miles Laboratories Pfi2er Upjohn 165.33 105.48 297.25 92.23 353.70 194.48 +18.8 +35.3 +13.6 + 6.7 +24.9 +29.9 12.51 7.91 44.81 4.45 37.40 23.37 + 17.4 + 48.0 + 14.5 + 1.2 + 33.6 + 32.1 757 7.50 15.07 453 10.57 12.02 PULP, PAPER AND PACKAGING American Can 573.35 Continental Can Crown Zellerbach 681.78 388.15 Federal Paper Board Fibreboard Kimberly-Clark Mead Potlatch Scott Paper 70.50 71.48 365.60 356.02 121.46 263.97 +18.6 +20.6 +14.4 +22.4 +18.1 +24.4 +18.0 +10.3 +16.2 17.67 20.89 27.26 3.40 4.30 29.303 13.48 12.59 16.09 + 53.8 + 27.2 + 8.8 +100.0 + 74.4 + 36.9* + 68.9 + 50.6 + 14.6 3.08 3.06 7.02 4.82 6.01 8.01 3.79 10.37 6.10 OTHER CHEMICAL PROCESSORS American Petrofina Beker industries B.F. Goodrich Certain-Teed Prods. CPC International Eagle-Picher First Mississippi FMC Inmont Libbey-Owens-Ford Owens-Corning Owens-Illinois PPG Industries Robintech Sherwin-Williams Uniroyal 213.05 +189.3 24.62 +60.3 442.72 + 8.3 131.70 +32.2 544.74 +36.2 80.89 +16.1 36.90 +466.7 477.20 +19.9 108.18 +11.6 151.18 -13.9 194.94 +16.3 521.49 +24.5 386.41 + 4.4 20.97 +42.9 161.27 +12.4 531.00 + 7.3 13.08 5.51 15.03 4.44 17.28 3.75 4.944 23.10 3.03 7.13 9.81 24.68 19.51 1.33 0.47 11.50 +176.3 +135.4 + 15.0 + 0.1 + 12.1 + 22.6 +467.1 + 17.9 + 3.3 - 59.9s - 15.7 + 89.3 - 18.6 +155.2* _7 - 14.2 6.14 22.37 3.39 3.37 3.17 4.64 13.38 454 250 4.72 5.03 4.73 5.05 6.33 -- 2.17 1 Before tax credits of $3.9 million in '74 and $820,000 in '73. 2 Outside zinc and lead smelting and refining charges not included. 3 Before $4.8 million special credit in '73. 4 Before $3.5 million capital gain in '74. 5 E xcludes $ 1 million special credit in '73 from plant sales. 4 Before $1.26 million special credit in '73. 1 27,000 loss in '73. April 24, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 15 99fH 0Z000 ifh THE WASHINGTON POST Monday, March 18, 1974 Exposure to Vinyl Chloride VINYL CHLORIDE is a widely used chemical that has been receiving considerable attention in recent months. Word came in .January, for example, that four workers in a JB. F. Goodrich plant in Louisville, Ky., who were exposed to vinyl chloride died from a rare type of liver cancer called angiosarcoma. According to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Solely, nine cases of this cancer have been found among vinyl chloride workers. Nationally, some b,5QQ workers in 37 plants perform work lhal involves exposure lo vinyl chloride. It is tragic that workers have died and are "suffering, and that full knowledge about vinyl chloride is being learned the hard way. It might be argued in this case that, the workers were made guinea pigs; but this suggests they were deliberately exposed to danger. With hindsight, we know now that the dan gers were tnerc but at tne time there was a type of national unawareness that the social and industrial benefits of chemicals like vinyl chloride might have potentially lethal drawbacks. The awareness is present now. however. According to a Wall Street Journal report, scientists at the insti tutes are urging that the Department of Labor's Occu pational Safely and Health Administration lake immed iate action to protect workers exposed lo vinv] chloride. The kind of action needed, as labor groups arc urging, is an Immediate emergency standard, a measure lhal would offer protection to workers while a permanent standard can be devised. There is an obvious immediacy to this problem, because it is uncertain how much ex posure--one more week, one more month oi year--is needed to push a worker into an area of cancer vulner- . ability. If we are dealing with unknowable*, and the lives of human beings hang in the balance, the concerns of safely should take first priority. In addition to the workers in the plants where vinyl chloride is made, two other groups also are possibly exposed lo danger: the workers in the plants of com panies that purchase vinyl chloride for use as a propel lant in numerous consumer aerosol products--such as cosmetics, pesticides and household items--and those consumers who buy and use those products. It is serious that factor}' workers have been exposed hut when ihe general public may be involved then even wider caution must be shown. At the moment, the Environmental ProLection Agency is investigating vinyl chloride prouelkmis in pesticides. It reports Dial about .10 registered pesticides contain vinyl chloride and that six have been removed from the market. ERA says il lias not yet made a judgment on whether these pesticides are a public hazard, but obviously, if manufacturers have voluntarily removed six of them from the market, some suspicions are present. 'Consumers have a right lo know the brand names of these pesticides. T >*1 fiOCVOfil 1AC JVpd T) '*1 *. * A .*1 .Ml }*> * r* J / ' ry r\*<^ it does not know how much vinyl chloride is in use or in what products: it would heed new authority under the food, drug and cosmetic amendments of 1974 to require manufacturers to list ingredients. The FDA re ports that it informally asked cosmetic manufacturers how much vinyl chloride is used in hairsprays and the current answer is none, But this still leaves doubts, both among consumers who may have unknowingly used vinyl chloride products in the past and who may still be using old cans. Until (lie doubts are'resolved, a po tential danger exisls. The Health Research Group, a Washington public interest organization, has petitioned three federal agencies to ban the use of vinyl chloride in aerosol products. The'petition is based on caution, because, the group says, "there is iio evidence lo show that 1',uman beings can be safely exposed to Hie chem ical. v At the moment, the gravest potential danger is among the workers. Il is to no one's credit--neither the manu facturer's nor the Department of Labor---that Hie trag.cdy had to strike before precautions were taken. To delay strict reforms now may only prolong the tragedy. 3 Chementator MARCH 4, 1974 . Worry about the possible link between vinyl (or polyvinyl) chloride and cancer is prompting widespread activity. Since the January announcement that three employees of a B. F. Goodrich polyvinyl chloride operation all died recently of a rare cancer of the liver (Chementator, Feb. 4, p. 19), three other cases have been confirmed. One involves a person still living. Five of the six worked on a Goodrich PVC line at Louisville, Ky.; the other--who died in 1964, when the cause of death appar ently aroused no concern--was on a now-discontinued vinyl chloride operation there. Among the happenings triggered by the Goodrich situation are these: The U.S. Dept, of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began hearings on Feb. 15 aimed at establishing new standards for vinyl chloride exposure. Present ceiling for vinyl chloride in ambient air is 500 ppm. The State of Kentucky is adding vinyl chloride to the list of "formal" carcin ogens as defined by OSHA (Chem. Eng., Sept. 3, 1973, p. 62); anyone using that chemical in the state must now register with Kentucky officials. The state is also lowering its 500-ppm ceiling to 75 ppm, and adopting a time-weighted-average standard of 50 ppm. The Manufacturing Chemists' Assn. (MCA) is ceasing to circulate the 1972 edition of its Chemical Safety Data Sheet SD-56 on vinyl chloride; the agency also discloses that two MCA-sponsored studies on vinyl- or polyvinyl-chloride carci nogenesis were already underway before Goodrich's announcement, both being prompted by animal studies in Italy. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is dis seminating (with the help of MCA) personnel-protection recommendations, to lessen worker exposure to vinyl and polyvinyl chloride while further study of the two is carried out. The agency is also commencing a survey of eight PVC plants. Demand for technical pedole in the U.S. last yeat was thh highest in half a decade, and 50% above demand in 1972, indicate figures froimNew York recruitment-advertising firm Deutsch, IShea & Evans. The company's Engineer/Scientist Demand Index, based on the volkme of recruitment ads in newspapers and journals, averaged 110.7 for 1973. It was 74.5 in 1972; and 114.8 in 1968Avhen a decline began. The company ekpects a further increase in thAindex this year, pointing out that the energy dilemma not only causes disruptions but also creates new jobs. To help ease such disruptions, thht firm is setting up a "decruitmg" clearinghouse, where companies seeking to place employees being let go for \nergy-related causes can get together with companies seeking new personnel. Finns that fall into either category are invited to contact Deutsch, Shea & Evans (telephone number: 212- 688-0500). There is no charge for the service. \ Making methane from municipal refuseus the goal of a joint project by Arhs-Chalraers Corp. , and Waste Management, Inc\ (Oak Brook, 111.). The two companies propose to the City of Milwaukee a piloV plant that would feed on Vi ton/Ji and employ a process based in part on worn in the civil engineering department at the U. of Illinois. \ \ The solid refuse is shredded, and magnetic and air separators remove\the metallic portion and other heavy fractions.yhis leaves cellulose and other organics. Proper addition of, e.g., potassium- and phosphorus-containing materials proviaes a bal anced-nutrient environment in whiclj bacterial anaerobic digestion can \ccur in CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/MARCH 4, 1974 CHEM!C|tt&. RESEARCH l/iAf? 131*974 {{ .. J fvi.- <; 111 > i i :. kw: mm:; err ci.w WRlie WHS DVP EAS REL THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Wednesday, March 13, 1974 3*3 S? <33 <S3 I--* <-n oa Vinyl Chloride. Exposure Should Be Cut To Unmeasurable Levels, Officials Urge Fv a WAt.l. STHRKT JoiHNM. Sin// Rfpnrtfr partment might, for example, skip the usual WASHINGTON - Over the objections of step of appointing an advisory committee to Industry, federal scientists are recommend make recommendations Expedited stan ing that worker exposure to vinyl chloride dard setting might take up to four or five be reduced to amounts too small to be mea months. sured in order to avert possible liver can Any decision to avoid a more Immediate cer. emergency standard would distress labor Federal standards currently limit expo groups. The AFL-ClO's industrial union de sure to vinyl chloride to 500 parts per mil partment had sought .such a standard, which lion in the atmosphere, and industry experts would impose engineering and workplace have urged that the limit be set at 50 parts practices to reduce vinyl chloride exposures per million. while a permanent standard is being pre However, scientists at the National Insti pared. Without such rules, there Isn't any tute tor Occupational Safety and Health-are protection for workers while the standard unable "to describe a safe exposure level," making process moves forward, said Shel Dr. Marcus Key, the institute's director, ad don Samuels, the Industrial union depart vised the Labor Department. Therefore, he ment's safety and health director. added. "We rejected the concept of a "Nothing is happening in the plants" to threshold limit for vinyl chloride gas in the improve protection of workers because con atmosDhere." cerns are awaiting issuance of federal stan Instead, the Institute is recommending dards. Mr. Samuels asserted. Some con- I that when an employe is exposed to any cerns have asserted they are reducing expo measurable concentration of vinyl chloride sures and improving procedures without gas, he should wear an air-supplied respira federal directives. tor. Dr. Key's recommendation covers enm- ' In addition, the proposal calls (or a con panies that convert vinyl chloride, a color trol plan to reduce alr-bome levels of vinyl less gas, into polyvinyl chloride, a widely chloride to amounts that can't be detected used solid plastic material. by certain recommended procedures, as well as an atr-sampling procedure and a system of full body protective clothing for workers in regulated areas. In a memo to the department's Occupa tional Safety and Health Administration, >r. Key said nine cases of angiosarcoma, a rare type of liver cancer, have been discov ered among workers exposed to vinyl chlor ide for periods of 12 years and longer. Some 6,500 employes at 37 plants operated by 23 U.S. manufacturers are potentially in volved. The problem came to public attention in January when a divison of B. F. Goodrich Co. said four workers at its Louisville, Ky., plant, which converts vinyl chloride into polyvinyl chloride, had died from the rare liver cancer. Dr. Key's Institute, an arm of the De partment of Health, Education and Welfare, makes scientific recommendations on worker exposure to hazardous substances. However, actual standards are set by the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA. The department hasn't decided whether to issue an emergency standard for vinyl chloride exposure, an OSHA spokesman said yesterday. Dr. Key Is proposing "expe dited" procedures to formulate a permanent standard. Under such procedures, the de VRD 0002814569 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER March 4, 1974 Copies to: RDG EMS GFT CLW fFKJ> LNV WRBe WRS DVP REL Page 1 of 2 pages VCM Illness Hits Dynamit Nobel Out of some 1(50 workers employed on polyvinyl chloride production at the Troisdorf. Germany, plant of'Dynamit Nobel, fifty-throe are suspected to have contracted angiosarcoma, the rare form of liver cancer. Of forty-seven reported seriously ill, twenty-nine arc incapacitated. The lat ter workers have been receiving 100 per cent of their salaries without a time limit. Reports on this outbreak of liver can cer are being circulated by trade unions affiliated with International Federation of Chemical & General Workers' Union (ICF), of Geneva. The ICF affiliates are acting to seek immediate clarification of the dangers involved in production of vinyl chloride and PVC and to press for the immediate establishment of adequate safety stan dards, which, says ICF "obviously do not exist at present " As previously reported, six deaths at the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company VCM plant in Louisville, Ky., are be lieved to have been caused by angiosar coma. ICF affiliates have been asked to lo cate the companies and plants produc ing PVC in their countries; to alert plant union sections as to the hazards; to study, past ailments in these plants; to raise the matter with local manage ments; to seek the co-operation of public and private health authorities and doc tors and to transmit local information to ICF head office in order to document the actual world-wide situation with a view to initiating an international action program. ICF has written to the Director General "of the World Health Organization asking for his co-operation on a world-wide investiga tion of the hazard within the framework of WHO's new program on occupational health and safety. At a later stage, ICF intends to convene an international meeting to carry out the consequent measures aimed at Eradicating this apparent threat to workers' health. ICF enumerates the work.done by B. F. Goodrich Company and Dow Chemical Company on a voluntary basis, as well as within Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. The 1G Chemic reports that the illness manifests itself in a variety of symptoms, such as changes of the skin and bone dam age on hands, arms and legs. ___ Pago 2 of 2 pages CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER March 11, 1974 33 <SS tss Z Of <33 VCM Worker Illness in Europe Has Been Identified Reports circulated in European labor circles that fifty-three out of 160 workers in a German polyvinyl chloride plant had con tracted angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer, were apparently exaggerated. The illness has since been identified as acroosleolysis, a less serious affliction that was spotted in this country in the 1950's and arrested by improved work practices. Details about the origin of the reports have been difficult to acquire, but it has been learned that there has been a recent pattern of work-related illnesses at the plant operated by Dynamit Nobel in Troisdorf, Germany, Contacted by the European editor of CMR for details, Dynamit Nobel officials were unavailable for comment. However, it is understood that the company's board of directors was convened last week to discuss the story (CMR. 4/ll/73,Pg. 5) and issue a formal statement. As of the end of last week no statement had been received. According to health officials in the US who attempted to trace the story through European sources, the information first began to circulate following publication of a research paper last November by the Skin Clinic of the University of Bonn on illnesses suffered by workers at the Dynamit Nobel plant. The study was reportedly commis sioned by Nobel officials themselves. Apparently the company became con cerned as worker illnesses (of the liver, spleen, and bones) became increasingly fre quent and proceeded to introduce a series of safetv measures and finally asked lor the university study. In the meantime, the company continued to improve its facilities. The Ministry of Health was informed and apparently began a still-active superintendance of the safety measures. The ministry is said to be satis fied with the progress being made. The company has apparently met with the plant's workers' council to discuss the problem. Sources said that the quoted num ber of fifty three sick workers was probably inflated and that the figure of twenty nine attributed to the number of incapacitated workers is probably close to the actual number of workers showing any symptoms at all. There are said to have been no new cases uncovered since the faU of 1913 and that many of those victims suffering finger bone deterioration (acroosleolysis) bad begun to show signs of bone regeneration. It is said that no angiosarcoma was ever uncovered at the facility. CMR has been unable to confirm (his story, nor to examine the University of Bonn study. However, if these events are in fact the souce of the circulated cancer re ports, then the Dynamit Nobel situation does not represent the significant new de velopment that the stories implied. Regard less of the facts or the Nobel situation, how ever, there seems to be a growing body of evidence in Europe and more recently in the US, that VCM presents a potentially se rious health threat, and may be carcinogen ic. .... . ..........-- In response to that evidence, much of it presented at hearings conducted by the Oc cupational Safety & Health Administration of the Department of Labor In mid-Febru ary. OSHA is expected to issue new work practice standards soon for all VCM and1 PVC facilities. ' *^ These standards are being designed byT the National Institute of Occupational Safe-* ty & Health (NIOSH) of HEW It was not- clcar last week what the new standards- would be. 7 OSHA OPTIONS There is the possibility that OSHA will promulgate a temporary emergency stan- . dard which is the only mechanism by which ; the agency can put mandatory regulations into effect immediately. However, the ex pectation is that the agency will issue addi-' tional voluntary standards, perhaps along.'' the lines of work practice standards issued at the end of January on fourteen other al leged carcinogenic industrial chemicals, pending completion of the regular rule- : making procedure, (which could take sever-/ al months). Many people have called for the estab lishment of a standard of no exposure, in ef fect a "closed system", at all plants deal ing with VCM, including Anthony Mazzochl an official of the Oil, Chemical St Atomic Workers International Union, and Dr. Irv ing Selikoff, Director of Environmental Sci ences of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Selikoff warned against "wild" reac tions, last week, such as "removing plastic ashtrays from the table," But he told CMR , that, while scientific evidence is still sket- 1 chy, there is enough information available to conclude that "urgent control measures are already required." On May 10, the New York Academy of Sciences will hold a meeting of "concerned experts'" in an attempt to improve the state . of knowledge about VCM and pathology. HEADLINES 30 o ICF calls for VCM Belgian oil move angers cancer by John Wicks, Zurich Affiliated trade unions of the International Federation of Chemical and General Work ers' Unions, Geneva, have been called on to institute world wide action aimed at providing * the necessary protection and safety measures for workers in PVC plants The programme is based on reports of a ` serious new health hazard ' in connection, with tire processing of vinyl chloride monomer. The federation has asked member unions to investigate past illnesses and deaths which have occurred in PVC plants (CA, 1 February, p5). The matter should be raised, says the federation, with local man agement of subsidiaries of multinationals and central man agement of national companies involved in PVC manufacture in order to initiate urgently joint labour-management re search programmes and the application of safety measures, while contact and co-operation should also be sought with public and private health authorities and doctors. The ICF itself plans to col late and document the inter national situation and launch an international action cam paign within the various multi national companies concerned. The federation is also asking for co-operation of the World Health Organisation on a world-wide investigation within the framework of the WHO's new programme on occupation health and safety. As a result of the action of the ICF's British affiliates, the General and Municipal Work ers' Union and the Transport and General Workers' Union, the federation states that 1CI has accepted union participation in immediate research into the hazards and the measures needed to establish safe ex posure levels. In the US ICF's affiliated unions have initiated meetings and discus sions on the question with competent medical authorities and governmental agencies, Other affiliates of ICF in other countries have begun action. A rare form of liver cancer risk probe called angiosarcoma has been linked to a number of deaths among workers exposed to VCM, the federation claims. A US chemical company is said to have acknowledged that it had traced four cases of this cancer ` which could be con nected with work carried out in its plants utilising VCM '. Another two deaths showing similar symptoms have also been recorded recently, says a federation communique. B. F. Goodrich Co is stated to have revealed voluntarily to federal and state officials that since 1971 three workers at its PVC resins plant have died from liver cancer, though it is stressed there was no violation of federal standards set for ex posure to VCM vapours. Another firm, Dow Chemi cal, is reported to have reduced its exposure level to 50 ppm (as against the federal standard of 500 ppm) in 1961, Physical ex- amination of Dow workers have, says ICF, tended to sup port such a safety level, but the company has ` nevertheless warned all its VCM workers of a potential problem ', follow ing the findings of a research study which induced tumours in rats administered VCM at levels much below previous doses. The German union 1G Chemie-Papier-Keramik reports that ` the present overall possi bilities in regard to PVC pro duction is that one worker in three will be sick from ` PVC disease' (sic). In two of eight plants in Federal Germany pro ducing PVC there have been announcements of growing ill nesses. It is contended that ' out of 160 workers employed in the PVC production at the Troisdorf plant of Dynamit Nobel, 53 workers have been suspected to have contracted the disease'. Growth for chemicals to slacken in future The chemical industries of the mature developed countries are expected to fair only margin ally better than the UK--that is, growing more slowly in the 1970s than in the 1950s and 1960s--according to the authors of a newly published book, ` The Chemical Economy ', de scribed as a guide to the tech nology and economics of the chemical industry, by B. G. Reuben and M. L. Burstall (see Opinion pi 1). Predictions for Western Europe show growth rates for 1970-80 for heavy organic chemicals at 9% with 6% for inorganics; 11-12% for plas tics; 8% for synthetic fibres; and 9% for pharmaceuticals (by value). The 4-8% overall growth for the OECD area may be optimistic, while growth in the US will probably be somewhat slower than that of West Europe and growth in Japan somewhat faster, but by the 1980s-90s, all will be mature economies growing at similar rates. The underdeveloped coun tries may develop chemical in dustries in the next 20 years, probably based on fertilisers, other heavy chemicals and large-tonnage polymers. Their foundation, however, will de pend less on commercial con siderations than on questions of national prestige, availability of capital (no problem now to oil producers!), political stability and a wealth of im ponderable cultural factors. What chemical industry does develop is unfortunately likely to contribute to overcapacity and may even lead to the de veloped nations edging out of the heavy chemical sectors. An SCI paper reported last week (CA, 22 February, p3) also referred to this. The book is published by Longman, price 6'95. companies The decision by the Belgian government to refuse to grant any increase in petrol product prices until the end of April has met with strong reaction from oil companies operating in the country, with BP, Esso and Texaco announcing that they are to stop importing crude oil immediately. Other companies, including Elf, Gulf, Occidental and Shell are expected to make similar moves soon. Increased oil prices, say the companies, mean that the industry is losing BFrl40 million each day while prices are frozen, Price levels in Belgium are among Europe's lowest at present and com panies are being forced to operate at a loss. The outgoing socialist prime minister, already deeply involved in the politics of oil--a general election is being held following the col lapse of the government after plans for a joint IranianBelgian refinery at Lifege were scotched by the National Iranian Oil Co--has said that the government would requisi tion stocks and refineries if a shortage developed. In West Germany, Dr Hans Friederichs, the country's economics minister, has urged the Cartel Office to begin dis cussions on oil prices with the international oil companies. In vestigations have been carried out by both the ministry and the Cartel Office following allegations of undue price rises and profiteering, but have as yet proved unsuccessful. US methanol blast Du Pont has confirmed that an explosion has closed its Beaumont, Texas, methanol plant. Damage to the plant is still being assessed, but is believed to have been quite serious, causing a renewed spate of activity on the Euro pean market for methanol. The plant, one of the largest in the US, has a capacity of 2 000 tons/day. The company also operates a second smaller unit for methanol at the site, of 400 000 tons/year capacity. This is rumoured to have not been affected by the explosion. How ever, it is believed that the larger plant will be out of action for up to four months. 4 CHEMJCAU AGE 1 MARCH 1974 3*3 o 0002014572 BOC fears UK sales cut; Airco deal threat BOC are anticipating lower UK sales and some reduction in UK earnings for 1974, and if necessary the company will postpone expansion plans in response to pressure on cash flow. The company was examining the various alternative lines of action available, said Mr L. E. Smith, chairman, in his annual statement, taking into account the cost of BOC's minority stake in Airco Inc, and pos sible future developments there, and the company was planning to seek approval to modernise its borrowing powers and to increase its authorised capital. Shortly after Mr Smith's statement came the news that the Federal Trade Commission had issued a formal charge to the effect that BOC's acquisi tion of the stake in Airco violated anti-trust laws, and were also seeking an injunction against the merger. This move by the Commis sion came as a great surprise to BOC, for although the company was aware that the Commission was looking at the merger, it is unusual for it to take such action so long after its completion. The company responded to the Commission's move, saying that it "believes and has be lieved from the start of negotia tions with Airco that there were no grounds for intervention by the FTC". Mr Smith said he saw "no reason . to suppose that any objections put forward by the Commission can be sustained and indeed I am very surprised that they have been advanced". If the Commission's case is upheld, BOC would have to dispose of all its interests in Airco within six months, and the company would not be allowed to acquire any stake in any US company in the same field as Airco for a period of 10 years. This would be a severe setback for BOC which sees the US as a major factor in its future expansion, Representatives from Airco and BOC will be appearing at a Commission hearing on 17 April. In his annual statement, Mr Smith said: "Until a clearer pattern emerges, I must assume that we may sell less in the UK in 1974 than we did last year, and that with continued price controls, some reduction in our UK earnings is prob able," He added, however, that it would take a severe and pro longed recession to reduce BOC's UK earnings substan tially, and ` unless conditions should prove very bad on a world-wide scale, I expect any shortfall in UK earnings to be made up by increased earnings abroad.' However, earnings from abroad did not make a corres ponding contribution to UK cash resources, ' and it is here that pressures might be felt during the next 12 months he said earlier this week. The assumptions on which the directors had based their UK forward budgets were no longer valid and ` as yet we have no means of forecasting with any certainty the trading pattern for 1974 '. Mr Smith pointed out that more than 40% of UK busi ness is in gases where all the group's tonnage contracts con tain minimum payment clauses, and where it should be able to rely on a continuing high level of rental income from cylinder trade. As reported earlier, BOC's pre-tax profits for the year to 30 September rose by 26-5% from 22-5 million to 28-4 million, with sales increasing from 253-6 million to 319-1 million. Norway seeks stake in Mongstad refinery Following the decision of the Norwegian government to press for greater state control of the oil industry in the country, as proposed in a recent White Paper (CA, 22 February, p2), BP has announced that talks have been going on with the government on the subject of Statoil's stake in the BP/Norsk Hydro Mongstad refinery. At present, it is not clear what size stake the government wishes to take, but at present 60% of shares in the Mongstad venture are held by Norsk Hydro, itself 51% state-owned. The refinery is due for com pletion in 1975 at a cost of 40 million. BP would then have refining capacity for the Norwegian market, in which it has a major share, supplied at present by imports. However, there seems to be some disagreement within the minority Labour government over the new proposals on oil. The major areas of conflict are reported to be the future role of Statoil and the provisional agreement on exports of Nor wegian natural gas from the Frigg field to the UK. A & W phosphorus problems go on Efco Industries Ltd says its phosphorus plant at Long Harbor, Newfoundland, is con tinuing to operate at a loss because of on-going technical problems, and it has not yet reached its designed capacity. Albright and Wilson has in dicated that it intends to spend about 40 million in capital projects throughout the world over the next three years, "that will include expenditures in Canada". D. W. Livingstone, managing director of Albright and Wilson, says that, while phos phorus production and overall performance have increased at the plant, "there are still a large number of technical prob lems to be solved before the operation reaches a break-even point". His statement was re leased by Erco following a recent board of directors meet ing in Toronto. Albright and Wilson has revalued its New foundland plant in view of its operational difficulties (see pl9). Oil shortfall in early 1974 is 7% says Esso chief Governments must take the initiative and determine how scarce resources should be shared, according to Dr A. W. Pearce, chairman of Esso Petroleum Co Ltd, in a state ment on the oil supply situ ation published in the Esso Magazine for February. Dr Pearce said that while produc tion by Arab states was about 12% less than that of Septem ber 1973, the shortfall against the originally expected rate of Arab production in the first quarter of 1974 was signifi cantly greater--16-5%. This represented a loss of over 7% of the predicted non-Communist world oil production of 49-1 million bbl/day in the first quarter of this year. This. 7 % shortfall in oil available as against oil ex pected showed the seriousness of the present situation, said Dr Pearce, but he added: "Providing the consumer con tinues to use oil products more efficiently--and the rising price of oil makes this sound economic sense--we can get by with existing supply levels." Dr Pearce maintained that the American parentage of Esso had made no difference to UK supplies because restrictions were applied to the destination of crude by the Arabs. Because crude availability had been determined by refer ence to liftings in September 1973, the control systems set up by certain producing countries in effect deprived Esso in the UK of an additional amount of crude oil. Esso had been importing heavy fuel oil from Rotterdam on a substantial scale during 1973 to supplement supplies coming from its own refineries. The expansion of the Milford Haven refinery, due to come on stream last November, and to provide increased crude pro cessing capacity by 168 000 bbl/day, was intended to take the place of most of these im ports. The embargo on the Netherlands had cut imports. The general conclusion, said Dr Pearce, was that the most recent decision of the Arab oil states to ease the level of cut back was helping the inter national supply situation. CHEMICAL AGE 1 MARCH 1974 3 sHu:iH=i:ii;f. IA .Science Prostaglandin-induced towering of gastric acid in hu mans has been Initially quantified in a study on 12 volunteers conducted by scientists at Upjohn and -* $500,000 grant from Ford Motor Co. The program* will involve the ;schqgL's divisions of engineering and applied science, phemistiy lnd chemical er gineering, and geological and planetary sciences. the Karolinska Institute^ Stockholm. Dr Andre Robert, Dr^- Boris Nytander, and Dr. Sven Ander son find that at appropriate-dosage levels eitherof Technology's impact on society is the subject of two new programs at Massachusetts institute of Tech nology that will be fuHded ^tK^AIfred P. Sloan acid outpurby fK)%and maintain stomach^ftWt neutrality -for up to-three hodVs.; The-study sup ports earljer evidence that prostaglandins may be p ? Foundation ($800,000;; for; the Mtfst two of five years). A^naster's decree program will concen trate on the relation betweervlechnoIogicaI prob lems and society^ arid^a program by the school's useful in treating peptic ulcers^ ' . - `wf- *b.u>-vA' * . .- 'i Angiosarcoma research and work on related liver abnormalities is being backed, by B, F. Goodrich with a grant to the University of Louisville. Costing about $300,000 in Its-fi.rst year, the program's aim is "to provide medicalinformation that .canbeapi plied practically in the detection and^reatment of liver,ailments-that may have resultedjlrom worker exposure to vinyl chloride," the university says ' J/. ' ' '<' ' bioethics Jnformationsystem is ,being'established by the Kenjnedy lnstitute .for'ifo;Stud of^Human Reproductlph and Bioethics; Gedrget6wn,'Univer- Center for-Policy Alternatives willexamine major technology-related Issues facing society. i? Technology* Chemical extraction;,of oil from sands in Canada will undergo a^piloUtest iniabout^hree months at Ed monton, Ajta/>tfie\noydl process, using a modified form of a 'Guardian Chemical product. Polycom plex, instead of steam or water, has shown evi dence of h^her ^eld .apd utliUy^nJower-grade oil sands, th^compahytyays.lr^c^ing the coming test is a cOnjg^^^^gn^l^^inanclai and oil sity, Washington, D.C., Orider a $280,00d grant from the^ational |j^rary^)f W[edicine^T|^ee blbli-` ographids^frblbet^'^ty^ll be^ublished -and -the systeih^v^M^'utiy%^ni^iitefIzi for|inf6rmatioh Coal conver^on^^^^^Mwili^^^e'ibeneficiary of some $20<j^TjjHlQ^^fetxon dbfq^R&D funds over the . next "six jffp%l\nned' budget, retrieval # system wifi-wovide easy and comprehensive access .tq^haterjals on'dii&r issues as.'genetlc engineering and huSiah^xpert- mentation. - :V:t'? spending ;.^ll cj|W3^l6yjmeQhe amount the company Ms pl^Wtfl^bdl-dwjyeffsyntli'etic fuels research )6.^The R& or^this* effort will be done at Baytown, Tex. Upwelling of ocean waters, carrying nutrient-rich water vital to fish production, is being studied off northwest Africa by scientists from the, U.S. and eight other nations, using ships, planes, instru ' fr* 'tir'" .* The U.K.'s fast-breeder reactor prototype has gone critical. The uni0at- Dunrea, Scptjand, will feed about 250 Mw.;fnto the nationai^rid. But its main purpose is to provide practical-implications of mented buoys, and U.S. earth resources satel building a commercial-size unit. Two other proto lites. These physical, chemical, biological, meteo types already are operating in Europe--a 150-Mw. rological, and ocean dynamics studies are,the unit in the U.S.S.R. and a 250-Mw. unit in France. first large-scale project of the $2.2 mllilqh per year Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem Analysis pro Solar energy Is providing heat for Timonium Elemen gram, part of the U.S. effort in the international tary School, near Baltimore, Md, The school is 3c Decade of Ocean Exploration. one of four being equipped with solar heating sys >. ' -V.' V. ' ' St" tems under NSF: contracts for ;experlmental aug Organometallic sandwich compounds can be made mentation of regular heating systems (C&EN, Jan. by a new.4 route developed at England's Oxford 21, page 19). Some 5700 sq.Vft of solar energy University.'There, Dr: Malcolm Green and asso- collector panels on the roof of the school will heat ciates, in collaboration with G. V. Planer, Ltd., use % water to replace the existing oil-fired steam heat arrelectron-beam gun to vaporize metals such as system in serving one classroom wing. titanium arid molybdenum under vacuum. The atoms then are condensed with organic ligands, such as benzene,.,atJlquid-nitrogen temperature. Maleic anhydride by-product Ms? recoverable from phthalic acid operations by a^^method developed The technique is aiconvenient way to make such compounds as blsben^'ene-titanlum at'yields'of'up^-" by^Beigium's UCB. After separationof the phthalic acid, the liquid affluent, which'contains 'a variety of^.reaction by-products", is concentrated and ther "*s:-= Education More university energy research is getting,under way as California Institute of Technology mounts a program bn critical energy problems -with a-- mally dehydrated and the rnaleic anfiydride recovered by distillation in yields of-about 95%. UCB, which is licenstns the technique, claims that up to 4500 metric tons per year ofvhi^eickanhydrjde can be recovered from an 80,000 metrlc-ton-peryear phthalic acid operation. March 18. 1974 C&EN 13 Science Scientists weigh facts, theories on aging si co =J r--, CS t-- r-n -6a Biological time clock for certain cells, on-off times. As they age, the cells appear to run down and take longer to divide than when they are young, switches for genes are The Stanford researchers also have found that human cells seem to have a among explanations offered built-in time clock that seems to tell them how many times to divide within at AAAS symposium a lifetime. Whether that clock is regu lated from outside the cell or from within still is not clear. In any event, Even if man is freed of all the debili when Dr. Hayflick stopped the clock tating diseases that reduce his longevi by freezing the cells, then returned ty, his life span probably will not them to normal tissue culture temper stretch much beyond 90 years until ature, they started up where they left much more is learned about the specif off until they had reached an average ic biological happenings that contrib of 50 duplications. Similarly, cells from ute to the aging process. This conclu adult humans doubled in cell cultures sion ran through a symposium on bio an average of 20 times, compared to medical aspects of aging held in San embryo cells, the number of doublings Francisco at the 140th annual meeting being related to the age of the adult of the American Association for the donor. Advancement of Science. An impres Backing up Dr. Hayflick's findings, sive array of facts and theories on aging Dr. Charles Daniel of the University of along with a scattering of suggestions California, Santa Cruz, noted that the for reversing the process were exposed same type of growth limitation oc and dissected. curred "in vivo," when mammary cell In support of the idea that the study tissue was taken from one mouse and of aging somehow should be separated serially transplanted in other mice, from the study of diseases that lead to After a series of four such transplanta an early death. Dr. Leonard Hayflick of tions covering a 12-month period, the Stanford University's school of medi cells eventually began to decline and cine pointed out that "even if the cur lose their ability to be transplanted rent effort to understand and cure all into other young mice. human cancers was to be successful, Dr. Daniel says his work suggests life expectancy at birth would be in that aging may result when the hor creased by about two years. monal processes that trigger deoxyri "Furthermore, if heart disease and bonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis and stroke were to be miraculously elimi cell division somehow break down in nated in the United States, then about aging cells. As evidence, he cites an ex seven more years of life could be ex periment in which he serially trans pected. Thus, a generation of humans planted mammary cell tissue into vir in which the two current major causes gin mice for a number of times until of death were eliminated would sur the cells stopped proliferating. Yet, prisingly enjoy nine to 10 years addi when the same mice were bred and be tional life. came pregnant, the cells began to pro "Indeed, regardless of the state of liferate again, presumably because of technological progress within a coun the effect of newly formed reproductive try, the human life span of 90 years or hormones on DNA synthesis and cell so is similar in all societies and ap proliferation. pears to be fixed. What has changed is Because each organism seems to the probability of dying in younger age have its own specific life span, the groups." issue of whether the biological time Just as men and other organisms clock resides in all cells or in a specific seem to have their own species-specific organ was widespread at the AAAS life spans, the cells that compose them symposium. According to Dr. Caleb E. seem to be similarly limited, Dr. Hay- Finch of the gerontology center of the flick told the symposium. Ten years University of Southern California, the ago, he had determined that normal brain, with its role as an overseer for human embryonic cells, when sus hormone production, may contain the tained in tissue culture, can double clock that defines the length of life, their population an average of 50 times while other cells do not. As evidence, before they die. Others have found that he notes that when the ovary of an old the cells of mice double no more on the rat is transplanted to a young female, average than 28 times, and chicken it again will produce estrogenic hor embryo cells double a maximum of 3514 mones and begin to function normally, even though it had ceased to do so in the older female. In addition, research ers at Michigan State University have found that the ovaries of old rats can be reactivated by stimulating the rats' brains electrically or by administering the drugs L-dopa or iproniazid. Both drugs are known to build up levels of substances that transmit nerve impuls es (catecholamines). Dr. Finch ex plains. As such, they can regulate the production of hormones elsewhere in the body. "According to current models, cate cholamines are released at nerve end ings in the hypothalamic section of the Hayflick: a built-in time clock brain and then trigger the discharge of hypothalamic releasing factors, which, in turn, act on the pituitary to cause the secretion of its hormones. "The fact that electrical stimulation or pharmacological stimulation of the brain neurotransmitters can reawaken the ovaries in old female rats at least shows us that the brain is a key locus of aging in reproductive senescence," Dr. Finch says. Dr. Finch has found recently that the rate of catecholamine metabolism is slowed down in the hypothalamus of old mice. "This finding provides a basis for interpreting many age-related changes of hormones as the result of changes in the parts of the brain which control hormone production," he says. In addition, he and his coworkers find that levels and turnover of dop amine (a catecholamine neurotransmitter) are reduced in the corpus striatum of older mice. Because that area of the brain, with its role as a reg ulator of body coordination, is greatly affected in Parkinson's disease. Dr. 14 C&EN March 18. 1974 m 1 O H A / Washington newsletter March 13.1974 - CHEMICAL WEEK v... The federal government soon may be forced to allocate coal because of stockpiling by utilities in the face of threatened strikes this fail by the United Mine Workers. Treasury Secretary George Shultz, in his role as chairman of the President's Domestic Council, has ordered the Cost of Living Council to develop a national coal policy. Meanwhile, the Administration has begun to bring pres sure on the coal industry in an effort to prevent a national coal strike in Novem ber, when contracts with UMW expire. Mandatory product line reporting will get under way before year's end, says Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lewis Engman. At a Washington lunch held by the Manufacturing Chemists Assn., Engman made his firmest com mitment yet to the controversial plan to collect from all major manufacturers the sales and profit figures on every product line they produce. Mandatory reporting forms will go out this year, he said, despite "serious opposition from business." The chemical industry has complained that since so many products are manu factured only to become feedstocks for other products, the internal company transfer prices are fixed by formula and do not reflect market conditions--thus, regulatory decisions based on such prices will not be sound. But Engman insists that it has to be an improvement over present industry profit data, which puts all of a company's complex operations into one industry group. /Safety standards for vinyl chloride, the latest suspected carcinogen, are not likely to be set soon by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA has two options: declare a temporary emergency standard if the situation gets more serious, or take a more deliberate approach involving the public hear ing process as a prelude to issuing permanent standards. The latter, slow ap proach seems more likely because OSHA's Standards Section is in the midst of an organizational shakeup. `The place is really a mess," declares one staffer. Meanwhile, the count of officially established cases of angiosarcoma of the liver related to exposure to vinyl chloride in work areas has risen to nine in the U.S.--five deceased former employees at B.F. Goodrich's Louisville, Ky., plant; two other workers, still living, at the same plant; one each at a Goodyear plant in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and a Union Carbide plant in South Charleston, W.Va. Also, a team of German researchers at the University of Bonn have discovered damage to the liver and other organs in 53 of 160 workers of Dynamit-Nobel's PVC plant at Troisdorf, although angiosarcoma was not specifically mentioned in ^ the researchers' report, which referred only to "PVC sickness." Tough new labeling regulations for aerosol-dispensed cosmetics and toi letries are being prepared by the Food and Drug Administration. The new rules are expected to be ready for publication in the Federal Register within the next few weeks. FDA plans to require that all aerosols under its jurisdiction carry tough and explicit warnings against abuse. In addition, FDA will forbid manu facturers of feminine hygiene sprays to make any health claims for their products and require that labels carry warnings against the danger of rashes or irritations. V_______________ __________________/ is VRD 09020 14 5 76 CW's stock prices and index Year High Year Low Company Name E X Vol. Period High Low Last 3/6 Net Chg. Oiv. Yld Ern. p/e 55.7 18.2 31.2 54.2 32.1 19.2 40.2 42.2 22.0 22.1 50.3 28.7 37.0 10.6 17.4 28.1 17.6 10.7 23.3 25.0 13.4 10.2 14.0 16.7 Air Products Airco Inc. Akzona Inc. Allied Chemical American Cyanamid Ar.sul Cabot Corp. Celanese Chemetron Comm. Solvents Dart Industries Dia. Shamrock N N N N N N N N N N N N 930 160 172 1143 1465 81 106 531 191 1992 602 1115 54.6 13.3 22,7 46.0 24.3 15.0 26.1 32.5 16.7 25.0 19.5 27.5 50.4 12.6 20.0 42.6 21.7 13.7 24.6 29.3 16.0 20.2 18.0 25.6 54.2 13.1 22.7 45.6 23.6 14.0 26.0 31.5 16.6 23.7 19.4 27.2 2.6 0.0 2.7 -0.1 1.6 -0.5 0.2 0.6 0.4 3.2 0.5 0.6 0.20 0.80 1.20 1.32 1.40 0.00 0.92 2.00 1.00 0.60 0.30 1.00 3.7 6.2 5.3 2,9 5.9 0.0 3.6 6.5 6.9 2.5 1.6 4.1 2.04 1.66 2.87 3.45 2.37 2.03 4.04 4.73 2.40 1.76 2.77 2.67 27 8 8 14 10 7 6 7 6 14 7 10 68.0 203.4 17.1 46.4 145.2 5.0 Dow Chemical Du Pont Emery Industries N 2153 M 884 N 131 59.1 167,3 9.7 55.6 159.2 9.2 59.1 167.0 9.5 0.1 1.00 1.7 2.94 0.2 5.4B 3.3 12.04 0.1 0.30 3.1 1.03 20 14 9 27.6 38.S 24.2 10.6 34.0 22.2 30.3 16.6 15.3 40.2 10.7 43.7 51.4 51.4 101.4 12.6 75.6 41.6 17.4 18.0 65.4 13.4 19.7 47.0 29.0 52.3 5.3 12.7 Engelhard N 784 18.7 Ethyl Corp. N 429 14.5 FMC Corp. N 749 4.2 Foote Mineral N 74 20.2 Freeport Minerals N 1249 8.2 GAF Corp. N 491 19.7 Grace W. R. M 1514 6.1 Great Lakes Chem. A 480 6.4 Gulf Res. & Chem, N 766 28.4 Hercules N 2130 5.0 Inmont Corp. N 155 20.2 Inti. Min. & Chem. M 1416 31.0 Koppers N 690 32.6 Lubrizol fvj 330 71.7 Merck N 1882 5.2 43.1 25.0 12.1 11.0 47.7 7.6 11.2 20.4 Millmaster Onyx Moro&nso Nalco Natl. Dist. NL Industries Natl. Starch Occidental Pet. Olin PPG Industries A 201 U 2626 N 474 N 366 |Sj 596 N 55 N 1908 N 389 N 655 18.4 Pennwalt N 212 36.2 Pfizer Inc. N 1368 2.4 Publicker Ind. N 60 18.3 28.0 21.2 10.5 29.2 11.5 26.4 15.7 14.2 34.6 7.3 45.4 49.0 39.3 80.6 7.7 61.6 28.2 13.7 14.1 52.2 11.1 15.4 26.3 21.7 40.4 4.1 17.6 26.0 19.7 10.0 27.2 10.1 24.6 14.4 13.1 32.2 6.4 41.5 47.0 38.0 77.2 7.2 58.1 26.7 13.2 13.2 51.0 10.2 14.0 25.7 21.0 37,6 4.0 17.6 26.6 20.7 10.0 28.5 11.3 26.3 15.0 13.4 33.2 7.2 45.0 48.6 38.6 80.0 7.7 60.5 28.2 13.5 13.5 51.6 10.3 15.2 26.2 21.7 39.2 4.0 -1.0 -1.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 1.1 0.7 -0.2 -1.1 -1.4 0.2 2.0 -0.1 -0.1 1.0 0.5 1.4 1.2 0.3 -0.3 0.6 0.1 1.2 0.2 -0.1 0.2 -0.1 0.42 1.00 0.92 0.00 0.80 0.44 1.50 0.11 0,60 0.80 0.30 0.52 1.88 0.43 1.40 0.38 2.00 0.43 0.90 1.00 0.66 0.00 0.88 1.70 1.20 0.68 0.00 2.2 4.0 4.5 0.0 2.8 4.4 6.2 0.8 4.1 2.5 4.8 1.2 3.9 1.1 1.8 5.9 3.2 1.4 2.1 7.1 1.3 0.0 6.0 6.6 5.6 1.7 0.0 1.74 5.02 2.42 0.41 2.12 1.83 2.68 0.92 1.16 2.18 1.34 2.60 5.14 1.73 2,40 1.58 6.90 1.25 1.71 1.95 2.68 0.80 2.02 4.48 2.13 1.74 0.13 10 5 9 23 13 5 9 14 13 15 5 17 10 22 33 4 9 23 7 7 19 13 7 6 11 22 32 13.6 116.0 51.5 6.4 61.4 27.5 Reichhold Chemicals Rohm and Haas Sherwin Williams N N N 278 266 349 10.2 88.6 38.4 9.3 83.6 36.0 10.1 87.0 36.6 0.6 3.2 -1.4 0.40 1.12 2.00 4.6 1.3 5.3 1.65 5.16 4.62 5 16 9 55.7 35.2 Stauffer Chem. N 582 48.2 45.1 48.1 2.2 2.00 4.2 4.69 11 31.3 11.7 Stepan Chemical A 54 20.2 18.7 20.0 1.1 0.36 1.8 1.67 11 25.4 36.5 51.6 13.6 17.1 29.2 Sun Chemical Texasgulf Union Carbide N 16 N 1474 N 1720 15.7 36.1 37.0 15.3 34.6 35.0 15.6 36.0 36.7 0.1 0.40 2.6 0.0 0.76 2.1 0.7 2.10 5.8 2.76 2.43 4.43 6 15 8 25.4 12.4 Univ. Oil Prod. N 1063 18.0 16.1 16.2 -1.5 0.00 0.0 1.85 10 29.7 20.4 Vulcan Materials N 55 29.2 28.0 28.0 -1.0 1.40 4.9 4.00 7 24.6 14.6 Witco Chemical N 137 19.5 18.2 19.0 0.4 0.98 5.7 2.8S 6 {ILnM&cl<,u.dWa1dM2..3itNe.IstdNa1vv2wc3lY/oBsoirnkIngapxrcihcaen*goarf.ArSm,3*A.kme$y1e2rcih,c3ae7mn6.icVianlotcsuotomncvtkeI*nn. tChiouonnmadlpreutditresmdodfbyahHCarihgath.m/Nliocew*Jt rWcahnagnK#g.epCeirtioioilidantgeitfpelroolc<tv*Itc,audhrriagWhne,tdnlyoeawed*rayvntoporpnec*eeIvnc*h.flpfnrigtevaiouxupsinrpWrM,etdwdnhaiantndtdvporlcioglocrst*det.nngDdivyidalgeahrntdhI*ti (Indicated for current yaar) and earning* (for taet 12 moothi) exprmed in dollart end cents. Yield datarmined by dividing dividend Oy lait tele* price: orice/earnlng ratio, last sales price oy earning*. P/E ratio not thown it earning* are negative. 160 ,, 1974 \ 1973 150 CHEMICAL OUTPUT INDEX ^ ('67-100) 110 1974 140 100 1973 CHEMICAL PRICE INDEX ('67=100) 120 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1 1 11 1 1 1 1111 1 90 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec March 13. 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 17 C&EN March 18, 1974 Decision nears on vinyl chloride rules Look for a decision this week on precisely how worker exposures to vinyl chloride should be regulated so as to prevent future deaths from a very rare form of liver cancer. Oc cupational Safety and Health Ad, ministration chief -John H. Stender j has on his desk proposed rules that ! industry fears could slow down ! measurably--even shut down alto- ! gether--all U.S. polyvinyl chloride ; production. Recommended by the Govern: ment's National Institute for Occuj pational Safety and Health, the rules ask that atmospheric levels of vinyl chloride, now labeled a "can cer-suspect agent," be kept below "detectable levels" unless workers wear full-face, air-supplied respira tors, Use of impervious suits in some cases and engineering and process changes, thus far unspeci fied, are also urged. Currently, the federal ceiling on vinyl chloride ex posure is nOO p.p.m. compared with a 50-p.p.m. level that many PVC makers claim they maintain as a company standard. Seven U.S. PVC workers have died from the liver cancer--five at B. F. Goodrich's Louisville, Ky., plant, and single fatalities at the South Charlestown, W.Va., plant of Union Carbide and Niagara Falls, N.Y., plant of Goodyear Tire & Rubber, After a prolonged and heated inhouse scientific debate, NIOSH de cided it could not set a "safe limit " for the chemical. "We rejected the concept of a threshold limit for vinyl chloride gas in the atmo sphere," Dr. Marcus M. Key, NIOSH director, told Mr. Stender. Dr. Key also is strongly urging OSHA to speed up its rule making. OSHA could shorten the time to get a rule out to four months. NIOSH has yet to specify analyt ical methods or define what "de tectable" means. Research tech niques can detect parts-per-billion ! levels of the gas. This level would force all PVC operations to shut down, Dr. Kenneth M, -Johnson of the Manufacturing Chemists Asso ciation tells C&EN. Stressing that he is not a PVC industry spokes man, Dr. -Johnson adds that, an ex posure limit of 20 to 30 p.p.m., measured by less elegant methods, would be "stringent, but attainable in most plants in a reasonable peri od of time." Specific limits, even if only temporary or involving a phased lowering of exposures over two years, would be acceptable. He also questions the need for, feasibil ity of, and legality of NIOSH's sug gested controls on releases of vinyl chloride to the "external environ ment." The NIOSH proposal is "devoid of any enforceability" in not requir ing immediate engineering changes to get to zero worker exposure, says Andrea Hricko. occupational health specialist with the Ralph Naderaffiliated Health Research Group. Firms merely can supply workers with respirators and develop target dates for future engineering changes. Thus the proposal fails to recognize "the emergency nature of worker exposure to a carcinogen." A VRP 00020 14 5 7 7 Copies to: CLW WRS WRBe (FK) DVP REL EAS 8U H 0ZM B THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Mender, March 25, 1974 Tough Rules on Vinyl Chloride Exposure Are Slated in Two Weeks in Interim Plan i Uv u WAI.I. STIIKKT JnllllNM. Shi// Rrpnrtrr j Tougher restrictions on worker exposure to vinyl chloride will take effect in two weeks in an effort to hull the spread of a type of liver cancer that appears to be caused by contact with the chemical. In Washington, the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administra tion issued an emergency temporary health standard sharply cutting the allowable expo sure to the industrial chemical starting April 8. It also proposed an even tougher permanent standard that wouldn't' allow workers without protective equipment to come in contact with vinyl chloride in any < measurable concentration. The issuance of the standards came after two months of investigations by the govern ment. employers and labor unions. Their studies began in late January, when B. F. Goodrich Co. disclosed that four workers at Its Louisville vinyl chloride conversion plant had died from the same rare form of liver cancer, angiosarcoma. In subsequent weeks, other concerns, including Union Car bide Corp. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., reported other liver cancer deaths among vinyl chloride workers. Vinyl chloride, normally a gas, Is con verted in plants such as the Goodrich facil ity into a powdery substance called poly vinyl chloride, from which a wide range of everyday plastic products is marie The gov ernment's emergency standard and the pro posed permanent standard cover workers 'involved in both the manufacturing of vinyl chloride and its conversion into polyvinyl chloride. Currently, national standards allow un protected workers to come in contact with vinyl chloride concentrations of up to 500 parts per million In the atmosphere. But when the temporary standard takes effect two weeks fromnow, the maximum allowa ble concentration will drop to 50 parts per million, a level advocated by industry and actually In force on a voluntary basis in many plants. The temporary standard, | under the law. can remain in effect for up to six months, while a permanent standard is Ibeing formulated. Ilur D!re<-t K\|K*iire The Occupational Safety and Health Ad ministration's proposed permanent standard would bar any direct exposure to vinyl chloride in any measurable concentration. This prohibition is generally believed to rule out concentrations amounting to one part per million or more. The permanent stan dard. based largely on recommendations of le Department of Health, education and Welfare, also would provide for periodic medical tests for vinyl chloride workers, i and specify plant monitoring procedures, I work practices and protective measures needed. The agency plans to formulate the per manent standard working from its pro|x>s at under an "expedited procedure" tiesigned to shrink the usually lengthy process to a period of as little as two months. if all goes according to plan, public comments will he gathered, a public hearing hold If necessary, and the proposal revised into final form in timeJor it to take effect in early June. j The temporary standard of 50 parts per million is apparently designed to strike a compromise between the demands of labor and management. The AFL-CIO had been pressing for a stricter temporary measure, and the chemical employers, opposed to any temporary standard, were advocating an eventual maximum of 50 parts per million. Although it advocates much stricter per manent restrictions, the agency said it con cluded from animal research done by an Italian scientist that the interim maximum of 50 parts per million should prove safe over the short life of the temporary stan dard. But Sheldon Samuels, safety and health director of the AFL-ClO's Industrial Union Department, attacked the temporary mea sure as ineffective. He charged that the fed eral agency had misinterpreted the Italian research, and called for a temporary stan dard requiring improved protection for workers exposed to all levels of vinyl chlor ide. "The 50 parts per million level is so high." he said, "that the United Rubber | Workers union tells us that only 20Vf of the plants It represents would have to make any changes at all to meet it " In fact, he added, at least six vinyl chloride plants already op erate at levels as low as 10 parts per mil lion. InpHirtaiit Step Forward" ' Despite his criticism of the temporary j standard, however, Mr. Samuels praised the proposed tougher permanent standard ns "an important step forward" and said fed eral officials had pledged that It would cover workers' handling of vinyl chloride In ail manufacturing processes. An estimated fi,500 workers at 37 plants operated by 23 U.S. manufacturers are ex posed to vinyl chloride and, thus, would be affected by the standards. Both B. F. Goodrich and Goodyear said they are already operating their vinyl chlor ide plants within the new' standards. The companies said that even before the govern ment's announcement, they had reduced vinyl chloride levels to below the .50 parts per million specified in the emergency stan dards. The companies said they also have pro vided such protective gear as respirators and protective clothing to employes, In ad dition. they are installing improved monitor ing equipment with the goal of making fur ther gains in reducing employe exposure to the chemical. Meantime. Goodyear said Us search of medical records turned-up two more deaths from liver cancer among workers formerly employed at Us Niagara Falls. N.Y., poly vinyl chloride resin plant. One death oc* curred in 1968 and the other In 1970,^ the company said. Three weeks ago Goodyear said it had learned of one liver cancer death, which oc curred in 1961. The employe involved had worked on production of vinyl chloride mon omer. a product no longer made, at the plunl. s In New York, Uniroyal Inc. said It has been using sensitive equipment at Its Palnesville. Ohio, polyvinyl chloride plant for a "year or so" to monitor the air and to' !>e certain that there isn't a health hazard. Uniroyal has a staff of technicians under.i Walter D. Harris, a toxicologist, to superb; ! vise the monitoring program at Palnesville. ' "We put a whole team against this thing a,' year or so ago after the first evidence came/ out of Europe that there could be a hazard, a Uniroyal spokesman said. "ft in Midland Mich., Dow Chemical Co.,i which produces vinyl chloride at three U.S.' plants, said tt has had the 5Q-parts-per-mil lion standard for 15 years In Us U.S. plants. It added it hasn't had any reports of vinyl chloride linked with liver cancer. It said it isn't prepared to comment on the proposed permanent regulation that would bar any worker contract with vinyl chloride. ` . \ 1974 ) r7] $ - H >J h\ (cf// -DvP .MAR 2 2 1974 -V-t- ,`t;- :Zi Plastics Workers Screened for 111 Effects of Vinyl Chloride Bv JANE E. BRODY Spfciil to Tn* Nf' Vorlt Tim** NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- For the last three r.d a half oars, the Union Hall along' Chemical Row"'here resembled the field hos:La! in M 'A-'S:1H as 401 workers from the ioodvear polyvinyl chloride plant lined up or the most intensive mass medical examinaton in the history of occupational health. The workers were worried. In the last seven weeks,- at least 11 cases of angiosarcoma of ;he h\er, a rare fatal cancer, have been linked to occupational exposure to vinyl chloride. One case and possibly a second have occurred in former workers at the plant here. The problem, which originated with the dis co-. try of four cancer cases at a B. F. Good rich plant in Louisville, Ky., has since been shown to exist at plants in West Virginia and Texas as well as New York -- cases have also been found in B-itain -- as companies began searching through the records of vinyl chloride workers. The far-reaching repercussions of the serious risk associated' with an industrial chemical has focused new attention of gov ernment, labor, industry and medipine on some 15,000 potentially hazardous chemical and physical agents to which American workers are exposed. Vinyl chloride, a gaseous chemical, is known to cause other liver diseases and bone and circulation changes in the fingers and toes. Vinyl chloride and the dust of the powdery plastic polymer into which it is made are suspected of injuring the lungs. But it was the cancer peril that spurred the workers at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company chemical plant here to act. "Cancer it's so final, we had to do something," said 39-vear-old Frank Micale, father of five and president of Local 8-277 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union. At the union's request, Dr. Irving J. Selikoff of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City sent 14 members of his environmental medicine research team to examine the work ers for all possible ill-effccts of vinyl chloride, which has been made or used at the Goodyear plant for the last 27 years. To set up the makeshift medical clinic, the team brought centrifuges, microscopes, machines to measure lung function, blood pressure cuffs, stetho scopes. hundreds of slides and thousands of of test tubes to the city. In the union's second-floor offices, examin ing beds were fashioned from long steel tables covered with blankets and paper sheets. A local motel lent pillow cases and ice buckets to hold more than 2,000 tubes of blood. Union officials set up the elaborate exam ination schedule that included salaried per sonnel and former Goodyear workers, as well as those currently exposed to vinyl chloride and other potentially harmful chemicals usedat the plant. Throughout the examinations, union mem bers kept the medical team well supplied with errands for such smelling salts and items as coffee, doughnuts and sandwiches and ran a replacement part for the new $12,500 com puterized lur\g function machine that Dr. Selikoff purchased for the tests here. But before any tests began, the workers -- worried but not panicky -- bombarded the doctors with questions. Paul Butski, 20 years old and recently mar ried, wanted to know, "Can the effects c: vinyl chloride be transmitted to an unborn child?" John Nichols, who had worked for 1, years at the plant asked, "Can your family be affected by the work clothes you brought home?" To both these questions. Dr. Selikoff said, "We don't know, but we're looking into it." James Duval said that some of the worker? regularly donated blood, -and he wondered whether his blood might be "conteminated." Dr. Selikoff replied, "I don't know, but the blood you donate is collected into a poly-vinyl chloride bag and transfused through polyvinyl chloride tubing." Maurice Biumstein. who has worked a: Goodyear for 20 of his 45 years, wondered about delayed effects of vinyl chloride. He asked, "If you find nothing wrong now, does that mean nothing will happen?" Again, Dr. Selikoff replied, "I don't know." Continued on Page 65, Column 5 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 1974 65g '-r' Plastics Workers Screened for Chemical 111 EMec Continued From First Page recommended yesterday to the at the Goodyear plant indicated the Goodyear plant here, tf of Second Section Department of Labor that in that if the company could not company is paying for ches the future no worker be al eliminate the risk to their hand and foot X-rays on all th But, he added, "We have had had experiences with other chemicals, benzidine and betanaphthylamine, where people left the plant healthy, then developed cancer years later." Another worker wanted to know how often the tests would be repeated. Dr, Selikoff said that on the basis of his team's findings, expected within a month, he would recommend a tailored examination to be re peated every six months. "A long-range program of surveillance and care must be developed," the doctor added. "We already know enough to know this is a problem. Even if you leave the plant, every lowed to be exposed to any measurable levels of vinyl chloride. The formal recommendation, on the basis of which the de partment is to set a new stand ard of occupational exposure, stated that employers must de velop control plans to prevent measurable vinyl chloride ex posure and that if such expo sure occurs, workers must wear air-supplied respirators. Art es timated 6,500 workers would be directly affected by such a ruling, and ultimately tens of thousands may be covered by it Dr. Selikoff told one worker during his physical examination here, "You need a job, every health, they would look for workers. other jobs. (Edward Gawel, 22, The rest of the elaborat said ,"Jf I'm going to be here examination here was financei for 20 years, I don't want them telling me 20 years later that I'm all screwed up from these chemicals." At the Goodrich polyvinyl under a grant to Dr Selkof from the National Institute fo Environmental Health Sciences As a research center for lh> institute. Dr. Selikoff's labora chloride plant in Louisville, tory has a mandate to explore where the liver cancer problem new problems. was discovered (thus far seven The institute and the En workers there have developed vironmental Protection .Agency the disease, with five deaths); arg~~wunJwl, Hot "fust about the company is working to workers exposed to vinyl stem leakages of vinyl chloride chloride, but also about pos and is installing new ventila sible risks to the general pub tion systems. Goodrich has also lic. Thousands of widely used purchased new air-monitoring consumer products are made equipment and hired men to ultimately from vinyl chloride thing must be done to be sure body needs a job. They've got take measurements throughout and at least 6 per cent of the you remain healthy in the to make it safe enough for you the 24*hour work day. six billion pounds of the chem future." Toward this kind of assur ance, Dr. Marcus Key, director to do it. The engineers can do it--if they can go to the moon, they can make you & safe place The Goodrich employes have all been tested by the company for possible liver disease. At ical that uses each "lost" into American industry year is somehow the environment. of the National lnsttiute for to work in." Occupational Safety and Health, Many of the younger men is itia z a flfl qua A L. N. Vernon To j?. Lehmkuhl R. D. Gamblin G. F. Tillson E. M. Smith\ Kennedy Porchey Date 3/21/74 Attached is an article that appeared in the OCAW newspaper concerning the VCM health problcr:.. LNV:pk enc. CHEMICALS RESEARCH s'/a c:; r. r-- EE t isstiaiaea Vol. 1, bo :i i :> . p*> U \* x. / r '^ Tt s m **# w Vinyl Chloride Process Being investigated An c:/ivrci.'ly rare form of liver cancer, o...:i''Mi::.:ti;i. Sms cai i-ed the deaths o! lour wumkers at a lb I-'. Good-- rich vir.vi pd;i:i:nva ion plant in Louisv: i,c. 11 v. Since da av .::. <.t.! v abuu' '-o lh< s of Inis typo of c.'i11 i'i" il lUc L anted States cacti yi'ar. export' e mekide ti: it -cme- thind m the |>: occ.cs is responsible for tile i! i''.ai\ The e.'->>, which were reported to tbc .^ovcnun.'iu iy <a:rie-:can. nave widespread eftov.s on ihou.sands ol workers and |;;a.sn',v O'Vi-a i mors, since polyvinyl eniurlo-- (PVC). winch is made trom vinvi cMnride. is so widelyproduced a:al used. At this pain: i: is nut Knows; jest \.:\al tne can i' 1 i i ve n^-'nt is, nut vinyl chloride use If is y sin pot-:. Tn-cu tire, !.cut, f.ijv/Ul oO chemicals involved in the process. Altlinuyi; OCAV> does not represent the workers at the iJ. F. Goodrich-- Louisville ulani. it <'aes have hundreds of workers invoiced at many other lo cations. Surveys and examinations ate already living mnicrtakeii, some in co operation with Dr. Irving Selikoff e' .* . * '--"V ."*> j Va .-'^' *-?*** J d v tl I - , * ii b .Ml . Sinai Sclmol of .Mrilicine in New Vo rk. l)r. Selikoff is rcumvi uni for his pimir nine' w urk in i i ' i'ii-M i>f ! (b ,. Any \s os !-ms in- \ol \cil in the pi a of viny 1 elder- idc !;o li ave sv i:; atoms > i' li v cr an cv :i'i! to e<mf mt l ii' ill 111 111 .d.mai's r h .uni Safctv tkdac imm c t.; o i >a n-.'.v i; .-entia!. * O; k r- , is that two of tae.faUr reported d.-auts w-rc c'l'*`t -- mi..by .winded m , rr-M-rs <: tne beer teal red ia e, -,_d as ; a rio.-a re< ena why -r .''Uny;-.;,-. Ant. u-su s nvo not p.i- rcyu L, riy o knat Uie i.udi'iity mi' i>;i;cr nu.-arc'ic.'ie.M*,s to nave uc- t'U; red is ;e -ssi die, lit addition. sir re 1'VC products which range I'om llow tiles i.r.d plastic wrens to pi,,stio pips .,ro 'Ml covers can decompose during p, oeessinu. an invar tarn - inn. of tin- lire;- - a lawn n r<:a nets is C'-semini to see if other v,a)>-!;.as and ' '.a a consumers ;i;v involved. Chock Yhor.o i lnns The symtv. iins of liver disease may he '.'rp.uo. However, if you work with virysi chloride or poly vinyl ebhuide and notice any of 11 io follow in--, syruptoms associated with live;- disease contact the Intel natinr.nl iiaim 'dialely. They could he e.irly indications of a .serious problem Some common signs are: Nausea I-OSS of appetite Jaundice (yellow or greenish coloring of skin) Weight hiss Tenderness of the liver area VRD 000 20 14 5 8 3 \\ X Kenneth L. Schurter* WI - research Jt 3*3 c? timony. stressed the contributions t ALIPHATIC ORGANICS eech beve made- to the program -of on cine and expressed agreement with the to include all liquid organic chemical! told on a freight allowed baiit. The Uiree distilbutton zonea are identified at follows: zone B - California: zoneC - Washington, Ore gon. Idaho. Montana, Wyoming. Utah. Ne vada and-Arizona; and tone A - all ether elates within the continental US. Using zone A as the bat* zona, the differ, Jeetives ol the Senator to provide the' with the beet medicines possible et the low est price. They did not thara hii views on the acUviUea of the detailmen, and Hr. Lauback of Pfizer said that bis firm has ended the gift giving to doctors and pharmacists that have led to strong criticisms. enital for tone B it le per pound and for zone C. 2c per pound. For thoae products normally sold on a volume basil, the differ- PVC Syndrome entiel will be 2e per gallon io zone B and He per gallon in zona C. -Carbide says a two year study of costa for delivering chemical* in tho Western ter ritories has shown that average cost* to those iiatea Union Carbide has designated as tone C are approximately six timet hig her than they are forCaUfomia. METHANOL- Monsanto will raise Ua methanol price Be. a gallon on April i to 21c. a gallon, f.o.b. Texas City. Texas. PETROLATUM- PenrteoIncreased It* Cenadian and other export prices on petro latum by 2e per pound on March is. The company says the increases were necessi tated by higher feed eosti. PETROLEUM SULFONATES- Penrero raised itaCanadisn and other export pe troleum sulfonate pncea by ic to 3c. per pound on March IS. SYNTHETIC RUBBER- According to Rubber Manufacturer* Association, the vol ume ot synthetic rubber used in the manuf acture of liras and other rubber products in 1913 was 2,401.000 long tons, an increase of percent over 1972. However, natural rubber gained T percent in the same period with Industry consumption pegged at 8S.OOO tons. The tire industry shipped nearly 239 mil lion automotive tires to vehtcls manufac turers and to the replacement market In 1973. an increase of nearly S percent over the previous year. A total of 145.2 million automobile', truck and bus tires went to the aftermarket list year, an increase ef 2.2 percent, while vehicle manufacturers re ceived N.1 million anil*, up nearly 9 pertent;,The-export market accounted for 4.1 tlrFilltito-nl 'li"hita.!'a 74 pe rcent Increase over WHITE;tMINERAL OIL- _ filsed'Canadlinand otherexphrt white mineral oil by 12 fo lSc par gallon. The increases beexme effective March 15. Continued from Pig* 4 said same action would be taken by the end of this week. The OSHA spokesman wouldn't specu late on the kind of action that would be taken. There are two options available: the imposition of an emergency heslth stan dard which is the mechanism by which mandatory regulations can be-pot into ef fect immediately; and the initiation of the normal rule-making procedure which could lake several weeks during which the pro posed regulations would be voluntary. The spokesman said that both options were possibilities as of the end ot feat week. In making their recommendations. Dr. Marcus Key, Director ot NIOSH, said that the institute had urged OSHA to get new regulations out "as expeditiously a* possi ble." Dr. Key would not say whether that meant the recommendation ol an emergen cy standard, saying that the method of im plementation was up to OSHA. The OSHA spokesman said that regardless of the im mediate action taken, the agency would ex pedite the process of making and issuing of permanent regulations. In addition to ihe above recommenda tions, NIOSH suggested that warning plac ards be placed in all affected areas, that VCM gas levels be continually monitored for leakages, that rules be developed re garding contact with and maintanence ot PVC reactor*, and that employee screening procedures be introduced botora and alter entering a regulated area. Dr. Key added that missing from the repost ware recommendation* on tht favored method ol environmental sampling and soai/sfe asd.medical axeoltca-ingi. . Jv-'iv ''IkrrKer afeo .aid th*the-institute xpeciDoally recommended the nee of "airline" respirators, saying that while '`cartridge" types might be men convenient, current Drug Detail Men Continued from Pit knowledge suggests that they are leas elfec- live. -- 'In a riffled development last week, the would place detailmen under'a system of. University of Louisville's Health Science* Federal licensing, or that some agency be( Center ft Cancer Center announced the for set up that would serve es an impartial^ mation of a medical research program on source of Information on all druga for the angiosarcoma and related liver abnormali physician. ties that ere associated with worker expo- He found no support, however, for either proposal from any of the four company lra to vtnvl chloride. "Rib pioiiam nillIn lUhdcO by a grant heads who teatified - Gerald D. Lauback, from B.F. Goodrich Company whose Louis president of Pfizer. Inc.; Henry W. Gads ville. Ky., PVC facility ha* been the site of den. chairman and President of Merck A Ihe occuranceof seven case* of Angiosarco Co.; Verne M. Wlllamen, president of Ortho ma over the last decade. Pharmaceutical Corporation, and Jan Dr. J. Wm. Lloyd, Assistant Director for Dlotthy, president of Lederie Laboratories, Health Surveillance - and Biometrics at a division of American Cyanamid Compa- NIOSH, said last week that the total of at Esch of the company I least week that the total of at least nine , in their tes eases ol apparently work-related angiosa- creoma during the lest decade, (Sevan at Louisville, One at e Union Carbide PVC plant In W. Virginia, and one at a Goodyear *CH0UESTCX0L U.S.P. plant In Niagara Falls, N.V.) is "vary startling" and "way out of Una" from the CHOLESTEROL B.P. figures one would normally expect for the rare liver cancer. CHOLESTEROL TECHNICAL St. Regis LANOLIN ALCOHOLS- 10, LG, HO, H6 DUS0RAN MD LAN0UN ACIDS *S0YA LEGTHIN- Gronuter and Powder Highest Purity, Oil Pro* "local dvm let stacks only fori > shipment Ceafmft HUGHI. MEETH & ASSOCIATES, INC 7* Aw#, NW, <M lepUfc MhMeee S9W4 Unhi USA Aeaab fan VAN SOramN OMMM. Nw MvMidii li Wafer* Imp^ Aadwew * CNOICSTROI Continued from Pige 7 beg liner* and shrink film for Industrial packaging. The new PE facility baa the capability of producing film In thicknesses ranging from one to right mils and in eheeta or roll* up to eighty four inches wide. The Union City PE film production sup plement* that of St. Regis1 Louisville, Ky., PE plant which previously had been serv ing the company's entire Bag Division re quirements. The plant, which produce* virgin food- grade products. Is designed to operate twenty lour hours a day, seven days a week. Cooling for the new facility is pro vided by a closed-loop system which dis- nritber air nor water. And because la no solid waste from the operation, it is noo-poiluting, the company says. The Union City plant, containing 123,000 square feet of space. Is the headquarters operation for the'Company's Western area of It* Bag Division. Gentlemen: Re: 34 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE Should you have difficulty purchasing any chemi cal -- or If you hava any surpfua chamleals or allied materials for sale - details would be appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from you, and with bast wishes. S3 S3 Sincerely, Norman F. Ravel FINE CHEMICAL COMPANY, INC. 250 WEST 57TH STREET NEW YORK. N.Y. 10019 WHY PAY MORE FOR LESS WHEN YOU CAN PAY LESS FOR MORE ...IN CHEMICALMARKETHG REPORTER CALL OR WRITE AND ASK US HOW.*-" WHITE ACID CHLORIDES UOHZ& This free trial could eliminateyoursore trial. While sorbitol is no case-all, it might do a lot more for your formulating n you think. We'll be I you a free working : of our 70% sorbitol, USP, and lend you a hand, if you like, in working it. Sorbitol has proven itself a natural (which it is) as a sweetener, as a bumreran: and a* an extender for glycerine and propylene glycol in innumerable products. Derived from dextrose and hydrogen. Loots sorbitol is usable in any applica tion. And Lonzs b expert in its toe. At a prime manufacturer, Lonxa offers with io technical assistance assurance of a steady, dependable supply. Lonza means dependability. , N. J. 07410/(3011 TV1-7300 March 18, 1974 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER 3*3 (=3 ss- <555 <S3 AVAILABLE NOW ... COATING A PLASTIC MATERIALS POTASSIUM PERSULFATE PVC RESIN POLYSTYRENE POLYETHYLENE. LO. HD PHENOL POLYPROPYLENE STYRENE MONOMER CELLULOSE ACETATE CALL US FDR DIFFICULT TO OVT ITEMS Dry Colors Prices Are Escalated ^ For Second Time in Six Weeks ^ m-iM-woo Morgan Chemicals, Inc. law Niagara Buffalo. N.Y. 14313 TELEX 31-W3J CABLE- MOROANCHEM CASEIN USERS ff yea --1 already arr radaawr. partap* pa* aapkt ta M tft afaak maaia al afl fiaSaa al >**& prhrt. IWa aa aiaba mmm day ahlpanal, a^ at pHiaa yaa any Had aliamiH, aarpauap. M with at Wa, plarinf ya-- aaff Oilii. MTBMATIOIIAI CASEIN CORP. 711 TNrU Aiaiiaa. Naat Tart, H.T. irm? Oil) MM1TS a.O. aw Maa, walimt creek, caM. MM TalapBtat Ha. HI*) n*.Tn ANTIMONY OXIDE FLAME RETARDANT CATALYST PIGMENT* CERAMIC OPACIFIER CHEMICAL INTERMEDIATE KR Grade--Pigment Quality. High Tinting Strength KRLTS Grade--Pigment Quality. Low Tinting Strength White Star M Grade--High Purity HARSHAW CL1OH,1SICAANG3OCJ*LCEL8EttTVataHENOtLEEMHAaWdANttofDItYnTSOtHdfiOARSKWCKbeaTwCaaRnLHPsCOEeHMMITOIaILCNa*AlAHaCDLnOadmEC.UOpOLSahPMnTiHyoPO*AINAN1YM Asarco Zinc Oxides give it staying power. For rubber that give* Without giving out, you need line oxide in the compound. Just a few extra parts of sine oxide per hun dred make all the difference in the world. Aaarco sine oxides impart added tensile strength and elasticity, superior abraskn resistance and longer life to tires, hose, table, boots, outerwear. We refine our sine oxides under the strictest controls. They're uniform from lot to lot and process smoothly. We have many grades to choose from. For mors facta on Aaarco sine oxides, writs us at P.O. Box 327, Columbus, Ohio 432L6, 7SY**f*ofProgr**slnMotoM - ASARCCP Am*r1cn Smelting and Refining Company 20 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER March 18, 1974 Chemetron and Sun Chemical an nounced new comprehensive price schedules (or dry colors last week, (or it raised prices on HD-PE to 18c. per pound on blow molding, injection, and extrusion grades as of March I. POLYSTYRENE- Monsanto will in the second time each within the last crease polystyrene prices by 3-5Hc. per month and a half. Both pigment pro ipound on April 1. marking a cumulative ducers had been among the first to act price rise of 3-lOHc. per pound since Febru ary I (in line with an industry trend.) The in late January and early February new price for crystal polystyrene will be when an industry-wide price move 24Hc. per pound, medium impact will be in ment began. The actions last week creased to 2SHc. per pound, high impact to seem to anticipate a new price round even before the last has been consoli dated. 2613c. per pound, and high hest/high im pact will be raised to 2714c. per pound. The premium for colon will alto be raised to 4c. per pound. Prices are for bulk shipments. Alio last week, Tenneco Chemicals Monsanto will simultaneously Increase raised the prices of driers end other paint ABS (p a range of 36-50V5C. per pound in additives for the second time since Febru- truckloads, and natural SAN to 3lHc. per ery 1. Ferro Corporation is also reported to pound also in TL quantities. be increasing drier prices as well as remov PVC STABILIZERS- MAT Chemicals ing off-list discounts. sol off new price activity for organo-tia The Cost of Living Council acted last neat stabilizers tor PVC last week when it week to further decontrol the petrochemi announced once increases of 2S-50c. per cal industry by removing profit-margin controls on all but the largest companies. The impact of that action on. pigment pro ducers is not likely to be significant, howev er. as most recent price increases, during the virtual decontrol of the last few weeks, have been of the cost pass-through sort. Notably, inorganic pigments (and sever al other coatings products including Finish ing agents, varnishes, and gum and wood chemicals) were included in last week's CLC action, for the first time, and National Paint and Coatings Association President Robert A. Rowland-said that the latest ac tion places the industry "in a much better position to compete for (he basic raw mate rials required to manufacture its products." But costs are expected to con tinue to rise.steeply and supplies and profi tability are not expected to improve soon. One organic pigment producer last week (before the latest CLC action) said that he pound on its butyl and methyl tins, effective thought "(he,petrochemical industry is not March 11. Representative new prices: feUing-^a-falr-sh*ke*Vend~that- he would "T--220"- grade ia up SSe.v per pound to Qkfe'to see belter allocation of. and some ex 3214 per pound in truckloads, and low-effl- port control over, upstream products. He ciency "T-IIM" Is up 25c., per pound to $1.72 noted that. chemical intermediates had per pound. risen dramatically in price in recent weeks, Cincinnati Milacron and Argus both an In some- cases by 200 percent. nounced late last week that, effective ' Among the organic pigment price in March 14. their respective "Advastab" and creases that Chemetron announced last "Mark" organo-tin products were raised week, effective March 15. were red lakes, Identically with those of M&T. Ferro was up I0c,, per pound to 2.00 per pound; bari um lithols were increased 45c.. per pound to $1.85 per pound, and calcium lithols-were raised 40c. to SI.90 per pound: toiuidine reported to have set- an effective date of March 25 for a similar rise in its stabilizers, although on some grades the increase may be slightly higher. reds were raised 10c: per pound to $2.45 per pound <12.55 for extrs dark); phthalo blue toners were raised 15c. per pound to a DRIERS range of S3.55-3.90 per pound Oakes and presscakes were also raised by varying amountsl; phthalo greens were raised, all grades, by a range of 13c.-55c., per pound. The new range for all Types of phthalo blues, composed of both new and earlier in creases. is 33.75-5.40 per pound. The new range for phthalo greens is 35 75-6.25 per pound. Kansa yellow is up to $3.80-3.90 per pound. Benzidine yellows: AAA is up to 33.05 per pound, AAOT is up to 33 45 per pound. AAOA is up to 33.85 per pound, and AAMX Is up to 34.20 per pound. There was also movement on driers last week. Tenneco raised prices on its various driers by t-5c. per pound, the specific amounts differing widely even within prod uct groups. The groups affected included nuxtras, naphthenates, nuodex octoates. tallates. and water dispersibles. The new prices became effective on March 15. At the same time Tenneco increased prices on a number of other paint additives. Included were loss of dry inhibitors (up 5c., per pound), mixing and milling agenta (up PRIME PIGMENTS 3-5c,, per pound), anti-foaming agents (up 5c., per pound), anti-skinning agents (1015c. per pound), thickening and bodying ANTIMONY OXIDE- National Lead, following action by M&T earlier this month, increased the price of its standard grade antimony oxide pigment by 19c. per pound, effective March 15. The new price of 31.2414 per pound matches that of M&T. Other pro ducers are contemplating action. agents (up l4-22c. per pound) end fungicides (up Sc. per pound). Ferro was also reported last week to have raised drier prices by 5c. per pound for 24 percent lead. 3c. per pound for 36 per cent lead products, 7c. per pound ford per cent cobalt, and 3c. per pound far (2 per cent cobalt products. Also zirconium jiriers PLASTIC MATERIALS were reported .to be up 4-5c., per pound. A spokesman for Cincinnati MHacrnn said that the company was studying drier PHENOLIC MOLDING COMPOUND9- prices and anticipated further small in Kooker increased phenolic molding com creases on its own products. pound prices last week by Sc. per pound, ef MISCELLANEOUSfective March II, New prices generally range now between 35Hc. and 36Mc. per pound. HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENEMonsanto raised the price of its high-densi ty polyethylene Isst week by lc., per pound. t>o both blow molding and injection grades. Both are now priced at 19c., per pound, in hopper can. Also lest week. AMOCO confirmed that CHLORINATED PARAFFIN- Effec tive March it. ICI America increased the price of its line of "Cereclor" chlorinated paraffins by 6-10c. per pound. All except paint additive grade are now priced at 27c. per pound tn TL quantities. Paint grade is now 20c., per pound. TL. V m ' * i" VRD 0002044586 MOA. dm*. ditt AAOT <y*tow 14|bM , d*d .lb. lira yulloif, I* p.iiu 9<M*, i 250 35S 290 i3ta 349 088rvCiiWuRat* HF. 29.000 M . Sut#o*-l. tanki. to b. wont Ib. M41RN ftn. Unkt. In #h9 Of M *Banzocama NF dma_ $00-3}* $1. Banco OihWro pyrona 25-lb. era-lb. Bbocwe ac*3. tack.. bga. el. t.l. fit US*. dnw. M* MM- --lab.. ,4159% 2IV Bantam gum. Svmstis.cs.. B2,eTn-t6oenni>,odonlo>liiMat.yci mdil.udHmId*t_(_M_*__M_aBr.oipta1M.9A0tOfhiat1y7l 0diaul- BanzotrtatbM. mcIi; mt. uMWb. iota n. imib. 1.99 BtntotridiMnda. rsfd. d*. I I. lit. ________ Ib. 3ftal.n^koa.iMtwnic acid. mild. SO-IB 24 .25 bn-t.l- u. lab. miii.b. SonibytMefiMMn_dl__dm_i._c_l.,_fIibt. tanka. fit. t*-- * Bontbyl pwbklda. muMt gren.. Ib.MtVB. m o' non. bgi. Mtra.omh. lit. *auM._ Banzyf scatata, dm*..------ ----- wc-Buty acatitt. lyn.. unit. dlvd. e .is "*. IIM E .lb. fi*Bulyl iicoAol, tyn. Itfmwm. tanks. <0 Alia. b e*8vivdiuKdW-rc-4, . ijm,,..t.o.n, us. IQ. larf-Bgryl itcubol. syn. lanka. dfv4 2-- Ib. Butyl KdahyOa (w* BulyreMabydk). Butyl baeryl ahtlMtkfk. Unka, tn. alio Ib. Bufyl cfiMnda.Onka wrt, B. Butyl eyeioireiryl bblNaliM. tanks n-8utylfi*f. dura., tl. eertk__ Ib. tknua, Kbrti--------------- Ib Butyl MSdseyl phlhaMf*. lu-ka dlvd. B. 1 000ButyflKttM. lanka. fit. iXd 6.---B. n.Butyl bffmjni, 15% aoln. . -lb MM Of more. cyta.. lOd. blMM__________ ft. tanka. 3900-lb mm. 100% baara. ij .IS 12 MV) 15 .11% .93% 39% 33% 19% 9* S 35 it 22 14 IB Bantyl aleohgl, NF, dm.. 14.. In. pMnklaabtnalk*gagrafinad.di.otd.4inmi.l*l.i.d.a.lHit aiiiMmb._-BB. 333983 - 6nt>l MccAol pncat 2c pm IB high* Ior damrety Wmi of Butjrt nwfluefylsts. Unks. frl Mutld ft- Butyl octyl pblNMia. tanka, dM t.... .................... ....k> 39 .14% 32 Itockm Banryl bentbIM. NF a. 40-Ib. Orat---------------------- _I0. 62 77 1 11Bantyl cftlorida. Mc/l. non-ref c . . tit. Md . amt.. .. ib 17 1 1 29link*. lrt.jUd.___ Bsn ic nn naM. .ib cm___ ib n.Bsntyt.N N-diiiwthyliinint. 400-B 0m..1r1 Jlldib. Bnry< formats, cm____ _____ Ib Butylatad nydroivinnoM. lood Benryl 1700099001. 29-B. cm.-- Bantyl eroprenttt. 25-10 cm Buriy, aaiicyiaM. 29-lb. cm. Benzyitdim acstons cm., boll _ BorjaiTKil ml. nil . NF II. Italian. cm. Batahydroaynaehtfiorc acid (*au b-Oayniphtha,c acidl. BuUirratOylntontfulunaiiaa MathytnaohttiaMnai BBiiolnuvneyiiy(*t*t. 9D0ip0bgtmnyai)o. vlamcjoaSreB-ugmmutti m10st0a0l. bm. ton Ion 10Bwnuthd~ml*.,ilfii.t.aggnuil.fdc.ivtl.', O-li>s.. enmun ouyeniond*. 100-B. dm. n>rU._________ B. 26Sum oitaM. dial., dm*, d --ft. atok bfi. .(. W. __ Itnkft. ur* DIM ft. Butyl ChthslJto {m Dibirty* okftaftMi- Butyl itsirft* c*ni*. emt, SO dm> w mu.... ....... lb. tanka ... Ib. 26 3016 311k 29% - 28% tanka____ .. . lb 27% .29% Sufyismto* (us Uono- D<` md rntutyismin*). isri'BuMunin*. flrm c.i. ti. l.o.o. wc*fc4.^_--....... ft. 40 Unki. aama Man--------------- Ib. .45 ButyMtad tiyWocytgfuan* law !.9-p-li1-butyl.b-eiMOIl. 1 9-BulyMna glycol, lanka. dMd_Ib .19 Butyraidahyda. Unka. Rvd--_lb .19% Bulync acid, lanka tft. alld_____ lb. .33 Butyric itIMt IkM Ettryl butyreMI. ButyruMctona, dma, C.I, U. n-BulyroniinM. drei.c.l. dM__ib A9% c 100CtdnitfD cMondi, punl. cryfl., > Ib dmi. tl, works.^_lb. CMiiNwm, CP. rod dork ahodo. bM. 100-ib. ion, tn. add.. E of light Riads. bbia. aanit bask__Ib. madium ahiot. bb>a aama taxi lb. eradhire.tgni ahada. bbta. uma b*M.lb. 2 47 7.92 9 BS 139 242 797 (.07 9i4' Benzidine YellowCadmium Lithopone 06Csflmium. CP yellow, all ihedee. bbii. i -lb ftft. fit. ild . t Cadmium fluebomfi iiq cons. dms. 11. works frl - I* Cadmium.reotcury mhooan* ixang*. bang anada. bb* 400-lb. iota., hi alio E.ol RoekMS__ lb. Cadmum-mercury irthowone. rod, dark sntdf, wo. Mine ft. light shade, bbfe. uma baM ft. modmrn shade. bM., aamo madium-agbl Riadb. bb*. amna CsOralum-marcury kthepont. maroon ahada. bn., hi. aM. t. eH Nockraa ...... .. i B. Cadmium matal Nigoti of ttfeka. ton iota.ca.dhO. ib. Cadmium ndraft. pwnf.. flak* 400-ft dms.. c.i.. IA. f.o.D. aWp. Cadmnim-akHnida imooofi*. ofsfiga light anada. bn. 400-B. lota H alld. t of Rockm . dots aftMa. bn. asms bsa*--B. Ml 3 Dt 326 2 It 3.34 3 50 270 301 _ Qe 3M 2.90 301 dim BramulMub Bianutfi iutoicylim. purtl porad., 50-100 Ib. dmi. won,. -- Bbrmith bioajdt, Maggot pa*d. 100-B. dim. t*oriu____ lb. BHOWncf-*. bpc. t.l. tl. tit.. .16. 0cl.mwtrat dl Dillat...._ton. 320 00 Solid# roa oil Brit .dim____ ib. 700 !! Peruvian, dim _ib. No Pncsc BON rublna lonat. non-raciniiad, (red 921. dm*.. in. add__ fb. rnnatsd. dom, dim . umo 1.0 41Bonsmtaf. itaarnad, don. bga, . imp. b.uMrignrant pbalannsn. __ltoonb. 100 00 Phitadalpfua_______Isn. 129 00 Bens paiosobafb. daluonnatad of lima (aaa Osliuormati o"oipoint 99 119.79Bona pbmsfnta. preelp |wd Calcium pnoipmt* lnba*c|. Boraa. Men. ann/d %. bga. c.i.. raonu , _ion. bub, ci.mmi..... ........Ion. 109 50 1Men. gran, dacahydreu. W%% bga. c. . worn...........ion., ob75 but, tl.. raoilta.,,..,......ion. 99 90 Men.. panlabydraM. grin. 99%V bg*. C.I.. raorka_____ Isn. 98.75 bulk. e.1.. womaisn. 7973 BBoonme,KuiSdP. M19emn.Sinohdiyudm. b9m9IiiVu).bgi., tdefL. eryst.. 99.9%, bga.. <J. rovka ton. 20200 Bono acid. Men., gran , gg.rv bga. cJ.*rofka_________ ion. 149.90 bufc. ct. rafca._M......... ton. 135975 Boron btSuorida, cyb. tl. mom. Ib. athar a>mMi. 90% BFt tanka. NOTH , ...... M. 1Bremfnd-punt., c.1. I.I.. dlvd.. dm, c. , II, dlvd buRB. oIttk.int.,t. (49.000-lb. mini. dlud.E. bl RbCkMi._:___ b. II NOTE Ohd ' pnesk for dmk. md bulk tlilppsd W cl RocUn. It.-Dtnb. bighn. Bulb l.t. pricn le-pai- Ington, Mien., frl. squkfd. Ic.-pnr-lb. lonar SiMnscmpransintM dmc. cl. Of. aouM___ _B. .54% unta. aama bulk. _____ B.- 93 Bipmclogrmn..d(Bmkn. nI.mo.bntimcasilkgsra_dsb. 6.- 2.25 Brucrm Mtdoid. 25.00091 -- M. .70 The Case ofthe Quick Curing Casting! by N-AMINOETHYLPIPERAZINE (AEP) (Scent' Jefferion't Austin Loboretoriet) .db. b k. dbi AEP is voy popular as sb epoxy cining agent. It's good for room temperature curing, for example. It works fut. MB. nSBIMAKBII How fast? mu bbk It Ein a gel time of leu than ten minutei starting atroom temperature. You should postcure, of course, to get optimum physical properties. If you wanteven faster curing you can add an equid , Amount of nonylpbenol. The gel time will drop to around four minutes. ' , mb. anmiami That's as fait as we need. What about other physical properties of the cured resin? pr. mi These AEP even-cured castings have an hod impact strength of 1.67 foot poundsper inch of notch. That's exceptionally strong! Toe com pressive strength, flexural properties and heat dis tortion temperature are alio excellent. mb. mwMAX**! Is it compatible with any kw-cost epoxy diluents? cat. pbei Definitely! Particularly compared to other aliphatic amines. AEPs compatible with pine till... asphalt..-coalitar, Which to great forreducing the overall cost of your system. ButequaDy Important, these AEP. mixtures will still give you good phy sical properties. mb. BxsiNMAxmi Speed, toughness and economy. Those are itroog arguments for AEP, db, mi If you find you need more data, write me at Jefferson Chemical Company, Inc., Box 53300$ Houston, Texas 77053. Jefferson March 18, 1U74 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER 33 < Cadmium Uthopone* ''love Bud Oil Cilcwm ghytate, 50-lb. bgi. 300-150 toifob.workt.--w 54 Calcium mopmnaH. dmt.. II, diva. E ol RockWl --....lb. Pneu vr. of Rocinta 3c. ptrtb mora. 25* Calctum aiUciia. frydratad. bga.. C.I . -v ............ m .07 Calcium Mietlt, paint grada laaa WallenonCal. Calcaim alaartta. etna, e.i. W light piadu.bblt. lame turn__ IS Min kgM mue. belt, um baa*.----------------10 uluiii toade. kbit., mih . bee*------ maroon ahada, bfi*. uma 3.44 377 431 CtrH IN audit. SM. dmt. aoy - quandly, log. to* pL -- IS. Cafltlnt don.' USP. nn. cry* Calamioa. USP. dma-- 2_28 aw 213 Zl! Catotod *u Ergeeatotooi). Calcium aeaiMe, punf. powd. dma. U.,wtot .. .................. lb CMMua cartaM. tad. geneator tut. kXWb.dmt. C3_ dhJ. _B CNcaum carbonate. nal_ toy-grd. nr tlulad, 324-mun.. bgt. c.i. .ton 33 171.40 1600 3 52 317 444 Catonal, nf. oowd. too-* dma. tab. mi----------- 0 7.96* Campnana. ee*C at. unit. worta______________--Ib. .19 Campnana omormalad. 6749% |ia* Taaapiiantl. Carapnar. manaaramilad. dma.. aga Camphor, ayn.. lach.. 1604b. dma.. S.CBOma. mart_______ B. USP. poarb.. 140-*. dma.. 4.000 *. U cr rnntu m l-ar. Ubtog. ant. I 36 apac gram. 10TD. dni . Cananga an, naiim, ama. - rtet. dma.___._- Candalika wti. cruM bgi. -- 1 13 NaPnent Na Prtcaa NoPrVcoi 13.00 14.60 Na PnM6. 49 .64 67 490 wlM-grd. Vi to IS mieront, bai.cX workt----------- too wtntogrd. 10 la 30 aucront Ogt. CX *orka._______ton. 44.00 44JO 77.40 Calcwin cartonua precip. medium, bgt, cl.. workttoo pmeip. danaa. bgt. c.1. worta Mn. turtle* wetted. bgt. c.i.. 72.00 3100 75 M Cetoun thtortt. sens.. rag grant. 77-60%. flak* Duk. C.I. workk. tir. aquNd_______ lor. 10046. bgt tl. lama 130-00 33.00 44 00 34.00 43.00 52.00 53.00 bub. CXl 0-*. bgt. cX aaaw Mt* .leu. bM3%. grux bulk, pi, ttma 42.00 3400 bull;.--.................. 894b. bgi. cx ume baa*.--ion. ton. 41.20 42.06 ClfeihB tMOliW. Iq. 40-44%. le.. i..l '"I TdSMWdiTUi ISt IiBlilfit.irtSifStilM^tan.*A' m - !l. 1U 3S%, twwbu*___________im. too 33%. aama baa*.loo. 740 CMua Utotpa, USP, gut 225-*. tot. LL.bi ague*_____ e. town citrate. punt. 2004b. bau. Sit. and,B. CaleUjn cyanamida. eiduat. enhyd. aai,Mrta --_im. min. hyd. worta........... - Ian. tiydr--t. bgt. nan*.----Ian. 103.00 <a2t.0so0 Cdkilun gkieooHa. USP, AA gnOa, 1004b. daw.. tan lata.--lb. USP. powd., IOO*. amt., lea. * ' CHBum hydride. lump, bmt, 241.000-k.tta.wgru_____ ib. CHMim nypechlanaa. 100*. dma. TOJKO*. aaip'L E. ot Rocbiaa --_ IDO fct Calcium hypophoaprta. ban. 1,000 lb. lata, werta.*. Calcium iobuta. ton. dM.______ Ib. Calcium ladIda, 3S-*. dma. worktIb. -1X40 POO 140 toe I procutnvg pui. aama d-Calcium pantothenate. USP, 100421 Ua lalt kilo. S0O4tbo leu______________ hilc 350 .30* dl-CHclum MMOCKarau. eWorld* Conaptei. <aad gradp ISO grama par *., baa than 1.00046. tot*. t.OOPm. lota and auar____ k. Calcium phoaphaw. tabasrc. raad grade, 18*% P. but. cl , u. ta.b. Bonn* 6 Coronal, fit.. lab UampalM. bam. aaraa baa* ..... lan. I.o.b. Aldan, tore and Watping Waitr. Nab. uma Ottu.lan. I.o.b. Houatoa. Tai, uma Cat*... ,1cm. dl>d. Calif.. Mm. Ulan. Arii..tan. dNd. Waab.. Ora.. Ida. MnM------ Irm Calcium phoaplule. dioaaic dihyd<e. USP. bgi. c.i.. tl. dome Irt. tquaib. _ 100 Ibt inbyd .USP. uraa buit-IOd *a de/iirhce grade, aama 1113 "HTtll Calcium pnoapbaM. manebaaic monohydrate. laod grade, bat. cl., il. worta. in. aqua*.__ 100 ma. anltyd.. food grape. aama bant ---------- im IB. 74 00 17 25 17 25 12.65 14.24 14.30 10090 101.10 meltait unit, uma etui____ Capryl aKahol, 64%. Unka. aqua*.. uc. 92-99% tanka. 1 o b worn . lb. Caprylic Kid comi. pure dma.--*. toil* I.. _______________ *. Caparcum laaa Papotr. rad). Capaicuoi ad |aaa Capaicum olaoraami CapaNum ouorum. Nf..1rom dom. papear.c 3.25 5.00 No Pncaa No Pncu. Carbuau. punf- 95% min., dma. l.cl. dha10 Carbon black, toannd. rubbar baaca. MU. cuwona. -- * jgw^cJ.^piorla.......... Ib. Carbon Hack, lumaea. taal uoufling |PEP). bulk, c.i. work!___ lb. bgt. eJ.. wont--_______Ib. gtaarai purpau lOPF), but. el, areckt. bga. e-i want. high madulua (HUPV but, cJ. bgt.c.Lttokt . . ,*. lArmadlai^ aupar^braaraa. aupar-aaraaroA (SAfl, buU. tl., bgt. tL.werkt i-rtlrilotelng (SRF). bulk. cX NaPrtcw NoPricu Tint bgt. ci, want _______ * notwauinlng (NS), bgt, el.. workt............. Carbon Meek, pigment, nigh color, bwadt bga.. ci,, wont--10. medium oow uncomerauad. bga. e.i. wont n Carbon Hick oil. barge, l.o b. Quf uhrwnw.... -.................. be* Carbon diaudidt SS^al. dma.. Ci. wont In. aqua*. - lb. lantt W ao'iakl , ib. Carbdn toraoKUnaa. CP. denaumara. dmt. c.i, frt. ltd_______ ib. tack., dmt. cl. U. m. iild____ b. Unk transport (<ikv 4.000 gilt) In. add............ m. Carboaymathyl callulau laaa CklC). Cardaman all. HF. boU--_______b. Cardamon aaad. daeart. Altppay. Quatamaian. Oman. Ailoppav. bgt- Guilamalan, bgt. Carolina. Na. 40, NF. bulk. lOCHb. Waa> mere, dlvd-- Cantaub4 waa. Caart Ho 1. yaltov bgt. un totu. No. 3. ervto. bgt. Ion Ult_. North Country No. Z crude, bgt, ton tot.............................. raid., purt. bot. tan lou. _ Carnauba Wax. Pamahyba. No t, yellow, bgt. crude, tan Iota. NoPrtou. 2.73 No Pncat 275 Pananyto. No. 3, eruda, bgt. ton *ta._ -lb. mid., pun. bga . lan ion. PewOareo camauba wax. 20 to <00 maak. 10c par *. mgnar. b-Canlana. m sagatab* an. umi- aond auapanwan. 400.000 A undo par gram.. 33 *a. er man.------_b. 1.9 d-Caner*. 25-lb. CIW --__ Utovcma. 24-b ent______ Caacara aagrada bark. Mil.. 160 00 4000 4 75 4 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER March 18, 1974 Ctaaid. Imp, Induat.. Kid-ontip.. Erd, JOunaab. Arpannna. )l. c.i, ai-dack Eulirn aaapon._____ * AualraHan, add*, aama baait Auatrakan, mdual, uma m inan. ad**, uma bun. --.*. Francn. adibla. uma baa*.*. Franch. mdualnal. uma No Pncu Na Phuu Na Pneu Haw Zealand, adtoa. uma bu* ................ * Haw Zealand, mduaL. aama JO .66 Caaali. Padug. "A.~ bgt. -e." egthydvoaanitad, bgt. c.i. -- *. tuNonalad 50%. dmt, wonu. -- *. 75V dmt, workt...................Ib. Coaler oil. raw. Na I. Brat, inkt.fct - Ne SlechiNV*a. U6P 6-10 -- *. raid, daod, tollB. bMwn.J.10 dmt. ____It. dabysriied. beoitd. unu.--._*. dahydrilad. unbodied. Unit-- * hydroganatad bgt. c.i ............ *. Sullonalad.50%dnii. aorta--lb. 75% tot. wertt , Ib. Catlor L aoda daltydralad. dmt. b RtonoMia acid ... . _____ lb. Catlor Pbmaca. Plalnwaw. Tai Caalortum. nac. cna. ___ ib. ayn., ana. ___ ib. Cattclto. CP cryat, dmt. dlyd___ Ib aitll pura. crral. uma bane _ Ib Cauatlc pdiaan (act Pblaah. cauala). CaualK toea laaa Saoa. cauai*|. Cadarlulail. dma.. cru...................ib. Cadarwood oil. twu. dma, cna--Ib. Virgin*. --____-- ------------ - lb. Cadrol. dmaib. Codry) acetate, dma -- Caury uad. Fmnto. bgi. Indian, bga. Caiary aaad oil .................. *. CalluUU acatita. Mata. bga. 1.1*. dNd E____ __ ____ lb. powd, bgi, l.i. dlvd E. *. Cadatoa ecateia eutyaait pond. HePuea. 21..061062* 210 Na Pneu. No Pncaa No Pneu. 47* .49 NoPricu No Pneu No Pneu No Pneu NePncaa No Pncn No Pncaa No Prjeaa No Pneu No Pneu No Pneu 3710 15.00 600 I SS 290 30.D0 16.00 6.60 7.00 No Pncaa No Pncaa. 3.16 <4$ 27% buiyiyl conaant bga- dNd. P ........lllllll .............. *4 36% bulyryl content, bga. dlud. nm 40%tb-u-lyr'y-l-c-o-nt--en-t-, -b-gtr.--diePd* CekiAdu gum. pure, ihigtr**. bgt; '22000-*. Mta or more woi1u.1rt.aM.----.*. atd_ law er medium v*. bga, tl, IX I* aild. .74 J4* 46* TPk CaOt, tot, worbt. Catyl aKDhel. NF. cnt. el, tl, dNd Cetyl akohol. tslra, dNd. E.-- (are* tana bu*_ Chalk lut Calcium carbonalal. Chamoenla nowait Hungarian. Qumcnnaml. blue. Hungarian -- *. 240.00 Charcoal, hardwood, mien. lump. 4B. papal bga, c.i. 12000 10-fc. pacer bgt. c.i. worta.--.-- 20-*. paper bga.. c.i. >0600 .144 DO Charcoal, hardwood, rttarl. bnquati. 4-*. papu bgt, cl. worktton. 20-lb. pap*r bga, cl. tab. att"' CMAopeoiuni oil. NF K nt __ ib. CNcage Kid. dry. tbU, irt. tlld--* paata. mm . aaraa baa*_______ lb. CNaral, tun. 94% min, unka. --v -......... - lb CNordene, agncunural, dma. c.i ffl. an - ...in 100JO 12200 110.00 108.00 104.00 440 3.76 340 CP, dlna, CJ, tl, workt- .* ChurlnalM paratRn. kJba ad gradm^ lw.. dNd. Zona I----------- lb. dmt, tl. dlad. Zone 1 --____lb. Chlenneted perattm paint and teal- tAl gradidNd. tone l -- * CMariniMd pararfm. puaitonr grioa. lw. dNd. Zona 1.. * dmt. li, dNd. Zona 1 70V dmi.c.1, Zona 1------------- * .12* .2123*% .1IS4%* 23* l.c.i. (40 tot or moral,.uma bant 23* 24* Zona 2 <c par *. Ngher. Zona 3.2c. par pound lughar ChMrmaUd rubber. 4. 10, 20 cpe. bga. tl, tax wonu E._--*. 125epa, bgt. U. worlaE-------IB 300 Cpa, bgt. II, want 6 --lb Cniprlna. Unka t-ng* umU worta Id.aqua*100 *1 HU. ting* unite 6i% .71* .61* 3.74 3.75 4.09 4 00 Chknirw. ion cpnttaito. aurilipla unat 6 oau. warka. In. aquaM. umabta*. 100*1 No Pneu lean umabatu----100*1 No Pneu 2ea/a ttmebat*---- I0b*t NoPnou 1 car. tame beau.----199 k* Ho Pneu . NOTE A dwcouni el I4e. par curt. 15 anewad ducaa to centuawt who provida Htof own ttiAaponaitoi qu*maint Chtooaeatic acid, mcno, Hch, flakw, 91%, 3004b. an. cJ, tl. I o.b.workt -........-- - - P> 2Chtoa*uuncleauana. luh, kq, dmt. ci. ti, kt. abd.-- *. 21 60 22 ttok!dime06M_______ *. 71 128 n.ChtoMflBAt dmt. tL art la unit Hnbtaa. o-CntooanHrw, aoUd. ton. cJ..-- b. unit aama baa*----* p-ChloraanUr* aond. dmt. e l, in. flake, ton, tl, tarna baait-- c-Cniorobaumoahyde, dim, wertt. p-CIUOtcbeualdthyde. dma, *t or more, workt-- o-Chtoabancoic Kid. drill, workt---------- worta._ p-ChlcrabariMyc ac* dma . 400-lb. loiaar moia. workt--ID. CMoroloim, teen, unit dlvd,--.* NF Unit mm.. 4 000 gaU dlvd .10. 2 CmoroXn4roaniline. oaate. dlvd. E. 100% Man. --........-- Ib. powd, dlvd. 6, lOCRu baa*__ --lb. 4 CntoO'2.ndroaniiina. powd, dlvd. E jp. 4-Ch*io*2.AiUO0hnel. iscn, pule. drnk,1rl. aUd --lb 4-ChU'a-2-n4rslPluin4. Uch, told. dma . in. aid *. 6-Chloro.2.niiroluana. lecn. aolid, dma, Irt. akd. ----______ *. o-Cniarapnandi. arm cl, Irt. aqua*. P-ClUarbbMnoi, dir*. quid_______ Chioroccnn. conn, 224-10. cyla. in cquaid ____ --_--. ChioroeuJtonc Kut unka. cquaid.-------- li. Chalina bcarlrata. cryaa. 96% ntn, ISO-*. Util. dNd.---- *. Choline pauonda. bod grade, 70V quaout le. tod-.t- ol Rockrta. *.' ..imabaau- 49% dry tupptouat tl. 40200 Ba.atoioaoaia---- * li- 30209 *t. awma bu*JO. Ctobna ehionda. ptunax 1094b. dauait aama baait--*. Chebna drhyWrooan ctarala. aama nw m Chroma green, CP ealta laghlr bgt. dlvd. L of Ikockiu______ *. ughl. bet. tame baa* madwak bgt. aama bu*-- aitra dup. bgt. uma 0ta m. Chroma erpnga, CP, bgt, SNC. E. of n--w-- m 72jf __ rT'1 ,.12 * ---ivn. . :,12* no ii>w n'* > --"i . 140 . . 140 -- .62 ' 71 63 72 .64 .73 .B - '40 24 Chromic uid. 99%V MU dmt. cJ. Irt. aqluuald. grd. Uumma FPi Chromium acaiate. anln. 7*%, toe. 400.2.000-* tol. work! . b. Chromium fluonde, dmt, Ll, workt......... i * Chromiuei ok>dt Iwdulad. SO-b. bgt. .r . In slid_______ lb. pu>* bgt. ex m. Hid---- * Cinnamic aicahdl. 24-*. ena--_ b. Cinnaiaic aldehyde, cna. dma __ lb. Cinnamon. Ceylon. No. z bgt ---- *. No "0000." bgt- .. lb. SeyeMllu. bgt. Cinnamon od USP. dma_ Cinnamon bark ail. bolt. 11.2104 1.16 .57 64S 76.00 600 13000 228 5DO 4 24 4.51 5.71 No Pneu Citnc aud. USP. hydros*, grin, 250. b. dma, c.i, Irt. WM -- *. Citric KM. USP tohyd, gmn. 10046. 6a,,e.l, kill*Ib. * .42* Citric Kid pgwdar l*e Mglto. Pneu Wen ol Denvat l*c.tigha> Olronal* art, Ceylon, tot --_ JM *-f ................. - 2.10 240 22N0o Pneu ayn, toa. 2.10329 ,3.40 240 Cnrortolyi acatata. 24-*. cnt_ 215 : 224 CUrortolyl lorrnau. 26*. ent- 309 3JS Civat. anil, ban ---- ntl, bolt. Clay ball, torn, air lloitad. bgt. tl. Term. , ,, ..... ..ton, dom, cruanad. moutura-upai 13.74 9-00 1600 2490 1300 22J0 lent bu*. e-i. Tenrv --ton. C*y baa. Imp. nrbotlad. bga- c.i. All i -Ion. lump, bulk. Great Laku--ton. Clay China (au Kasen|. Cwanara' napnitit 140*F. Hath *nk- cart New Jartay or Npw Tort,,, , gel. Group 3-------gH Houeien, Tenea----,--gtl mi. .*. 1 6. tun. toiid. dma. hi and , 1.7, wen. wiid. dmt, in. Hid . C*<k bud an. USP. dmt_______ nnr 3CS C5 <Si <S3 OS r-_i <-n CQ gat fri azgfljMa-^A bUD PPM VINYL CHLORIDE with portable G.C. Cancer link sparks interest in vinyl chloride analysis Taking advantage of current con cern over the possible carcinogenic effects of vinyl chloride, instrument makers are touting various tech niques for monitoring the compound in industrial plants. Wilks Scientific says infrared is the way to go, and offers its MIRAN II ambient air monitor, which can automatically sample six or more remote loca tions. Areas, inc.. cites advantages for gas chromatography and notes that its Model 705 pollution monitor, developed to detect chlorinated or ganics in waste water, can be mod ified to measure atmospheric vinyl chloride. Similarly, Bendix will ad just its total hydrocarbons analyzer, which uses flame ionization detec tion, to respond to vinyl chloride. And Perkin-Elmer says that its Model M2A-1100 multiple gas ana lyzer is also suitable for industrial monitoring, including vinyl chloride. and gradient accessories have been brought out by Laboratory Data Con trol, Perkin-Elmer, Du Pont, Waters Associates, and Molecular Separations, Inc. Laboratory Data Control's constaMetric II (Circle 208) is designed to provide pulseless flow at pressures to 5000 p.s.i. The unit is capable of both constant pressure and constant flow, either of which can be selected and changed even in the middle of a run by a front panel control. In the constantflow mode, flow rates from 0.01 to 10 ml. per minute can be dialed, with pressure the high and low limits. In the constant-pressure mode, any pressure can be selected with flow rate the lim its. A feature of the $3489 constaMetric II is its ability to provide the drive for a strip-chart recorder so that chart speed can be varied with flow rate. It is thus possible to select the exact num ber of milliliters per inch for the chro matogram regardless of flow rate. Perkin-Elmer has added a flow-gov erned abscissa drive for the recorder (Circle 209) as an option on its Model 1220 liquid chromatograph. The com pany notes that, by providing a chro matogram calibrated directly in sol vent elution in milliliters, as much as four fifths of the experimental time previously required can be saved. Good resolution can be maintained even with high flow rates. Du Pont's Model 833 flow controller provides a choice of constant pressure or constant flow operation as well (Cir cle 210). The unit, priced at about $1800, can be used with Du Pont's sin gle-pump gradient elution accessory to provide constant flow even with solvent programing operation. Waters Associates has focused on in jection, bringing out Model U6K (Cir cle 211). The unit is septumless, employing a sample loading loop. The loop makes it possible to load at atmo spheric pressure and inject at operating pressure without stopping flow, at up to 6000 p.s.i. The U6K handles sam ples from 1 microliter to 2 ml. It costs $1200 as an accessory. Molecular Separations, Inc., has de signed a simple, low-cost gradient elu tion chamber (Circle 212) to go with its low-cost chromatograph. It consists of a pressure vessel that is filled with one solvent. The other solvent is pumped into the chamber where the two are mixed thoroughly. Valving makes it possible to change to 100% of the pumped solvent at any point in the gradient curve. The company hasn't set a price on the device as yet but says that its chromatograph, equipped with the gradient elution capability, will still be less than $3000. Automatic samplers for HPLC have been the result of development efforts at Du Pont and Altex Scientific. Du Pont's Model 834 (Circle 213) provides automatic measurement and injection of as many as 95 samples. Injection is made through high-pressure valves, and there is a choice of replicate injec tion, new sample, or solvent flush-after each analysis. Price is about $5000. The Altex unit (Circle 214), being readied for September delivery, will handle 36 samples using a valve-loop injector. It will have seven different sample repeat modes of operation and a manual mode. The price will be less than $4000. New packings and columns also have appeared. Perkin-Elmer's Sil-X line consists of microparticulate packings produced with an extremely narrow range of sizes. Waters Associates has its new ^-Styragel columns and Hydro gel packings. Reeve Angel's offering is a Partisil line of microparticulate silica gel packings. New LiChrosorb columns from Altex Scientific feature replace able frits in end fittings for easy chang ing when columns become plugged. Ughtner's automatic TLC system Hewlett-Packard's gas chromatograph Gas chromatography has undergone another design metamorphosis. The re sult is a chromatograph not quite like familiar units. And a couple of new in tegrators have also appeared that translate some of the new advantages to conventional chromatographs. The new chromatograph is HewlettPackard's 5830A reporting gas chroma tograph (Circle 218). A compact digital processor is contained within a large oven module that also includes all of the chromatographic hardware--col umn oven, injectors, detectors, elec trometers, and thermal conductivity bridges. The processor operates the en tire instrument. It runs the chromato graph, accepts data from the detectors, and generates a labeled chromatogram, and, if desired, a complete analytical report. Communication with the outside world is carried on through a typewrit erlike GC terminal from which the en tire system is controlled. The keyboard is used to enter instrument parame ters. A printer/plotter provides a rec ord of each setting change, draws and labels chromatograms, prints the ana lytical reports, and on command pro vides a written list of all instrument settings. A feature of the new system is that it can accomplish what H-P terms time programing. Both the data reduction parameters and the analytical condi tions can be changed during a run. Chart speed can be varied for part of a chromatogram, for example. Or it is possible to specify the way in which in dividual fused peaks are to be treated. Among hardware features is an oven designed to control without coolant to 35 C. and which has a very rapid cool down rate without undershooting. Temperature control is accomplished using pushrods that narrow or widen a port in the oven door. Price of the 5830A varies upward from $7995 de pending on accessories. H-P has also applied some of the same design concept to its new Model 3380A reporting integrator (Circle 219). The unit is designed to operate with existing gas or liquid chromatographs. It provides chromatogram and quanti tative results and a listing of integrat ing parameters in one report. Price of the unit is $5200. Similar design concepts are incorpo rated by Spectra-Physics in its new $5600 Autolab System 1 computing in tegrator (Circle 220). Designed solely for chromatographic data processing, its controls are labeled in familiar chromatographic terms. Spectra-Phys ics notes that the unit integrates the entire area under a curve. And, unlike systems that sample signals, the unit continuously processes the data. Pa rameter changes can be made auto matically during an analysis, and the unit has a built-in printer that pro vides a complete report. Price of the unit is $5600. Among other gas chromatography developments, Perkin-Elmer has in creased the input-output capability of its PEP-2 data system from eight chro matographs to 16. With the system (Circle 221), P-E notes, all 16 chroma tographs can operate at their maxi mum rates of data production. Hard ware is also now available for a tele phone link between PEP-2 and most large central computers. P-E also has a new version of its Model 3920 gas chromatograph, pro viding two channels with separate elec tron capture detectors in each channel (Circle 222). An all-glass version of the Model 3920 is also now available, with a glass tubing connection between the end of the column and the input of the flame ionization detector. Bendix Corp.'s process instruments division has come up with a gas chro matograph compact enough to fit in a 13- by 17-inch tabletop space. The unit, Series 2700 (Circle 223), incorpo rates all of the features usually found in a standard-size chromatograph, in cluding a self-monitoring system that warns of incorrectly set parameters. A single-column instrument, the Series 2700 is computer compatible, has an all-glass flow system, and temperature programing capability. Basic price is $2390. Turning drums and moving arms provide a visual fascination to Lightner Instrument Co.'s new Model 7300A au tomatic thin-layer analytical system (Circle 224). But the advantage for the TLC chromatographer, Lightner ex plains, is that the precision and repro ducibility of the machine make quanti tation practical. Price of the unit is $8750. In operation, spotting is fully automated. But the techniques are the same as used manually. A capillary spots each plate with a sample from a 100-sample storage magazine. After spotting, the capillary is cleaned with a solvent. Standard 5- by 20-cm. plates are fed automatically to the spotter from a magazine. They then are placed (by an arm using vacuum) in development tanks, 10 of which are located on a turntable. After development for a pre set time, each plate is removed from a tank and dried. The plate is then scanned by a UV-visible detector and the results recorded on a strip-chart re corder or digitized. A different approach to quantitation of thin-layer chromatography comes from Camag, Inc. The company's Eluchrom (Circle 225) is a $5500 device for the automatic elution of separated spots directly from a TLC plate, with out the need for scraping off the adsor bent layer. Up to six sample zones can be eluted simultaneously with, Camag says, bet ter than 98% recovery of the sample. Adsorbent is removed from around de sired sample spots with a special mill ing device. Elution heads clamp over the spots and solutes are then eluted automatically by a preselected amount of solvent. The extracts, delivered to cuvettes, can be subjected directly to quantitative analyses by a spectropho tometer or fluorometer. Instruments aim at clinical use Many instrument types have general applicability to clinical work--chroma tography, for example. However, two new instruments on display at the Pittsburgh Conference have been de signed for specific clinical analyses. One of these is Beckman's Model 25-7 dissolution analysis system (Circle 216). The unit is designed to aid phar maceutical research scientists and manufacturers in monitoring the time required for tablets and capsules to dissolve, an analysis required for Food and Drug Administration certification. The instrument is used with a dissolu tion apparatus, available on the mar ket, that simulates gastric action upon six tablets simultaneously. Each tablet is contained in a wire mesh basket and rotated within a jar of solution. In sequence, continuously, or at preselected intervals, the Beckman unit draws off samples of solution and passes them through a Model 25 UV spectrophotometer. Six flow cells for the samples plus a seventh for a stan dard are used. The other instrument is the Model 3010 trace metals analyzer (Circle 217) from Environmental Sciences Asso ciates. The company says the unit can measure lead in whole blood and urine in three minutes compared to a normal 30 minutes. Use of an ESA-developed ion exchange reagent eliminates all sample preparation. The unit is able to analyze micro or finger-prick samples and, ESA says, provides a total accura cy of 4.0 microgram %>. This combi nation of advantages, the company points out, makes it possible to use the instrument in neighborhood clinics and in vehicles, as well as for routine, mass analysis of blood lead levels in clinical laboratories. The Model 3010 is described by ESA as a "third generation derivative" of anodic stripping voltammetry. The unit uses a large crystalline graphite electrode and mechanical stirring of the solution. Beckman's dissolution analysis system 32 C&EN March 25. 1974 Top of the news toward severe anti-oil industry legisla tion. And chemical producers may need relief from profit margin price controls in order to afford high-cost feedstocks. Demand Elasticity: One of the biggest imponderables in the oil-chemical scene is demand elasticity--i.e., the sensitivity of demand to price. For the moment, Arab producers are sticking to the tax ref erence price of $11.65/bbl., which is three times higher than the tab assessed a year ago. Saudi Arabia, apparently alone, wants a lower price, presumably to delay development of alternative oil sources and to prevent economic hardship or col lapse in oil-consuming countries. Whether Saudi Arabia does or does not get its way, increased imports of Arab oil will push both gasoline and chemical prices higher because foreign oil will ac count for a larger share of U.S. demand. But whether tabs will climb enough to significantly cut demand is anyone's guess. Oil and chemical companies have esti mated demand elasticity for gasoline (a 1-3% boost in price will cut demand 1%). Few, however, have any real confidence in such numbers. The rapid surge in March driving and the Canadian experi ence suggest that present higher retail gas tabs are not proving discouraging. And, little demand cutback that can be attrib uted to higher chemical prices has been noted in Europe and the U.S. Hence, chemical producers have little hope that gasoline demand elasticity will ease feed stock shortages. Should Saudi Arabia's view ultimately prevail, the landed U.S. price of imported crude might drop as low as S7/bbl.--a price at which alternative oil sources (shale, tar sands, secondary and tertiary recovery) approach economic viability. Temporarily lower tabs may also develop from the present rush by refiners to draw down high fuel oil stocks. Lower prices, however, could produce mixed blessings. While they could ease balance-of-payment problems and restrain inflation a bit, they could also stimulate demand. And that, given the lack of refinery and chemical plant capacity, could worsen chemical shortages. Allocations: Ending of the embargo will not lead to termination of mandatory allocation programs because energy shortages will remain indefinitely. FEO is mum on future changes in allocation regulations. But it's no secret that present allocation rules have been something less than a smash hit. Despite priority status, chemical makers have not generally re ceived 100% of 74 feedstock require 12 CHEMICAL WEEK March 27, 1974 ments. Reasons: diversion of crude from chemical-producing refiners to indepen dents; captive chemical use requirements of refiners; bartering; failure to mandate allocation for downstream (especially benzene) chemical products. Benzene has recently been placed un der allocation. But there's considerable doubt that present benzene allocation procedures will give benzene chemical consumers 100% of current requirements. Present regulations place the burden of proof of need on the buyer. That means buyers must shop the market, obtain evi dence of unavailability and petition FEO to assign a supplier. Moreover, some chemical firms interpret FEO regulations as applicable only to benezene actually isolated as such during refining. That in terpretation could give refiners some lee way in determining how much feedstock they wish to sell or use captively one way or another. And FEO has yet to get around to assigning suppliers. Other quirks in allocation regulations are keeping chemical firms from getting 100% of butane requirements. And al though propane supplies have improved, because of the mild winter, pipeliners are now bidding for the gas. Petrochemical companies, including members of the Petrochemical Energy Group, are seeking more meaningful FEO action to guarantee 100% feedstock availability. Their proposals include sta tistical monitoring of production (CW Feb. 13, p. 12), faster administrative procedures and supplier assignment. Full allocation to meet current require ments, however, will not necessarily solve longer-range feedstock problems. Be cause refinery capacity will essentially be static in the U.S. for at least several years, chemical feedstock demand will take an increasingly larger share of refinery out put. That puts it on a collision course with gasoline demand. Some chemical makers would like to see FEO maintain refinery yield pro grams and hold back gasoline produc tion. Although such a move might not prove popular among oil companies (considering their present public image problems), it would at least shift the blame for gasoline shortages to the gov ernment, and make it easier to cash in on the more profitable prices available on feedstocks sold as chemicals. But the President's problems work against that scenario. The embargo's termination will provide a modest measure of feedstock relief. But for all practical purposes, chemical shortages will continue--and possibly worsen. VCM exposure to be cuts co The Occupational Safety and Health-* Administration, bowing to public pres^ sures, said last week that it will issue *> temporary emergency standard for viny chloride monomer exposure of parts/million. In doing so, OSHA re jected the recommendation of the Na tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to limit industrial concentra tions to below detectable levels (CW Washington Newsletter, Mar. 20). OSHA's action is sure to spark labor protests. Complains an AFL-CIO spokes man, for example: "Does OSHA think the workers are going to take this? . . . There are five B.F. Goodrich plants where their own voluntary standard al ready is 50 ppm., and Dow Chemical is at a 10-ppm. level at its monomer plants." VCM, the starting, material for poly vinyl chloride production, has been em broiled in controversy since early last month, when several deaths from a rare liver cancer among workers at a B.F. Goodrich PVC plant were disclosed (CW, Feb. 13, p. 14). In reaching a decision, OSHA consid ered at least two alternatives: the zero ex posure standard or the industry-spon sored 50-parts/million level. The zero exposure standard would have required the use of oxygen-supplied respirators in the presence of any detectable atmo spheric VCM. Packaging Rules Due: Meanwhile, Washington sources last week were pre dicting that the Food and Drug Adminis tration would soon clamp restrictions on the use of PVC in packaging food. Al though an FDA spokesman confirmed that new rules governing PVC use in food packaging were "in the works," he would not say when they will be disclosed or what they will include. While tight restrictions on PVC packaging would deal a severe blow to plastics manufacturers, most firms take a wait-and-see attitude. An industry ob server doubts, however, that FDA will is sue an outright ban on PVC in all pack aging. VCM is also under attack from Ralph Nader's Health Research Group. Last week the organization asked Clairol Cos metics to recall voluntarily any hair spray containing the chemical. "We don't think there's any need for a recall," asserts a Clairol spokesman. He adds that the VCM levels present no danger to a hair spray user. Clairol says it has not used if VCM in its hair sprays since last summer, d when feedstock shortages developed. SAUDI'S YAMANI (second from left) and other Arab leaders meet to okay end of oil embargo. Top of the news ------------------------- <sr Embargo is off, but shortages are still on Only modest measure of relief expected by chemical makers An ephemeral easing of selected petro chemical feedstocks shortages is likely to be the immediate result of last week's de cision by Arab oil ministers to lift the em bargo on oil shipments to the U.S. and most European countries. But the magni tude of the relief will be limited. And in the longer term, a host of complex fac tors--ranging from Mideast oil produc tion levels to Watergate-inspired political decisions in Washington--are expected to be decisive in determining the economic fortunes of the chemical industry during the next several years. Future chemical shortages could be more severe--or less-- than at present. The U.S. shortfall in petroleum is now about 2 million bbls./day. But the extent to which the shortage will be trimmed won't be known until the Arab states de cide when and at what level production will be restored. Indications are that Ara bian oil producers will peg initial produc tion rates at no more than pre-embargo levels--21 million bbls./day. Given that development, says a Federal Energy Of fice spokesman, chemical feedstocks will still be 4% short Theoretically, increased oil availability should result in increased benzene pro duction because major refiners with aro matics extraction capability will be re quired to divert less oil, under allocation programs, to independent refiners that lade aromatic extraction units. And the newly mandated price spread between benzene and toluene may encourage more toluene dealkylation to benzene. But the additional supplies will be small, since aromatics extraction units are now running at near capacity rates. Easing of the embargo will also tend to make more propane and propylene avail able as refiners step up cat cracking either by increasing throughput or increasing the severity. Ethylene production, how ever, save for the boost from larger pro pane supplies, will not be improved. Nor will the end of the embargo have any real effect on butane and butylene, which re finers will keep for alkylation. Sadder Scenarios: A number of major petrochemical producers see little or no benefit stemming from the end of the em bargo. For starters, they note that there is nothing to prevent the Arab states from turning the tap off again if further prog ress fails to materialize in settling the ex plosive Israeli-Arab differences. And even if Saudi Arabia forges ahead with plans to increase oil production to 11.5 million bbls./day by '76, there will be no additional refinery capacity to refine it in the U.S. Some prognisticators even doubt there will be sufficient U.S. refinery ca pacity available to process North Slope crude when it starts flowing five years hence. As a result, the embargo's termi nation will merely shift feedstocks from a crude to a capacity limited basis. According to some estimates, U.S. re finery capacity (now 14 million bbls./day) will have to expand by at least 8.5 million bbls./day by '80--a figure equivalent to 34 refineries rated at 250,000 bbls./day. For a number of rea sons, however, oil companies are believed loath to go for broke on refinery building. Certainty of oil supply is one reason: the Arab states, for example, have been acquiring a larger share of oil well pro duction ("participation"). The unresolved political situation is a second obstacle. And, in the U.S., proposals to reduce tax incentives, nationalize the industry, create a federal oil corporation, tax excess profits, etc., also are discouraging refinery expansion. The basic chemical feedstock shortage, however, will not be alleviated until more refineries are onstream. And some chemical companies won't increase their capacity until a buildup in oil refin eries is clearly evident. Gasoline and Politics: Some oil com panies contend that increased crude will improve benzene availability to chemical users because refinery throughput-will ex pand and because the chemical industry has top priority for feedstocks. Moreover, at present prices, aromatics are worth a good deal more to refiners as chemicals than as gasoline components. But spokes men for some chemical firms are dubious about significant easing in aromatic sup plies. Some chemical company energy execu tives believe that a rapid rise in gasoline consumption may.force refiners to divert aromatics into gasoline to bolster octane requirements. Lower lead levels in gaso line, due in July, could accelerate the di version. Moreover, the belief is common in some chemical circles that the Nixon Administration cannot politically afford three-hour gasoline lines as impeachment proceedings against the President prog ress. There is little doubt that oil refiners will go all out for whatever maximum gasoline production will be permitted by FEO. But "unless gasoline production is held back," says one chemical energy ex pert, "chemical shortages will grow worse." Chemical producers concede readily that aromatics are worth more as chem icals than as gasoline. But they note that more than money is now at stake for pe troleum processors. Deterioration in gasoline availability could push Congress 41 March 27, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 11 10 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Tuesday, March 19, 1974 Bristol-Myers Ignores Hair-Spray Recall Bid - A WAI.I. STSEKT JOt'KNAI. SetBI Rmindup Bristol-Myers Co. shrugged off a de mand by a Ralph Nader gToup that it recall two hair sprays because they contain vinyl chloride, a chemical that has been linked with a rare type of liver cancer in industrial workers. A spokesperson for the company's Clairol division said both hair spraysMiss Clairol and Summer Blond--had been discontinued last May, partly be cause of problems linked with the petro chemical shortage. There Is "very lit tle" left on store shelves, the company said. The sprays contained about 15 parts of vinyl chloride per million parts of spray. As users were exposed lo it lor only "a couple of seconds" a day, "the concentration Isn't considered sufficient to be harmful," the spokesperson said. By comparison, it required an exposure of 250 parts vinyl chloride per million parts of air for four hours a day for two and a half years to produce cancer In rats, the company claimed. Demand for recall of the hair sprays came from the Health Research Group In Washington, according to the Asso ciated Press. VRD 0002014593 J Chemical Marketing Reporter 2/25/74 Aerosol Safety Challenged, Defended /* jfvc viel'Gas Field jg* As a Consumer Panel Meets in Capital Chemical industry manufacturers strongly defended the safety of aerosol products during two days of hearings by the Consumer Product Safety Com mission in Washington, D. C. last week. Representatives of Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association and National Paint & Coatings Association told the com mission that there is no need for additional regulation on aerosols. The Center for Science & the Public In terest (CSPI) had petitioned the commis sion to remove all toxic and unsafe aerosol products from the market; to test the ingre dients used in all the spray products for carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects before marketing, and conduct an educational campaign on the dangers of aerosol spray. Dr. Albert J. Fritsch, appearing for CSPl, Stressed the need for a full investiga tion of household aerosol sprays. He warned particularly of the dangers of oven cleaners and room fresheners. Dr. Fritsch said that often consumers follow TV commercials and use a large number of various products without being aware that they are "quite expensive both environmentally and consumer-wise." The CSMA charged that the petition had unduly alarmed the public by distorting the true situation. It stressed that the instances were infrequent and must be appraised in light of the billions of aerosol containers purchased. CSMA told the commission that there is a long history of industry concern about the public safety and cited an impressive rec ord of research. CSMA counsel John D. Connor said that we live in a world^of inherent hazard, but Continued on Page 13 V Phthalates: No Food Hazard The present use of phthalates in food packaging appears to present no health hazard to consumers, according to the Institute of Food Technologists. Defending the products against consumerist complaints, an institute panel of scientists recently concluded that "human experience over a quarter of a century of use suggests an extremely low toxic potential." The amount of phthalatc product vinyl packaging material - used by the food industry is relatively minor, the panel reports, although it goes on to say that the reasons for this are principally economic and not related to the pres ence or absence of phthalates. In any case, the panel says, phthal ates are used in the food industry only as additives to plastic packaging materials that may come into contact with some foods. Thus, the panel concludes: "Phthal ates could enter the food supply only in minute quantities, by migration from the package or as contaminants from the environment." Total annual production of the com pounds is in the neighborhood of a billion pounds, of which food-related products consume about 2 percent. The majority of plastic food packag ing films use other, non-phthalate modi fied materials, including polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene, the panel says. As for the exact route of human me tabolism of phthalates, not much is known, the panel admits. There is, however, a report of a work er who accidentally swallowed 10 grams of dibutyl phthalate - a massive dose by toxicity testing standards. He developed temporary skin and kid ney problems, but recovered completely within two weeks, with no after-effects, the panel asserts. s. . ' r iv> - ' May Supply Europe Petrochem Feeds, Recovered Sulfur The Soviet Union has just opened up a natural gas field geographically ca-^ pable of supplying gas, sulfur and con densate to markets in Eastern and Western Europe. The latest gas-producing center is lo cated at Orenburg, within relatively easy access to Eastern Europe. Discussions are under way between the Soviet Union and East European countries for joint construc tion of a 2,000-mile pipeline that would carry gas from the newly-opened field to a site along the borders of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. The Russians, with French technical as sistance, have now put on stream the first of six sulfur-recovery units, each capable of processing 175 billion cubic feet of gas a year. After completion of the six units, the complex will be capable of processing 1 tril lion cubic feet of gas a year, recovering 800,000 tons of sulfur and 2 million tons of condensate - a petrochemical feedstock. Total Soviet output of natural gas last year was 8.3 trillion cubic feet. Hooker BTF Expansion Getting an Early Start-Up Hooker Chemicals & Plastics Cor poration says it will speed up comple tion of a multi-stage expansion of its benzotrifluoride pl^nt at Niagara Falls, N. Y., that will more than dou ble the firm's BTF capacity. The proj ect is now expected to be completed and on stream by late 1974. A significant portion of the initial phase oVf.t,he}. ,,expansion program, involving con fe Continued on Page 24 j' Goodrich confirms 5rh cancer death; i 6th employe is said to have disease -i By DONALD M. HOUGHTON lem. Goodrich produces both chemicals, rich deaths wilt now give doctors their pi: and DENNIS POLITE both of which are basic to the plastics first opportunity to use a specific cancer' Loulxvlllt Timis Staff Writers dustry. detection test, a so-called alpha-foeto pro Tlie B. F. Goodrich Co. today con Block said 37 other employes already tein test, to detect any similar tumors at a firmed a fifth employe death from a rare' have been slated for liver tests in three very early stage. form of cancer of the liver, and medical to six months. A hearing is scheduled to This might allow for a Lumor to be authorities say a sixth employe is now morrow in Frankfort on a move to lower removed if detected early enough, raving hospitalized with the disease. the permissible maximum exposure to a patient's life, he said. Block said medi The disease is angiosarcoma, a form of vinyl chloride fumes to 50 parts per mil cal officials are studying the possibility cancer so rare that medical records in lion of the chemical to a million parts of Of using radioactive mntcral to treat the dicate only 21 known deaths from the air. The standard has been 10 times that cancer because surgical removal has not disease in this country last year. An inter amount. been possible in advanced stages of angio national effort is now under way to study The labor-department physician said sarcoma. the possible link between the disease and the most recent case will allow medical The confirmation of the fifth death employment in the vinyl- and polyvinyl experts to attempt new methods in de chloride industries. tecting and treating angiosarcoma. Dr. J. Bradford Block, medical consult Dr. Block said knowledge of the Good Sec GOODRICH Back page, coL 3, this section ant for the Kentucky Department of Labor, said the man now hospitalized with the disease was one of 55 employes at the Goodrich plant on Bells Lane who were retested after earlier tests indicated possible liver problems. He said the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, showed a "borderline abnormality" in the first test, but was found to have the cancer after a biopsy, or liver sample, was taken. Block also reported that 16 of the 55. persons who were retested have shown a similar abnormality or worse abnormal!-' ties in the second test than they showed in the first test. Further, he said five per sons, some of whom may be included among the 16, have shown new- abnormal ities since the earlier tests were taken. All will be retested, and there are indi cations that the company may test more than the 270 persons involved in the firm's vinyl-chloride operations. Authorities are beginning to question the safety standards set for the produc tion of polyvinyl chloride as well as vinyl chloride as a result of the Goodrich,:* ob- ! 7^ f 6 H0Z300 Q H A t Goodrich confirms dec.. h of 5fh vinyl workc/ Continued From rage One came after a copyrighted Louisville Times story Friday indirating that a fifth man died of the rare disease known as angiosarcoma. Thai death in 1964 predates by four years the earliest death previously acknowledged by the company. A spokesman said that while all deaths of employes at the plant have been checked since the company began recognizing a possible link between its vinyl*'and polyvinyl-chloride operations and angiosar coma in January, the 1964 death was missed because of "a clerical error." He said the review was done by "nonmedical people under tremendous pres sure.'' Another `intensive" review of the dealh records is now under way. he said. Meanwhile, company officials have acknowledged that leaks of vinyl chloride and another toxic gas related to vinyl chloride, vinylidene. are still occurring at the Bells Lane plant from lime to time. The officials admit that the levels of exposure to vinyl chloride may be four or more times as high as the maximum level of 50 parts of the gas to a million pruts of air the company has said it main tains here. However, they continue to stress that the exposure rates arc well below the maximum of 500 pirts per million per mitted by government standards--stand medical evidence showed studies of the chemicals causing liver disease in some animals. While Ward and other medical authori ties doubt that the man had angiosarcoma or even liver cancer in 1964 and 1965, the Louisville doctor testified in the work men's compensation case that the man was known to have "had definite ab normal liver functions (as the result of tests) done by the B. F. Goodrich Co. in the summer of 1964 and I can't under stand why he was allowed to work in a potentially hazardous situation beyond that." The company claims that it immediately removes persons with known liver prob lems from exposure to hydrocarbons such as vinyl chloride, but in the case of this worker, the man was not moved until af ter the compensation ease was well under way. The company spokesman was unable to specify on what date the man was moved to another department. After he was moved, however. Dr. Ward reported a major recovery in the man's liver. In 1971 the case was reopen ed because of the man's worsening con dition. Dr. Ward said a tumor was present by at least laic 1970 and that repeated hospital stays and investigations were undertaken. The man died in March last year. ards that arc now being revised down- | ward. I And the exposure levels to vinylidene have run as much as 50 times the 20 parts per million permitted by the same gov ernment standards, according to the com pany readings. However, the plant man ager. Phil Lawrence, claims he has not seen readings as high as 1,000 ports per million "for a long time," although he has seen levels as high as "several hun dred." The known toxicity of vinyl chloride j and vinylidene has been stated In many j technical reports and was cited as long ! ago as 1965 in a stale workmen's com- | pensation case involving a Goodrich\ worker, who ultimately died of angiosar/ coma last year. In that case. Dr. Will W. War^riTr., a Louisville physician, said his patient had been, exposed to these chemicals/and that In the orignal workmen1* compensation case filed in 1964. the man had sought to testify about other men who worked with him who had suffered liver problems, but a Goodrich attorney objected and the mailer was not pursued. The company fought the original case for more Ilian a year and. initially, resisted the reopening of the case in 1971. Eventually, however, the company changed its position and agreed to the payments.- The company's liver tests of its vinylchloride employes here began in 1963. The first two tests on the man whose case is detailed here showed normal liver func tions. However, tests administered by the company in July 15, 1964, and July 17, 1964, found an "abnormal" condition, ac cording to the ease records. Subsequent tests indicating a return to normal on Aug. 8, 1964, anti Feb. 19, 1965, were ruled invalid, according to a note on the record pointing out that there was too much blood fat in the scrum used to ob tain an accurate result. In this case, the workmen's compensa tion cases resulted in payments of $38 a week from Feb. 3, 1964, to Feb, 18, 1964, and May 2, 1965, to Oct. 8, J965, plus $8.25 a week for up to 400 weeks begin ning Jan. 3, 1964. After the condition worsened again, the claim allowed $29.75 a week for 30 5/7 weeks through Sept. 14, 1971 and then $30 a week for 25 weeks through Feb. 22, 1972. plus medical oxpen`cs. Throughout the period of licalment the man was given large quantities of chemicals to fight off his disease. Ulti mately he "bled to death," Dr. Ward reported. The Goodrich spokesman, representa tives of the public-relations department at the company's Akron, Ohio, head quarters. were given the specifics of the man's claim and its handling last week. They had been unable to obtain the neces sary information to respond by today, one of them said. * / . A S6SH9Z000 an A 96SH010R- 3*3 o WALL STREET JOURNAL February 26, 1974 Copies to: RWG JDBu JJL LNV JDBr KLS (FK) LJS/RLL CLW WRS DVP EAS _______ -- -iU rjOAJSCER SCARE prompts vinyl chloride., makers and users to tighten procedures. : B.--F. Goodrich, where the cases of liver cancer1 first appeared, uses impromptu meet ings to spread urgent information. Diamond Shamrock- Corp. spends more_'for automatic cleaning procedures. Hie 350 employes at three Dow Chemical Co. plaiits are urged' to have free.checkups. PPG Industries Inc. revises, its safety.^manual, requires some employes, td wearrespirators, expands air monitoring pro cedures. American Chemical Corp. holds meeting's, With' workers, explaining,"We'd rather have themiiear the facts from us than their nexU door neighbors." But unions seek other steps. Hie Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union asks the right to examine company health rec ords;-demands more company-paid physicals. Some company explanations ``just pooh-pooh the, whole thing," one union official complains. ,.'...Keysor Century Corp. finds that work ers aren't too concerned. "They don't'fig ure it's going to hurt to wait a fete more weeks,until we get the facts," one official 1 says. 7s 0'020 14 597 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER February 18, 1974 7x3 C=S [Vinyl Worker Safety: NIOSH Urges Standards 1 National Institute for Occupational Safe ty & Health said last week that it will make recommendations to the Department of Labor "in a few weeks" to tighten controls over the exposure of workers to health haz ards involved in the production of vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride. Vernon E. Rose, acting assistant direc tor for research and standards develop ment of NIOSH told a hearing on the haz ards of the chemical last week that NIOSH considers the hazards "extremely serious, almost a crjsis situation." He added that he feels that when the recommendations are transmitted to the labor secretary "they will he of such an emergency nature that a rule-making be conducted." He stopped short of predicting that an "emergency temporary standard" will be recommended, such as was imposed last year for carcinogenic chemicals. While representatives of industry called for more studies and favored lightening working standards under ordinary proce dures of the Occupational Safety Law. rep resentatives of the Oil. Chemical & Atomic Workers Inlernation Union and the Indus trial Union Department of AFL-CIO argued that emergency standards are "impera tive." They said that the industry is not imple menting the recommendations made since the deaths of four workers in the polyvinyl chloride plant of B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company in Louisville, Ky., of liver cancer believed to be related to operations in the plant came to light. Preliminary results of two on-going re search studies being conducted for the Manufacturing Chemists Association of health hazards involved in exposure of workers to vinyl chloride have failed to con firm fears that the chemical is carcinogen ic, MCA told the hearing. One is a contract with Industrial BioTest Laboratories. Inc.* Northbrook, III., signed February 1,-1973, which attempts to duplicate European observations with vinyl chloride that found tumors in rats exposed to the chemical over various time periods and concentrations. The purpose is to deter mine if the same results can be obtained, using vinyl chloride of the quality produced in this country. Because of equipment problems giving rise to uncertainties, this project had to be restarted last September. Up to now, no significant results have been observed ini this study, MCA said, adding that nor would the appearance of any tumors be expected in so short a time. MCA's second contract is with Tabershaw-Cooper Associates. Berkeley Calif., aimed at studying the causes of death among vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chlo ride production workers. Comparisons are being made with deaths of the workers with, those in the genera! population in the same sex and age groups and with other occupa tional groups that the research firm has studied in the past. This study is in its eighth month and a final report is expected in April, MCA said. The association added that while the mortaility statistics are as yet incomplete pre liminary review' of current data from all plants other than the Goodrich Chemical plant "fails to show any obvious departure from the pattern and incidence of the deaths that would be expected among a population of the kind that has been the subject of this survey " Top of the news Shortages trim profits Raw-material shortages, spiraling costs and -restrictions on price increases are blamed by some late-reporting CPI com panies for hindering fourth-quarter '73 profits. Jesse Werner, GAF chairman, says all three factors hurt the company's margins for the year. GAF reports fourth-quarter income of $7.07 million, up slightly from $6.8 million in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $218 million from $198.2 million. Full-year sales, Werner reports, in creased in all .five product groups. Chem ical sales totaled $172.8 million, com pared with $156.3 million in '`72. Operating profits, he adds, were higher in all but the building materials group. Wilson Pharmaceutical & Chemical (75% owned by American Can) cites shortages and "Phase IV problems" as the main factors contributing to its net loss of $118,000 last year, compared with income of $443,000 before an extraor dinary charge of $1.1 million in 72. Sales last year totaled S52.5 million vs. $39.3 million from continuing operations the year before. Net income in the fourth quarter totaled $137,000, compared with a $911,000 loss in fourth-quarter 72. Celanese says its earnings rose to about $21 million last quarter from $15 million (before a $4-million special credit) in the 72 period. Sales climbed to about $424 million from $366 million in the year-ago period. Although Celanese's Plastics and Chemicals Co. and its Fiber Industries subsidiary set sales and earnings records in 73, says Chairman John Brooks, rawmaterial shortages affected plastics pipe and the unprofitable cellulosic fibers dur ing the year and polyester and nylon fibers during the end of the last quarter. Chemicals Pace Grace: W.R. Grace says earnings before extraordinary items rose to about $86-89 million in 73 from a restated $62.3 million in 72, with the fi nal quarter showing the best gain of the year, to 75-80C/share from 45$. Grace's chemical business was the "main factor" in last year's growth, according to Execu tive Vice-President Charles Erhart, Jr. Fourth-quarter net income of Uniroyal rose to $12.09 million from $10.7 million in the year-ago period, but earnings for the full year gained only about 1% from '72's $46.6 million, Chairman George Vila reports. Price limitations on tires and other products, Vila observes, cost the company about $10 million. Sales in the fourth quarter climbed 17% from $460.4 million a year earlier, while 73 sales in creased 16% from $1.8 billion in 72. GOODRICH'S LOUISVILLE PLANT: Focus of probe that spurred crash health research. NIOSH pushes PVC plan A crash program for evaluating the health hazard to workers involved in polymerizing polyvinyl chloride was out lined by officials of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health at a meeting with industry and labor repre sentatives in Cleveland last week. NIOSH's action was prompted by the discovery that four workers at B.F. Good rich's Louisville PVC unit had died from angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer, over a period of months (CIF, Jan. 30, p. IS). NIOSH has issued recommended pre liminary monitoring and control proce dures for the Goodrich plant. General ized recommendations based on the Goodrich program were made available to the rest of the industry through the Manufacturing Chemists Assn. NIOSH will survey 28 of the 37 U.S. PVC polymerization plants to determine whether work practices at the Goodrich plant are typical of those throughout the industry. NIOSH also plans to survey 14 vinyl chloride monomer plants as well as calendering, foaming, extruding and enduse facilities. Meanwhile, at an Occupational Safety and Health Administration meeting last week in Washington on vinyl chloride ex posure dangers, MCA disclosed that pre liminary review of a study it has con tracted from Tabershaw-Cooper (Berkeley, Calif.) to compare mortality patterns among VCM workers with gen eral population, "fails to show any ob vious departure" from general pattern and incidence of cancer deaths. The com plete MCA study report is due in April. Allocation altercation ^ Plastics producers may get a biggershare of petrochemical feedstocks thafi* they do now if Congress enacts legislation introduced earlier this month by ReprF? sentative Ronald Sarasin (R,, Conn.). The measure could come up for a vote this week. If it isn't added as an amendment to the emergency energy conservation bill, Sarasin will try to tack it onto other pend ing legislation. The measure is aimed mainly at small plastics processors, Sarasin's office says. Under the plan, the Federal Energy Of fice would be required to allocate petro chemical feedstocks on an equitable basis downstream through the plastics supplier level to the plastics processor level. What prompted his move, his office adds, is a suspicion that some major chemical com panies are passing more than an equi table share of their feedstock allocations to their subsidiary plastics operations, putting smaller processors at a disadvan tage. Meanwhile, many New Jersey chem ical process companies met last week in Saddle River, N.J., to discuss feedstock complaints. Although most company rep resentatives, including several from paints and coatings firms, agreed that the feedstock problem has been relieved somewhat by the lifting of Phase IV con trols, they still saw the need for a broader distribution plan. The consensus, accord ing to Egyptian Lacquer Manufacturing Vice-President Louis Ruckgaber, Jr., was that big companies have been reserving materials such as solvents for captive use. Ruckgaber adds that the New Jersey firms would like to see measures similar to the Sarasin plan applied to a wider range of chemical users. Compliance is costly During the next five years, 25-35% of J.T. Baker Chemical's capital investment will be used to meet standards set by fed eral regulatory agencies, President Albert Baldock told the Retired Chemists Assn, in New York last week. He added that Baker will be forced to drop 10% of its fine chemical products because of strict government regulations that make pro duction uneconomical. Baldock noted that the regulations put all domestic chemical companies in the same boat. His main concern, he said, is that foreign producers will be the biggest gainers, since they will be able to sell product lines that U.S. companies no longer can afford to produce. 12 CHEMICAL WEEK February 20, 1974 (Quantity and value are in millions. Units of quantity are pounds unless otherwise stated.) QUANTITY Total in'73 Change from '72 EXPORTS Resins, plastic materials Synthetic rubber Manufactured fertilizers (tons) Plasticizers (except cyclic) Nylon staple fiber Polyester staple fiber Acrylic staple fiber Dyestuffs, color takes Organic herbicides (bulk) Organic insecticides (bulk) Toluene diisocyanates Dimethyl terephthalate Phthalic anhydride Ethylbenzene Benzene (gat.) Toluene (gal.) o-Xylene p-Xylene Other xylene Styrene Cyclohexane Ethylene dichloride Vinyl chloride Caustic soda (liquid) Soda ash (synthetic) Sulfur (long tons) Fla. phosphate rock (tons) 2,969.3 617.9 7.0 58.3 29.8 96.2 B1.0 56.9 78.5 170.7 68.6 167.8 23.2 185.2 26.3 70.8 364.1 159.1 345.4 574.6 516.8 368,0 420.2 1,765.6 850.9 1.8 13.1 + 31.5% + 7.3 + 13.8 + 60.8 + 7.9 + 95.6 + 44.6 + 43,7 + 61.3 + 44.4 + 10.4 + 45.0 + 68.4 - 10.5 - 5.6 +190.0 + 84.3 - 19.5 +169.3 - 13.1 - 0,3 - 2.2 - 32.3 - 17.9 - 11.4 - 4.1 - 0.3 IMPORTS OF BENZENOIO CHEMICALS: Benzene (gal.) Toluene (gal.) Xylenes (gal.) Cumene All primary benzenoids Styrene Caprolactam All benzenoid intermediates Benzenoid pesticides Benzenoid resins Dyes, lakes, toners Benzenoid medicinals All benzenoid finished products 51.9 102.4 95.1 378.1 - 30.8 46.7 249.1 28.9 103.9 38.1 11.1 - 45.4 - 31.1 + 12.6 - 14.9 - + 24.0 - 22.7 + 12.7 + 22.9 + 18.7 - 4.9 + 7.3 225.7 + 26.0 OTHER CHEMICAL IMPORTS: Resins, plastic materials* 224.2 Synthetic rubber 300.1 Fertilizer materials (tons) 9.6 Sulfur (long tons) Butadiene Caustic soda 1.2 70.1 269.7 Including benzenoid resins listed above. < + 49.1 + 23.4 + 15.4 + 7.4 + 3.0 + 28.6 VALUE 'i Total in '73 Change from '77 $1,027.9 195.8 438.3 16.2 19,7 46.6 41.3 85.8 50,2 81.1 22.4 24.0 4.3 16.0 9.5 19.2 18.4 11.0 17.4 78.0 21.9 13.4 24.2 46.4 16.1 34.3 101.4 + 47.6% + 21.6 + 38.9 + 63.7 + 17.2 +162.0 + 32.5 + 61.1 + 55.9 + 47.0 + 28.7 + 47.2 +391.4 +112.8 + 58.8 +365.4 +203.9 + 81.6 +306.9 +104.3 + 33.0 + 31.7 - 21.8 - 0.02 - 15.1 + 5.9 + 6.1 14.7 20.5 20.7 15.8 80.2 2.3 11.1 169.5 34.9 41.1 111.4 93.9 - 15.8 - 3.3 + 30.1 + 10.4 + 1.9 + 17.6 - 2.5 + 13.0 + 38.3 + 15.2 + 1.7 + 47,2 309.5 + 22.9 73.9 64.3 322.5 14.7 26.5 8.9 + 33.7 + 20.0 + 17.8 - 9.5 + 7.6 + 60.8 Top of the news <a Chemicals in patent fra <2$ Provisions that could substantially in crease the costs of patenting an invention and would provide for mandatory licens ing of some patents are included in tffe passel of patent reform bills now before Congress. And many major chemical firms and trade associations are telling lawmakers the kind of changes they would like to see. The Manufacturing Chemists Assn., for example, has tabbed the Nixon Ad ministration's bill (S. 2504) introduced by Senator Hugh Scott (R., Pa.), "a construc tive step forward." But MCA adds that some provisions would "create further or additional burdens (especially expenses) both in the Patent Office and for inven tors." It would, according to MCA, ex tend the time between filing date and granting of a patent, thus extend the ef fective life of that patent. And one indus try observer says it could reduce research by industry. Monsanto Patent Administrator John Clark tells CW he favors the bill's stipu lation that the life of a patent be ex tended to 20 years from time of filing, rather than the current 17 years from time of issuance. This, Clark says, would provide an incentive for prompt filing. Clark also applauds the bill's provision for an adversary proceeding within the Patent Office prior to patent issuance. A patent upheld in such a proceeding, he maintains, would be looked upon with additional favor by the courts. But the Administration's provision, re marks Howard Forman, a Rohm and Haas patent attorney, would give an op ponent of the patent the right to inter vene and subpoena witnesses, which could drag out patent proceedings and raise costs in a manner similar to court battles. A better solution, Forman says, lies in an identical measure (S. 2930 and H.R. 11868) introduced by Senator James Buckley (R., N.Y.) and Representative Henry Smith IH (R., N.Y.). This bill is supported by the American Patent Law Assn, and by large chemical companies interviewed by CW. Controversial patent provisions also are included in the national energy re search and development policy bill (H.R. 11856 and S. 1283). The measure, passed by the Senate, stipulates that all informa tion resulting, in whole or in part, from federally assisted energy research proj ects, be nonexclusively licensed on a roy alty-free basis or by a method designed to recover federal research costs. 9 February 20, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 11 Top of the news*1' to large processing plant in New Jersey. chemical feedstocks are set at 100% of current requirements, PEG observes, but the allocation level for petrochemical use of propane is set at 90% of quantities used during the base period (Oct. 3, '12, to Apr. 30, '73). This allocation does not carry out the intent of the law and is insufficient to meet the demand for petrochemicals that, with the industry's present plant and equipment, can be made only from pro pane, PEG declares. And some of PEG'S member com panies are particularly worried about loss of valuable petrochemicals because of FEO's broad definition of the term "energy production," which provides a basis for identifying industrial operations that are to have high priority for use of crude oil and petroleum products. They recognize that a certain amount of butane has to be blended into gasoline to ensure proper engine performance, but they urge that this paragraph be amended to make clear that it does not sanction the use of other valuable petrochemicals, such as benzene, as gasoline extenders. Warning Is Heeded; Anxiety about these matters is shared by management people in a wide swath of the economy. The Rubber Manufacturers Assn., Society of the Plastics Industry, the newly formed Organization of Plastics Proces sors, and various other industry groups and numerous company executives have been stating their case in letters, tele grams and phone calls to FEO, CLC and members of Congress. Their outcry undoubtedly helped prod CLC to make its Jan. 30 move, which, to a considerable extent, ended federal price-ceiling controls on those commodi ties. There's no clear consensus on how much will be accomplished by that move. SP1, for instance, looks on the bright side. "While the industry did not get all it re quested, and while plastics processors will still not get all the materials they and their customers need, it is evident that substantial progress has been made and substantial economic disruption has been averted." Others are decidely less optimistic. "As long as there are controls, I don't see how we can get 100% of our needs," says E. E. Chipman, president of Productol Chem ical Co. (Los Angeles). "The crux of the matter is keeping restrictions on profit margins. As it is now, manufacturers of intermediates are having to absorb costs above their pass-through base. Lifting that base isn't going to solve anything." And some industry people, like those at Du Pont, continue to feel that the allo cation program should be extended to petrochemical intermediates. For ex ample, Chairman and President Chester E. McKay of Copolymer Rubber and Chemical Corp. (Baton Rouge, La.) be lieves his company's difficulty in getting monomers such as styrene can be attrib uted mainly to his suppliers' inability to get enough intermediates such as ben zene. He says Copolymer's production of SBR rubber is off only about 10%, but its output of N-type rubber has been more sharply curtailed because its acrylonitrile supplier has decided to discontinue mer chant sales and use all of its acrylo captively. But at this time a more extensive allo cation system is not in the cards, accord ing to William Walker, FEO's general counsel. "A couple of petrochemical company lawyers have told me their firms very much want FEO to allocate petrochemicals," he relates. "The Admin istration doesn't favor that move. FEO thinks, first, that CLC's price decontrol action will increase supplies substantially. Second, that allocation of petrochemicals would be a bureaucratic nightmare. And in my opinion, FEO doesn't have the statutory authority to control petrochem icals." For now, then, petrochemical com panies can pin their hopes on three main chances; that FEO's present regulations and CLCs decontrol action will soon lead to greater availability of feedstocks and intermediates; that FEO will adopt some of the rule changes recommended by industry spokesmen; and that in creases in oil imports and domestic pro duction will make all those regulations unnecessary. A costly precedent The expensive new labor contract-* signed last week by the United Steel^ workers (USW) and three major alumi.** num producers, including a revolutionary cost-of-living pension escalator provision^ is likely to be pushed as a precedent in USW's upcoming chemical pacts. Aluminum Co. of America, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, and Reynolds Metals inked the 40-month pact that could eventually affect 55,000 workers four months before expiration of the old agreement, because of the union's new accelerated bargaining method in alumi num. While many provisions are so costly that it is virtually certain the industry will press for new price increases soon, atten tion will be focused on the first pension escalator in an industrial labor package. The provision, says USW President I.W. Abel, is designed to provide a retired worker 85% of his on-the-job paycheck. The plan becomes effective in Feb. '75, calls for annual extra payments equal to 65% of the increase in cost of living. The full-pension retirement age is lowered to 62 years from 65. An early indication of the chemical im pact could come from USW's bargaining with Dow Chemical at Midland, Mich., where the pact expires early next month. Dow, though, will not comment on the effect of the aluminum precedent Union Carbide is not obligated to bar gain again on pensions until '78, com ments William Atkinson, manager of in dustrial relations, so there will be no immediate effect on the company. Job picture steady The January employment picture for chemicals and allied products remained relatively unchanged from the month be fore, the Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said last week. Chemical employment stood at 1.038 million in January, compared with 1.040 million in December and 1.001 million in Jan. '73. Seasonally adjusted, however, employment in the industry rose to 1.046 million last month from 1.043 million the month before, BLS reported. The average workweek in chemicals, seasonally ad justed, dropped slightly to 41.4 hours in January from 41.9 hours in December, while average hourly earnings inched up ward to $4.66 from $4.59 the previous month and $4.36 in Jan. '73. Two CPI areas showed employment declines in January, according to BLS: rubber and plastics, and primary metals. February 13. 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 13 Top of the news SAO PAULO FIRE poses a key question for CPI: What part did plastics play? What was plastics' role? Early reports from Sao Paulo, Brazil, indicated that "flammable plastics"--as well as archaic fire-safety standards and lax enforcement--were responsible for the rapid spread of a blaze that claimed the lives of about 200 persons last week. But subsequent reports have cast doubt on the role played by plastics in the disas ter. According to the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), there will be a one-to-two month investigation into the circum stances of the fire, which swept through the Crefisul bank building on Feb. 1, fol lowing a short circuit in a 12th-floor air conditioner. Early reports did not specifically pin point plastics as a culprit but did refer to charges by Sao Paulo's mayor, Miguel Colasuonno, who has been critical in the past of "flammable plastics used in fin ishing new structures." But the American director of the bank, Garrett Boulton, was quoted as saying his firm had used the "best fire-resistant materials avail able." By CWs press time, it was still not pos sible to get more details on construction materials, but those Boulton mentioned would presumably include fire-resistant synthetic-fiber drapes and carpeting. They also could possibly include insula tion and paneling. If plastic materials eventually are im plicated in the blaze, it seems certain to intensify the Federal Trade Commis sion's ongoing probe of plastics flamma bility, on which FTC is yet to propose recommendations. 14 CHEMICAL WEEK February 13, 1974 r PVC-liver link under scrutiny CSS ess Several probes into the apparent liver cancer deaths of four employees of B.F. Goodrich's Louisville, Ky., polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production plant appear to be having an immediate effect on the plastics industry. PVC users and produc ers are taking a hard look at the exposure levels in their own plants in light of the alleged carcinogenic properties of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). The long term effect on markets for PVC, already beset by toxicity and environmental charges, is still to be determined. Although Goodrich, the National Insti tute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Kentucky health department are studying the problem, no actual link between PVC production and the cases of angiosar coma of the liver has been found. NIOSH, though, is holding a public hear ing on the situation in Cleveland this week. The puzzle is made more compli cated by the fact that until this time, VCM had not been, seriously thought of as a possible carcinogen and was not even in cluded on NIOSH's most recent list of 11,000 toxic chemicals. As most PVC pro ducers are quick to point out, the Good rich situation appears to be an isolated case with many unanswered questions. Producers and users admit, however, that they are concerned about the prob lem. Many PVC producers have joined in an industry-wide study "to determine if there are common industry problems, and if so to put forth our best efforts to arrive at common industry solutions," a Firestone Tire & Rubber spokesman re marks. "All companies are going to have to tighten their industrial hygienic activi ties," Tenneco Chemicals President Ray mond Marks concedes. NIOSH is considering a theory that VCM may act as a carcinogen only after long periods of exposure. "The latent pe riod may just now be expiring, at least for VCM," says one NIOSH official, adding that "we may be about to get more and more cases." Meanwhile, as NIOSH officials ponder future polio? moves in tandem with OSHA, Goodrich and other producers and users of PVC are studying a list of recommendations issued by NIOSH to reduce worker exposure to VCM. The recommendations include general house keeping procedures, protective clothing, showers, individual monitoring, and res piratory protection. Goodrich contends that it already has many of the recOfnmendations in effect at its plants. Another industry segment, the MtfilUfacturing Chemists Assn. (MCA), been forced to take a second look at PVC. MCA reported last week that it had stopped circulation of its chemical safety publication on PVC because it had indi cated that the substance was not sus pected of causing cancer in humans. PVC industry insiders say they are still confi dent of the future market viability of PVC resins. No RP growth this year A period of zero growth is in the cards for the reinforced plastics (RP) industry in '74, the general chairman of the Rein forced Plastics/Composites Institute of the Society of the Plastics Industry told members attending the institute's annual conference in Washington last week. David Clavadetscher of Premix, Inc., forecast that '74 shipments of thermoset ting and thermoplastic resins used in RP would total 1.446 billion lbs., essentially unchanged from the 1.45 billion lbs. esti mated in *73. The '73 figure, however, was 18% higher than the 1.2 billion lbs. shipped in '72, he added. Clavadetscher attributed the antici pated growth lag primarily to feedstock shortages. "Current shortages of petro chemicals have made raw material sup ply, not end-use industry demand, the de ciding factor for '74," he said. He added, however, that if all demand for RP in all markets could be met this year, the out look for '74 and subsequent years would be much brighter. Another problem, as serted Clavadetscher, is that oil and gaso line shortages are forcing cutbacks in some major industries that use RP--mar kets such as automobiles and pleasure boats. Despite the gloomy over-all picture, some segments of the RP industry may show an upturn in '74, according to pre dictions at the meeting. Booming de mands for fire-resistant materials will boost shipments of RP for construction purposes to 228 million lbs. in '74 from 220 million lbs. in '73. Similarly, the need for lightweight automobiles is expected to cause a spurt iu RP shipments in that in dustry to 319 million lbs. from last year's 307 million lbs. Other likely growth areas: corrosion-resistant products; appli ances and equipment; and electrical rods, tubes and parts. Top of the news Shortages trim profits Raw-material shortages, spiraling costs and -restrictions on price increases are blamed by some late-reporting CPI com panies for hindering fourth-quarter '73 profits. Jesse Werner, GAF chairman, says all three factors hurt the company's margins for the year. GAF reports fourth-quarter income of $7.07 million, up slightly from $6.8 million in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $218 million from $198.2 million. Full-year sales, Werner reports, in creased in all .five product groups. Chem ical sales totaled $172.8 million, com pared with $156.3 million in '`72. Operating profits, he adds, were higher in all but the building materials group. Wilson Pharmaceutical & Chemical (75% owned by American Can) cites shortages and "Phase IV problems" as the main factors contributing to its net loss of $ 118,000 last year, compared with income of $443,000 before an extraor dinary charge of $1.1 million in '72. Sales last year totaled $52.5 million vs. $39.3 million from continuing operations the year before. Net income in the fourth quarter totaled $137,000, compared with a $911,000 loss in fourth-quarter '72. Celanese says its earnings rose to about $21 million last quarter from $15 million (before a $4-million special credit) in the *72 period. Sales climbed to about $424 million from $366 million in the year-ago period. Although Celanese's Plastics and Chemicals Co. and its Fiber Industries subsidiary set sales and earnings records in '73, says Chairman John Brooks, rawmaterial shortages affected plastics pipe and the unprofitable cellulosic fibers dur ing the year and polyester and nylon fibers during the end of the last quarter. Chemicals Pace Grace; W.R. Grace says earnings before extraordinary items rose to about $86-89 million in '73 from a restated $62.3 million in '72, with the fi nal quarter showing the best gain of the year, to 75-80C/share from 45C. Grace's chemical business was the "main factor" in last year's growth, according to Execu tive Vice-President Charles Erhart, Jr. Fourth-quarter net income of Uniroyal rose to $12.09 million from $10.7 million in the year-ago period, but earnings for the full year gained only about 1% from 72's $46.6 million, Chairman George Vila reports. Price limitations on tires and other products, Vila observes, cost the company about $10 million. Sales in the fourth quarter climbed l7% from $460.4 million a year earlier, while '73 sales in creased 16% from $1.8 billion in '72. 12 CHEMICAL WEEK February 20. 1974 GOODRICH'S LOUISVILLE PLANT: Focus of probe that spurred crash health research. NIOSH pushes PVC plan A crash program for evaluating the health hazard to workers involved in polymerizing polyvinyl chloride was out lined by officials of thf National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health at a meeting with industry and labor repre sentatives in Cleveland last week. NIOSH's action was prompted by the discovery that four workers at B.F. Good rich's Louisville PVC unit had died from angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer, over a period of months (CW, Jan. 30, p. IS). NIOSH has issued recommended pre liminary monitoring and control proce dures for the Goodrich plant. General ized recommendations based on the Goodrich program were made available to the rest of the industry through the Manufacturing Chemists Assn. NIOSH will survey 28 of the 37 U.S. PVC polymerization plants to determine whether work practices at the Goodrich plant are typical of those throughout the industry. NIOSH also plans to survey 14 vinyl chloride monomer plants as well as calendering, foaming, extruding and enduse facilities. Meanwhile, at an Occupational Safety and Health Administration meeting last week in Washington on vinyl chloride ex posure dangers, MCA disclosed that pre liminary review of a study it has con tracted from Tabershaw-Cooper (Berkeley, Calif.) to compare mortality patterns among VCM workers with gen eral population, "fails to show any ob vious departure" from general pattern and incidence of cancer deaths. The com plete MCA study report is due in April. Allocation altercation <& Plastics producers may get a biggcfe share of petrochemical feedstocks thjgf they do now if Congress enacts legislation, introduced earlier this month by Repr sentative Ronald Sarasin (R., Conn.). tcT measure could come up for a vote this week. If it isn't added as an amendment to the emergency energy conservation bill, Sarasin will try to tack it onto other pend ing legislation. The measure is aimed mainly at small plastics processors, Sarasin's office says. Under the plan, the Federal Energy Of fice would be required to allocate petro chemical feedstocks on an equitable basis downstream through the plastics supplier level to the plastics processor level. What prompted his move, his office adds, is a suspicion that some major chemical com panies are passing more than an equi table share of their feedstock allocations to their subsidiary plastics operations, putting smaller processors at a disadvan tage. Meanwhile, many New Jersey chem ical process companies met last week in Saddle River, NJ., to discuss feedstock complaints. Although most company rep resentatives, including several from paints and coatings firms, agreed that the feedstock problem has been relieved somewhat by the lifting of Phase IV con trols, they still saw the need for a broader distribution plan. The consensus, accord ing to Egyptian Lacquer Manufacturing Vice-President Louis Ruckgaber, Jr., was that big companies have been reserving materials such as solvents for captive use. Ruckgaber adds that the New Jersey firms .would like to see measures similar to the Sarasin plan applied to a wider range of chemical users. Compliance is costly During the next five years, 25-35% of J.T. Baker Chemical's capital investment will be used to meet standards set by fed eral regulatory agencies. President Albert Baldock told the Retired Chemists Assn, in New York last week. He added that Baker will be forced to drop 10% of its fine chemical products because of strict government regulations that make pro duction uneconomical. Baldock noted that the regulations put all domestic chemical companies in the same boat. His main concern, he said, is that foreign producers will be the biggest gainers, since they will be able to sell product lines that U.S. companies no longer can afford to produce. (Quantity and value are in millions. Units of quantity are pounds unless otherwise stated.) QUANTITY Total Change in '73 from '72 EXPORTS Resins, plastic materials Synthetic rubber Manufactured fertilizers (tons) Plasticizers (except cyclic) Nylon staple fiber Polyester staple fiber Acrylic staple fiber Dyestuffs, color lakes Orgatvic herbicides (bulk) Organic insecticides (bulk) Toluene diisocyanates Dimethyl terephthalate Phthalic anhydride Ethylbenzene Benzene (gal.) Toluene (gal.) o-Xylene p-Xylene Other xylene Styrene Cyclohexane Ethylene dichloride Vinyl chloride Caustic soda (liquid) Soda ash (synthetic) Sulfur (long tons) Fla. phosphate rock (tons) 2,969.3 617.9 7.0 58.3 29.8 96.2 81.0 56.9 78.5 170.7 68.6 167.8 23.2 185.2 26.3 70.8 364.1 159.1 345.4 574.6 516.8 368.0 420.2 1,765.6 850.9 1.8 13.1 + 31.5% + 7.3 + 13.8 + 60.8 + 7.9 + 95.6 + 44.6 + 43,7 + 61.3 + 44.4 + 10.4 + 45.0 + 68.4 - 10.5 - 5.6 +190.0 + 84.3 - 19.5 +169.3 - 13.1 - 0.3 - 2.2 - 32.3 - 17.9 - 11.4 - 4.1 - 0.3 IMPORTS OF BENZENOID CHEMICALS: Benzene (gal.) Toluene (gal.) Xylenes (gal.) Cumene All primary benzenoids 51.9 102.4 95.1 378.1 - - 45.4 - 31.1 + 12.6 - 14.9 - Styrene Caprolactam 30.8 + 24.0 46.7 - 22.7 All benzenoid intermediates Benzenoid pesticides Benzenoid resins Dyes, lakes, toners Benzenoid medicinals All benzenoid finished products 249.1 28.9 103.9 38.1 11.1 + 12.7 + 22.9 + 18.7 - 4.9 + 7.3 225.7 + 26.0 OTHER CHEMICAL IMPORTS: Resins, plastic materials* 224.2 Synthetic rubber 300.1 Fertilizer materials (tons) 9.6 Sulfur (long tons) 1.2 Butadiene 70.1 Caustic soda 269.7 k `Including benzenoid resins listed above. + 49.1 + 23.4 + 15.4 + 7.4 + 3.0 + 28.6 VALUE * Total Change in '73 from '77 $1,027.9 195.8 438.3 16.2 19.7 46.6 41.3 85.8 50.2 81.1 22.4 24.0 4.3 16.0 9.5 19.2 18.4 11.0 17.4 78.0 21.9 13.4 24.2 46.4 16.1 34.3 101.4 + 47.6% + 21.6 + 38.9 + 63.7 + 17.2 +162.0 + 32.5 + 61.1 + 55.9 + 47.0 + 28.7 + 47.2 +391.4 +112.8 + 58.8 +365.4 +203.9 + 81.6 +306.9 +104.3 + 33.0 + 31.7 - 21.8 - 0.02 - 15.1 + 5.9 + 6.1 14.7 20.5 20.7 15.8 80.2 2.3 11.1 169.5 34.9 41.1 111.4 93.9 - 15.8 - 3.3 + 30.1 + 10.4 + 1.9 + 17.6 - 2,5 + 13.0 + 38.3 + 15.2 + 1.7 + 47.2 309.5 + 22.9 73.9 64.3 322.5 14.7 26.5 8.9 + 33.7 + 20.0 + 17.8 - 9.5 + 7.6 + 60.8 Top of the news <33 Chemicals in patent frajc <9 Provisions that could substantially in crease the costs of patenting an inventi<^ and would provide for mandatory licence ing of some patents are included in tfi passel of patent reform bills now before Congress. And many major chemical firms and trade associations are telling lawmakers the kind of changes they would like to see. The Manufacturing Chemists Assn., for example, has tabbed the Nixon Ad ministration's bill (S. 2504) introduced by Senator Hugh Scott (R., Pa.), "a construc tive step forward." But MCA adds that some provisions would "create further or additional burdens (especially expenses) both in the Patent Office and for inven tors." It would, according to MCA, ex tend the time between filing date and granting of a patent, thus extend the ef fective life of that patent. And one indus try observer says it could reduce research by industry. Monsanto Patent Administrator John Clark tells CW he favors the bill's stipu lation that the life of a patent be ex tended to 20 years from time of filing, rather than the current 17 years from time of issuance. This, Clark says, would provide an incentive for prompt filing. Clark also applauds the bill's provision for an adversary proceeding within the Patent Office prior to patent issuance. A patent upheld in such a proceeding, he maintains, would be looked upon with additional favor by the courts. But the Administration's provision, re marks Howard Forman, a Rohm and Haas patent attorney, would give an op ponent of the patent the right to inter vene and subpoena witnesses, which could drag out patent proceedings and raise costs in a maimer similar to court battles. A better solution, Forman says, lies in an identical measure (S. 2930 and H.R. 11868) introduced by Senator James Buckley (R., N.Y.) and Representative Henry Smith III (R., N.Y.). This bill is supported by the American Patent Law Assn, and by large chemical companies interviewed by CW. Controversial patent provisions also are included in the national energy re search and development policy bill (H.R. 11856 and S. 1283). The measure, passed by the Senate, stipulates that all informa tion resulting, in whole or in part, from federally assisted energy research proj ects, be nonexclusively licensed on a roy alty-free basis or by a method designed to recover federal research costs. February 20, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 11 Top of the news What was plastics' role? Early reports from Sao Paulo, Brazil, indicated that "flammable plastics''--as well as archaic fire-safety standards and lax enforcement--were responsible for the rapid spread of a blaze that claimed the lives of about 200 persons last week, But subsequent reports have cast doubt on the role played by plastics in the disas ter. According to the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), there will be a one-to-two month investigation into the circum stances of the fire, which swept through the Creflsul bank building on Feb. 1, fol lowing a short circuit in a 12th-floor air conditioner. Early reports did not specifically pin point plastics as a culprit but did refer to charges by Sao Paulo's mayor, Miguel Colasuonno, who has been critical in the past'of "flammable plastics used in fin ishing new structures." But the American director of the bank, Garrett Boulton, was quoted as saying his firm had used the "best fire-resistant materials avail able." By CWs press time, it was still not pos sible to get more details on construction materials, but those Boulton mentioned would presumably include fire-resistant synthetic-fiber drapes and carpeting. They also could possibly include insula tion and paneling. If plastic materials eventually are im plicated in the blaze, it seems certain to intensify the Federal Trade Commis sion's ongoing probe of plastics flamma bility, on which FTC is yet to propose recommendations. 14 CHEMICAL WEEK February 13. 1974 PVC-liver link under scrutiny ca ro <ss Several probes into the apparent liver that it already has many of the recom* cancer deaths of four employees of B.F. mendations in effect at its plants. ^ Goodrich's Louisville, Ky., polyvinyl Another industry segment, the Manff= chloride (PVC) production plant appear facturing Chemists Assn. (MCA), has to be having an immediate effect on the been forced to take a second look at plastics industry. PVC users and produc PVC. MCA reported last week that it had ers are taking a hard look at the exposure stopped circulation of its chemical safety levels in their own plants in light of the publication on PVC because it had indi alleged carcinogenic properties of vinyl cated that the substance was not sus chloride monomer (VCM). The long pected of causing cancer in humans. PVC term effect on markets for PVC, already industry insiders say they are still confi beset by toxicity and environmental dent of the future market viability of charges, is still to be determined. PVC resins. Although Goodrich, the National Insti tute of Occupational Safety and Health No RP growth this year (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the A period of zero growth is in the cards Kentucky health department are studying for the reinforced plastics (RP) industry the problem, no actual link between PVC in '74, the general chairman of the Rein production and the cases of angiosar forced Plastics/Composites Institute of coma of the liver has been found. the Society of the Plastics Industry told NIOSH, though, is holding a public hear members attending the institute's annual ing on the situation in Cleveland this conference in Washington last week. week. The puzzle is made more compli David Clavadetscher of Premix, Inc., cated by the fact that until this time, VCM forecast that '74 shipments of thermoset had not been seriously thought of as a ting and thermoplastic resins used in RP possible carcinogen and was not even in would total 1.446 billion lbs., essentially cluded on NIOSH's most recent list of unchanged from the 1.45 billion lbs. esti 11,000 toxic chemicals. As most PVC pro mated in '73. The '73 figure, however, ducers are quick to point out, the Good was 18% higher than the 1.2 billion lbs. rich situation appears to be an isolated shipped in '72, he added. case with many unanswered questions. Clavadetscher attributed the antici Producers and users admit, however, pated growth lag primarily to feedstock that they are concerned about the prob shortages. "Current shortages of petro lem. Many PVC producers have joined in chemicals have made raw material sup an industry-wide study "to determine if ply, not end-use industry demand, the de there are common industry problems, ciding factor for '74," he said. He added, and if so to put forth our best efforts to however, that if all demand for RP in all arrive at common industry solutions," a markets could be met this year, the out Firestone Tire & Rubber spokesman re look for '74 and subsequent years would marks. "All companies are going to have be much brighter. Another problem, as to tighten their industrial hygienic activi serted Clavadetscher, is that oil and gaso ties," Tenneco Chemicals President Ray line shortages are forcing cutbacks in mond Marks concedes. some major industries that use RP--mar NIOSH is considering a theory that kets such as automobiles and pleasure VCM may act as a carcinogen only after boats. long periods of exposure. "The latent pe Despite the gloomy over-all picture, riod may just now be expiring, at least for some segments of the RP industry may VCM," says one NIOSH official, adding show an upturn in '74, according to pre that "we may be about to get more and dictions at the meeting. Booming de more cases." mands for fire-resistant materials will Meanwhile, as NIOSH officials ponder boost shipments of RP for construction future policy moves in tandem with purposes to 228 million lbs. in '74 from OSHA, Goodrich and other producers 220 million lbs. in 73. Similarly, the need and users of PVC are studying a list of for lightweight automobiles is expected to recommendations issued by NIOSH to cause a spurt in RP shipments in that in reduce worker exposure to VCM. The dustry to 319 million lbs. from last year's recommendations include general house 307 million lbs. Other likely growth keeping procedures, protective clothing, areas: corrosion-resistant products; appli showers, individual monitoring, and res ances and equipment; and electrical rods, piratory protection. Goodrich contends tubes and parts. chemical feedstocks are set at 100% of current requirements, PEG observes, but the allocation level for petrochemical use of propane is set at 90% of quantities used during the base period (Oct. 3, '72, to Apr. 30/73). This allocation does not carry out the intent of the law and is insufficient to meet the demand for petrochemicals that, with the industry's present plant and equipment, can be made only from pro pane, PEG declares. And some of PEG'S member com panies are particularly worried about loss of valuable petrochemicals because of FEO's broad definition of the term "energy production," which provides a basis for identifying industrial operations that are to have high priority for use of crude oil and petroleum products. They recognize that a certain amount of butane has to be blended into gasoline to ensure proper engine performance, but they urge that this paragraph be amended to make clear that it does not sanction the use of -- other valuable petrochemicals, such as benzene, as gasoline extenders. Warning Is Heeded: Anxiety about these matters is shared by management people in a wide swath of the economy. The Rubber Manufacturers Assn., Society of the Plastics Industry, the newly formed Organization of Plastics Proces sors, and various other industry groups and numerous company executives have been stating their case in letters, tele grams and phone calls to FEO, CLC and members of Congress. Their outcry undoubtedly helped prod CLC to make its Jan. 30 move, which, to a considerable extent, ended federal price-ceiling controls on those commodi ties. There's no clear consensus on how much will be accomplished by that move. SPI, for instance, looks on the bright side. "While the industry did not get all it re quested, and while plastics processors will still not get all the materials they and their customers need, it is evident that substantial progress has been made and substantial economic disruption has been averted." Others are decidely less optimistic. "As long as there are controls, I don't see how we can get 100% of our needs," says E. E. Chipman, president of Productol Chem ical Co. (Los Angeles). `The crux of the matter is keeping restrictions on profit margins. As it is now, manufacturers of intermediates are having to absorb costs above their pass-through base. Lifting that base isn't going to solve anything." And some industry people, like those at Du Pont, continue to feel that the allo cation program should be extended to petrochemical intermediates. For ex ample, Chairman and President Chester E. McKay of Copolymer Rubber and Chemical Corp. (Baton Rouge, La.) be lieves his company's difficulty in getting monomers such as styrene can be attrib uted mainly to his suppliers' inability to get enough intermediates such as ben zene. He says Copolymer's production of SBR rubber is off only about 10%, but its output of N-type rubber has been more sharply curtailed because its acrylonitrile supplier has decided to discontinue mer chant sales and use all of its acrylo captively. But at this time a more extensive allo cation system is not in the cards, accord ing to William Walker, FEO's general counsel. "A couple of petrochemical company lawyers have told me their firms very much want FEO to allocate petrochemicals," he relates. "The Admin istration doesn't favor that move. FEO thinks, first, that CLC's price decontrol action will increase supplies substantially. Second, that allocation of petrochemicals would be a bureaucratic nightmare. And in my opinion, FEO doesn't have the statutory authority to control petrochem icals." For now, then, petrochemical com panies can pin their hopes on three main chances: that FEO's present regulations and CLC's decontrol action will soon lead to greater availability of feedstocks and intermediates; that FEO will adopt some of the rule changes recommended by industry spokesmen; and that in creases in oil imports and domestic pro duction will make all those regulations unnecessary. Top of the news_ \ 73 A costly precedent <33 The expensive new labor contract* signed last week by the United Steeg workers (USW) and three major alumi num producers, including a revolutiona^ cost-of-living pension escalator provision is likely to be pushed as a precedent iff1 USW's upcoming chemical pacts. Aluminum Co. of America, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, and Reynolds Metals inked the 40-month pact that could eventually affect 55,000 workers four months before expiration of the old agreement, because of the union's new accelerated bargaining method in alumi num. While many provisions are so costly that it is virtually certain the industry will press for new price increases soon, atten tion will be focused on the first pension escalator in an industrial labor package. The provision, says USW President I.W. Abel, is designed to provide a retired worker 85% of his on-the-job paycheck. The plan becomes effective in Feb. '75, calls for annual extra payments equal to 65% of the increase in cost of living. The full-pension retirement age is lowered to 62 years from 65. An early indication of the chemical im pact could come from USW's bargaining with Dow Chemical at Midland, Mich., where the pact expires early next month. Dow, though, will not comment on the effect of the aluminum precedent. Union Carbide is not obligated to bar gain again on pensions until '78, com ments William Atkinson, manager of in dustrial relations, so there will be no immediate effect on the company. Job picture steady The January employment picture for chemicals and allied products remained relatively unchanged from the month be fore, the Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said last week. Chemical employment stood at 1.038 million in January, compared with 1.040 million in December and 1,001 million in Jan. '73. Seasonally adjusted, however, employment in the industry rose to 1.046 million Last month from 1.043 million the month before, BLS reported. The average workweek in chemicals, seasonally ad justed, dropped slightly to 41.4 hours in January from 41.9 hours in December, while average hourly earnings inched up ward to $4.66 from $4.59 the previous month and $4,36 in Jan. '73. Two CPI areas showed employment declines in January, according to BLS: rubber and plastics, and primary metals. February 13, 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 13 VRD 0082014696 I ce; / ^ >- r/ra wsw' yoRK times, Wednesday, February 20, im Rare Liver Cancer Discovered In 2 More at a Chemical Plant By JANE E. BRODY ' Two more victims of a rare The cancer, called angiosar liver cancer have been un coma of the liver, effects the covered among vinyl chloride blood vessels of this vital organ. workers in a B. F. Goodrich Officials of the National Insti Company chemical plant in tute for Occupational Safety and Louisville, Ky., bringing to six Health, a part of the Depart the known cases there of the ment of Health. Education and invariably fatal disease, Welfare, have labeled it "a new : The discovery of additional occupational cancer/* cases comes t a time when Five of the victims at the Federal officials are seeking Louisville plant, which was ways to protect workers who opened in 1942, have died. A are exposed to vinyl chloride, sixth was diagnosed at surgery a basic chemical in the modern last week and is still living. plastics Industry and the foun Nationwide, the disease causes dation for hundreds of con an estimated 20 to 30 deaths sumer products. a year, and experts believe it Yesterday, the Kentucky Oc may be frequently misdiagnosed cupational Safety and Health or overlooked. Standards Board added vinyl The discovery of these can chloride to its list of occupa cer cases--plus the finding of tional cancer-causing agents abnormal liver function in 23 and greatly reduced the levels out of 271 workers in the Louis of the chemical to which work ville plant--has touched off an ers can legally be exposed. industrywide search for illness At the same time, environ that may be related to vinyl mental health scientists at the chloride or its co-chemicals. An Mount Sinai School of Medicine estimated 6,500 workers are di in New York said they had rectly involved with the chem found several cases of serious ical and tens of thousands of liver disease among workers in others work with its polymer a vinyl chloride plant operated ized product, polyvinyl chloride. by the Goodyear Tire & Rub It is not known whether con ber Company in Niagara Fails sumers using vinyl chloride- since 194$, Some experts be based products face any risk, lieve that cirrhosis of the liver but it is believed that their ex may precede the development posure to the chemical .would of cancer in some workers. be minimal, if at all. oara-cresol derivatives take you one step closer... MNPC OH Meta NitroPara-Cresol (MNPC), a parent compound for dye, pigment, and pharmaceutical intermediates, is commercially available. CH3 MNPT Meta Nitro Para Toluidine (MNPT) is currently being used as an intermediate for azo pigments. MNPT is also used as CH3 a base salt or as a stabilized Balt by P-Cresidine the textile industry. Para Cresidlne has nh2 a broad range of current usage as an intermediate for industrial chemicals, dyes and pigments. A$rB> DMPC (2,6-Dimethylol-p-cresol), DNPC (2,6-Dinitro-p-cresol) and NCT (3,5-Dinitro-4-chlorotoluene) -re available on a semi commercial basis. Para-Cresol derivatives are economical building block chemicals that can take you one step closer to the development of commercially valuable chemicals and functional products. For technical literature write: Sfterwin Williams Chemicals, P. O. Box 6520, Attn: James A. Mack, Cleveland, Ohio 44101, p PrZae**, cf#*0! 16 CHEMICAL WEEK January 30, 1974 Top of the new** detergents will slip to about 17%. Ross does not see any major boost in production of sodium sulfate, which has totaled about 1.4 million tons/year since at least '67. Domestic consumption is about 1.6 million tons. Exports, he says, should remain virtually negligible. Sul fate is likely to ease from its historical growth rate of 2.4% to about 2% through '75. Detergent industry use of the sub stance will remain at about 270.000 tons but could increase as phosphate content is lowered, he predicts. PQ'S ROSS: Detergents will take larger chunk of sodium silicate output through '80. More silicates in wash Soaps and detergents will take a grow ing percentage of domestic sodium sili cate production during the rest of the '70s, but the industry will use the same or a slightly smaller percentage of total so dium carbonate and sodium sulfate out put. That's the view of A. Richard Ross, executive vice-president of Philadelphia Quartz, who offered the estimates at this month's Soap and Detergent Assn, annuai meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Ross estimates '73 U.S. sodium silicate production at 712,000 tons and sees out put hitting 773,000 tons in '75 and 975,000 tons by '80. Soaps and detergents consumed 122.000 tons of the compound in '73 (18% of the total), according to Ross, and by '80, this will grow to 155,000 tons, or 20% (CW, Jan. 16, p. 20). He also gave the following forecast: Sodium carbonate (soda ash) is likely to remain in short supply for several years. In '73, both capacity and demand for soda ash in the U.S. totaled about 7.7 million tons. This year, both demand and capacity will increase to about 8 million tons. Capacity will rise to 8.6 million tons in '75 and to 9.7 million tons in '77 but drop to about 9,2 million tons from '78 through '80 because of the impact of phased-out plants. Meanwhile, demand will climb to 8.2 million tons in '75. 8.8 million in '77 and 9.8 million in '80. In soaps and detergents, *73 consump tion of soda ash will be almost 1.8 million tons, about 25% of total soda ash use. While tonnage will remain about level through '80, the percentage of total U.S. soda ash use accounted for by soaps and Rapid wrap-up Chembond will spend $2 million to double capacity at its 70-million-lbs./year formaldehyde plant in Springfield, Ore. Completion target: Jan. '75. . . . Stan dard Oil of Indiana will build a cryogenics plant near Alvin, Tex., to process 70 mil lion cu.ft./day of natural gas and produce 73,000 gal./day of liquefied petroleum gas. The new unit, which will replace a smaller adjacent absorption installation, is due onstream in '75. Aluminum Co. of America restored its 180,000-tons/year Wenatchee, Wash., aluminum smelter to full operation, end ing a 15% cutback instituted in May '73 and bringing Alcoa's U.S. smellers to 100% of rated capacity. . . . Shell Oil plans to add a 300-tons/day elemental sulfur recovery unit (its fifth) to its Deer Park, Tex., refinery by 75, , . , Copoly mer Rubber & Chemical will immediately stop production of high-solids styrenebutadiene rubber latexes in Baton Rouge, La., because of shortages of raw materials and high demand for general-purpose dry rubbers. Parke-Davis, a Warner-Lambert sub sidiary,' agreed in principle to acquire Fuller Laboratories, a $5.5-million/year medical products maker, for about $14.4 million in W-L common stock. . . . Loctite is discussing the possible acquisition of Woodhlll Chemical Sales and Woodhill Chemical. . . . Valley Nitrogen Pro ducers acquired Pacoast Chemical, a $4million/year wholesale pesticide oper ation, for an unreportcd amount. Pennzoil raised its quarterly dividend to 25c/share from 20, payable Mar. 15 to stockholders of record Feb. 28. . . , Gulf Resources & Chemical completed the sale of $50 million in 9l/4% senior notes, due in '78 to *89, to institutional in vestors. . . . Hercules filed a registration statement with the Securities and Ex change Commission for 352,306 shares of its common stock, which may be sold pe riodically by certain shareholders. 889H B Z 00B fliU VRD 0002014609 i/ p Top of the news Probing cancer deaths Three cancer deaths of B.F. Goodrich employees have sparked an intensive in vestigation by the company. The probers want to find out whether workers are being exposed to a cancer-causing agent at Goodrich's Louisville, Ky., plant. The employees had worked in the plant's polyvinyl chloride operations and all died of liver cancer tentatively diagnosed as angiosarcoma. All three died within a 27month period--one in Sept. '71, another in Mar. '73, and the third in Dec. '73. Goodrich reported its investigation to Kentucky health officials and the Na tional Institute of Occupational Safety and Health after a company physician learned of the deaths late in December and suggested a possible relationship. NIOSH and the Kentucky Dept, of La bor, charged with insuring Occupational Safety and Health Administration com pliance in the state, have since sent in vestigators to the plant. NIOSH also may visit other PVC plants to evaluate expo sure standards. Goodrich said last week that it has re duced worker exposure to hydrocarbons, particularly vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride, to one-tenth of the specified ederal standards. So far, this has not in terfered with the plant's level of produc tion. the company says. In addition, the company is providing medical examinations for all employees involved in any phase of vinyl chloride or PVC production and is checking the medical records of other deceased work ers involved in those operations. A NIOSH spokesman remarks that it's very unusual for three people who worked in the same area to die of angio sarcoma of the liver within such a short period. He notes that the nationwide inci dence of death from this cause last year occurred at a rale of only 21 per year. New clash on coke gases A showdown on coke plant emissions problems is taking place in Buffalo, N.Y. In the most recent round of a state agency's public hearings, a U.S. Environ mental Protection Agency engineer clashed with a Bethlehem Steel spokes man this month as to the feasibility of controlling gaseous emissions from Beth lehem's coke furnace batteries in Lack awanna, N.Y. The conflicting testimony came in New .rork Dept, of Environmental Conserva tion (DEC) hearings on state standards affecting not only Bethlehem but also other Buffalo-area plants, including Al lied Chemical's industrial chemicals divi sion unit. Both Allied and Bethlehem are seeking variances from the standards. Testimony on Allied's request is sched uled for early next month. The state code seeks a 99% reduction in benzopyrene emissions on grounds that the pollutant allegedly is carcinogenic. This apparently is the first such standard in the U.S. Bethlehem insists there is no known technology to control these gaseous emissions. The state code also calls for controls on emissions of ammonia, hydrocarbons, phenol, and hydrogen cyanide. EPA's Lewis Felleisen argued that technology and equipment are available to correct most of the conditions he found and could be installed and in operation within 36 months. Bethlehem, he said, is installing similar control equipment at its other plants. DEC attorney David VanEpps said Bethlehem has not complied with state codes requiring submission of informa tion on its emission control program. Cyanide for coyotes The Environmental Protection Agency will lift a ban and allow several Western states to experiment with new coyote elimination devices--spring-loaded so dium cyanide guns. The first agreement came last week when Texas officials and EPA decided to begin a strictly super vised experiment on private lands Feb. 1. EPA also is expected soon to permit California and Wyoming to employ the new M-44 gun, believed to be safer, both environmentally and for humans, than previously used devices. All poisoning of predators with mechanical devices and poisoned meat was outlawed by the fed eral government in early '72 because of claims that much valuable wildlife was being destroyed along with the coyotes. However, the new elimination plan was decided upon because sheep ranchers recently have asserted that increasing lamb kills by predators are cutting into their profits. The new gun, manufactured by M-44 Safety Predator Control Co. (Midland, Tex.), is designed to fire a sodium cya nide capsule into the mouth of a coyote that tugs on the device, killing the animal instantly. Under EPA requirements, ranchers will keep records of coyotes and other an imals killed by the guns. If EPA deems the results satisfactory, it will approve sale of the devices to the public. Nuclear supermarket A World Nuclear Fuel Market (WNFM) is being formally established this week in Sea Island. Ga. Its purpose, according to organizers, is to serve as a central clearinghouse for transactions in volving nuclear fuel. Sponsors also say that WNFM will save member com panies (now about 125) from procure ment difficulties associated with other commodities, such as oil. The organization was founded and is being coordinated by Nuclear Assurance Corp. (NAC). According to NAC Senior Vice-President Paul Shutt, the company has two main roles in WNFM: as an in formation source for listing .potential buyers and sellers, and as a broker for market member companies that desire its services. Members now are mostly utili ties but also include Allied Chemical. Union Carbide and other firms. Initially, organizers say, WNFM will operate like most other commodity mar kets, except that material will not be offered for speculative dealing to the gen eral public. The organizers hope that later the public can participate. WNFM membership is limited to firms that can show a "demonstrable role in the nuclear industry,"''another NAC spokes man explains. U.S. qpmpanies that joined before the end of '?3 and, international firms joining before the end of March are not required to pay membership-fees. Entry fees after those dates will be' $5,000. Fees are expected to fluctuate in value "just as a seat on the stock market" does, NAC declares. A seven-man board of governors will be responsible for determining policy. As for the possibility of future governmental regulation, Shutt says, "We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." Some Limits: This is not to say. how ever, that the market will be totally open. Plutonium, for instance, will be sold only to buyers licensed by the government. In addition, NAC intends to keep identities of potential buyers and sellers confiden tial, says "this definitely will not be a Sears, Roebuck catalog" operation. In recent months, the Atomic Energy Commission has expressed approval of a free nuclear fuel market. Although an AEC spokesman wouldn't comment spe cifically on WNFM's merits, he maintains that a nuclear fuel market would provide a good way to take care of supply over runs and underruns. He adds that several U.S. utilities already have put in orders for foreign uranium in anticipation of eased uranium import restrictions. January 30. 1974 CHEMICAL WEEK 15 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Tuesday, February 19, 1974 ies to: RLL CLW WRfie A WRS EAS REL - }tsots <S oa ON <sa More Cases of Liver Cancer Are Reported Among Workers at Vinyl Chloride Plant s& i- "----------------------------------------- --------------------- 1-- ------------------------- By Jonathan Spivak *7 - Sia// Reporter at THK Strebt Journal WASHINGTON - Scientific evidence ia mounting that the widely used industrial chem ical vinyl chloride causes cancer In work ers exposed to it. The public health and industrial Implica tions are serious''and substantial, government experts say. "We are faced with a new occupa tional disease. There is no sense denying it," states John O'Neill, chief of the division of health standards in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The evidence of vinyl chloride's hazards means a major change in manufacturing prac tice will be necessary to reduce workers' expo- 'e to it. Federal and private Industry experts i working on a high-priority effort to deter mine the exact extent of risk from the sub stance and what further precautions will be needed. Vinyl chloride is used In malting a wide array of plastics. Including pipes, floor tiles, records and other consumer products. It nor mally Is a gas and is converted in manufactur ing to a material called polyvinyl chloride, a powdery substance that -is then converted into finished products. Mgh Incidence of LJver Cancer The first firm indications of the chemical's possible danger came last month with the re port by B. F. Goodrich Chemical Co., a division of B. F. Goodrich Co,, that it had been deter mined that four workers at Its Louisville, Ky., .plant, which converts vinly chloride into poly vinyl cholortde, had died from a rare type of liver cancer called angiosarcoma. This can cer, which affects the blood vessels of the liver. Is thought to occur among only 28 persons a year nationwide. Thus, the cluster at the Goodrich plant, the largest manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride.in the nation, stirred immediate con cern. s' Then, over the weekend federal authorities reported two more cases of angiosarcoma at the Goodrich plant, bringing to six the number occurring there. "This makes it a bigger prob lem than we had believed," declared Marcus Key. director of the National Institute for Oc cupational Safety and Health, which makes sci entific recommendations to the Labor Depart ment. The Institute is part of the Health, Edi> cation and Welfare Department. __ _________ So far, however, federal authorities aren't prepared to assert specifically that vinyl chlor ide causes liver cancer. They note, along with Goodrich officials, that workers at the compa ny's plant are exposed to a variety of other chemicals involved in the conversion of vinyl chloride to polyvinyl chloride. But the circum stantial evidence is increasing, and a strong case is building from records of human cancer and animal experiments that a substantial health problem has been uncovered. The immediate issue is what new precau tionary measures should be taken to protect workers. Some 6,500 employes at 3? plants op erated by 23 U.S. manufacturers are involved. Uhion representatives have urged the Occupa tional Safety Agency to Issue an immediate order tightening its existing limit of S00 parts po- million in the atmosphere. Industry repre sentatives, however, urge that the Labor De partment take more time in investigating the problem and issue Its new regulations under usual procedures, which permit a public hear ing before they go into effect. Alexander Reis, an official of the Occupa tional Safety Agency, said the decision on emergency regulations would be made only after additional information from current gov ernment and industry studies was available. "About the only thing that is clear is the exist ing standard will have to be changed." Mr. Reis said. "Closed System" Is Urged The HEW institute is urging that the Labor Department act as promptly as possible by issuing rules requiring vinyl chloride manufac turers to operate under a so-called "closed sys tem." This means that workers would be fully protected against any exposure to the chemi cal, and it would require significant changes in manufacturing processes, government special ists say. The HEW recommendations also 1 1s Wild call for monitoring of the environment in the plants and medical tests of worker* to de termine whether they are beginning to experi ence adverse effects. The institute also I* urg ing that there be warning placards in manufac turing areas and that employers be required to provide specific warning information^ to^em ployes. T--'Aw- . Meanwhile, government and Industry are accelerating efforts to determine the extent of the problem and to determine more definitively the role played by vinyl chloride In Its cause. The Goodrich Louisville plant was one of the first to begin production of the plastic compo nent after World War II and the type of canoer diagnosed In its employes is one that takes many years to become evident. The first four workers found to have the disease had been ex posed for at least 14 years before the Illness. An Initial government step will be to survey other vinyl chloride plants, particularly those involved In conversion of vinyl chloride to pdyvinyl chloride. A cluster of such plants occur in Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. In addition, government specialists point out that an examination should be made of con sumers' exposure through the use of products containing polyvinyl chloride, although there currently isn't any evidence of rlak in this area. "We are talking about levels (of exposire) at present that are achieved only in the industrial environment,'* points out Dr. dark Heath, chief of the cancer and birth defects <U.vision t l I 9 t 10Z000 AHA NEWS 2:4:74 Cc: l. s ... &P * jv-v une or the benzene based awareness that this was the The Goodrich report "gives us materials from the free mar third death of its kind "war a head start on finding if there ketplace, utilizing them inter ranted a thorough investiga is work-relatedness in these nally or bartering them away for tion. . . deaths, and in finding suitable items that may be [otherwise] Goodrich, under the law, was standards if there is." unavailable.... /' duty-bound to notify Kentucky `The regulations as written health officials. But the firm Operation candor--"We were provide the oil companies with was not required to notify required by law to notify Ken relief in securing their feed NIOSH or to release notice of tucky officials," says John Bell, stocks," Mr. Fass continues. the deaths to the press. Goodrich's director of external `The theory goes that if these And the fact that they did is communications and public af feedstocks are secured, then somewhat unusual. NIOSH in fairs. "But those reports are they will take care of the down formation officer Dick Wilson privileged. Not a matter of pub stream market." But to Mr. says the voluntary report was lic record. Fms, the situation "Is somewhat "unique. "So our decision to notify akin to the lamb in the lion's "In our experience--and this NIOSH and to make a public an /'den." dates back to June 1971, when nouncement was based not on the institute was first set up-- legal considerations but on prac this is the first voluntary alert tical matters. Goodrich's warning could save lives we've received." Because the petrochemical in dustry has been with us for "The evidence was complex, fragmentary, and inconclusive. Nonetheless, we wanted to tell MEDICAL EXPERTS at the Na tional Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) are running computer checks of medical records and autopsy re ports from a number of vinyl about 20 years--and the three who died worked around vinyl chloride an average of 20 years --Mr. Wilson is concerned that the industry might soon see more such cases. our employees what is going on and not make them rely on hear ing everything second-hand, or getting fragmentary information from unreliable sources," he says. chloride plants across the U. S. Spurring the investigations \ was a report in January that HMO: a health care optionsince 1971 three employees of B. F. Goodrich Co.'s polyvinyl chloride plant in Louisville have died of angiosarcoma of the liver. Angiosarcoma, Goodrich doc tors explain, is a fairly rare form of cancer. And a determination that the Goodrich illnesses were indeed caused by the work en vironment would no doubt lead to a revision of federal stand ards for working with vinyl chlorides. your firm will have to offer \ Businessmen may soon find HMOs are an old idea whose HMO option need not be offered until the contract expires. time has come. ^ Starting next year, many employers will have to offer their workers the option of health maintenance organiza tion (HMO) enrollment instead of traditional health insurance. Another condition on the offer: an employer won't have to pay more for the HMO al ternative than he already does for current health insurance plans or Blue Cross/Blue Shield. "If HMO benefits cost more, and The reason: a little-noticed the employee wants it, then it is Who told?--Although the last employee died in December, Goodrich did not receive an au topsy report until mid-January. And although all five of the firm's vinyl chloride plants were section of the Health Main tenance Organization Act that President Nixon signed Dec. 29. The legislation applies to firms covcrpd by the minimum wage law'and which have an up to him to pay for it," Wil liam McHenry, the U. S. Cham ber of Commerce's economic security manager, advised na tional and state chamber person nel this month. operating well below levels pre average of 25 or more employees Further, the option will apply scribed by the government--the in a calendar quarter. For some only if there's a .qualified HMO Louisville plant at only 10% of companies, however, the effec in the area where employees those levels--Dr. Maurice N. tive date could fall after January live. It's up to the secretary of i Johnson, Goodrich's director of / 1975. If a firm has a multiyear the Dept, of Health, Education environmental health, said health contract in force then, the & Welfare (HEW) to determine 20 February 4. 1974 / Industry We: aha Letters Chasing rainbows? SIR: Once more we are regaled by the re port of a committee composed--as usual! --"ol leading educators, that of the Panel on Alternate Approaches to Graduate Edu cation |C&EN. Dec. 24. 1973. page 35). I teel at a great disadvantage in having only the C&EN report in front of me but the ne cessity of making at least some reply be fore. hopefully, this report follows others into oblivion, mandates a quick (and mer cifully brief) comment. Once more the universities are being told that they must buckle on their soup kitchen aprons and save society! Lets make sure that we train these students in all those things which this panel thinks so ciety wants and yet we of the universities are so ill Qualified to do! The list of shibbo leths is breath-taking: "enhance prepara tion tor problem solving," "increase the breadth of students' outlooks.' "make them aware ... of industry' (Do I get cu cumbers from sunshine or sunshine from cucumbers? I always forget!)--away with discipline-oriented attitudes (!)--"reorient themselves to fulfill a pivotal role in socie tal planning " (I enjoyed that one!), "too many overtrained students" (whatever that means!), "each major discipline . . . re-ex amine its ... aims and social uses.' "pref erential treatment to groups hitherto disr nated (unfairly?) against ' (Dr. Page's , uncements on that question in colui > 3 of page 36 were sophistry of a high order). Need I continue? One might seriously ask many questions but surely the first one is whether, perhaps, we have not already chased too many rain bows and whether each of us individually and departmentally should not simply ask ourselves whether we have not already strayed too far' from our field of compe tence and expertise, that of educating stu dents lo think in chemical terms. The hilarity engendered by the metaphor (i1) at the end of the article prompted me to recall that, no doubt apocryphal, story about the great leader (or was it a commit tee7) who. having exhorted his followers on to greater things, replied to the an guished question of "but what should we do with the ringing phrase "EVEN MORE'" Thomas M. Dunn Professor of Chemistry. University of Mich igan. Ann Ardor. Mich. More on petrochemicals SIR: The Jan. 7 issue of C&EN (page 5) quotes the Shah of Iran as saying, "You cannot get petrochemical products from atomic energy." Most of your readers will realize that statement is not quite correct. Mineral oil. the Shah's oil. is basically a grand mixture of hydrocarbons. Given lime stone as a source of carbon, i.e. CO2. water as a source of hydrogen via electrol ysis. heat and electrical energy from nu clear power plants and some selected catalvsts. the chemical industry can produce >carbons as desired. Coal may now be .?aper source of carbon than limestone and can yield either carbon monoxide or dioxide, or carbon monoxide and hydrogen with addition of water, without nuclear en ergy. My point is that production of petro chemicals is possible without natural oil or gas. and even without coal given nuclear energy. The process is just one of energy conversion. The cost of hydrocarbons via this route sets an upper limit, in the long run, on the price of oil. That upper limit is probably not as much above the present price for oil as many would imagine. Much further along the road, an upper limit on the price of uranium is in turn set by tne cost of recovery from the Gulf Stream for example, and doesn't frighten me at all. I do agree with the Shah in the sense that an overall systems approach to oil consumption should be taken, and the best use be made of this nonrenewable re source. However. I remember two lines from my first chemistry textbook, authored by Prof. Cornish: "You can make anything from a salve to a star, if you only know how from black coal tar." The textbook was written before Chadwick proposed the existence of the neutron, and before oil was a commodity in the Middle East. Deep River. Ont. W.H. Stevens Use your right to vote SIR: 1 am in accord with your editorial concern about the lack of votes sent m by ACS members in various elections and other matters where voting of the member ship is concerned. How about increasing the membership charges for those members who cant muster enougn energy to vote? As an al ternate. gwe reduced rates to those who are sufficiently interested in the Society to utilize their voting rights. That Should gath er a few more votes. R. W. Curtis Commercial Development Dept.. Cincinnati Milacron. Cincinnati. Ohio No asbestos here SIR: I would like to point out that on page 19 of your Dec. 10, 1973. issue of C&EN. under the article "Asbestos health question perplexes experts." you have published a picture of a cement worker shaking out a bag of Utility Cement, which happens to be an insulating cement manufactured by C-E Refractories. We have not used asbestos in this product since early 1972. and we cer tainly don't appreciate the implication that this product is one that is dangerous to workers. In the future. I would suggest that before using proprietary items in your articles you check with the manufacturer as to contents of materials, particularly in such sensitive areas as asbestos. R. T. Hegeman President. C-E Refractories. Valley Forge. Pa. Yes, Dominique, there are ... SIR: Yes. Dominique, in spite of all rumors to the contrary, chemists are people (C&EN. Feb. 4. page 3). Some of us love the beauty of sun. stars and wind: some of us even write poems about sunsets. A long time ago it was shown that there is a positive correlation between all human excellencies if you are willing to accept large feet as an excellency. So chemists, who are well above average in Intelligence, are also musical, good. kind, and great people in general--with a few exceptions. H. B. Hass Summit. N.J. An inexpensive HS-(CH2C02CH2)-SH Cross-Linking agent and specialty monomer by addition across unsaturation -- by reaction with aldehyde, ketone and acid chloride groups. HC CM || !| + HS{CH,CO,CH,),SH HC CH II | * WB -- S-- (CM, CO, CH,), - S - CH hL CH 00 1 II II I HC-C-CI CI-C-CH + HS(CH,C0:CH,)3$H I . I II T |1 I HC--C--$--(CNjCOa CH,),-S-C-CH II XnX X + nHS-M--SH I +I | -- S--M--S--C --$--M--S-C --S--M--S-- C / DATA SHEETS AND SAMPLES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST cHemeTics. irvc. 90 Tokeneke Road Darien, Connecticut 06820 Phone: 203-655-6741 Cable: EVANSCHEM TWX: 710-457-3356 Feb. 18, 1974 C&EN 5 VRD 0002014613 The Chemical World his Week - Civ (t LL- a ) EVIDENCE MOUNTS LINKING VINYL CHLORIDE AND CANCER The growing suspicion that expo sure to vinyl chloride has led to the deaths of polyvinyl chloride workers from a most rare form of liver can cer has apparently been reinforced. A research study in which rats ex posed to high levels (apparently 30,000 p.p.m.l of vinyl chloride vapor also develop angiosarcoma of the liver was slated to be disclosed publicly in the U.S. by Prof. Cesare Maltoni of the University of Bo logna, Italy, just after press time. The study has been supported by a consortium of European firms, in cluding Imperial Chemical Indus tries (C&EN. Feb. 11, page 8). What's more, the view that the deaths are an isolated event limited to just one of B. F. Goodrich's U.S. plants and not proved to be occu pationally linked is fast disappear ing. Four angiosarcoma deaths now have been confirmed at the BFG plant instead of the three revealed earlier (C&EN, Jan. 28, page 6). Another diagnosed case of angiosar coma occurred in an ICI employee who worked in a U.K. vinyl chlo ride operation for 20 years, sources in the U.K. and U.S. say. The clustering of the four BFG cases; "cannot be explained by chance alone." Dr. Marcus M. Key, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, told those at a Cleveland briefing on the cancer hazard ear lier last week. What action the U.S. takes, if any, beyond interim procedures NIOSH has recommenaed hinges upon the outcome of a fact-finding hearing at the Labor Department on Feb. 15. Prof. Maltoni, BFG. Dow Chemical, organized labor, and others were scheduled to testi fy. AFL-CIO was to present a uni fied, organized labor position urg ing the department to promulgate an emergency temporary standard, a procedure used earlier for 14 other carcinogens. Dr. V. K. Rowe, Dow's top toxicologist, was expect ed to oppose this procedure, asking instead for regular rule-making for a permanent standard. He suggests the deaths result from gross expo sure 10 to 30 years in the past. All four BFG deaths, as well as mother four liver disease cases at he plant under investigation, in volved persons who cleaned polynerization reactors after this step n the suspension process for PVC. 3FG has used a less hazardous leaning process for the past five /ears, however. Significantly, the latency period :or most cancers to develop nearly Key: not explained by chance matches the great growth in the U.S. PVC industry that has taken place over the past two decades or so. NIOSH estimates there are 5000 workers at risk in U.S. PVC plants and 1500 at vinyl chloride plants. NIOSH will contract out an epi demiology study that will be inde pendent of the study on workers al ready under way at member firms of the Manufacturing Chemists As sociation. MCA's results will not be ready for "at least two to three months." a-spokesman says. Ear lier, MCA halted circulation of its 1972 safety data sheet on vinyl chloride, which stated that human carcinogenicity had not been ob served. Plastic prices get big boosts As U.S. chemical makers sort out the fine points of the recent Cost ol Living Council action relaxing Phase IV price controls on petro chemicals, plastics resins, and syn thetic fibers (C&EN, Feb. 4, page 4), price hikes are being announced with resin makers leading the way. So far three major resin produc ers--Dow Chemical, Monsanto, ind Union Carbide--have spelled >ut large and wide-ranging price in creases for resins following the CLC iction. These boosts come after a vear in which listed chemical prices lave moved up relatively modestly. According to Labor Department lata, the price index for plastics esins and materials moved up 1.1% between December 1972 and December 1973. For chemicals and dlied products the gain was 4.9%. Df course, the ``gray market" price or resins and many other chemical products has been spiraling upward or some months. Among the recent price moves VIonsanto has posted increases of 5 cents a pound on bulk shipments of solystyrene resins, and increases of 1 cents a pound on bulk acryloni- :rile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) resins. New price for general-purpose poly styrene is 19 cents a pound. Truckload quantities of ABS resins now range from 32 to 45 cents a pound, and SAN in truckload bags is 27 cents a pound. Monsanto says that "these increases are consistent with the Cost of Living Council ac tion of Jan. 30" and reflect in creased cost of raw materials, ener gy, and distribution, among other factors. Dow, citing reasons much the same as Monsanto's, has raised the price of its general-purpose polysty rene from 17 to 26 cents a pound. ABS and SAN now go for 32 cents a pound, up from 23.5 and 24 cents a pound. Price of highdensity injection- and blow-mold ing polyethylene was increased from 14.5 to 18.5 cents a pound. Dow's low-density film-grade poly ethylene is now 17 cents a pound, up from 13 cents. The company says that these new prices still do not match those of the world mar ket but should help it compete on the world market for petrochemical feedstocks. Carbide's new prices for high- density injection- and blow-mold ing polyethylene are the same as Dows, but its low-density film grade is a bit higher at 18.5 cents a pound. SAN is now 28 cents a ound. up from 22 cents, while igh-impact polystyrene increased from 16.5 cents a pound to 21.5 cents a pound. Carbide raised the tab on its polyvinyl chloride resin suspensions by 5 cents bringing the 6 C&EN Feb. 18, 1974 VRD 0002014614 are being adversely affected by the strike. PPG says that a continued strike will cause it to curtail opera tions and lay off employees at many of its U.S. plants, and at least two plants "face imminent shutdowns." Trucks are PPG's major means of transportation, ac cording to Donald G. Griffin, vice president of traffic, and more than half of the trucks serving PPG are off the road, he says. Mr. Griffin adds that the company is operating its own trucks as much as possible, but that company-owned trucks take care of only 10% of its needs. Dow says it is using alternate means of transportation "where practical." The Illinois-based trucking oper ation of one of the nation's largest chemical companies says that it is now running its trucks in convoy, each carrying its own fuel in drums to avoid stopping at diesel stations blockaded by the independents (where most of the trouble is taking place i. It is not running its fleets at night, the company says, to avoid "looking for trouble." Some of its plants are already feeling the pinch, particularly those in the Midwest. Monsanto says that it hasn't had "too much trouble" moving its products on short hauls where trucks don't have to stop to refuel. Most of its other shipments are leaving its plants, but the company admits that it doesn't yet know whether they are being delayed en route. Monsanto says it does not contemplate any plant closings, but if theistrike continues. "We may have to request police escorts to as sure the movement of materials critical to our operations and those of our customers." NAS panel to study science in government When President Nixon sent his White House science advisory ap paratus packing a year ago to a new residence and role at the Na tional Science Foundation, the wis dom of the eviction was questioned, albeit not all that vocally. But now a prestigious, ad hoc panel of the National Academy of Sciences will do a broad, yet quick study on how to assure the best use of scientific and technical advice in developing public policy and planning and managing federal R&D. NAS has persuaded Dr. James R. Killian. Jr., honorary chairman of the Corporation of the Massachu setts Institute of Technology, to head the panel. The first Special Killian: avoiding surprises Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. Dr. Kil lian was brought aboard the White House staff by President Eisenhow er in 1957 after the "surprise" of Sputnik. Two chemists are serving on the panel, which so far consists of 13 members. Both chemists assure C&EN that a case will not be made for resurrecting a Presidential Science Adviser, who also heads an Office of Science and Technology, and a President's Science Advisory Committee. Panel vice chairman Kenneth S. Pitzer. chemistry pro fessor at the University of Califor nia. Berkeley, says the panel will look for ways "to help instead of hinder" science adviser H. Guyford Stever. who also doubles as NSF director. Fellow panelist and chemistry professor Franklin A. Long of Cor nell University says the ad hoc group will study the "adequacy" of the new advisory mechanism, rec ognizing that there are "organiza tion problems that can't be ducked." For one. there's the con flict of interest inherent in Dr. Stever's dual role. Then. too. it's questionable whether Dr. Stever and his science policy staff "have sufficient clout" reporting to the President at the level they now do. The panel will study the fact that the current science adviser, unlike his predecessors, is not required to oversee military R&D. And energy policy formulation will be exam ined. Few. if any. subpanels will be convened for the 825.000 study that "may be available." NAS says, to its policy-making council "within four to six months." Whether the findings become public then is un certain now. Witnesses score House geothermal bill Geothermal energy holds great po tential for filling some of the coun try's energy requirements by the end of the decade, representatives of federal research and develop ment agencies agreed last week in testimony before the House Sub committee on Energy (R&D). Nev ertheless. they were unanimously opposed to the geothermal energy R&D proposals under consideration by that committee. Instead, the of ficials of five federal agencies in volved in current geothermal ener gy programs all urged support of the Administration's proposed uni fied Energy Research and Develop ment Administration (ERDA). The House bill IH.R. 11212). in troduced by Rep. Mike McCor mack (D.-Wash.l. chairman of the energy subcommittee, calls for a six-year. S80 million program to de velop commercial demonstrations of geothermal energy technologies. The bill would authorize the Na tional Science Foundation to fund basic and applied geothermal ener gy research and the National Aero nautics and Space Administration to develop pilot programs. The Administration sees the Government's role in geothermal R&D somewhat differently. To wit: The Administration has proposed an initial S185 million, five-year geothermal R&D program. And the Administration wants geothermal R&D--which now is being conduct ed mostly by NASA, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Interior Department, and NSF--included in ERDA. AEC chairman Dixy Lee Ray told the subcommittee that en ergy R&D can be best achieved "in an economical and administratively effective manner . . . through legisla tive support of ERDA and its uni fied program." Other witnesses questioned the funding level proposed by the House bill. A statement prepared by Dow Chemical suggests that the $80 million funding proposed by the bill would be sufficient for only two major geothermal development pilot programs. In defense of his bill. Rep. McCormack explained his feeling that widespread House support for geothermal energy development probably would ensure quick pas sage of a limited bill. House pas sage of the ERDA proposal will be more controversial and will not occur rapidly, if at all. in his view. Legislation for creating ERDA al ready has passed the Senate. Feb. 11. 1974 C&EN 7 CONCENTRATES Industry/Business Puerto Rico Olefins will operate through 1975 under a new agreement between PPG Industries and Common wealth Oil Refining, partners in the joint venture. The company's Penuelas, P.R.. plant has run only fitfully since last spring on interim agreements while PPG and Corco prepare for court action, possibly by midyear, on feedstock supplies and pricing. PPG lost $28 million, before taxes, last year on its Puerto Rico chemical op erations, which rely on feedstock from the olefins plant, after a $24 million loss in 1972. Du Pont will lift its EPDM rubber capacity at Beau mont. Tex., by about 60 million pounds a year during the next two and a half years. The plant will be able to tnake about 180 million pounds of ethylene-propylenediene monomer rubber annually when the expansion, the first stage of which will come on stream this year, is completed. In a second expansion, Du Pont will add two production lines, giving it 3 million pounds a year of new capacity, to its powder coatings facilities at Parlin. N.J. Industry briefs Hercules is building a monochloroacetic acid plant at Hopewell, Va., which, when on stream next year, will double the company's capacity for the product and rovide it with material for sale for the first time. fluorocarbon capacity at Union Carbide's Institute, W. Va., plant has been increased 30% to about 200 mil lion pounds a year. aovernment Release of an ICI toxicology study on vinyl chloride is being urged by HEW. From an examination of prelimi nary data in the Imperial Chemical Industries work or "European study" as it's now called, vinyl chloride is probably the chief suspect among more than 50 chemi cals possibly the cause of deaths from a rare form of livertcancer at a B. F. Goodrich plant (C&EN, Jan. 28, age'6). This conclusion is reached by Dr. Marcus M. S^ey, director of HEW's National Institute for Occupa tional Safety and Health. NIOSH has learned that the onset of the cancer, angiosarcoma, is so rapid that, ---- once detected, it's too late to do anything about it. Mandatory allocation of plastics feedstocks "all the way down to the processor level" would be required in a bill introduced by Rep. Ronald A. Sarasin (R.-Conn.). Cit ing increased unemployment, plastics feedstock short ages of up to 60% at the processor level, and a "gray if not black market" in petrochemicals, Rep. Sarasin also calls for imposing export controls on plastics feed stocks. Medical device legislation has won Senate approval. The measure (S. 2368) would permit FDA to control the marketing of such devices, which include chemical diagnostic equipment, through premarket clearance. The measure also provides for tougher controls over ad vertising of prescription devices than in the bill as orig inally proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D.-Mass.). Similar legislation is still lodged in a House subcom mittee awaiting markup. MCA takes a dim view of mandatory patent licensing requirements in pending energy R&D bills--H.R. 11856 and S. 1283. In a letter to Rep. Morris K. Udall (D.Ariz.) the Manufacturing Chemists Association says that the bills' patent provisions--which include man datory licensing of background patents, and could re 8 C&EN Feb. 11, 1974 quire licensing of energy-related technology of even nonparticipants in joint government-industry research projects--would act as "a disincentive to technological progress," be "seriously disruptive" of the patent sys tem, and discourage industry participation in energy R&D under the bills. Washington roundup A 20-month study to identify some 40,000 tradenamed chemicals found in the work place is under way by Auerbach Associates, Philadelphia, under contract to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment ac tions: Dr. Harold Brown, president of California Insti tute of Technology, has been elected chairman of the OTA advisory council and Dr. Edward Wenk, Jr., of the University of Washington, vice chairman. international U.K. should stick with its own nuclear reactor designs rather than switch to the U.S. technology, the govern ment's Select Committee on Science and Technology recommends after hearings that began last October. The question of guaranteed safety of pressurized water reactors was a central issue in the decision. Britain's Central Electricity Generating Board advocates install ing PWR's for its next round of nuclear power plants. A major chemical investment program in Italy has the green light from the government. About $1.75 billion will be spent on a wide range of projects, mostly in southern Italy, by six companies: Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, Liquichimica, Montedison, Rumianca, Societa Italians Resine, and SARP, a SIR-Ente Minerario Siciliano joint venture. The plans include a new naphtha cracker capable of producing 500,000 metric tons a year of ethylene at Licata, Sicily, to be owned by ENI, Li quichimica, Montedison, and SARP. Japanese refiners are accused of illegal price hikes by the Fair Trade Commission, which administers Japan's antimonopoly laws. FTC charges 12 major refiners and distributors with forming an illegal price cartel late last year covering gasoline and certain other oil prod ucts, and recommends that the cartel be ended. Japan Petroleum Association officials deny the charge, and FTC may now choose to conduct formal hearings prior to seeking court action. Meanwhile, the Ministry of In ternational Trade and Industry is readying a set of "semi-mandatory prices" for oil products. A Japanese/French uranium mining project has been launched in the Republic of Niger. La Compagnie Minifere d'Akouta (Cominak) has been formed by Japan's Overseas Uranium Resources Development Co., the French government's Commissariat a l'finergie Atomique, and the Niger government to mine and process ores from the Akouta deposit. Set for completion in the late 1970's, the project aims at 600,000 metric tons a year of ore, to be processed into concentrates contain ing some 2000 tons a year of uranium. Two new foreign ammonia plants may supply U.S. markets. W. R. Grace and the government of Trinidad and Tobago will form a joint venture, Trinidad Nitro gen Co., to build a 1200 ton-a-day anhydrous ammonia plant at Point Lisas, Trinidad. The $55 million plant is scheduled for startup in early 1976. Also planned for 1976 is a slightly smaller ammonia plant to be built in southern Alberta by Tyler Corp., Dallas, Tex., and PanCanadian Petroleum, Calgary, Alta., largely to serve U.S. needs initially. rb3) S3 S3 ro e*3 W> k--* International VRD 9002014616 South Korean petrochemicals still growing Despite uncertainties over feedstock supplies, some proposals for further petrochemical expansions are proceeding Uncertainty over feedstock supplies is cutting into South Korea's plans for a major petrochemicals expansion. In suspension are proposals for three 150,000 barrel-a-day refineries, made last year by separate, predominately Japanese consortiums. Their naphtha output was to underwrite new Korean chemical capacity. Still scheduled, though, are expansions totaling 115,000 barrels a day at South Korea's three existing refineries. Korea Oil Corp.'s buildup at Ulsan in cludes a 50% expansion of its 100,000 metric-ton-a-year naphtha cracker, the core of what is now Korea's only petro chemical complex. A construction con tract for the cracker expansion is ex pected to be let this spring. Meanwhile, negotiations are continu ing between the South Korean government and Mitsubishi and Mitsui industrial groups toward joint con struction by the two Japanese com bines of a new chemical complex near Yosu that would receive naphtha from Honant Oil's enlarged refinery. An eth ylene output of 350,000 metric tons a year at Yosu is "almost definite" at the current stage of the talks, government sources in Seoul, South Korea, tell C&EN. South Korea's economic develop ment policy, reminiscent of Japan's strategy a decade ago, emphasizes the buildup of heavy industry along with rapid expansion of export trade. (Heavy industry includes petrochemi cals, steel and metals, shipbuilding, machinery, and electronics.) The gov ernment's long-term economic projec tion shows heavy industry moving from 35% of all manufacturing output in 1972 to 51% of a much-expanded out put in 1981. To help cover chemical feedstock needs for such growth, the government last autumn gave conditional approval for the three proposed Japanese-spon sored refineries, all to be completed by 1976. Naphtha from these refineries would supply domestic olefins plants. All other products--and some naphtha, depending on the number of refineries actually built--would be exported, probably to Japan. Building ca pacity abroad has some appeal in Japan, where tight pollution regula tions, soaring land cost, and widespread local opposition to new industrial building have made new plant sites increasingly hard to find. But another part of the arrange ment, that the new re fining ventures guaran tee the supply of their crude oil requirements, soon ran afoul of the Arab oil embargoes and the uncertainty over future supplies that followed. Yearend 1973, originally set as the deadline for fil ing crude supply plans for the proposed refin eries, passed without action. Other price and sup ply dislocations are partly to blame as well. "The Korean gov ernment is pressing us to move ahead," says a Teijin, Ltd., manager in Tokyo, "but so far we simply can't." (Tei jin, Japan Line, trad ing firm C. Itoh & Co., and Korean interests form one of the refinery consortiums.) "Construction costs, the price of steel --all the factors we must know--are still shifting." Worldwide intermediates shortages, too, may affect chemical plans in Korea. Teijin now makes polyester fiber there through a joint venture with Korea's Sunkyong group. In planning is a 120,000 metric-ton-a-year dimethyl terephthalate plant, to be built by a new Korean venture of Teijin, the U.S.'s Hercules, and several Korean textile firms. The original startup tar get was 1976. Though plant design work is continuing, Teijin has become reluctant now to confirm a startup date. The problem: No p-xylene supplies are currently in sight for the operation. Booming demand already has out stripped South Korea's domestic supplies of key petrochemicals. Last year, for example, low-density polyeth ylene from Ulsan selling at about $400 a ton had to be supplemented by im ports costing $1000 a ton. Prices of do mestic output are set by the Petro chemical Industry Development Law. Following the price hikes for Persian Gulf crude oil, the price of ethylene at Ulsan has been raised by 3 cents from 4.5 cents a pound to 7.5 cents a pound, plus an escalation increment that may up the effective price to about 9.5 cents. But the government thinks Korean chemical prices will stay below world levels. Seoul is eager to close the supply gap with new domestic capacity. The Japa nese have proposed their taking 50% of production from the Yosu complex with the rest to be sold in Korea. Given the chemicals shortfall, and a commitment to a 10% average annual real growth for the economy through 1976, the government may want to keep more Yosu output in Korea. Feb. 25. 1974 C&EN 15 Government ~rr: C* Battle lines drawn an vinyl chloride issue Chemical management says workers now have adequate protection from suspected cancer agent; labor wants emergency standard set Chemical management and labor have drawn the battle lines for what shapes up as another bitter struggle over how best to safeguard workers from a sus pect cancer-causing agent. Industry witnesses at a Labor Department fact finding hearing 10 days ago asked that further controls on exposure to vinyl chloride or other chemicals involved in making the monomer or polymerizing it to polyvinyl chloride be set by ordi nary rule-making. But AFL-CIO unions argued that four confirmed liver cancer deaths at a B. F. Goodrich PVC plant warrant issuing an emergency temporary standard. The unions probably have the clout to get this immediate emergency rule as they did for the first 14 carcinogens the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration chose to control. But when OSHA issued per manent standards for these agents, in dustry win on most key issues. It may do so again, for the deaths at BFG may be seen as resulting from very high ex posures years ago when, as one indus try expert puts it, firms were "much more cavalier" toward vinyl chloride's hazards, save for fires and explosions. AFL-CIO is urging that a vinyl chlo ride rule be set comparable to what OSHA's advisory panel asked for the 14 agents which included no measureable exposure to a carcinogen, other safe work practices, closed systems, and use permits. Besides these controls, the unions want all vinyl chloride and PVC work ers to get periodic medical and lab tests along the lines of an AFL-CIO protocol. Labor also demands that the amount of residual vinyl chloride in PVC resins be cut "to less than 0.01% as quickly as possible." This 100p.p.m. level compares with the 500 p.p.m. to 3000 p.p.m. of monomer now entrapped in resins prior to packaging and shipment. AFL-CIO says. Stressing the safety of current opera tions, BFG, Dow Chemical, Shell Chemical, and the Manufacturing Chemists Association all support the less-immediate route to a rule to im prove upon the current federal ceiling So rare that NIOSH believes there of 500 p.p.m. vinyl chloride exposure. are only 20 to 30 deaths a year from it BFG Chemical is implementing "as throughout the U.S., angiosarcoma of rapidly as possible" most of the tempo the liver can be misdiagnosed as cir rary, precautionary procedures recom rhosis of the liver. Such was the case at mended. in the wake of the deaths, by first for two of the four BFG cases. All the National Institute for Occupational four exhibit a concurrent, nonalcoholic Safety and Health, says the firm's cirrhosis, says Dr. Henry Falk of the president, Anton Vittone, Jr, The pro Center for Disease Control. Atlanta, cedures cover such items as protective Ga. gear, monitoring of plant and person The BFG workers had average expo nel, and general housekeeping prac sures of some 19 years to vinyl chloride tices, but set no new limits for chemi and 10 years to vinylidene chloride, cal exposures. with variable exposures to such chemi MCA member firms are aware of the cals as vinyl acetate, methyl acrylate, procedures and are reducing employee ethyl acrylate, methanol, and chlori exposure voluntarily, says Albert C. nated solvents, Mr. Vittone says. At Clark, vice president-technical direc first there was "high suspicion" among tor. ``Substantial research is now in surviving BFG workers that vinylidene progress," he adds; that "will provide a chloride was carcinogenic, observes firm basis for any standard applicable NIOSH's Vernon E. Rose. Although to VC/PVC manufacture." Regular this question will be probed later, fur rule-making "would allow the orderly ther evidence of a link between vinyl chloride and the deaths has been re Rats inhaling vinyl chloride vealed. Prof. Cesare Maltoni, director of Ist get rare liver cancer Exposure lavals* (p.p.m.) Rats with llvar angio sarcomas Numbar of rats axposad ituto Di Oncologia, Bologna, Italy, has experimentally created liver angiosar comas in rats inhaling vinyl chloride. The cancers occur down to the 250- 10,000 6,000 6 11 69 72 p.p.m. level, but so far not at the 50p.p.m. level. (Significantly, many firms claim they already operate at 2.500 9 74 this level or will do so soon.) The rats 500 7 67 also develop zymbal glands carcinomas 250 2 67 and kidney nephroblastomas at low 50 0 64 levels that, along with the angiosarco a Atmospheric exposure of Sprague-Dawley rats to vinyl chloride, four hours daily, five days a week, for 12 months. Note: No liver angiosarcomas were observed in controls or rats exposed similarly to 2500 p.p.m. vinyl ace tate. Source: Unpublished research by Prof. Cesare Maltoni, Istituto Di Oncologia, Bologna, Italy mas, he has never found in his rats be fore. Based on four BFG cases, the Center for Disease Control concludes that "it seems distinctly possible that the prob lem may be industrywide." Dr. Irving J. Selikoff. Mount Sinai School of development of data," stresses Richard Medicine, New York, N.Y., claims to J. Reynolds, Shell's vinyl chloride have found liver and lung changes manager. among workers at Goodyear Tire & BFG's disclosure of first three Rubber's PVC plant in Niagara Falls, deaths, then a fourth fatality due to N.Y., similar to those in a West Ger angiosarcoma of the liver among poly man study of PVC workers reported merization section workers at its late last year. At this writing, two Louisville, Ky., plant created the push more BFG cases, including a death in for a new vinyl chloride limit iC&EX, 1964 with angiosarcoma a contributing Jan. 28. page 6; Feb. 18, page 6). With cause, have been revealed. An Imperial out the disclosure, "`it is entirely possi Chemical Industries case is still uncon ble that the significance of the tumors firmed by the firm. would not have been realized for sever "What we now know about the rela al more years." admits Dr. Marcus M. tion between cancer and vinyl chloride Key, NIOSH director. At a Cleveland is only the tip of the iceberg because of briefing two weeks ago. he stressed the long latency period." says Anthony that ``an occupational cause or causes Mazzocchi, legislative director for Oil, [for the deaths] must be presumed," Chemical and Atomic Workers Inter adding that a ``serious situation" exists national Union. He may be right. But for PVC workers ``throughout the what corrective steps are taken re world." mains to be seen. IS C&EN Feb. 25. 1974 LIH U IB B B 03 ''V ///' New heat on PVC? A warning on polyvinyl chloride pack aging was given in the Nov. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Three women who wrap meat, an article staled, developed severe respiratory problems following exposure to fumes produced by cutting PVC film with a hot wire. "We are reporting these cases because we suspect the phenomenon is not un common." contended the three Califor nia physicians who authored the article. The workers, all middle-aged and all smokers, developed symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and wheez ing. which resembled an asthma attack, according to the doctors. The discomfort cleared up when the women left the packaging room, but they had respiratory problems when wrapping meat with some other materials, the doctors said. The difficulty could stem from the plas ticizer or stabilizer used in making the PVC film. Union Carbide speculates. The heat might have volatilized some of the materials in the film, the company theo rizes. Carbide says it is a large producer of PVC resins bul'ffiai its major outlets for them do not include loud packaging. This is not the first time.that questions have been raised about PVC_packaging. A few months ago the Food and Drug Administration temporarily banned molded PVC bottles for liquor because of concern about monomer migration into the liquor. "Moreover, had FDA not acted on PVC i liquor bottles, the Environmental Protec tion Agency was reported ready to submit "new evidence" that a substantial in'cTease in the use of PVC in packaging] l would be harmful to the environment. I Rapid wrap-up Du Pont will build a 100-millionlbs./year bulked, continuous-filament ny lon plant in Waynesboro. Va. Onstream target: '76. Cost was not reported. . . . Hercules plans to double graphite fiber capacity (unspecified) at its Bacchus, Utah, plant. Additions are to be com pleted in '74. . . . Hercules began con struction of a "multimillion-pounds-capacity" Natrosol hydroxyethyl cellulose unit at its Parlin, N.J., plant. The unit is expected onstream by first-quarter '75. American Cyanamid has agreed to spend more than $10 million for addi tional air pollution control devices at its Bound Brook, N.J.. plant to settle a pollu tion suit brought by the New Jersey Dept, of Environmental Protection. W.R. Grace acquired Cleary Petroleum for more than $12 million in Grace stock. . . . Conoco Chemicals will open a tanker terminal for ethylene on the Gulf Coast in Apr. '74. The ethylene will be processed at the company's nearby Lake Charles, La., complex. Two fires broke out at Atlantic Rich field's Philadelphia refinery last week, one in a reformer unit and another in a hydrodesulfurization unit-The company expects no material effect on supplies to customers. Total Petroleum (North America) Ltd., a Canadian company, is offering 3.5 mil lion shares ofits common stock--3,287,601 from the company and 212,399 from shareholders--at $7.625/share for sale in the U.S. Dart Industries increased its quarterly common stock dividend to lOC/share (from 7.5C), payable Nov. 8. A Hedwin containers...ideal for shipping and storing SPECIALTY CHEMICALS! Whether it's Hedwin's Cubitainer, Hedpak, Hediineror Hedtainer, any or all of these liquid containers have been widely used for years by manu facturers in the rapidly growing specialty chemicals market. Photochemicals, plating solutions, peroxides, reagent and diagnostic chemicals are just a few of the hun dreds of specialties that are pack aged and shipped in these con tainers. Why not investigate the attractive features of the Cubitainer, Hedpak, Hedliner or Hedtainer? Call on Hed win today. CORPORATION 609 Fifth Avenue. New York. N.Y. 10017 November 14, 1973 CHEMICAL WEEK 19 619HJZ000 AHA o\- X e kc- n > Meat-wrappers get asthma CHICAGO (AP) -- Three Cali fornia physicians say they may have discovered a new disease: meat wrapper's asthma, which has affected three women who wrap meat with plastic in meat markets. The three patients, all smok ers, developed severe respira tory problems toilowing expos ure to fumes produced by cut ting with a hot wire a plastic film made of polyvinyl chlo ride. "We are reporting these cases because we suspect the phenomenon is not uncommon, yet it has not been reported previously in the medical liter ature," they wrote in the Nov. 6 Issue of the Journal of the Americas Medical Association. The physicians are Drs. Wil liam N. Sokol. Yossef Aelony and Gildon N. Beall of Harbor General Hospital, Torrance, Ca lif. "We do not know the frequen cy of this syndrome, but we suspect It Is not rare," they said. He physicians said they bad a few reports about other meat warpper* who developed similar problems while using the plastic. The women had worked as wrappers for six to 10 years before they started working with the plastic and previously had not had such problems, the doc tors said. The areas where the meat was wrapped were crowd ed and had no special ventila tion to remove fumes. 7 CHEMICALS RESEARCH NOVI 91973 t ; ictrv / Newsfocus New the Plastic Milk Bottle Goes Infection Blow-- It's a 30-0z Returnable You'll be seeing the injection blow molding of 30-oz returnable HDPE milk bottles at the Rainville booth at the November NPE in Chicago. The company will be displaying this operation in conjunction with Kemp Products Ltd., London, Ont., Can., which developed the concept. Rainville will be pumping out the bottles, five at a time, on about a 16-17 sec cycle on its 100-ton machine. Following the plastics show, the same machine and its mold will be shipped to England, where it will go into production. The bottle reportedly will stand up under at least 200 washings, the key here being a special patented preshrinking process developed by Kemp for application to bottle after it's injection blown. Polycarbonate Now an Injection Blow Molding Material As processes mature, you find resins and machines being geared specifically to them. Such is the case for injection blow molding, which for so many years was pretty much a flexible materials process, at least whatever market it had. Now General Electric is out with a "modified" polycarbonate for the process. selling in tl quantities at 75^/lb. It's also been learned that at least two major applications are going strong: injection blow molded baby bottles--both 4- and 8-oz ss--and miniblender jar housings. The Hankscraft v. of Gerber Foods is running the PC bottles in-house. Captive Plastics, Piscataway, N.J., is also doing PC injection blow molding. GE spokesmen see good potential for the material, they say, in medical containers, .lab ware, and food jars, what with such properties as high impact strength, glass-like transparency, SE-2 rating, "dishwashability," autoclavability, sterilizability, hydrolytic stability, and high heat-distortion temperatures (275 F at 266 psl, 280 F at 66 psi). They point out, too, that PC runs on ndard injection blow equipment. New Purification -Methods May Put PVC Liquor Bottles Back on the Track It looks like there's new hope for the PVC liquor bottle market, sidelined in May when the FDA found a possible health hazard from vinyl chloride monomer residues extracted by the alcoholic beverages. (5ee PT, June '73, p. 19.) On July 17, the industry won a 90-doy extension of time-m which to make a case against the proposed FDA restrictions. The extension reportedly resulted from a burst of R & D activity by the member companies of an SPI Bottle Div. Ad Hoc Liquor Bottle Committee, which is said to hove evolved ways of producing a compound low enough in residual monomer to pass extraction tests acceptable to FDA. According to a spokesman for Hooker Chemical's 5 Div., a committee member, the two possible routes to this goal are to remove monomer traces either during resin production or during .compounding. He said the two are related in that increased resin particle porosity leads to easier devolatilizing. Hooker is said to be concentrating on purification during compounding--reportedly a matter of applying familiar principles of diffusion rates related to time, temperature and vacuum. The spokesman did not expect that the various techniques under development would involve patentable know-how. Several of the resin companies involved are said to be able to produce compound that, in extraction tests sensitive down to 25 parls-per-billion, yielded no detectable presence of monomer. The tests were run with 50% alcohol solution, 3% acetic acid, distilled water and heptane as extraction media. Some committee members ore confident these results will satisfy FDA, though no one can tell in advance. Part of the problem appears to be that no specific limits on monomer migration were set in the past. The old gauges of acceptability of PVC resin for food-packoging applications reportedly were only that the polymer must have (1) a certain minimum inherent viscosity (relating to molecular weight) and (2) a volatility of no more than 3% total--Including moisture, monomer, etc. These regulations now appear insufficiently restrictive for PVC containers for alcoholic beverages. Keep an Eye on EVA for Impact Modifying PVC Last month we reported that Mobay Chemical Co., Pittsburgh, is hoping to moke a mountain out of a molehill and raise the U.S. market for EVA copolymers as impact modifiers for PVC from its currently insignificant size to the multimillion-lb/yr volumes achieved in Europe. (See PT, Aug. '73, p. 19J Mobay is importing from Germany an EVA that it says is the first such product really suitable for this use, due to its high (45%) vinyl acetote content. But a spot check of domestic EVA producers indicates that Moboy may soon face challenges in this area. A spokesman for Union Carbide Corp., N.Y.C., demurred from commenting on its development work on "high" EVA's, but hinted it may have on announcement this foil. U.S.I. Chemicals Co., N.Y.C., however, reports it has been field-testing such a product for 2!4 years and expects to commercially introduce it soon. A spokesman said it contains 40-50% vinyl acetate and, of equal importance, he said, is that it's designed for good compatibility with a broad range of vinyl resins, both rigid and flexible. And unlike Mobay, which both sells its EVA for normal compounding and also wants to push chemical "grafting" of EVA to PVC, U.S.I claims that with proper matching of resin and modifier, good permanence can be attained with ordinary compounding techniques. An advantage SEPTEMBER 1973 20 VRD 000201462 Industry/ here, according to U.S.I., is that it costs nothing extra to mix in an impact modifier along with other PVC additives, while grafting requires paying patent royalties of about 5% of the cost of the EVA. Extrusion Conference Set for Next March 13-14 A major conference on extrusion of plastics--"Recent Advances in Extrusion Technology"--will be held next March 13 and 14 at the Holiday inn. Saddle Brook, NJ. The regional technical conference, sponsored by the Newark Section of The Society of Plastics Engineers, will cover such topics as the design and operation of extruders, co-extrusion, twin-screw machines, high-speed extrusion, advances in feed hoppers, new methods of mixing and polymer rheology. For more information, contact E. B. Castagna, Dart Industries, West 115 Century Rd., Poramus, NJ. 07652. Sinciair-Koppers' Plastics Business May Change Hands Soon Koppers Co., Pittsburgh, has announced that it is conducting "preliminary discussions" with Atlantic Richfield Co., N.Y.C., on reorganizing their partnership business, Sinciair-Koppers Co., Pittsburgh. Though nothing 'efinite is expected to be concluded before year's end, e companies reportedly have proposed transferring the business and assets of the partnership to a new corporation, controlled by Atlantic Richfield, in which Koppers would have a continuing investment. The new corporation would have the right under certain conditions to purchase Koppers' investment over a period of years, leaving Atlantic Richfield as sole owner. Sinciair-Koppers was formed in 1965 and produces ethylene and styrene monomers, PS, EPS, LDPE, HDPE, styrene-butadiene latex and a variety of plastic end products, such as meat trays, egg cartons, film, bags, and bottles. Ethylene Prices to Rlso through 76; Shortage to Ease in 75 Rising prices for ethylene through 1976 owing to increasing feedstock costs, plant construction costs and continuing high plant operating rates are predicted in a report on "The Ethylene Situation to 1976--Prices, Supply, Demand." Issued by the Information Services Group of Fairfield Associates, Inc., Westport, Conn., the report predicts that a gradually tightening ethylene supply/demand situation should start to ease up by mid-75. Ethylene prices, it goes on, should rise to approximately 5/lb by the end of 75 vis-a-vis 3.5*/lb this year. New plants, it's said, will use heavier liquid feedstock, which will result in a "substantial increase" in coproduct output; thus ethylene costs "will become much more sensitive to coproduct values." consumption of ethylene, says the ISG study, has grown at a 12%/yr rate since 1955 and most analysts expect it to continue at near a 9% annual growth rote. The price of ethylene, of course, affects the ultimate price of plastic materials it's used in. Plastic Composites: A Multibillion-Lb Potential Looms Ahead Current U.S. consumption of plastic composites used for rigid and semirigid containers is about 85-90 million lbs. At least another 45-million lbs are being used in Europe, between five and 10-mlllion lbs in Japan. That's the news released by DeBell and Richardson, Inc., Enfield Conn., which recently completed a multiclient study on "Composite Rigid and Semi-Rigid Plastic Containers." U.S. projections, according to the report, are that applications and markets in which plastic composites are now used could grow to about 500-million lbs. Opportunities for plastic composites in areas not presently using plastics represent a total composites potential ranging from one- to six-billion lbs. Processes offering the best promise for making rigid and semirigid plastic composites, says the D and R study, are injection blow molding and thermoforming. PU Foam--Rigid and Flexible--Estimated to Reach 2.6*Billion Lbs by '80 Total consumption of PU foam will reach 2.6-billion Ibs/yr by 1980, up from the current (1972) one-billion Ib/yr level, according to a market analysis and review of this area just completed by Business Communications Co., Stamford, Conn. The report even sees the possibility--if growing demands for insulation, automotive and furniture products all pan out in full--of PU foam usage reaching the 4.2-billion Ib/yr mark by the next decade. In any case, the report goes on, the lion's share of the growth will be in rigids, whose market share is expected to rise from the 1972 level of 319-million Ibs/yr to at least about 914-million Ibs/yr consumption by '80. (Last year about 717-million lbs of flexible PU foam were used.) <D $ O O 0) FRP Use in Electrical Market Seen Hitting 140Million Lbs by 78 Increasing use of fiber-glass reinforced plastics in electrical components may boast FRP consumption in this market to 140-million lbs of laminate by 1978, according to a report by Owens-Coming Fibergias Corp., Toledo, O. Last year, says a company announcement, some 79-million lbs were molded into electrical equipment. Current applications that are expected to increase FRP consumption include pole top extensions and transformer housings. Newer ones are housings for underground and above-ground telephone switching-systems, experimental work to produce an FRP electrical,switch box for household use (replacing steel), use of FRP as printed-circuit boards in tv sets, pultruding a variety of electrical components at high speeds, puitruded FRP ladders and conduit, utility hardware, even large steel lighting poles. 21 PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY * s i. - i / i CONCENTRATES science A power boost for CERN's proton synchrotron to 400 b.e.v. has been approved by the group's council. CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) first ap proved the project in 1971 for a level of at least 300 b.e.v with option for a pause at 200 b.e.v. to be followed by introduction of superconducting magnets into the main ring. The recent decision means that the ring will be filled with iron-core magnets, and a direct move to 400 b.e.v. will be made without pause. Pest control emerges as a top topic in U.S.-U.S.S.R., U.S.-China scientific exchange programs. Next month, Moscow and Kiev will host a joint conference on inte grated pest management. Selected U.S. scientists, under a travel grant from USDA, will attend the conference and visit Soviet laboratories. Some may stay and work there. In turn, Soviet scientists will visit U.S. labora tories. Meanwhile, six Chinese specialists in insect hormone research are now touring U.S. government research centers, companies, and universities for six weeks. (For more on U.S.-China exchanges see page 11.) Effect of vinyl chloride on the health of those who have worked with the material is the subject of a survey being, administered by the Manufacturing Chemists Associa tion and carried out by Tabershaw-Cooper Associates. 1 Sponsor of the study is a group of chemical companies \ that handle vinyl chloride. Another study at Industrial ' Bio-Test Laboratories is determining effects on labora- J tory animals of long-term exposure to vinyl chloride j vapors. The studies will supply data for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Technology Electricity from a "solar sea power plant" might cost less than that from offshore nuclear plants, gasified coal, and other sources, according to scientists at Carnegie* Mellpn University. A multidisciplinary group, led by Dr. Clarence Zener, has received a $190,000, 18-month grant from' NSF to make a computer-based cost analysis of a potential system to generate power by exploiting temper ature differences between surface and deep-lying waters in tropical seas. The proposed closed Rankine cycle sys tem would use a working fluid vaporizing at ocean sur face temperatures. Coal-to-gas test runs have been lengthened considerably, according to the Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago. . 1GT has increased continuous operation of its Hygas pilot plant from a day or two at a time to more than 100 hours. The plant converts more than 3 tons per hour of Montana lignite into 900 to 1000 B.t.u.-per-cu.-ft., sulfur-free gas at pipeline pressure of 1000 p.s.i. High-temperature nuclear reactor development has re ceived a boost. Two more utilities--Northern States Power and Pacific Gas and Electric--have joined Gulf General Atomic's high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) development program. In another move, a utilities industry group, High Temperature Develop ment Associates, lnc,, representing some 50% of power generating capacity in the U.S.. has established a re search fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, for work related to the advanced concept. Japan's first nuclear ship sits idle in port more than eight months after completion, as fishermen who fear radioactive contamination of fishing grounds continue to oppose her trial runs. Officials of Japan Nuclear Ship Development Agency, owner of the 2400- 10 C&EN July 9. 1973 A deadweight ton cargo ship Mutsu, scheduled trials from June 30 in the Japan Sea after canceling original plans to use her home port of Mutsu Bay. But the new plan was also canceled after fishing associations in three prefectures opposed the sailing. A large solid waste disposal system for Tokyo is being studied by Dashaveyor Co., a subsidiary of Bendix Corp., under a feasibility study contract from the Japan Trans portation Planning Association. One concept being con sidered involves a 35-mile system running about 100 feet beneath the city. Some 13,000 tons per day of waste would be brought to some 23 underground collection stations, where it would be compressed automatically into bales and loaded onto Dashaveyor vehicles for auto matic travel to a remote disposal facility. Passenger cars pollute water. In a more than year-long study. Biospherics, Inc., Rockville, Md., vacuumed sec tions of Washington area roads, analyzing the debris. It finds that traffic on all area highways, from Washington, D.C., to the Capital Beltway, drops 55 tons of pollutants per day, mostly from private cars. Included are asbestos (from brake linings), rubber (from tires), zinc (from oil and tires), lead (from gasoline), and other heavy metals and nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Rain washes much of this pollution into the surface waters of the area, the company says. Sorb-oil is being produced in western Europe. The non sinking biodegradable material, developed by Seattlebased Innova Corp,, absorbs up to 29 times its own weight of oil and is thus marketed for oil spill control and cleanup. Sorb-oil is being made by Isomo in Heule, near Kortrijk, Belgium. Daily output, initially set at 30 metric tons, is expected to rise to 200 metric tons in the next five years. Mitsubishi is licensed to make the product in Japan for Far Eastern markets. A second new radial tire production method has been developed by Firestone. A year after disclosing a way to make radial tires on conventional equipment, the com pany says it now can make such tires using just a single, highly automated work station instead of the former two. Part of the new process involves using an expandable steel drum instead of the former central rubber bladder in building the tire. Licensing of university-developed technology will be the subject of miniforums to be held at a number of univer sities by Dr. Dvorkovitz & Associates, an Ormond Beach, Fla., technology licensing firm. The miniforums--bring ing together industry and university representatives-- will be a prelude to the Second Annual International University/Industry Forum in Chicago next February. A just-ended miniforum at the University of Toledo has set the pace for the meetings at schools interested in but unable to attend the first international forum (C&EN, May 14, page 26). An acid-soluble zirconium oxide is now available from Tafa/Ionarc. Bow. N.H., in pilot-plant quantities. The microcrystalline product is unique in that it dissolves readily in sulfuric acid. Ionarc says. The acid solution yields a disulfato zirconic acid that is water soluble and hence convenient for making zirconium compounds, including soaps for nontoxic paint and ink driers. A fire-resistant plastic sheet has been developed by Sumitomo Chemical, Osaka, Japan. The company says the material, called Klintate, has a polyolefin resin as a principal ingredient and inorganic constituents impart ing heat resistance. The sheet doesn't generate heat or toxic gases when burned, the company says. Expected uses include packaging and medical applications. vro f f m m m GOVERNMENT Nixon asks sharp hike in energy R&D funds President Nixon, in a dramatic about- a budget of at least $2.4 billion. It would face in Administration R&D policy, has get all AEC functions except the urani called for an intensified five-year, $10 um and thorium assessment program, billion federal energy R&D program beginning in fiscal 1975 and an immedi ate $100 million increase in such funds for the fiscal year that began July 1. About 50% of this year's new money would go for R&D on coal including which would go to the new Cabinet department, and the licensing, regula tory, and related programs, which would be delegated to a new Nuclear Energy Commission (NEC). NEC would be composed of five commissioners with an liquefaction, gasification, and combus tion programs. The balance would go for R&D in other energy areas including energy conservation. The President's decision to boost sharply federal funds for energy R&D is initial budget of perhaps $40 million and 1275 full-time employees. The new R&D agency would also get the Interior Department's Office of Coal Research, Bureau of Mines energy research centers and Synthane plant, and underground somewhat surprising. In his first energy message of the year on April 18, the President had kind words for energy R&D, but sought no additional money for such R&D beyond the $772 million power transmission R&D. National Sci ence Foundation energy programs-- which go unmentioned in the Presi dent's message--apparently will remain at NSF. requested in his fiscal 1974 budget pro posals in January. Mr. Nixon main tained that energy R&D programs such as industry-government cooperative efforts on the liquid-metal fast-breeder reactor, coal gasification, and others, were "all progressing well." "When additional funds [for energy Creation of the proposed Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR), which would take the Nation al Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis tration out of the Commerce Depart ment, would sharply slash science and technology programs at Commerce. NOAA's departure would cut Com R&D] are found to be essential, I shall merce's manpower by 12,450 employees, do everything I can to see that they Eire its budget by $322 million, and would provided," Mr. Nixon said. Indicating largely limit the Commerce Depart that such was not about to happen any ment's science efforts to those in the Na time soon, Mr. Nixon added, "It is fool tional Bureau of Standards, the Patent ish and self-defeating to allocate funds Office, and the National Technical more rapidly than they can be effective Information Service. The new Cabinet ly spent." And the Administration con department would also get virtually all tinued to oppose a proposal by Sen. of the Interior Department, the Forest Henry Jackson (D.-Wash.) for a 10-year, Service, and part of the Army Corps of $20 billion energy R&D program. Now, Engineers. about II weeks later, the situation has DENR would have 91,149 employees apparently changed, somewhat unex and a budget of $5.38 billion. Among its pectedly, and the Administration is five "administrations" would be an meeting Sen. Jackson half-way on Energy and Minerals Administration, energy R&D funding. which would include from the Interior The President's latest energy message Department the Offices of Energy Con contained much that was expected too. servation, energy data and analysis, oil As predicted by C&EN last week and gas, R&D, and parts of the Bureau (C&EN, July 2, page 2), the President of Mines. has asked Congress to authorize crea In all, the President's latest energy- tion of a new Cabinet-level Department proposals go at least part-way toward of Energy and Natural Resources and meeting Congressional criticism leveled splitting of the Atomic Energy Commis at his April 18 message. For instance, sion into two entities: an Energy Re the President emphasizes the need for search and Development Administra citizens to conserve energy voluntarily-- tion and a Nuclear Energy Commission. and outlines several ways to accomplish Also, Mr. Nixon has set up under an this--and has ordered federal agencies executive order a new White House to cut their energy consumption by 7% Energy Policy Office and named Colo in the next 12 months. And Mr. Nixon's rado Gov. John A. Love to head it. Gov. energy R&D proposals--although some Love, now in charge of developing and what different--are similar to those of a coordinating federal energy policy, be House panel chaired by Rep. Mike comes a federal energy czar of sorts. McCormack (D.-Wash.), now chairman The new Energy Research and De ofa House Subcommittee on Energy. velopment Administration--which will Still, whether the President's pro probably be headed by AEC chairman posals--other than the energy policy Dixy Lee Ray--would have "central office--come into being is up to Con responsibility for the planning, manage gress. So far, Congress appears willing ment, and conduct" of federal energy to go the President one better in funding R&D and for working with industry in energy R&D. But agency and depart implementing new technology. ERDA ment reorganizations are a different would have 6570 employees initially and matter altogether. Need an emulsifier and wetting agent? Consider use-proven Petronate L or HL. Petronate'L is particularly useful asan emulsifier and wetting agent for various oil and solvent systems. And Petronate HL, in addition to its emulsifying and wetting properties, is also widely used in industry as a dispersing agent. Cutting oils, solvent cleaners, agricultural spray oils, textile processing oils, leather processing oils and printing inks are just some of the products in which these versatile compounds have proven their worth. Petronate L and HL are oil- soluble, oleophilic, alkyl aryl petroleum sulfonates typically containing 62 percent sulfonate concentrations with equivalent weights of 415-430 and 440-470 respectively. Witco Chemical's ! Sonneborn Division makes the broadest range of top-quality oil and water soluble petroleum sulfonates and specialized sulfonate blends in the world. So if your problem is emulsifiers and wetting agents, see the petroleum sulfonate pioneer.. .Witco Chemical. Quality sulfonates: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Witco Chemical 277 Park Avenue, SMNinftoorn DHKtoi New York, N Y. 10017. Send technical data on sulfonates. Have sales representative call. Name:________________--.-- Company;_________________ Address:___________________ City;________________________ State:-Zipi July 9, 1973 C&EN 9 vrd m m i * 2 3 VRD 6002014624 CHEMICAL MARKETING REPORTER May 14, 1973 Xerox to: RWG KRG JJL KLS WRS FK (FK) PVC Bottles for Spirits: ^ FDA Demands Safety Proof Food <& Drug Administration is about to scuttle plans of the liquor industry to do away with glass bottles and use lighter weight polyvinyl chloride containers for packaging its.products. Unless the industry can prove within sixty days that no hazard is involved in the use of PVC, with which the industry has been experimenting since 1968, FDA says that it intends to forbid its use. FiDA is basing its proposal on recent experimental data which show migration of the material from the package to the beverage. Levels of up to twenty part9 per million of a chemical leached' from the PVC bottles were found in distilled spirits which had been stored up to one year, the agency said. Migration has been reported to occur also when wine is packaged in PVC con* Uiners, _ PDA says that it does not have any indication that the levels found Would harm humans, but maintains that the law requires proof of safety before allowing incidental additives to occur In foods or beverages. No such safety data has been developed for PVC for packaging alcoholic beverages. Society of the Plastic Industry says it !s embarking Immediately, In cooperation with FDA, on research efforts to deter* mine the degree to which such migration occurs, its effects, if any, and steps which can be taken to alleviate the problem. fm ijz fia nut Special Communication A Angiosarcoma of Liver in the Manufacture of Polyvinyl Chloride Three1 reported case's ot angiosarcoma of the liver serve as an alert to the probability that this condition may, in some instances, be causally related to employment in the manufacture e>i polyvinyl chloride resins. J. 1. Creech, Jr., M.D. and M. N. Johnson, M.D. (3n lanuary 22-23, 1*474, a manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride .ind copolymers noiifiec) it's employees, the National Instiiute nl Occupational Satety and Health, the Kentucky State Department of Labor, and the public, that three workers had died of angiosarcomas of the liver. These cases had as a common denominator employment in the manufac ture of polyvinyl chloride resins. A patient ot one of the authors (|.L.C., |r.) died on Sep tember 27. 1971 ;rom an angiosarcoma ot the liver At that lime the potenltal causal relation to the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride resins wa$ not realized Although other clinical manifestations of exposure to VCM were known (acroosteoiysis). oniv one experimental paper1 indicated that vinyl chloride may be a carcinogen The tumors in rats that hr* described occurred primarily in the skin and were epidermoid in origin Eighteen months later on March 1, tl>71, a second former employee in the Louisville plant died Since he was nut undet our rare, no (onmilinn was made dial die two i axes may have had a r i jn mn >i i origin When a llnid patient died on December 19. 197 t, die pathologist on gross examination diagnosed an angiosarcoma of Ihe liver. Since all three patients wore treated by different physicians, no relationship In ex posure to polyvinyl chloride was surmised until die aulhois. recognizing the rarity of the tumor, and learning that all three had worked in the PVC plant, brought the matter to the at- cOr ri-i-i h IV PUni I'hwi on. the B T u It i< ti Chi-mu .it Cc im|i.iris Ion sv ill.. Xs Or Inhnson is Dim tor ot iforun.-ni.ii I lejlth. fix- Ij f f>Irn* h Coaiearn Akron Ohio Refirmi rr<|ut'sls lo Ot |il flOJO 81r|jj S II sOO South Main Si . Akron Ohio 44 lift (Or lohnson) 150 tendon of the company Further search indicates that a fourth death from angiosarcoma mav have occurred five years earlier M%8). but the death certificate shows primary liver tumor as the cause of death (Clinical, epidemiologic, toxicological and occupational investigations are being vigorously pursued with regard to other employees who may have been similarly ex posed.) A brier resume ot the urst case under our care is presented The history, clinical course, and pathologic findings are con sistent with the others who died of angiosarcoma. These cases will be presented in a group and in more detail ar a future date Case Report Patient one. a fh-year old white male, was hospitalized lanuary *5, 1*170 because ot tarry stools Occupational History.-- the patient hat) been employed Irnrn November ldr>r> until Ins illness, nxr opt for Iwo lay tills oi nine months in l`ir,/{ .mil six months in I9r9, ,jx ,i (lii-init.il helpet ,ind opi'l.ilol in (lie loulsville plant ot It i (,uodnih Chemical Company in die rnanul.H I tire nl polyvinyl chloride resins Present Illness. -- At die time m admission the patient had no complaints except passage ol tarry stools Past history was negative except for an operation for hemorrhoids four years earlier Physical examination showed pallor, and black stool on rectal examination Liver and spleen were not palpable' Although upper C-l series was interpreted as normal, a ten tative diagnosis was made of bleeding duodenal ulcer On diet and medication, the patient had no recurrence ol AMA overt bleeding until May I. 1970, lour months later, when hr was readmitted loi lariy stools Again lie was loom) to have marked (billor, .mil l.irry stool on rerlal examination Ai this time the liver was demonstrably enlarged ,md the spleen w.is palpable. Mood chemistry studies (SMA-12) were nol significantly abnormal; total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase. LDH, and SGOT were only slightly elevated G-1 senes showed only anterior displacement oi the stomach, but barium swallow suggested esophageal varices. Intravenous pyelogram was normal; barium enema was normal except lor displacement of the splenic flexure bv an enlarged spleen Liver scan on May 4. 1970 was interpreted as being compatible with a large lesion m the left lobe of the liver, extending into the right lobe. Operative Procedure and Findings.-- On May 7. 1970 an exploratory laparotomy was carried out Under anesthesia, the abdomen was entered through a vertical incision. Markers enlargement oi the liver and spleen were noted, jnd the liver was adherent to the anterior surtace of the stomach The liver capsule was quite thickened and tough. There was a gelatinous-like material ai the lunction of the liver and the stomach Retroperitoneal nodes were very soft, enlarged, and succulent in appearance A biopss nt the liver was performed There was marked di'gri'e oi hemorrhage following this whir h was controlled with large sutures through the liver Report of Pathologic Findings Gross.-- Specimen is a portion of soft grav and light brown tissue mat is 2.2 x 1 9 x \ ems at the present state In some A areas it .ippe.us to be <<>mpos-d ul liver and in otlieis light beige, nioder.ilely lirm lissue with .ire.is <,l sponginess .md silliness Microscopic.-- Most <>t the tissue pattern of liver is replaced bv luxuriantly growing cells forming irregular spaces These s|>aces display many trabeculations m their lumma and are lined'bv pleomorphic malignant endothelial cells Here and (here these cells grow in nearly solid sheeis Elsewhere they Imp capillaries There is a newly iormed stroma with various degrees ol hyalmi/ation hero and there Diagnosis. -- "Liver, biopsy of, angiosarcoma (malignant hemangioendothelioma) " Clinical Course Following the laparotomy and biopsv the patient was given TbOO R cobalt and several intra-arlerial infusions of 5 FU During this time there was marked distortion of his blood chemistry with severe diminution of albumin, and marked in crease m total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, LDH. and SGOT. After a stormy course and several months of con valescence. including several abdominal paracenteses (or recurrent ascites, he recovered sufficiently to return to work for a short time He succumbed to the liver tumor tnurleen months ()osi-n|i(.r,iiivclv and died on September J7. 197 1 Reference I Viol.i I't . ITigntli A .md C.,i|iuto. A Oncogenic response oi rat skin, lungs. ,irf 1 bones m vinvl < hloricie Cancer Research 31 5 Ih-S 19. m? t Special Communication Editor's Note Professor Cesaro Maltoni, Director of the Institute of Oncology of the University of Bologna llaly, presented the results ol his unpublished expenmonls with vinyl chloride on February 15. 1974 al the- U S. Depl of l abor lustring in Washington, DC on "Possible Hazards of Vinyl Chloride Manufacture and Use". His work, which is obviously original and innovative; demonstrated angiosarcoma of the liver and other tumors in experimental animals al air concentrations of vinyl chloride which are known to he present at times in woikrnom atmospheres. Professor Maltoni drsi ribes his met lioilo logy as piedn live ol the umni sgenn polenti.il < >i an I mi i ie < hemn a I ( onlammaiils Pmlessoi Maltoni is apparently the lust to show the relationship be tween exposure to vinyl chloride and the appearance ol angiosarcoma in mammals. --IRT Frhnury 21, 7974 Journal of Occupational Medicine/Vol. 16, No. 3/March 1974 tF 151 1 1316 approved by the Northwick Park Hotpital Ethical Committee (protect no. K 1SS), Re\)uet for reprint* should be addressed to G- O. hEEBafNCKS t. Gr"riAtl)a, G. I-'i-IIS l.rll. 1473,28, 242. 2. t'.rcg.'nmto, <., Putman. !>., lamia, I... Ncctuniun, I), Ilioehtm, J. 1474,140, 323. 3. Ihntilum, A, 13. I'rotr. lUophyt. mol. flirt/. I4MI, 18. 29. 4. HLiik, C. 13. V.. Crceoriailia, <. lluvkem. ,%**. Tram, (in the preu), J, (ircti'riiitlii, li.i Hyntait. II. 15. Hmhem. J. 1972. 128. 123. 6. Scud, A. W., Wills, I:. j.. Richmond, J. 15., SUvin, C... Black, C. 17. V.. Urriniu, (*, Hr. J. rx/>. Path. (in the press). 7. tiregrtnadia. (.. llut'kland, R. A. Nature, 1973.244,170. 8. Poole. A. K. iH l.yunmes in Ni<4o*y and Pathology (edited by J. T- dingle); vol. in, p. 303. Amsterdam. 1973. 9. Mcl-arlane. A. S. Nature, 19W, 182, 53. 10. CriM-ley, J. C. ff,, Veall, N. itt Medical Radioisotopea Seintigraphyi vol t. p. 105. International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna, 1972. 11. Morcil, A. G.. Grcgoriadis, (i,, Schcinberg, I. H., Hkkntao, J., Ashwetl.G.J. kwf. CArm, 1971,248, 1461. 13. Grcgoriadis, G. in Emyme Therapy of Lysosomal Storage Diaesoea (edited by V. T. Daems, G. J. M. Hooghwinkei, and /. M. Tiger). (I n the press.) 13. Grcgoriadis, G. BimAcwi. Sat. TVanr. 1974,2. 117, 14. Nccrunjun, D. B., Gregoriadit, G. iM. (in the press). ANGIOSARCOMA OF THE LIVER IN A VINYL-CHLORIDE WORKER F. 1. Lee D. S. Harry Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Victoria Hotpital, Blackpool A man aged 71 years died with angio- ummary of thc liver, an extremely rare tumour. For 20 years he had been a process worker in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride from vinyl- chloride monomer. Case-report A man aged 71 years was admitted via the emergency department on Oct. 24, 1972. One week previously swelling of the ankles had begun, progressing to his legs and thighs. Treatment with diuretics had brought no improvement. In the previous two days he had noticed abdominal swelling and breathlessness. His previous health had been good. For 20 years he had been a process worker in the manufacture of poly vinyl chloride (p.v.c,) from vinyl-chloride monomer. On examination, he had massive (edema, moderate TIIR LANCET, JUNE 29, 1974 :tsciic% and n liver palpable to two fingerbreadths. There was Dupuytrcn's contracture of the right hand. Full blood-count was normal on three occasions, except for one platctct-count of 80,000 per c.mm, l.ivcr-funciinn tests showed a slighily raised scrumbilirubin (2*7 mg. per 100 mi.) and a low scrumalbumin (2 1 g. per 100 mi.). Prothrombin activity was 35%, increasing to 65% wilh oral phytomcnadionc C Konakion '). A liver scintiscan (Dr If. J. Tests) showed diffuse liver enlargement with patchy uptake. The spleen was also enlarged and had slightly greater uptake than the liver. The overall picture was sugges tive of cirrhosis. A liver-biopsy specimen was frag mented but the architecture was normal. There was no fibrosis, but a mild portal-tract infiltrate was noticed. There was no evidence of a hepatoma, which had been suspected clinically. The oedema lessened with diuretics and he was discharged, at his own request, to continue under outpatient supervision. He died suddenly two weeks later. Necropsy The examination was made 27 hours after death. Nourishment was very good and there was slight indurated oedema of both legs. Considerable pul monary (Edema was present and each smooth pleural sac contained 700 ml. of cloudy yellow fluid, but there was no appreciable ascites. The liver was considerably enlarged, weighing 2625 g., and was composed throughout of irregular interconnecting reddish-brown honeycombed areas separated by pale brown liver tissue of apparently normal structure (fig. 1). Histologically the honey combed areas were malignant haemangioendothelionu (angiosarcoma), composed in some areas of large vascular channels (fig. 2) lined by spheroidal cells but in other areas of sheets of either spheroidal or spindle cells (fig. 3); these cells were moderately pleo morphic and contained moderate numbers of mitotic figures. The adjacent liver tissue was infiltrated and its structure was disrupted, but in areas away from the tumour there was no evidence of cirrhosis. Scattered on the mucosa of the fundus of the stomach were several small sessile polyps (the largest about 1 cm. in diameter). These were somewhat autolysed, but histologically they appeared to belong to the clast of " hyperplastic" or * regenerative" i' T*> Pm WM ^ I polyps,1 alth atrophic and cells were r composed of the deeper g contained i (plasma-cells The spleei scopical exan due, not to liferation of The portal aj dilated veins cardia of the Other intei were rather : At a recent sarcoma of manufacture The first casi there were re p.v.c. man vinyl-chloridt monomer pla bined with cl autoclave on and catalysts pressure, po taking the foi Most of th polymer plan patient work company con VRD 0002014629 I T, JUKI' 29, 1974 > vrbrcndihs. -I right hand, three occasions, >.000 per c,mm. ly raised scrum.1 a low scrum* hrombin activity oral phyiomcna* . (Dr H. J. Testa) h patchy uptake, d slightly greater turc was suggescimcn was fragmal. There was :t infiltrate was of a hepatoma, The oedema lischarged, at his tiem supervision. 1 tHB LANCET, JUNE 29, 1974 It1 4 1317 >urs after death, here was slight onsiderable puli smooth pleural ellow fluid, but arged, weighing tout of irregular cycombed areas je of apparently the honey idothelioma ..<as of large spheroidal cells ier spheroidal or moderately pleombers of mitotic as infiltrated and areas away froth f cirrhosis. fundus of the slyps (the largest were somewhat peared to belong M regenerative " -<r fig. 2--Llr*r hmIm ibowini vascular cbawctc llncil by pbcroidal c*ll* ( x 100). iFl|. > Uvcr tiw ihwiai bct of iphmldtl or iplndlt cells X100). polyps,1 although the surrounding mucosa was not ` atrophic and contained abundant oxyntic cells; oxyntic cells were not present in the polyps, which were composed of proliferating tubules and glands, many of the deeper glands being cystically dilated; the stroma contained abundant chronic inflammatory calU (plasma-cells predominating). The spleen was slightly enlarged, but on micro scopical examination the enlargement was found to be due, not to tumour, but to reticuloendothelial pro liferation of the type seen with portal hypertension. The portal and splenic veins were slightly dilated, and dilated veins were present beneath the mucosa of the cardia of the stomach, but not in the oesophagus. 1 Other internal organs appeared normal. The testes were rather small but not atrophic. 1 Discussion At a recent count there had been 19 cases of angio sarcoma of the liver in workers concerned in the manufacture of p.v.c. from vinyl-chloride monomer. ( The first cases were in the U.S.A.,2 but-subsequently ; there were reports from Sweden and Germany. ! P.v.c. manufacture starts with the production of vinyl-chloride monomer. This takes place in a _ monomer plant, from petrochemical feed stock com bined with chlorine. The monomer is then fed to an autoclave on the polymerisation plant, where water ; and catalysts are added. By a process of heat and . pressure, polymerisation occurs, the end-product ' taking the form of a fine powder. I Most of the angiosarcoma patients have worked in polymer plants for periods from 12 to 27 years. One Patient worked only in a monomer plant, but the mapany concerned say this was many yean ago and he was probably exposed to very high concentrations in a process which is no longer used. Suciu et aL' in 1963 attributed Raynaud's syndrome, a skin lesion resembling scleroderma, and hepato megaly to exposure to vinyl chloride. However, apart from the risks of fire and of accidental massive exposure causing narcosis, vinyl chloride first came to prominence as an occupational hazard in the middle 1960s. Cordier et al.4 from Belgium described a syndrome in autoclave workers consisting of acroosteolysis of the terminal phalanges of the fingers, and again Raynaud's syndrome and scleroderma-like changes in the skin. Later, reports from the U.S-A.' and from the United Kingdom * confirmed the wide spread occurrence of such symptoms in these workers. The condition was apparently self-limiting, there being considerable improvement in skin and vascular changes when the patients left the manufacturing plant. As a result of these observations the maximum allowable concentration was reduced from 500 to 200 parts per million. Two reports from GermanyTJ have stressed the concept of ** vinyl-chloride disease ** with multisystem involvement. Features include scleroderma-like changes, circulatory disturbance of the Raynaud's type, acro-osteolysis, thrombocytopenia, splenomegaly, and liver damage. The liver damage takes the form of portal fibrosis with some changes in the liver cells, occasionally associated with portal hypertension. It is difficult to be certain of the relevance of the liver changes, but, in the light of the subsequent discovery of liver angiosarcomas, these observations are important. Early work in animals *" suggested that liver damage was not a feature in rats exposed re atmospheric vinyl 1318 chloride. However, after the report* of nero-osteolysis, further experiments were set up. In rats Viola ct nl."1* have reported tumours of the skin (and possibly of the lungs), degenerative changes in skeletal and con nective tissue, and parenchymal changes in other organs, including the liver. Maltoni11 has reported angiosarcomas of the liver in rats exposed to atmo spheric vinyl chloride, for a year, in concentrations as low as 250 p.p.m. The evidence appears strong that angiosarcoma of the liver is an occupational tumour and that vinyl chloride is the carcinogen. There is no evidence that the finished polymer (p.v.e.) carries any risk. Screen ing programmes for workers at risk have been set up in the U.K. and in the U.S.A. In addition, evidence is being collected and assessed from various other sources; necropsy records of workers at risk, wider epidemiological investigations, and experiments in animals may help delineate the extent of the risk. It may be that there is considerable individual variation in susceptibility to the hepatic effects of vinyl chloride; heavy alcoholic intake, for example, renders workers more susceptible to the effects of carbon tetra- Preliminary Communication PRESENCE AND POSSIBLE ROLE OF ANTl-IgG ANTIBODIES IN HUMAN MALIGNANCY D. Hartmann M. G. Lewis McGill University Cancer Research Unit, McIntyre Medical Sciences Building, Montreal, Quebec H3G IY6, Canada _ In an attempt further to investigate loss ummtsry antitumour antibody activity in patients with advancing malignancy, anti-IgG has been sought in the serum. (Previous work pointed to what seemed to be anti-IgG of the idiotypic variety directed against a unique specific antitumour anti body.) Anti-Fab (serum aggiutinators) of a wider specificity possibly directed against the common group- specific antitumour antibodies were detected. These anti-Fab effects were seen only in the sera of patients with advancing but relative early metastatic disease, and not in those with either early or localised tumours or with very advanced widespread metastases. In two patients changes in both antitumour and anti-Fab antibodies were monitored over a period of time. The relationships between antitumour antibodies and anti- anribodies may help to explain the natural history of human malignancy. INTRODUCTION The investigation of humoral immune reactions in human malignancies, notably melanomas, has indicated that antitumour antibody response decreases or com pletely disappears before the development erf wide spread metastases.1-* In some metastatic melanomas, the loss of detect able antitumour antibodies was related to the presence of anti-antibodies of class IgG, with an anti-IgG speci ficity.* The possibility was raised that these anti- THE LANCET, JUNB 29, 1974 chloride.l4-'` Work in rats suggest* that this sensi tivity may be related to enhanced microsomal enzynv activity.1* We are grateful to Dr W. G. F. Adam*, Mond DMtat, I.C4., for help and advice. REFERENCES 1. Morion, R. C., Damon, 1. M. P. Gaitro-inteitmal Ptthofcfyp. 85. Oxford, 1972. 2. Creech, J. L., Jr., Johnson, M. N. J. occup. Med. 1974, IS, JJo. 3. Soon, I., Drefman, l., Vtlttkti, M. Medntt interna, 1941, IS, 447 4. Cordier, J. M-, Fie***, C., Lefevrc, M. J., Sevrin, A. Cti. MU Travail, 1944, 4, 3. 5. Wilton, R, H-, MeCornuck, W. E., Tatum, C. F., Creech, J. I* J, Am. mtd. All. 1967, Wt, 972. 6. Harril, D. K.. Adanw, W. G. F. Br. mrd. }. 1967, iii, 712. 7. Maraieller, H. J., Lclbich, W. K., Mtkller, R., JUhc, S., Un#e, C. E., Rohner, H. G., Veltman, G. Dr. mitt. IPukr. 1973, 88, 2311. 8. Lantte, C. E., JOhe, S., Stein, G.a Veltman. G. 1m. Arth. ArhailmU. 1974, 32. 1. 9. Torkelien, T. R.( Oyen, F,, Rowe, V. K. Am. ini. Hyp. An. J. 1961,22,354. 10. Letter, D., Greenberft. L. A.. Adam*, W. J. ibid. |943, 24, 245. II. Viola, P. L. Maine Lav. 1970, SI, 174. 12. Viola, P. L., Bicotti, A., Caputs, A. Cam** Ret. 1971, St, 514. 13. Maltoni, C. Cbm. Eng. Ntm, Feb. 25, 1974, p. 16. 14. Moon, H. D. Am.}. Path. 1950, 2*. 1041. 19. Comiah, H. H,, Adefui'fl, /. Am. iitd. Myf. An. J. >966, 29.37. 16. Haiumera, Y,, Tcachke, R., Licber, C. S. Gamatnureiagy, 1974, 88, 412. antibodies were directed against idiotypic determinants* It has since been shown that the IgG of the ami-antibodies was directed against the Fab fraction of IgG class antibodies (unpublished observation). The finding of anti-antibodies is not new. Milgrom et al.T described 44 anti-antibodies " in human sera, and Osterland et al.1 and Waller * have investigated rheumatoid factors and 44 serum aggiutinators,"11 the Utter being directed against hidden determinants of IgG molecules. These workers and others1U* have shown that the specificities of these antibodies are directed against normally hidden determinants in the Fab fraction of IgG, and are only revealed after proteo lytic degradation. Waller and Duma,s have indicated that in certain chronic infections, especially those due to gram-positive bacteria, the sera of some patients contain anti-IgG antibodies which are distinct from rheumatoid factors. In our 1971 paper* we empha sised the presence of anti-antibodies of the anti idiotype variety, largely because of the need to explain the loss of the patient's specific antitumour antibody. We were not aware at the time of the anti-IgG of the serum agglutinator type(s). To investigate the role of the anti-IgG antibodies that we could detect in the sera erf cancer patients (see table), we monitored serum litres in patients with cutaneous or ocular melanomas or other malignancies. PATIENTS AND METHODS In previous work these antibodies have been sought by an indirect Coombs' method,*-1* where enzyme-degraded IgG anti-Rh-antibody-senaitised Rh + human erythrocytes served as antigen. The enzymes used were proteases such as pepsin, papain, trypsin, chymotrypsin, subiilism, and bromelin.*'41' In this laboratory, we use a passive hsemagglutmatioa technique based on the glutaraldehyde-conjugation method by Avratneas et al.1* and modified by Dr I. Fleehner (personal communication). The aldehyde, which is used to couple pooled human IgG to sheep erythrocytes, seems to expose the otherwise hidden IgG-determinantfi), probably by aggregation by means of covalent-bood cross- A WB 1 *3 w SUM &- Ws 2 3 4 5 ft 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 17 18 19 Moim (poo hiuw Mrui Stu e T Alii links and T< buffe solut of 2 adde< The 1 he time; is re satin azide cells. of a use Rese bora after and rI' *5 i Fl*. hi tt: f, d Paperi: Session 3 Abstracts from "10th International Cancer Congress" Houston (1970) Session 3. Chemical Carcinogenesis: Various Chemicals Cancerogcnic Effect of Vinyl Chloride P. L. Viola* Regina Elena Institute for Cancer Research, Rome, Italy During the course of studies on ihe pathogenic action of vinyl chloride, it was observed that this compound is highly canccrogenic when applied to rats. Investigations were then carried out in order to establish the type (or types) of neoplasia that may arise. Male Wistar rats, weighing 150 g were exposed to vapors of vinyl chloride (3* total concentration in volume) for 4 hr a day, 5 days a week, for a total period of 12 months. After a period of. 10 months, 70% of the animals developed squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory meatus. In the lungs of some animals (32%), carcinomas and adenocarcinomas showing typical signs of squamous metaplasia were also found. Finally, 25% of the rats showed chondroid metaplasia of bone tissue with intense periostosis particularly located in the tarsal and metatarsal bones. Carcinogenicity of 4-IIydroxyaminoqitinoline<lOxide Injected in Mice and Rats Yasuhdco Siiirasu*, Takeo Mizutani, and Shutabo Yamamoto The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Saitamaken, Japan i jj i ! Carcinogenic action of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-l-oxide (HAQO), a proximate compound of 4-nitroquinoline-l-oxide (NQO), was investi gated in mice and rats. HAQO (10 mg/kg body weight) along with NQO (20 mg/kg) dissolved in DMSO-saline (1:1) was administered 2 or 3 times intravenously into female inbred mice of ddOM strain at maximum levels. Fischer rats of both sexes were treated similarly with 3 doses of IIAQO (10 mg/kg). Within 19 months, lung and stomach tumors were induced in mice with HAQO and NQO. Lung tumors were obtained in 33/38 (87%) and in 29/32 (90%) with HAQO and NQO, respectively. HAQO in duced 2 adenocarcinomas, 3 adenomas with marked atypia, and 28 adenomas; NQO induced 3 adenocarcinomas, 3 adenomas with marked atypia, and 23 adenomas, HAQO induced 2 squamous cell carcinomas and 14 papillomas in the forcstomach, whereas NQO induced 10 papil- < ' ChciricoJ Cofdnoyencsisi Vonoui On lomas. The incidences of lung adenomas and stomach papilloma in con trol mice were only 1 and 2 of 33. beside 2 squamous cell carcinomas and 3 papillomas of the skin, ITAQO induced a brain gliorna. In rats treated with IIAQO intravenously, 5/14 females and 6/12 males died with neoplasm within 13 months. Four intestinal papillary adenomas, 2 osteogenic sarcomas, 1 skin squamous cell carcinoma, 1 skin papilloma, 1 forestomach papilloma, 3 mammary adenocarcinomas, 2 uterine sar comas, 1 subcutaneous fibrosarcoma, and 1 lung adenoma were induced in rats; none of 23 controls died with tumor. HAQO showed the highest carcinogenicity in the lung tissue in mice, whereas a wide variety of tumors were induced in rats. Lcukemogenicity of N-f4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2thiazolylj acetamide (NIFTA) in Mice S. M. Cohen*, E. Erturk, and G. T. Bryan Division of Clinical Oncology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA NFTA, a potent antibiotic used to treat human disease, has been found to be carcinogenic in Sprague-Dawley female rats, inducing tu mors of the breast, salivary glands, and kidney. To test the possible carcinogenicity of NFTA in mice, it was fed at a dose of 0.1% by weight of the diet to 50 Swiss female 5-week-old mice for 13 weeks followed by control diet for 9 weeks; then the experiment was ended. 15 mice survived 13 weeks or longer and all had leukemia. The thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes were greatly enlarged and lymphoblastic invasion of all organs of the body was found. Elevated white blood cell counts were found in several of the mice, but the hematocrits were normal, To determine the effect of dosage, groups of 30 Swiss female 5week-old mice were fed NFTA at dosages of 0.100%, 0.050%, 0.025%, and 0,010% for 14 weeks. Leukemia was found in all 4 groups with incidences of 8/9, 9/10, S/1S, and 7/16, respectively. The latency period was 12 weeks for the 0.100% and 0.030% groups and IS weeks for the 2 lower doses. No leukemia was found in the control mice at the end of the 29th week at which time the experiment was ended. To determine the effect of strain, NFTA was fed at 0.1% for 14 weeks to Swiss, C3H, RF, and BALB/c female mice ranging in age from 5 to 7 weeks at the intiation of feeding. High incidences of leukemia were found in all 4 strains, though occurring slightly earlier in the Swiss and RF mice. Again no leukemia was found in any of the control mice. NFTA has been found to be highly leukemogenic in Swiss mice at several dose levels and in 3 low leukemogenic strains of mice--C3H, RF, and BALB/c. Urinary Bladder Carcinogenicity of N-/4*(5-nitro2-f.,r>l>.2-,17 forn.nmi.le (FANFT) In fl|A 21 VRD m Z 0 1 4 6 3 1 New Scientist 13 June 1974 Science paused, and 17 died $75. At least 17 workers have been killed by vinyl chloride because research over the past 25 years was not followed up. And for over 10 years, workers have been exposed to concentrations of vinyl chloride 10 times greater than the safe limit imposed by one chemical company--Dow Chemical Lawrence McGinty In January Dr John L. Creech, a works doctor, at a Kentucky chemical plant, made public evidence that has finally forced a full inves tigation of an industrial health hazard that should have been eliminated many years ago. Creech's discovery was that four former employees of his company (B. F. Goodrich), who had been involved in making polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), had died from a fatal liver cancer so rare that it kills less than 30 people a year in the US. The immediate implication that there is a causal relationship between indus trial exposure to vinyl chloride vapour and development of the liver cancer (angiosar coma) was reinforced less than a month later when an Italian researcher, Cesare Maltoni, revealed that he had found angiosarcomas in the livers of rats exposed to VCM. That VCM causes angiosarcomas remains to be proved--although the evidence accumu lating is so powerful that the chemical industry and government health inspec torates have little option other than to act on the hypothesis. But how to act? And why has action been delayed, perhaps fatally, for over 30 years? The story could well begin in 1971, with the publication of a paper by another Italian, P. L. Viola. Researching the effects of expos ing rats to an atmosphere containing 30 000 parts per million (ppm) of VCM (a massive dose), Viola found that "almost all animals developed tumours of the skin and lungs" and some developed bone cancers. The results came as something of a surprise because no-one had suspected VCM of being a carcinogen, and Viola had not set out to look for tumours. Criticism of the Italian research, as an indicator of VCM's carcino genicity, was not slow in coming. The dose level was grotesquely high; so high that the rats' defence mechanisms may simply have been overwhelmed--leaving them sus ceptible to "spontaneous" tumours. Nevertheless,, such is the emotive impact of even a hint of a new carcinogen that four large European PVC makers (ICI, Montedi son, Rhone-Progil, and Solvay) decided to sponsor a study by Cesare Moltani, professor of Oncology at the Bologna Institute of Oncology. Viola allowed access to his raw data and Maltoni concluded that both the skin and lung tumours probably arose in the Zymbal gland, a sebaceous gland in the ear duct which in rats is particularly responsive to many carcinogens. Maltoni therefore began an extensive series of experiments on rats, mice, and hamsters exposed to ever decreasing concentrations of VCM. Simul taneously, ICI started an epidemiological study of workers at its PVC plant. The exact sequence of events after this point, and in particular the fate of Maltoni's results, has created a bitter controversy in the US. Following B. F. Goodrich's disclosure of the deaths among its ex-workers, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administra tion (OHSA) called an informal hearing. At that inquiry Maltoni gave evidence that he had discovered angiosarcomas in the livers of rats exposed to only 250 ppm of VCM. Because VCM was found to be carcinogenic at such low concentrations, Maltoni began a new series of experiments exposing larger num bers of rats to even lower VCM concentra tions (250, 150, 100, and 50 ppm). At the time of the OSHA hearings, results from this crucial series of experiments were not avail able. It was only at a symposium organised by the American Cancer Society and the New York Academy of Sciences on 10-11 May that Maltoni was able to say that he had dis covered angiosarcomas in the 50 ppm group of rats. On 15 April, the US Manufacturing Chemists Association (MCA) disclosed that research it had sponsored also showed angio sarcomas at 50 ppm--but this time in mice. Was there a "cover-up"? The controversy hinges on a tentative allegation in Chemical & Engineering News (20 May, p 16) that the MCA, and individual chemical companies, "held in confidence for at least a year preliminary, albeit significant, scientific findings"--that is, the interim results of Maltoni's work. The MCA replied that it had been given access by the Euro pean sponsoring companies to the findings (after "months" of negotiation) only on the understanding that it would make no "unilateral disclosure". Maltoni observed his first angiosarcomas in rats in August 1972. ICI readily admits that it was aware of these findings in January 1973. In that month the MCA sent a technical delegation to visit Bologna and received reports of the research there. Thus it is undenied that the chemical industry knew that VCM was carcinogenic in rats at con centrations as low as 250 ppm at the begin ning of last year. ICI and the MCA both say that they passed on this fact to appropriate government agen cies in July 1973. But the UK Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) and the Factory Inspectorate say that the first inkling they had of the carcinogenicity of VCM (apart from Viola's paper) was in January 1974 from ICI, which notified them of the Goodrich cases. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) denies that it knew of the angiosarcoma risk until January ' 1974. In fact, Maltoni's angiosarcoma discoveries were first made public, not at the February 676 New Scientist 13 June 197? A tm m d B d am OSHA bearings, but at the Second Inter* the skin and bones of the toes and fingers. national Symposium on Cancer Detection and In 1981 toxicologists from the Dow company Prevention held in Bologna on 9-12 April, published reports of an extensive research 1973. At that meeting, Maltoni read a'general programme using rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, paper about occupational oncology, during which he showed a table of preliminary and beagle dogs. After three months ex posure to concentrations of VCM between results. There for all to see were angiosar 100 and 500 ppm, animals showed various comas in the 250 ppm group of rats (as well as Zymbal gland .carcinomas and nephro kinds of liver damage. Even at the "low" concentration of 100 ppm, livers of subject blastomas). It seems unlikely that the Euro pean companies sponsoring Maltoni's re rats were abnormally enlarged. None of these studies even hinted that search would have allowed him to announce VCM is carcinogenic. They did, however, preliminary findings at this symposium, while indicate a cause for great concern. Selikoff denying the same data to MCA. The impact of the results contained in the Bologna paper seems to have been minimal. The published version of the paper became says, "We had evidence here and there that a number of organ systems and tissues were affected by VCM . . . Most of us did not draw the appropriate conclusions--that it available only three weeks ago. One British should be carefully studied." participant has no recollection of the report of angiosarcomas, despite a personal conver Anomalies between limits sation with Maltoni at the symposium. Nevertheless, restrictions on the concen It is probably impossible to say whether trations of VCM allowed in plants have the chemical industry deliberately and mali existed for some time. The first (500 ppm in ciously hid unfavourable research findings. It both the US and UK) were imposed because is, however, likely that, even if this were not of VCM's inflammability, not its toxicity. But the case, the results would not have caused once limits were created on the basis of much of a stir. For by this time, the epidemio medical and animal studies, gross inter logical survey was showing negative results. national anomalies arose. In the UK, a ICI had found no deaths from angiosarcomas threshold limit value (TLV) of 200 ppm was among ex-employees. Thus in January 1973 set after the discovery of the causal link there was no human evidence of VCM's with acro-osteolysis; incomprehensibly, the carcinogenic properties. Because extrapolat 500 ppm limit remained in the US. Even more ing from animals about carcinogenicity is baffling, the Germans set a maximum work notoriously problematic, epidemiological evi place concentration of 100 ppm in 1970 on dence carries greater weight in the minds of the basis of the 1961 Dow research. But Dow industry and UK regulatory bodies. Thus it itself restricted exposures in its factories to is unlikely that animal studies alone would 50 ppm as long ago as .1961--on exactly the have been convincing enough to force a re same evidence on which the Germans based appraisal of industrial exposure standards. their 100 ppm limit. No other section of the "Firm" evidence only arose after the Good US or European industry followed Dow's lead. rich report, when -other cases of deaths from The reasons for this international confusion angiosarcoma were unearthed. ICI updated its survey and found -one ex-employee who are obscure. Maltoni's evidence at the OSHA hearings died from liver cancer in 1973. Other cases threw the whole question into the melting were found in Sweden and the US; the total pot. A US temporary limit of 50 ppm was now stands at 19. rapidly decided and the UK Factory Inspec torate suggested an interim limit of 50 ppm Twenty-five years* evidence maximum exposure, and a time weighted However, the history of the research on average exposure of 25 ppm. But both UK VCM's toxicity is much more disturbing than and US limits were devised before it was any allegation of a 12 month cover-up. "There known that rats exposed to 50 ppm VCM has been evidence of potentially serious developed angiosarcomas. Now a permanent disease among vinyl chloride - polyvinyl standard of 1 ppm has been proposed by chloride workers for 2S-years that has been OSHA--in effect that no worker should be incompletely appreciated and inadequately exposed to any detectable VCM vapour. In approached by medical scientists and by the UK, it is unlikely that the permanent regulatory authorities". That is how Irving limit (shortly to be announced) will be less Selikoff, . director of the environmental than 25 ppm. sciences laboratory at Mount Sinai Medical Whatever final limit is accepted, there will School in New York, sums tip the history. be a fight between industry and the trade The evidence he quotes goes back a long unions--particularly in the US. The zero way. In a 1949 Russian study, 30 per cent exposure limit is strongly backed by Selikoff. (15 out of 48) of a group of PVC workers "It is evident," he says, "that no threshold examined showed evidence of liver disease. is known that would serve to prevent cancer The very fact that VCM was once considered among exposed workers." Not only does he as an anaesthetic, but rejected because it believe it to be the only safe limit (as do was found to be a cardiac irritant should, other experts), he also thinks it practicable-- says Selikoff, have meant a closer examina if expensive. "I don't believe a zero limit will tion of its industrial usage. Experiments in involve closing down the vinyl chloride Britain in the 1960s linked VCM to acro- factories," he states, "I have great confidence osteolysis--an ugly, but seemingly reversible, that engineers will be able to solve the prob bone disease characterised by distortion of lems." The industry, of course, does not agree. Withholding of vinyl chloride data hinted Foam is No Problem Fight foam with this Hodag combination-- a complete line of antifoam products and the technical knowledge to apply them effectively. Superior Products FDA-approved and industrial antifoams developed over many years to meet the toughest foaming conditions. Technology Special knowledge of surface activity helps many Industries abate unique processing foams. Technical Facilities Equipped and staffed to develop just the antifoam you need. Let us help solve your foaming problems. Use this coupon to get the Hodag combination of products and technical service. Please send me information on Hodag antifoam agents tor -- -. Please send sample for this purpose. Please have representative contact me. Firm nama Addreaa CMy Name Slata Till* Zip HODAG CHEMICAL CORPORATION 7247 N. Central Park Avenue Skokie. Illinois 6007 c CIRCLE 40 ON READER SERVICE CARD t r- * r European and U.S. chemical firms, to gether with the Manufacturing Chem ists Association, a U.S. trade group, held in confidence for at least a year preliminary, albeit significant, scientif ic findings on vinyl chloride as an agent causing liver cancer in rats, C&EN learned early last week. U.S. chemical industry sources say they were bound by an agreement under which four European firms controlled any release of animal test data ob tained by Prof. Cesare Maltoni, direc tor, Istituto Di Oncologia, Bologna, Italy. The first public disclosure of Prof. Maltoni's findings came on Feb. 15, 1974, in the U.S. The disclosure came after B. F. Goodrich's announcement on Jan. 22, 1974, of three deaths due to angiosarcoma of the liver since 1971, among workers at its polyvinyl chloride plant in Louisville, Ky. Subsequently, the number of confirmed cases of an giosarcoma at the BFG plant, at other U.S. PVC plants, and at plants abroad has risen steadily to a total of 19, in cluding 13 U.S. cases. 17 of the workers have died of the liver cancer; two U.S. workers are still living. The U.S. deaths date back to 1961. Prof. Maltoni's animal data have been a key to much of the regulatory actions taken by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In February, the lowest dose level of vinyl chloride in the Italian scientist's study at which liver angiosarcoma developed was 250 p.p.m. Guided, in part, by these findings, OSHA on April 5 set an emergency rule that lowered the per missible OSHA worker exposure level to 50 p.p.m. from the previous ceiling of 500 p.p.m. Since then, additional animal data have appeared. At a May 10-11 meet ing of the New York Academy of Sci ences and American Cancer Society, Prof. Maltoni disclosed that he had found one liver angiosarcoma in his rats at 50 p.p.m., together with several other types of tumors. At higher levels of exposure there were more tumors of various types, including liver angiosar comas, as he reported earlier (C&EN, Feb- 25, page 16). On April 16, MCA announced that preliminary findings on mice in its own study under way a( Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories tended to confirm the Maltoni data then available publicly. And as presented by MCA before the May 10-11 meeting, the data show that under conditions of exposure of seven hours per day, five days per week, for eight months, liver angiosarcomas de velop as follows: 2500 p.p.m., 28 liver angiosarcomas; 200 p.p.m., II; and 50 p.p.m., two. MCA's study also showed other types of tumors. Tests also have just begun at dose levels of 25, 10, and 5 p.p.m. Besides the animal data there is a wealth of new medical findings now appearing on vinyl chloride exposure, partly through the May 10-11 meeting. MCA's epidemiological study on 7128 vinyl chloride workers, for example, finds that cancers of the liver (primari ly angiosarcoma), respiratory system, brain, and cancers of unknown primary site, as well as lymphosarcoma, "oc curred more often than expected in those members of the study population with the greatest exposure," with the caveat added that although these ex cesses "were not statistically signifi cant, the findings warrant further study." And a major bias in the study is the "discovery"--too late to include it--of 1500 to 2000 workers with the longest exposures, up to 35 years. In August 1972 Dr. Maltoni found his first angiosarcoma in the first of a series of studies that, according to data available to C&EN, began about Sept. 5, 1971. A key, second experiment at levels^ of 200, 150, and 100 p.p.m. began'about July 8, 1973, when it was observed that the 250-p.p.m. level "was still showing oncogenic effects." In January 1973 a team, of three U.S. chemical industry scientists visited Prof. Maltoni in Bologna to learn of his results and to see his slides. Some months of negotiations with the Euro pean company group preceded this visit. The group is made up of Monted ison, which first approached Prof. Mal toni to do the study, Imperial Chemi cal Industries, Solvay, and RhdneProgil. All four were supporting the work at the time of the visit, U.S. sources say. Subsequently, the liver angiosarco mas in four U.S. deaths of workers have been judged by OSHA to be "his tologically indistinguishable" from (he angiosarcoma tumors Prof. Maltoni has found, And he believes that his experi ments were "predictive" of what was subsequently recognized in man. Much remains to be answered in the way the release of the Maltoni data has been handled. There are allegations, unfounded from all that C&EN can learn, that word of early results was passed to U.S. and Italian government officials. A major question mark con cerns what was said by MCA to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in July 1973 and earlier. As the trade association testi fied before OSHA on Feb. 15. 1974, "MCA's first direct contact with NIOSH specifically on vinyl chloride led to a conference between an indus try delegation, including a European representative, and Dr. Marcus Key [NIOSH director| and staff on July 17, 1973, at which time the MCA program was presented in some detail, and study protocols, industry statistics, and selected items from the scientific liter ature were provided." MCA has shed no new light on these contacts. <) "<r r i i ) ( l VRD 9002014634 The Chemical World This Week ACS FOR STRICT VINYL CHLORIDE LIMITS The American Chemical Society However, ACS advocates that quate, not just in the helmet but entered the vinyl chloride dispute continuing experiments be under also to other parts of the body. He last week, coming out, in essence, taken to define a threshold value, noted that the protective suits rec in support of the Government's both for sustained and intermittent ommended by ACS have been proposed "no detectable level" exposure to vinyl chloride. And it around for at least a decade and permanent standard for worker ex urges that a periodic review of the cited publications in which details posure to the chemical. In testi standard be undertaken in light of on the use of such suits are avail mony at the Occupational Safety any new data obtained. able. and Health Administration hearings In its testimony the Society also ACS was one of the final witness in Washington, D.C., ACS said, recommended that: es at the OSHA hearings, which "Even the potential threat of expo The standard be defined as a were wrapped up last week. Having sure justifies adoption of the pro minimum practical level capable of heard from about 50 witnesses, in posed standard." detection by a recommended meth cluding producers, fabricators, ACS's position was presented by od, rather than as a no-detectable labor unions, and medical experts, Howard H. Fawcett, chairman of level. it will take some time for OSHA to the ACS Committee on Chemical A reasonable period of time be evaluate the mass of testimony pre tSafety, and Dr. Stephen T. iven to employers to allow for the sented. However, a permanent Quigley, head of the Society's de etailed engineering design and de standard is expected to be set early partment of chemistry and public velopment of equipment necessary this fall. affairs. It was developed by the for full compliance with the stan Committee on Chemical Safety and dard. Chemical laborreviewed by the Committees on Continuous monitoring be Environmental Improvement and done in the vicinity of vinyl chlo wages rising fasteron Chemistry and Public Affairs ride plants to ensure maintenance of low ambient levels of vinyl chlo ride, noting that if such low levels On top of continually rising raw are not maintained it may be nec material and energy costs, chemical essary to use adsorption or scrub companies now seem confronted bing techniques to clean the emit with more rapidly rising wage rates ted air. as well. All in all, these spiraling A schedule be developed that operating costs are bound to exert is determined by the specific needs still further upward pressure on the for protective equipment against prices the industry will be charging exposures at various levels to vinyl for its products during the second chloride and polyvinyl chloride con half of the year. taining unreacted monomer. The latest Bureau of Labor Sta ACS also found itself in the mid tistics data indicate that average dle of a side controversy between earnings for blue-collar workers in the plastics industry and OSHA the chemicals and allied products when it recommended that as a de industry jumped by 8 cents to $4.80 sirable additional precaution work an hour last month, an increase of ers be required to wear air-supplied 1.7%. That's the biggest single suits fabricated from materials that monthly rise in hourly wages in are impervious to vinyl chloride for about 15 years. Hourly payments exposures in excess of the standard. are up 4.3% since the end of last Tlie proposed regulations call for year, compared with gains of only Fawcett: wear protective suits the use of air-fed respirators and about 3% during both the first and self-contained air supplies in an en second halves of 1973. before being approved by the Board vironment where the level of vinyl Most of the gain so far this year of Directors. chloride is detectable. One of sever has come since government wage In explaining the Society's posi al industry witnesses opposed to restraints were lifted in April, how tion, Dr. Quigley noted that "carci this regulation, B. F. Goodrich's Dr. ever, with earnings up by 3.2% nogenicity presents special prob Roger W. Strassburg, called the since just last March. The current lems in establishing controls be regulation "impractical and even trend suggests that average earn cause the minimum amount hazardous." He said it would mean ings for 1974 as a whole will be required to induce effects in hu the full-time use of such equipment higher than last year by perhaps mans is generally not known, and by all employees for their full work 8% or more. In 1973, the average there is frequently a long induction turns throughout the vinyl mono was 6.4% higher than in 1972. The period between exposure and ef mer and polymer industry. annual increase over the past dec fect." Thus, since "there are no sci Challenged during the cross ex ade has been about 5% a year. entific data currently available to amination period on the use of pro The gains in chemical industry set conclusively a threshold limit of tective suits, Mr. Fawcett said that workersv wages mirror the recent safe exposure of humans to vinyl it is quite possible to wear such trend for all manufacturing indus chloride," he said, "the Society en suits comfortably for at least eight tries. The BLS index for hourly dorses the proposed standard." hours, if the air circulation is ade earnings also has been rising at an 4 C&EN July 15, 1974 VRD 0*02014635" Letters PVC alert SIR: C&EN is to be commended on its timely coverage of the incidence ot human angiosarcoma of the liver associated with a history of vinyl chloride exposure (C&EN. Jan. 28. page 6: three cases; C&EN. April 22, page 5; 16 possible cases). In this light, we would like to point out some rele vant material. In "Organic Polymer Bio compatibility and Toxicology'' [Clin. Chem.. 18, 869 (1972)1. we stated: "In rodents . . . chemical carcinogenesis was induced by a polyvinyl chloride copolymer, vinyl chloride, polycaprolactam, liquid silicone, and some brands of polytetrafluoroethylene." We made a simitar statement in "Special Re quirements for Plastic Devices" (WHO Meeting on Pharmacological Models to As sess Toxicity and Side Effects of Fertility Regulating Agents. Sept. 17-20. 1973. Ge neva). An unplasticized vinyl chloride acetate copolymer implanted subcutaneously as a disk responded as a chemical carcinogen in mice [Clin. Chem.. 18, 873 (1972)]. Moreover, the local hemangiosarcoma ob served in experiments with this polymer [Johnson, K. H. et al.. "Nonfibroblastic Or igin of Foreign Body Sarcomas Implicated by Histological and Electron Microscopic Studies,'' Cancer Res.. 33, 3139 (1973)]. is the same tumor type induced in the liver by the monomer vinyl chloride in mice, rats, and presumably humans. Since, safety testing for vinyl chloride with rodents appears to have been pro phetic fdr cancer in humans, the data on PVC in rodents should not be lightly disre garded. particularly in relation to biomedi cal products that may involve PVC, such as transfusion packs, T tubes, cardiac bypass circuits, and experimental artificial hearts. Fritz Bischoff George Bryson Santa Barbara Coffage Hospital Research Institute. Santa Barbara. Calif. Theories on asbestos fibers SIR: Re the article "Asbestos health ques tion perplexes experts'' (C&EN, Dec. 10, 1973, page 18), I would like 1o very briefly put forward for consideration two theories to explain in broad brush the possible causes of the deleterious effects described therein. 1. The asbestos fibers as described ". .. with their large surface area and relatively high surface charge allow for great adsorp tion of trace metal ions," act as carriers for metals that are effective as cumulative poisons. Thus, over a great number ot years, the dosage required for a chronic condition Irom extremely small amounts of cumulative metal poison Is developed. 2. By the same adsorpiive mechanism. carcinogens from cigarette smoke are se lectively adsorbed and retained for ex tremely lengthy residence times at a par ticular site so that chronic damage may occur. The main premise set forth in each of the above is that neither the chemical composition nor physical character of the asbestos Is directly responsible for the health problems. Rather the true culprits described above use the adsorptive proper ty of the fibers to transport them to a site and house them there for their accumula tion and reaction over extended periods of time. The mechanism of the reaction be tween these reactive species, which may require a critical mass, and the lung tissue. I leave to others who have more expertise in this area. Carl A. Olson Stoneham. Mass. Chemistry graduates SIR: Have we in chemical education lost confidence in our subject? The C&EN anal ysis of data from our Committee on Profes sional Training (C&EN. May 20. page 39) would seem to indicate this. This report makes prominent note of the 12 institutions that "are big producers" of B.S. graduates. Yet according to the details of the report these 12 produced only 231 B.S.'s certified by our Society and 712 uncertified ones. (Two of the 12 produced only a total of six certified graduates against 166 uncertified ones!) No prominence is given to the "big producers" of certified graduates. If we are no longer interested in the encouragement of certified graduates, why do we continue the Committee on Professional Training? Referring again to the C&EN report, it would seem to me that a more meaningful list would be one composed of those uni versities that contributed the most gradu ates who will presumably enter the profes sion of chemistry. This should include all the graduates--B.S.. M.S., and Ph.D.'s--in both chemistry and chemical engineering, except the noncertified B.S.'s. Using the top 12 as was done for the list of "big pro ducers" of B.S. graduates the list is: 1. Purdue U 2. U of Illinois, Urbana 3. U of Wisconsin, Madison 219 192 192 4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 191 5. U of California. Berkeley 187 6. U of Texas, Austin 7. U of Michigan 176 155 8. Cornell U 138 9. Ohio State U 136 10. Pennsylvania State U 11. Georgia Institute of Technology 132 130 12: Iowa State U 127 Incidentally, eight of these 12 graduated no noncertified B.S.'s and the other four graduated a total of only 88. These are the institutions that are con tributing the most graduates for our profes sion and should therefore, it seems to me, have been given a prominent place in the C&EN article. A final note: Nothing in this letter is meant in any way as a criticism of those who received a noncertified B.S. in chem istry. I am confident that these graduates were in general fine students who will lind success in life, but in some other Held than chemistry. These other fields should honor them: we should honor our own. William M. Spicer Georgia Tech. Atlanta. Ga SIR: In your May 20 issue (page 39), you report on the most recent information from the Committee on Professional Training in an article with the headline. "B.S. chemis try graduates hit new high." This made me think that the total number of chemistry graduates is increasing. An analysis of the data, however, indicates that the increase reported was due to an increase of 24 in the number of schools on the CPT list. These schools graduated students in chemistry before they were on the list, in fact the number of graduates per school declined significantly, from 16.5 last year to 16.1 this year (7908/478 vs. 8060/502). Otto Theodor Benfey Chairman. Chemistry Department. Guilford College. GreensQoro. N.C. Adipic acid synthesis SIR: In the April 15 issue of C&EN (page 24). you reported as one of the highlights at the 167th National ACS meeting in Los Angeles, a new and direct one-step oxida tion of cyclohexane to adipic acid. An es sentially similar process was patented by Gulf Research & Development Co. in 1966 (U.S. 3.231.608). We have been active in the area of hydrocarbon oxidation for many years, and have published extensively on the subject, including the mechanistic as pects of cyclohexane oxidation by electron transfer with cobalt salts as oxidants |J. Org. Chem.. 38, 3729 (1973)]. We wish our Japanese friends success in demonstrating the advantages of this process over present commercial practice. A. Onopchenko Senior Research Chemist. Gulf Research & Development Co.. Pittsburgh. Pa. Who will survive? SIR: Your editorial, "Science, technology, and food ' (C&EN. April 29), expresses the thoughts contained in my book. "The Road to Abundance.' published by McGraw-Hill back in 1953. which described in detail the possibility of production of synthetic food. Although 21 years have passed since the publication of that book, you are complete ly right in staling. ". . . the world still fails to realize that all material goods are combi nations of chemicals, including the purest food we eat." Unfortunately, this is not the only thing that is wrong with our world. By now one begins to wonder whether Homo sapiens as a species are capable of survival, or will the more successful species, such as in sects, eventually inherit this planet. Dr. Jacob Rosin Netanya. Israel July 15, 1974 C&EN 3 <m CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS August 26, 1974 Copies to: RGW CLW (FK) ACS "clarifies" stance on vinyl chloride AOS Executive Director Robert W. Cairns has forwarded to the Occu pational Safety and Health Ad ministration a "clarifying state ment" of the AOS position present ed at hearings early last month on the agency's proposed "no detecta ble level" work-place standard proposed for vinyl chloride. AOS's position was presented at (he hear ings by Howard H. Fawcett, chair man of the AOS Oommitteo on Ohnmirnl Safety, and Dr. Stephen T. (Juiglry, head of AOS's depart ment of chemistry and public af fairs. The AOS ciarificalinu is included in a letter specifically responding to questions such as requesting membership lists of the AOS Hoard of Directors and-cerlain other com mittees and a listing of human threshold limit values for several chemicals--raised bv the Labor De partment solicitor on ACS's testi mony. In the midst of responding to these questions. Dr, Cairns points out to OSHA administrative lawjudge Gordon -I. Myatt. who pre sided over the hearings, that for the record, "there has been consider able misunderstanding about what the Society's position-actually is in regard to the proposed standard." At issue are two sentences in the AOS policy statement that Dr. Cairns says are "inseparable." To wit: "In the absence of data estab lishing a safe level of exposure to vinyl chloride and in the interests of public health and welfare, the Society endorses the proposed stan dard for the level of employee expo sure. However, the Society believes that the standard for employee ex posure would be dearer if set at a minimum practical level capable of detection by a recommended meth od rather than at no detectable level." Dr. Cairns points out that "if ei ther of these two sentences is taken out of context an erroneous conclu sion could be drawn relative to the Society's position. It is clear from these two sentences that the Soci ety does not endorse a `no detecta ble level' standard for the level of employee exposure." Therefore, Dr. Cairns adds, "we would like .to submit for the record the following clarifying statement as to what these two sentences were intended to state: In the absence of knowing the tolerable limit for workers ex poser! to vinyl chloride, the stan dard should be set as low as can be detected by a currently accepted reliable- analytical procedure-- namely. 1 p.p.m. At the same time, work should continue to define a threshold value so that, when it is defined, the standard may be suit ably revised. Since development of the means to attain the recom mended level may take time, we recommend a reasonable period for users of vinyl chloride to come into compliance." L9U B ld6B AHA ACS on vinyl chloride: further clarification ACS has come up with a slight modification of its letter to the Oc cupational Health and Safety Ad ministration clarifying the Society's position on the agency's proposed "no detectable lever work-place standard proposed for vinyl chlo ride. The position was first pre sented at OSHA hearings in July. As reported last week in C&EN (Aug. 26, page 6), ACS Executive Director Robert W. Cairns ex- fGained in a letter to administrative aw judge Gordon J. Myatt, who presided at the hearings, that there had been considerable misunder standing about the Society's posi tion. He explained that an errone ous conclusion could be drawn if ei ther of two sentences is taken out of context. This original version of Dr. Cairns' letter states: "We would like to submit for the record the following clarifying statement as to what these two sentences were in tended to state." The final version reads: "We would like to submit for the record the following clarifying statement as to what our statement was intended to state." In both versions the same "fol lowing clarifying statement" is made. To wit: "In the absence of knowing the tolerable limit for workers exposed to vinyl chloride, the standard should be set as low as can be detected by a currently accepted reliable analytical proce dure--j-namely, at 1 p.p.m. At the same time, work should continue to define' a threshold value so that, when it is defined, the standard may be suitably revised. Since de-. velopment of the means to attain the recommended level may take time, we recommend a reasonable period for users of vinyl chloride to come into compliance." Bear market claws most chemical stocks It's been downhill almost all the way this year for the stock market. And the shares of many major chemical producers have been no less able to fend off the onslaught of Wall Street's bears than have issues from other, currently less fa vored industries. Major market in dexes are off by 20 to 30%. Ironically, chemical stocks are being clawed during a year when the overall outlook for industry, at least in the short run, rarely has been brighter. Profits for 1974's first half topped year-earlier results by close to 50%. Higher profits bring the promise of higher dividends as well, and several chemical companies-- among them Celanese, Airco, American Cyanamid, Commercial Solvents, Pennwalt, and Du Pont-- have sweetened their return to shareholders in recent weeks. Con sequently, some chemical stocks now are selling at prices that, com- {jared to earlier years, are relatively ow multiples of annual per-share earnings and provide holders with relatively high dividend yields. The price-earnings ratio for Celanese, for example, is about 5 and the yield almost 9%; American Cyana mid offers a p/e ratio of 7 and an 8% yield; Olin a p/e ratio of 5 and a better than 6% yield. Chemical shares, moreover, con tinue to get high marks from many investment advisers and brokers. Some are voicing skepticism about the outlook for continued gains in prices and profits next year in the wake of weaknesses elsewhere in the national economy, to be sure. More typical, however, is the com ment last month by Value Line In vestment Survey that "this is a good time to invest in chemical stocks." And Robert J. Eastman of the New York brokerage firm Blyth Eastman Dillon says: "We foresee above-average profit growth for Chemical stocks this year: some up, more down 1974 PRICE Jan.2 Recent Ch%ang* Air Products Allied Chemical American Cyanamid Celanese Diamond Shamrock Dow Chemical' Du Pont GAF W. R. Grace Hercules IMC Monsanto Nalco Pennwalt Reichhold Rohm and Haas Stauffer Union Carbide Witco $ 42 49% 19% 28% 26 57% 160% 8% 24% 34 37% 54% 29% 21% 734 733/4 42% 33% 173/4 % 40% 33% 18% 30% 22% 58% 112% 7% 20% '30% 40% 55% 18% 17 16% 68 37% 41% 28% -3% -32 -7 +7 -15 +2 --30 -19 -16 -10 +6 +2 -36 -20 +115 -8 -11 +21 +61 Dow Jones Industrials N.Y. Stock Exchange Composite Index 855 672 -21 51.98 37.18 --28 chemical companies through each year of this decade, even when gen eral economic conditions are sluggish or amidst economic dis tress in [other] major industries." A few chemical issues have man aged to show gains for the year to date. Witco Chemical and Reichhold Chemicals were among the handful of issues that hit new highs for the year last week. Promising ulcer drug runs into trouble A drug that has generated much enthusiasm as an ulcer therapeutic may be on shaky ground, according to British medical scientists. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Adminis tration has taken up the British lead and begun a safety probe of the new compound, called metiamide, but hasn't ordered a formal halt to trials in humans. However, FDA concern has, in effect, brought a halt to clinical trials in the U.S. Even the drug's developer, SmithKline Corp., admits that it curtailed clinical trials here and abroad following a report from the British clinicians that the still-ex perimental compound produced a blood disorder in two of an unspeci fied number of patients. This disor der, reversible agranulocytosis, is characterized by an abnormally low white blood cell count. Earlier, in animal toxicology in vestigations, metiamide adminis tration produced depressed white blood cell counts in four of 68 dogs used in one study. The depression was reversible, however, and white cell counts returned to normal after the drug was withdrawn. Metiamide has been applauded by clinicians who have worked with it as an effective treatment for peptic ulcers. The drug is a hista mine H2 antagonist that prevents naturally produced histamine from initiating hypersecretion of hydro chloric acid by the gastric mucosa. Overproduction of the acid in the stomach is thought to be a prime factor in the formation of gastric ulcers. SmithKline is hesitant to com ment on the FDA review of meti amide safety data, and FDA won't talk about the findings of its review panel, now complete, until they are presented to the FDA commission er. So the whole question is still up in the air. But Britain's Council on the Safety of Medicine, the U.K. equivalent to FDA, has reviewed its data and decided to allow resump tion of clinical trials. A Sept. 2.1974 C&EN $ CONCENIRATES Industry / Business Capital appropriations by major U.8. chemical firms rose 44% to $2.3 billion between the first and second quarters of 1974, following a slight decline from the last quarter of 1973. Overall, U.S. manu facturers increased appropriations 39% to $16.3 billion in the second quarter of 1974, according to a survey of the 1000 largest U.S. manufacturers by the Conference Board. Dow Chemical's bid for General Crude Oil Co. has been clouded by a counter offer from Internation al Paper. Dow says it has an agreement with Glenmede Trust Co., trustee for Pew Memorial Trust, which holds a 63% interest in General Crude, to acquire Pew's shares in a tax-free ex change for $45 worth of Dow stock for each Gen eral Crude common share. But now Dow says it has been told that International Paper's offer of $50 in cash for each General Crude common share will "be brought to the attention" of Gienmede's board this week. Dow is expanding In high-density polyethylene, Mon santo is getting out. Dow is boosting its capacity to 600 million pounds per year with additions of 100 million pounds per year at Plaquemine, La., and 150 million pounds per year at Freeport, Tex. As a first step in getting out of the business alto gether, Monsanto will be out of the merchant market by early next year because of severe feedstock problems at its 180 million pound-peryear plant at Texas City, Tex. Amoco Chemicals will buHd a second ethylene plant pt Chocolate Bayou, Tex., near Alvin. The 1 billion pound-a-year plant, to be on stream by late 1977, will be a "twin" to Amoco's 1 billion pound plant expected to begin operation at this site in early 1975. The plants will use both gas and liquid feed. Government NSF will get more money this year. Money bills sent to the White House by Congress provide an au thorization level of $607 million (up from $632 million in fiscal 1974), and appropriations of $763 million for fiscal 1975 (up from $566 million in 1974). Authorization for science information ac tivities totals $6.3 million and appropriation $5 million. NSF asked Congress to authorize $5 mil lion. Earlier this year, ACS testified in favor of boosting the NSF science information activities budget to $8.3 million. Patent reform legislation appears dead for this ses sion of Congress, particularly if Congress ad journs by Oct. 15. A push to get Administration bill, S. 2504 C.P., approved by the Senate Judi ciary Committee is off. Sen. Philip A. Hart (D.Mich.) and Sen. Hugh Scott (R.-Pa.) are circulat ing amendments to the bill that may make it more palatable to its long list of critics. Aim is to come CAEN Sept. 2, 1974 up with a "clean bill" that most people will like in time for the opening of the next Congress. Hence, it's unlikely that the Judiciary Committee will re port a bill for Senate action before next year. Intrastate pesticide producers must register with EPA by Oct. 21, or face fines or other penalties. Companies involved include those in the manufac turing, processing, compounding, custom-blend ing, and repackaging of pesticides. EPA also says that its Aug. 2 notice of intent to suspend the registrations of Shell Chemical's Aldrin and Dieldrin does not affect uses of the pesticides for termite control, dipping of nonfood plants, and effluentfree mothproofing systems. Washington roundup AEC will make no immediate changes in its regu latory requirements for nuclear power reactors in light of a study that says that risks to person and property from such plants are far lower than risks from other natural and man-caused events. EPA has proposed in the Aug. 22 Federal Register a list of about 400 chemicals it considers hazard ous and requests comments on ways of cleaning up the chemicals if spilled In waterways. International Japan has lifted price controls on three major plas tics and on caustic soda. Polyethylene, polypro pylene. and polystyrene were among products freed by the Ministry of International Trade and industry, which put ceilings on 59 key industrial products after oil product price hikes were ap proved last spring. Most oil price controls were removed in mid-August. Dow's first wholly owned subsidiary in Japan is In business following government approval last month. Dow Chemical Japan takes over the $33 million a year import and sales operations former ly handled by a Dow branch, but cannot manufac ture. Reversing its earlier refusal to comment (C&EN, July 29, page 4), Dow also confirms in Tokyo that its feasibility study for a major chloralkali plant in Japan continues. Saskatchewan's potash mines now may operate at full capacity under new production allocations es tablished by the province's Ministry of Mineral Re sources. A 36% growth in potash sales this year and ministry projections of further growth as high as 20% for the 1974-75 fertilizer season are responsible for the allocation increase. Sales for 1974-75 could approach 7.2 million tons or 86% of the capacity of Saskatchewan's 10 mines. A Norwegian magnesia plant is planned by Dresser Industries and the Norwegian firm Norsk Hydro. The jointly owned processing plant, which would be built near Bodp by 1977, will be able to pro duce more than 200,000 metric tons a year of magnesia from sea water and dolomite. .IC9HJZJ1J VRD 0002014640 Letters Lessons needed in economy SIR: It is disturbing to read an article on energy conservation (C&EN, April 1. page 6} that not only avoids discussion of real conservation measures but actually recom mends a continued 1.4% effective growth rate in per capita energy consumption. Why do these energy experts think that each U.S. citizen wants, or should have, 50% more energy in the year 2000 than he consumes today? Surely a reduction in per capita consumption is possible through such measures as more reliance on public transportation, more effective building insu lation and lighting, and improvement in in dustrial processing. instead of just extrapolating the overall growth in energy consumption based on 1947 to 1972, which is what Mr. Peterson and his group have done, projections for the future should be obtained by combining detailed analyses of energy consumption in each sector of the economy. Publicizing past trends and projections for future usage would help focus attention on specif ic industries or sectors where conservation measures are sorely needed. Some of the chemical industries have shown that they can produce more products with less ener gy than formerly used, which should serve as a challenge to others. The shift to small er cars and somewhat lower speeds would reduce gasoline consumption, as would changing airline schedules to eliminate flights with many empty seats. It would be interesting to know the current trends in energy usage for transportation, and it seems appropriate for the government to set some specific conservation goals. De tailed comparisons of energy usage also should be made between regions of the U.S. and between countries. We use twice as much energy as the average European, and although some of this is due to climat ic differences, there may be lessons to iearn in studying their economies. Peter Harriotl Salford University. England without being aware of the instability and explosive nature of covalently bound azides, whether to metal or carbon, is Quite beyond me. Common reference books (e.g., the Merck Index) note that HN3 is a deadly poison and extremely explosive. It may be Monday morning Quarterbacking to point out that mixing 1 mole ol NaN3 with 1 mole of corvHCI will give a solution of NaCI above the saturation point which will force HN3 (b.p. 37s) out of the water. Why react 1 mole of azide with 0.01 mole of ketone anyway? Further. I had thought for years that it was common knowledge to avoid ground glass joints when working with volatile, explosive com pounds such as the related diazomethane. It is nothing less than moral negligence to assign a technician to do an experiment without making at least a modest attempt to investigate the dangers. The negligence of the senior chemist involved, wnoever he or she is, should not pass unnoticed and, hopefully, in the future, maybe the rest of us will think twice lest we fall into the same pit. It would be worthwhile if the safety news columns published in the Journal of Chemical Education were collected and reprinted in paperback form and made available at cost to every member of ACS. A substan tially increased emphasis on safety during formal chemical education is also both necessary and desirable. Edwin A. Chandross Murray Hill, N.J. SIR: A further point should be made re garding the hydrazoic acid explosion re ported in the Jan. 14 issue of C&EN (page 5). It is generally a oood idea to avoid the use ot ground gtass joints when handling hydrazoic acid. If the hydrazoic acid comes in contact with the joints, the pres sures resulting at the joint-stopper inter face when inserting or removing ground glass surfaces are sufficient to cause deto nation. This was apparently the case in the explosion reported, since a ground glass stopper was being removed at the time of the explosion, it is much safer to use a cork stopper unless it is certain that the hydrazoic acid will not come in contact with the ground glass joints. Howard Gunderson San Diego. Calif. Safety and morals SIR: The practice of reporting hazardous procedures and materials in a periodical of wide circulation such as C&EN is admira ble and should be encouraged. However, the recent eloquently worded report (C&EN, Jan. 14, page 5) of the violent ex plosion of 1 mole of HN3 leads me to sus pect that me levels of safety consciousness and moral values among contemporary chemists may have reached new lows and something ought to be done about it. The experiment as described seams in credible, reminiscent of drying CCI4 with sodium metal. How anyone could get to the level of a senior organic research chemist Reaping the fruits? SIR: When, as chairman ol the ACS Coun cil Committee on Professional Relations, I initiated the first investigation of a "masslayoff" such as those described in C&EN, March 18 (page 18). no "Guidelines" ex isted. The problems involved in satisfactori ly dealing with such matters led to my leading an effort to draft the first "Guide lines for Employers." The fruits of this ef fort were born in the adoption by the ACS Council ot the first set of "Guidelines" at the New York ACS meeting in 1970. I am gratified to see the constructive results shown in the C&EN article. Henry A. Hill Riverside Laboratories, Haverhill, Mass. Chemistry! We all see chemistry in action every day. But did you know that the American Can Company is a pro ducer of a wide variety of Chem icals from Wood, that just might get some action going for you? Dispersing, Binding, Sequester ing, Humectancy and Crystal Growth Modification are ACTIONS imparted to systems in which they are used. They are effective in aqueous slurries and/or oil in water emul sion systems. Return coupon for information about American's ACTION CHEMICALS FROM WOOD. AMERICAN CAN COMPANY Chemical Products 2A1 Department 6-1 American Lane Greenwich, Conn. 06630 Name 1A Company Mi Address City State Zip CIRCLE 36 ON READER SERVICE CARD June 17, 1974 C&EN 5 ''ll V' - > BH(Vinatex) THE NEW YORK TIMES, SATURDAY, JUNE l, 1974 New Cancer Cases Widen Fears on Vinyl Chloride V- , r: By JANE E. BRODY Four, new cases of angiosar coma of the liver have just been uncovered. They raise for the first time the possibility in the minds of public health of ficials that this fatal cancer hazard that has been linked to vinyl chloride may extend to hundreds of thousands of work ers and to members of the gen eral public. Heretofore, the cancer risk associated with vinyl chloride, a basic chemical -in the piastics industry, has been confined to the approximately 6,500 Ameri can workers who make vinyl chloride or convert the chemi Public health officials are] The agency has detected currently intensively investi- vinyl chloride up to half a mile gating these cases because of from a PVC plant, as well as their potential implication of a along .a highway in Pasadena, much more widespread hazard the heart of the largest vinyl than previously suspected. chloride producing region in Although precise numbers tiie United States. are not known, informed Other potential sources of sources estimated that hun exposure to this chemical have dreds of thousands of workers been the dozens of aerosol con are engaged in the processing sumer products, including hair of polyvinyl chloride, generally sprays and household pesti known as PVC, into countless cides, in which for years vinyl consumer and industrial prod chloride was used as a propel ucts, including paints, furniture, lant. Nearly all such products floor tiles, clothing, food pack have been recalled in the last ages, dentures, garden hoses, month. pharmaceutical products con The new cases of angiosar struction pipes and insulation. coma of the liver turned up in cal to its polymer, polyvinyl In addition, countless individ a search of records of cancer chloride. Since January, when uals with no occupational ex registeries in New York State the hazard was first revealed, posure to vinyl chloride or its and Connecticut. 19 cases of tills invariably fatal polymer live tn the vicinity of .The New York registry con cancer, which is extremely rare the 14 plants that make vinyl tains a total of six cases of in the general population, have chloride and the 35 plants that this disease, ail six having lived been uncovered among vinyl make PVC. in the Buffalo area, near where chloride workers here and The Environmental Protec a large Goodyear plant has abroad. tion Agency estimates that 300 been making PVC since 1946. Among cases of the newly revealed angiosarcoma of the million escape pounds of into the vinyl chloride environment There is also a preliminary port of a seventh case in re the liver:--three in New York State each year as a result of this Buffalo area. Three of the New and one in Connecticut--are a manufacture. Yesterday, the York cases are men who worker who for 30 years made agency asked the 27 manu worked at the Goodyear plant electrical wire insulation from facturers involved to submit in Niagara Falls, but the other pojyvinyl chloride resin and "process, emission and air thee are all women who had woman who for nearly 30 years ouality data" to help it develop no known occupational ex- lived four blocks downwind air pollution control standards [posure. from a polyvinyl chloride manu for vinyl chloride in accordance facturing plant. with the Clean Air Act of 1970. Case hi Connecticut According to officers at the try, told The New York Times. One of those, a man who died last July at the age of 60, had worked for 39 years at the General Electric plant in Bridge port. According to a company spokesman, for the first 30 years of the man's employment, he operated machines that pro cessed plastic ("quite probably PVC"), rubber and other ma terials into insulation. The company, which .this week notified the National In stitute for Occupational Safety and Health about the case, haq begun medical tests, including liver function studies, of ail employes exposed to any known level of vinyl chloride, the spokesmans aid. * The Institute said it wal consulting with the company about further studies, and the Center for Disease Control is investigating the other cases in the cancer registry. Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, direc tor of the Environmental Sci ence Laboratory at Mount Sinai Hospital here, com mented that "any one case could be a coincidence and more information is needed to define the precise risk. How ever, the new cases point to the urgent need for research to clarify the situation." Center for Disease Control, one of the New York women, who died in January at the age of 62, had lived four blocks south east of the Goodyear plant since |the end of World War II. She also had her hair done each week for at least 20 years, al though the beauty salon she patronized told officials they did not use vinyl chloride-con- taining hair sprays. The Connecticut registry has accumulated a total of eight cases of angiosarcoma of the liver since 1935, Dr. Barbara Christine, director of the regis *- I M H J Z f llf l AHA The Chemical World This Week VINYL CHLORIDE NO MENACE NEAR PLANTS. EPA SAYS An Environmental Protection Agency survey of air for vinyl chlo ride near seven chemical complexes that make vinyl chloride or polyvi nyl chloride has turned up "no sci entific evidence to indicate that these emissions pose an imminent hazard to people living near these plants," EPA administrator Russell E. Train disclosed last week. How ever, Mr. Train told executives of 29 chemical companies summoned to Washington, D.C., by EPA for a session on the vinyl chloride-PVC problem that "prudence dictates that reasonable steps should be promptly taken to reduce vinyl chloride emissions to the lowest practical level." In all, this is rather cheering news for the chemical executives who no doubt entered the meeting braced for some unsettling develop ment. Word that Mr. Train person ally wanted to meet with the exec utives had prompted more than a few expressions of concern. Mr. Train told the chemical executives that although almost all of the samples collected in the EPA survey contained detectable levels of; vinyl chloride, "more than 95% of the samples showed amounts of le$s than 1 p.p.m." EPA obtained a one-time high of 33 p.p.m. in a sample taken 0.2 mile from the B. F. Goodrich plant in Louisville, Ky., but Mr. Train added that this level was "unusual." Further, the average of samples at this site was in the range of 0.5 to 1 p.p.m. In all, EPA regional offices dur ing May monitored 10 PVC plants owned by B. F. Goodrich, Borden, Goodyear, American Chemical, Un iroyal, Robintech, Stauffer Chemi cal, Diamond Shamrock, and Ten- Train: lowest practical emissions ieco. Dow Chemical and American Chemical vinyl chloride plants also vere monitored. Most of EPA's sampling for vinyl chloride in air was done within half i mile of the property lines of the >lants, EPA says. In one instance, he agency found a vinyl chloride evel of 3.4 p.p.m. 3 miles from a >lant, but several readings aver ted about 0.5 p.p.m. EPA also monitored plant water :ffluents and found that the levels varied with the degree of waste vater treatment. The highest level )f vinyl chloride EPA found in vaste water was 20 p.p.m, but `more typically, levels of 2 to 3 s.p.m. were found." Levels of the chemical entrapped in sludge and )ther solid wastes from reactor settles ranged up to 3000 p.p.m. Mr. Train stresses that these re sults of the EPA monitoring effort are preliminary and that much ad ditional monitoring is needed. Even so, he says that at present, "There is no basis for considering that the levels of vinyl chloride detected in water discharges or in sludge, if handled properly, are hazardous to human health or to aquatic life." He says, "There is no currently available evidence to indicate that rinyl chloride is present in de tectable levels in drinking water." Chemists' role in new fibers may decrease The textile fiber industry of the future will be less dominated by the chemist in the laboratory whose new polymer discoveries often have led to development of new fiber markets in the past. Increasingly, it will be the consumer and the Gov ernment speaking for the consumer who will direct fiber research efforts by telling the manufacturer which properties they require in textiles. And the chemist, although still a key figure in fiber development, will find himself more involved in interdisciplinary efforts. Such is the very tentative fore cast made by participants in a Na tional Symposium of Fiber Fron tiers held in Washington, D.C., last week. Sponsored by the American Chemical Society's Division of In dustrial and Engineering Chemistry ind 13 other organizations, the 3ymposium reflected the uncertain:y that has overtaken the industry n the past year. Sudden realization ;hat natural fibers and petrochemi:al feedstocks for synthetic fibers are in critically short supply has placed the industry at what one ob server calls its most uncertain point ;n the past 15 years. Alleviating worldwide fiber shortages without misallocating limited agricultural and petroleum resources to create an oversupply of fibers will be a major challenge, says Braham Nor- wick of Norwick Corp. Limited resources and the great expense involved in promoting a new generic fiber probably mean that fewer completely new fibers will be developed in the future, Monsanto's John Lomartire and others predict. Instead, existing fi bers will be modified, both chemi cally and by changes in processing, to provide the properties consumers are looking for. Future research will not be aimed at developing a single fiber for all uses but at matching the properties of fibers and fabrics with the requirements of the partic ular end uses they are designed for. The most obvious changes in the textile fiber industry probably will take place in textile processing technology, most participants be lieve. To boost productivity, the in dustry needs to produce yarns three to four times faster than can be achieved bv the best methods now available, t)r. Mary E. Carter, di rector of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Southern Regional Research Center, told the sympo sium. To do this, totally new tech nologies must be developed, such as manipulation of fibers by controlled electric fields. In addition, many properties of a final fabric that were originally thought to be de pendent solely on the chemical properties of its fibers can be changed by spinning, blending, and construction techniques that are just beginning to be developed. Dr. Giuliana C. Tesoro of Massa chusetts Institute of Technology warns that textile chemists increas ingly need training in areas outside chemistry. Finding solutions to problems such as textile flammabil ity will require expertise in physics and engineering as well as in poly mer chemistry, she explains. (r WARNING menace to health ^ A federal bureau has requested manufacturers to with draw some 23 brands of pesticide sprays from the market and adopt new formulas for their products. These spray liquids contain vinyl chloride, mostly serving as a propellant to force the spray out of the container. This substance has very recently been linked with a rare type of liver cancer. The pesticides involved include household disinfectants, officially ap proved insect killers used in restaurants and food pro cessing plants, various agricultural pesticides, and sprays for control of wasps. (Some cat and dog sprays may also be involved.) Plastic food wrap, plastic food and wrapping film and storage bags, plastic food stor age film and containers, gutters and downspouts, house siding, weatherstripping, refrigerator gaskets, automobile upholstery, wire and cable insulation, work gloves, foams, plastic sheeting, shower curtains, rain wear, shoe soling, etc., are among the hundreds of com mon articles made with vinyl chloride plastics. Both flexible and rigid vinyl plastics are in wide use. Plastic bottles were recently used (over a period of several years) by about 30 American distilling com panies for the sake of economy in packaging whiskey and other alcoholic beverages. This was done with per mission of the U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau and the Food and Drug Administration, but as traces of the plastic were leached out of the bottle into the liquor, it gave the li quor a bad taste, and orders were issued that such li quors were no longer to be sold in plastic bottles. More important than the unfavorable taste was the fact that the liquor was contaminated with vinyl chloride up to the impermissible amount of 20 parts per million. In aerosol cans, vinyl chloride is used as a propellant for the material being sprayed, and probably for rea sons of economy the use of the gas as a propellant for a variety of liquids sold in aerosol form has become fair ly extensive. The discovery of the danger is credited to Dr. John L. Creech, Jr., of Louisville, Kentucky, who was struck by the occurrence of several deaths by liver cancer of workers in a major chemical plant. Dr. Creech discov ered that in the last 5 years four employees of one con cern had died of angiosarcoma of the liver, an exceed ingly rare cancer, and all had been involved in the pro duction of polyvinyl chloride from vinyl chloride, which is the foundation substance for much of the modern plastics industry. Six cases were found among workmen in one large manufacturing plant, and there may be as many as 10 cases of the disease among in dustrial workers. Many others may remain undetected up to the present time. Something like 6500 workers in 35 to 50 plants in the U.S. are involved in the produc tion of this gas or of polyvinyl chloride. These chemicals play a part in the production of countless products other than those already men tioned, and include paints, piping, furniture, uphol stery, draperies, wall coverings, floor tiles, tablecloths, toys, clothing, footwear, garden hoses, phonograph rec ords, dentures, containers of various kinds, and certain pharmaceutical products. Existing federal standards allow 500 ppm., a chemi cal journal reports, a much higher proportion of vinyl chloride in the air than is now considered safe (50 to 200 ppm.) and the federal government did not act upon a finding of the dangers, which was published in 30 / CONSUMERS'RESEARCH MAGAZINE V T* T*. '* > 'P* t VRD 00020-1464 3 the early sixties (based upon European experience re lating vinyl chloride to liver disease). Dow Chemical Co. reported liver damage as long as 13 years ago. The situation is considered so dangerous that the 50 ppm. limit may need to be reduced to as low as one ppm. As long ago as 1970, an Italian researcher, Prof. Cesare Maltoni, found that exposure to high levels of vinyl chloride in the air could cause cancer in rata. German researchers, publishing in 1972, found that exposures well below the U.S. government limit caused serious illness in seven patients exposed to vinyl chlo ride for periods of one to three and a half years. Some had loss of sensation, deafness, blanching of the fin gers, pressure-pain in the fingertips, and loss of grip. Swelling of terminal finger joints followed, and changes in the nails. There was one case of failure of vision, and liver function deterioration was evident in two patients. Skin changes of an important kind were seen in three patients. A New York City technical agency is now analyzing hundreds of popular consumer products for the pres ence of vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride. About 100,000 cans of two brands of an aerosol hair spray have been recalled at the suggestion of a federal government agency because some of them contained vinyl chloride as a propellant. The production of polyvinyl chloride made with vinyl chloride gas is enormous. The amount has been of the order of 5 billion pounds; this is one of the most popular and useful of all the common plastics. The government has issued a list of carcinogens which must no longer be manufactured under circum stances in which the slightest trace of any of the sub stances could be detected in the workplace; vinyl chlo ride was not considered to be dangerous as a potential ; cause of cancer at the time this list was prepared. It would be at the present juncture. | No government agency has in its possession all the (Information needed to make manufacturers and users of chemical materials aware of all the possible and ac tual hazards. There are something like 25,000 hazard ous chemical substances, and proper studies have been made for only a small proportion of that number. As with many other cancer causing chemicals, there is a long time interval between exposure and develop ment of cancer; in this case something like 20 years or more were involved. The conclusion to be drawn from these observations is that we are developing new prod ucts and putting them into use far faster than we are acquiring information about their safety or lack of safety. The danger is especially great with chemical additives used in food manufacture, and the extraordi nary mix of dangerous chemicals and contaminating metallic compounds from arsenic to manganese to zinc that feed into our lakes and streams that have major effects on the quality of our water supplies. An equally large variety of substances harmful to people are dis charged into the air, and spread over even remote country districts, far from the mines, furnaces, and factories from which they originate. Examples of some of the hundreds of plastic products made with vinyl chloride or a related type of plastic. The electrical wire seen in the foreground (so-called lamp cord) is typical of the use of polyvinyl chloride as insulation, as is the roll of electricians' tape beside it. Garden hose is another common product which makes use of the polyvinyl chloride material- A very convenient and versa tile food wrapping film is made of a combination of vinyl chlo ride and vinylidlne chloride. The three hair sprays In the picture are of two brands about which a request for a "voluntary recall" had come from me federal Food and Drug Administration. It is worthy of note that some druggists removed the ques tionable vinyl-chloride-contalning cosmetic products from their shelves promptly after reading notices of the reeall in leading newspapers. (Many newspapers, of course, would be unlikely to print an article on such a subject.) The federal government agency Involved. FDA, had not, as of this writing, gotten around to sending notices to the retailers (drug and department stores and supermarkets) which handle the hair spray. At least one store of a large retail chain (a su permarket) in CR's area had received notice from its holding corporation to take the products off Its shelves. * As the manuscript for this article goes to press, an arti cle in a leading newspaper announces FDA recalls or withdrawals of numerous aerosol products. None of the products involve major brand names; aH were man ufactured before July 1 of last year by the Shield Chemical Company of Canton, Mass. The recalled products can be identified by code numbers in sequen tial order up to 3213. We would urge those of our readers who shop in dis count or cut-rate stores to make sure that private brands of the aerosol products they purchase are not among those named by FDA as being hazardous on ac count of their use of vinyl chloride as a propellant. The aerosol products named were in the following catego ries: medicated vaporizers, foot sprays, spray powder deodorants, feminine spray powder deodorants, medi cated powders, medicated spray-on lotions, first-aid sprays, hair sprays, wig sprays, and wig cleaners. It is about time that sellers of private brands began to take some interest in the quality and safety of the products they carry, and do the research and testing necessary for consumers' safety, and they should as a matter of course check closely on the reliability and re search facilities of the manufacturers who produce the merchandise. D JUNE 1974 / 31 Vol. 292 No. 1 V1NYL-CHLORIDK-1NDUCED LIVER DISEASE -- THOMAS ET AL. 17 VINYL-CHLORIDE-INDUCED UVER DISEASE From Idiopathic Portal Hypertension (Banti's Syndrome) to Angiosarcomas Louis B. Thomas, M.D., Hans Popper, M.D., Ph.D., PaulD. Berk, M.D., Irving Selikopf, M.D., and Henry Falk, M.D. Abstract Histologic examination of liver tissue (eight autopsy and 18 biopsy specimens) and five spleens from 20 workers with vinyl chloride polymerization, showed hepatic angiosarcomas in 15. In addition, a* peculiar pattern ol progressive portal-tract, inconspic uous intralobular and conspicuous capsular fibrosis was observed in the five workers without angiosarco ma, in all the seven patients with angiosarcoma from whom tumor-free portions of the liver were available, and in two tumor-free biopsies from patients subse* quently found to have angiosarcoma. The fibrosis was accompanied by splenomegaly. Hypertrophy and hy perplasia of both hepatocytes and hepatic and splenic mesenchymal cells were also seen. The histologic simi larity to chronic inorganic arsenical poisoning, in which angiosarcomas also occur, and to idiopathic portal hypertension (Banti's syndrome) suggests that the latter syndrome at times results from unknown tox ic, possibly environmental, chemicals. (N Engl J Med 292:17-22,1975) HK development of he|Kitic angiosarcomas in work Mal(ouitu subsequently described angiosarcomas of ihe Ters exposed to vinyl chloride gas in (he manufacture liver and other organs as well as nephroblastomas in rats of polyvinyl chloride has been well documented.1'* Histoexjxtsed to vinyl chloride gas. Recently, angiosarcomas of logic study of licpuiic and splenic specimens taken from the liver have been seen in mice after exposure to as little such workers suggests to us, moreover, that other diseases as 50 ppm of vinyl chloride.11 that have not in the past been related to industrial ex When specimens of human angiosarcoma from vinyl posure may lx.* involved. Sjurcificully, a case will Ire made chloride polymerization workers were reviewed in the lor (hr (unu-pi (hat splenomegaly with portal hyperten sion associated with sligltt hepatic libiusis, previously des lalmraiory ol Pathology of the National Cancer Institute, the lesions in areas ol the liver not involved by an ignated as Hand's syndrome,4 may he the result of ex- giosarcoma apjx.*ared similar to alterations recently re- jMtsttre to knowiioi unknown chemical agents. |x)iled in vinyl chloride workers in Germany.1* In these History of the Vinyl Chloride Liver Injury patients inconspicuous portal and |KTisinusoidal fibrosis was associated with impressive he |>aiic capsular fibrosis as Polyvinyl chloride, one of the most widely used syn- seen by peritoneoscopy. Hepatic-function tests revealed thetic plastics, has been manufactured for more than 40 years by polymerization of gaseous vinyl chloride in the variable abnormalities. Clinical manifestations included portal hypertension with splenomegaly, thrombocyto United States and in many other countries. Concern abejut untoward side effects in workers had centered primarily on a disease, acro-ostcolysis,4 which is charac penia and bleeding esophageal varices. This German re port focused our interest on the appearance of the liver not only in patients with hepatic angiosarcomas but also in terized by Raynaud's syndrome, dermal induration and other workers with hepatic fibrosis exposed to vinyl chlo bone lesions. Two reports1*'7 also dealt with nonspecific ride who had been diagnosed as having cirrhosis because alterations of hepatic structure and function, and a lesion of portal hypertension, variceal hemorrhage and spleno designated "chronic epithelial hepatitis'* was found in about 25 per cent of the examined workers in Russia.1* megaly. By coincidence, there have been several recent reports I lepatic abnormalities, which did not attract major atten of portal hypertension without obvious cause in patients tion. Ix'camc far more important Isecauseof die discovery with psoriasis who had icccived an inorganic arsenic of (hrec cases of angiosarcomas ol the liver, an otherwise very rare tumor, in workers in a polyvinyl chloride pro preparation, Fowler's solution, for prolonged peri ods.1*'1* Tltcse observations were interesting in view of duction plant in this country.1 The introduction of a sur veillance system in this plant detected a total of seven cases of hepatic angiosarcoma.*** Animal experiments confirm earlier reports front Germany and France of hepatic an giosarcomas developing in vintners exposed to insecti cides containing inorganic arsenic.10 Roth's repori in the relation IxMwcen hepatic angiosarcoma and exposure cluded 47 workers with chronic arsenic intoxication. Of to gaseous vinyl chloride. In 1971, Italian investigaiors re ported that prolonged inhalation of vinyl chloride pro these, four had lie|>atic carcinomas, five hud sarcomas (an giosarcomas), and I li of 27 autopsied by him had unusual duced carcinomas of the zymbal gland in rats,1* and types of cirrhosis.*** From the Laboratory ol Pathology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. HiMhcsJa. MD. the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University ol New York. NY, the Section on Diseases of the Liver. National Institute ol Arthritis, Metabolism anil Digestive Diseases. Na tional institutes of Health, iielhvsila. Ml), anil the Cancer ami llirlh Defects Division. Bureau of Epidemiology, Center for Disease Control. Atlanta. GA (address reprint requests to Dr. Thomas at the National Cancer institute, itlilg 10. Knom2A2V. Heihesila. MD2UOI4). Dt. Popper is l ogtu'ty Scholar in Resilience. 1 ugarly Intel national Cen ter. National Inslilutcsol Health Material Studied The observations recorded here are based on the study of liejMtic tissues obtained from 20 workers who had industrial ex|tosure to vinyl chloride (or prolonged |>cnods, usually exceeding i no years and exu-iulutg up to IK years. The (issues were derived hoiu I 5 palienis will) angiosarcoma and five with hepatic fibrosis Inl without angiosarcoma. I lie majority ol these .s|x*eimens were initially obtained, studied, and in some cases rejtorleil l>y nthris,1 :l Iml all were submit led to the I .almiuiot y ol Pathology, N.i- A IM I lit- NI VY I NCt A Nil |l >1 i|(N/M . HI MHIHINI ...... `J, I1I7/V Figure 1. Hepatic Angiosarcoma in a Worker Engaged in Polymerization of Vinyl Chloride. A shows sinusoidal pattern progressing to a papillary pattern (straight arrow) (hematoxylin and eosin stain x 100). Note envel oping tumor cells separated by widened tissue space of Disse (curved arrow). B shows small cavernous spaces with transition to anaplastic growth in angiosarcoma in the upper part of the photomicro graph and liver-cell plates enveloped by sarcoma cells in the right lower comer (hematoxylin and eosin stain x 100). tiorial Cancer Institute, for review. Because of the nature of our access to the material, these specimens do not represent a consecutivfc series and cannot be considered to indicate the relative fre quency of these vinyl-chloride-associated hepatic lesions. TWenty specimens from the 15 patients with angiosarcoma were reviewed, and 18 of these (eight autopsy and 10 biopsy), showed angiosarcoma. In addition, two of these patients had pre vious liver biopsies that had been obtained six and three months before the diagnosis of hepatic angiosarcoma was made. In seven of the patients (iour autopsy and five biopsy specimens) sufficient liver tissue was present outside the angiosarcoma and free of __pressure effects to permit an evaluation of the morphology of the tumor-free portions of the liver. Liver tissue was obtained bv hiopsv (five surgical and one needle-biopsy sjjccimcns) in the five pal knits with he pal ic fibrosis without known angiosarcoma. In one patient in whom hepatic, fibrosis had been observed in an initial surgical biopsy specimen, a follow-up needle biopsy was obtained during peritoneoscopy aflcr an interval of two rears, the patient having had no furtltcr exposure to vinvl chloride. Oltservations of the splenic changes were made on three surgical and two autopsy specimens. All s|K*cimcns were fixed in % formalin and studied by conventional microscopical tech nics. Angiosarcoma Observations Although the presence of angiosarcomas in vinyl chlo ride workers has previously l>cen reported, ihe histologic characteristics of the tumors are briefly described in an at tempt to distinguish them from hepatic angiosarcomas apparently not induced by chemicals and to trace tlieir possible relation to the fihrotic lesions. Three basic ]xitterns, listed here in order of frequency, were seen in dif ferent parts of the angiosarcomas. The first, the sinusoidal pattern, was characterized by focal, often multiccniric. dilatation of sinusoids, with hy pertrophic and hyperplastic sarcoma cells forming a lin ing for the dilated sinusoids. The sarcoma cells enveloped liver-cci! plates and bile ductules and infiltrated fibrotic porinl tracts (Fig. LI). The enveloped hcpaiocyics were usually hypertrophic and hyperplastic and thus appeared as cords around dilated bile canaliculi, which often con tained bile plugs. I^onscl) arranged rctieulin and collagen fillers were present in the w idened tissue space of Disse to gether with increased mimlxus of non-neoplastic-ap|>carmg fibroblasts and mat rophages. The second, flic fxi/nllary pattern, had larger and more irregular vascular s|xiees. 1 .nose strands of hepatic cords enveloped by sarcomatous cells projected into these spaces. Atrophy ami disappearance of hepatic cord cells developed, with increased fibrosis of the widened space of Disse, The third, the rtivrntmi.s paticrn. was characterized by even larger, lilmnl-filled s|iaecs surrounded by thick, fi brotic walls lined by sarcomatous cells (Fig. IB). In addition, one fourth of the angiosarcomas had more solid nodules of anaplastic sarcoma. These nodules com- i s m ie if l& i da voi. aya No. i VINYL-CHLORIDE-INDUCED UVF.R DISEASE -- THOMAS ET AL. 19 preyed (lie surrounding parenchyma, and in one tumor, anaplasiic sarcoma cells invaded portal-vein brandies. Focal dilatation of sinusoids with proliferation and enlargeuicni of the .sinusoidal cells associated with perisiimsoidal tihrosis may represent an early stage in t he evolu tion of angiosarcoma. This lesion was noted in six of Lite seven available tnnuir-free liver s|)crjnicns from patients with angiosarcoma, and in die two biopsies taken Indore angiosarcoma was detected. It was also observed in two pa tients in whom angiosarcoma lias not develop'd, and in wiumi, accordingly, careful follow-up observation is indi cated. In the patients with angiosarcoma, some,o! die si nusoidal lining cells had enlarged, atypical nuclei and bul ky cytoplasm that was FAS negative in contrast to many of die lining cells in the uninvolvcd parenchyma (Fig- 2). There were gradual transitions between the areas of focal dilatation of sinusoids to multiple, microscopic-sized angiosarcomas with asiiHlsoidal pattern. In three patients other organs besides the liver were in volved by angiosarcoma: the duodenum in one, the lung in a second, and the lung, heart, kidney and lymph nodes inadurd patient. Hepatic fibrosis All the livers without angiosarcomas and the uiiinvolved portions of the livers with angiosarcomas showed Figure 2. Focal Dilatation ol Sinusoid9, with Hyperplastic Hepatocytes (Airow) and Excess Sinusoidal Lining Celts, Some with Hyperchromatic Nuclei (This Appearance Con trasts with That of Normal Sinusoids in the Right Lowur CorruirMHuuiiiloxylm uixl Eoam Slmrt x HiO) the same basic changes, the extent of which varied widely within each specimen. Excess fibrous connective tissue caused variable enlargement of most portal tracts (Fig. 3A). A disiinciive feature w-as the tendency for single hepaiocyics and groups of liepaiocytes at the margins of the [Miital tracts to lx.- scjxiratcd from adjacent hepatic cord cells and surrounded by this progressive tihrosis. . IY<liberal ion of bile duels was noted in these fibroin |>oriui tracts lugcihcr with a variable infiltration ol lympiu>eyics, Occasionally, tlie walls of portal-vein branches sliowed focal fibrosis. Adjacent portal tracts were often connected by connective-tissue septa in the sense of a perilobular fibrosis anti some thin septa traversed the parenchyma and extended irregularly toward central veins. In two cases, both with angiosarcomas elsewhere in the liver, these septa separated parts of die parenchyma to produce nodules. The hepatic capsule showed focal thickening and nodular fibrotic areas that often extended into sub* capsular hepatic tissue to connect with adjacent portal tracts. The sinusoidal lining ceils were locally increased in number, especially in areas where sinusoids were dilated. Intralobular, pcrisinusoidal fibrosis, though inconspicu ous in hcmatoxylin-eosin-stained sections, could be dem onstrated in these areas by special stains for relit uiin and collagen libers. In oilier areas, gi oups of lie|xiiocytcs, with no particular intralobular localization, varied conspicu ously in cellular and nuclear size, many of them being dis tinctly enlarged (Fig. 38). Himiclcar and nudtimicjeaic hepatocytes, some with much cytoplasm, were intermixed with a few hepatocytes that were smaller than normal. De generation and necrosis of hepatocytes, although present, were not more conspicuous than in any routine surgical specimen. In the second biopsy specimen, obtained in one patient two years after cessation of exposure to vinyl chlo ride, these abnormal changes in both hepatocytes and si nusoidal lining cells had disappeared, but the capsular, portal-trail and intralobular fibrosis persisted. Splenic Change* The available spleens were large, weighing 560 to 1050 g.and showed uncut section enlarged Malpighian follicles and a firm, beefy red pulp. Microscopically, the follicles were hy|>erplasiic and had large germinal centers and wide j>crili>lliiular zones (Fig. 4). Occasionally, fresh hem orrhage was found around jK/nicillaiy arteries and folli cles. The red-pulp sinuses were widened anil often lined by a continuous layer of cuboidal reticuloendothelial cells. The slightly thickened pulp cords contained many lym phoid and histiocytic cells as well as erythrocytes, Fihrosis of the red pulp was absent or inconspicuous, and heinosideriuophages were only occasionally seen. Discussion The relatively frequent development of hepatic angio sarcomas in workers engaged in the polymerization of vi nyl chloride has now Ih-cii established. In this report die emphasis is on a |h*i uliai hrpa l u fibrosis in swell workei s ami its relation to die angiosarcomas. I bis fibrosis, which ap|x'ars to represent a second hepatic lesion attiihulahlc to vinyl i hloi idr <x|msm r. was I on ml in die tumor-11 ee jn Mir. Nl'.W KN<il.ANh IOMKNAI.OI MI.DICINI |.m. 2. 11175 F igure 3. Subcapsular Portion of a Surgical Specimen of the Liver of a Worker with Portal Hypertension. Note A the focal fibrotic thickening of the capsule and variable fibrotic enlargement of the portal tracts with fibrous connec* five tissue extending between periportal liver-cell plates. The lobular architecture is intact (hematoxylin and eosin stain x 25). 8 shows indistinct groups of hepatocytes with enlarged cytoplasm and nuclei, sometimes binucleate, particularly in the upper part ot the photomicrograph in contrast to smalt hepatocytes. In places the sinusoidal tining celts are somewhat enlarged (ar row) (hematoxylin and eosin stain x 160) f*rtions of the liver of patients who had or were subse rviently shown to have angiosarcomas. ami also in patk'ius without angiosarcoma who came to attention lieninse of splenomegaly and inanifcsiaiions of portal hypertension. I'hc fibrosis is characterized by a conspicuous, focal capsu lar fibrosis, which is most impressive on gross inspection and was demonstrated in German workers by peritoneos copy, 1 * by a variable and irregular fibrosis of |x>rtal tracts, and by inconspicuous areas of intralobular, perisimisoidal fibrosis. This fibrosis is topographically related to prolif eration and activation of sinusoidal lining cells and cells in the tissue space of Disse. These changes are associated with focal hy|x?rtrophy and hyperplasia of hepatocytes. The hepatocytes are not severely injured, nor is reactive intralobular inflammation seen. The apparent integrity of., the hepatocytes explains whv hepatic tests that indicate hepatocellular alterations \ ield erratic or even normal re sults in this stage.7 * ,s These tests, therefore, cannot l>c de pended upon to detect the hepatic fibrosis. In the spleen proliferation of lymphoid and reticuloendothelial cells is observed, but fibrosis is not seen. Although the characteristic hr pa tit fibrosis was pres ent in all cases of angiosarcoma in which adequate hepatic tissue was available, there is no evidence that all cases of hc|Kilic fibrosis proceed to angiosarcomas. In the workers engaged in tlic |w>lymcri/alion of vinyl < hloride who were studied by us, iIk? combination of hepalic angiosarcomas and fibrosis was mote common than the fibrnii< lesions alone. In ot her slut lies of worket s exposed to vinyl < blo nde in Germany.12 Romania.' and Russia'1 the fibrotic le sions without angiosarcomas have In'cn nunc frequent, and a survey in this country revealed an increased inci dence of splenomegaly in such workers, defending on the dural ion of their exposure.17 The relation of tin- libtotk lesions to the development of angiosarcomas requires further study. However.a tran sition from the fibrotic stage to angiosarcoma is suggested by (he focal proliferation both of the sinusoidal liningcclls and of the hepatocytes that is seen in the fibrotic stage but Incomes even more pronounced in the initial stages of an giosarcoma development. Further progression is indi cated Ip proliferation and piling up of atypical, sarcoma tous-appearing sinusoidal and perisimisoidal t ells that envelop proliferated hepaux ylcs in the areas of sinusoidal dilatation. These features, which characterize the multiccntric angiosarcomas with a sinusoidal |xittern, tan be traced further to live angiosarcomas with papillary and cavernous growth patterns. In only a few rases, nodules composed of anaplastic sarcoma cells arc observed. Thus, the evolution of the hepatic lesions and the enlargement to K sm ia zm a Vul. if`J2 Ni>. I V1NYL-CHLORIDK-1NIHJCKD 1.IVFR DISFASF -- THOMAS FT AT. of the spleen suggests a stimulating effect by vinyl chloride or its metabolites oit several types of hepatic and splenic cells. l'he prominence of the enveloping growth pattern of the minor ceils, railicr than a nodular growth {xiticrn, is characteristic of lic|iadc angiosarcomas that develop after vinyl chloride cx|>osure. Many cases of hepatic angiosar coma of unknown cause fail to show this prominence.1*-1* On the basis of ex|>ei ience to date absence of this promi nence in a given case militates against vinyl chloride as die origin, These oltscrvations may lie of assistance in epide miologic surveys. F.nvcloping features are prominent in angiosarcomas induced by thorium dioxide suspension (Thorotrusl) in which large and irregular areas ot iibrosis arc observed.2V ZI Similar features are cmphasi/etl in an giosarcomas induced by inorganic arsenical*,lb :t* which, like vinyl t lilot i<U\ may also produce inconspic uous lic|ialic liimtsiv Through the courtesy of lbs. T. J. S< lieucr and M. Schmid, we were able to study histologically three cases of mild lieputic fibrosis with portal hypertension after long-term treatment of psoriasis with Fowler's solu tion, two of tltem reported." We observed hepatic changes similar to those in the |kUiciiIs c xjxised to vinyl chloricle -- namely progressive portal fibrosis, mild intra lobular fibrosis and local hypertrophy and hyperplasia of hc|suu>cytes. Figure 4. Surgically Removed Spleen of a Worker with Mod erate Hepatic Fibrosis. Note hyperplastic Malpighian follicles, which merge and ex hibit large germinal centers. Sinuses are widened, and redpulp cords are slightly thickened (hematoxylin and eosin stain x40). Inconspicuous hepatic fibrosis accompanied by spleno megaly and portal hypertension is the syndrome de scribed by Band.4 An identical clinical picture is observed in some workers exposed to vinyl chloride. In contrast to spiennincgalk cii rhosis, in which the splenic enlargement is caused by die hemodynamic alterations in the liriltotic liver, in Hand's syndrome the splenomegaly precedes the he|xidc fibrosis or is associated with inconspicuous fibro sis. It may, however, be followed by cin liosis eventually.** "Most cases of Band's syndrome are associated with portal hypertension and are now usually designated as idio|taihic portal hypertension.*4 Some aulliors associate the |x>rtal hypertension with a primary23 or secondary20 altera tion of the wall of the portal vein or its branches (hcpaioportal sclerosis), but this lesion was not conspicuous in our cases. Conditions resembling Band's syndrome have been produced in animal ex|)erimenls by stimulation of splenic lymphoid and reticuloendothelial cells.27 It is possible, litcreiorc, that one of die results of prolonged exposure to vinyl chloride may be splenomegaly due to stimulation of splenic cells, with a consequent increase in splenic and Itepadc blood flow. Portal hypertension might be the result of an inability to accommodate this increased lie|iahc blood flow because distention of portal-vein branches is prevented by the portal Iibrosis, and that of the sinusoids by the capsular and subcapsuiur fibrosis. Whatever the origin of the idiopathic portal hyper tension or Band's syndrome, its apparent induction by prolonged exposure to vinyl chloride or inorganic arsenicals suggests that unidentified chemicals may cause oilier similar conditions.in which the cause is unknown. Such cases are observed sporadically in the Western world**'*" but are rather frequent in India,2V2" Uganda,3" North Af rica31 and Japan, where they are studied extensively,3* This geographic distribution is an additional reason for suspecting environmental factors. In Hand's syndrome of unknown origin development of angiosarcoma has not been reported, but this fact does not negate the possibility that chronic exposure to vinyl chloride or inorganic arsenicals will produce either Baud's syndrome or hepatic an giosarcoma or Ixti h. References 1. Creech JL Jr, Johnson MN: Angiosarcoma of liver in ihemunufaciure of polyvinyl chloride. J Occup Med 16:150-151. 1974 2. Block JB: Angiosarcoma of Lhe liver following vinyl chloride expo sure. JAMA 229:53-54, 1974 3. Lee FI. Hurry DS: Angiosarcoma of ihe liver in u vinyl-chloride work er. Lancet 1:1316-1318. 1974 4. Banti C: Splenomegaly mil Lebercirrhose. Beitr Pathol Anal 24:21-33. 1898 3. Lange CE, Jiihe S. Stein G, et al: Die sogennante VinylehloridKrenkheitcine berufsbedingte Systomsklerose. Int Arch Arbcilsmed 32:1*32. 1974 6. Puschin GA: Affection of the liver and bile ducts in workers engaged in the production of some types of plastics. Sov Med 28(2):I32-I3$, I96S 7. Suciu I, Drejman 1, Valaskai M: llude des maladies dues au chlorure devinyie. Med Lavoro58:261-271,1967 8. Falk H, Creech JL Jr, Heath CW. et al: Hepatic disease among workers at a vinyl chloride polymerization plant. JAMA (in press) 9. Viola PL. Bigotli A, Cupuio A: Oncogenic response of rat skin, lungs, and bones to vinyl chloride. Cancer Res 31:516-522. I97| 10. Mulioni C, l.efcminc G; Lc potenzialiiu dei suggi sperimentali nellu predi/inne dei rischi oncogen! ambicniali: un cscmpui; il cloruro di vinile. Accud Nu/ionulc dei l.incci Vi: I-11, 1974 u 1 i i i i 0VRD 000 2 4649 22 I IK Nl-:u' ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MKIHCINI. Jim. 2. HI7R 11. Gordon DIL Thnmas LB, Kent G. tl ah Hepaticangiosarcoma in man and rodents following prolonged exposure in vinyl chloride. Gastroen terology (in press) 12. Marslcllcr IIJ. I.elhach WK. Matter H. el id: Chronischetoxischc l.ehcrschiidcn het Arhciicrn in dcr PVC'-IVndukiion. Onehe Med Wnchcnschr98:23l 1-2.314, 197,1 11. Vianet A. Guillaume F.. Cot ]. el ill: Presinusoidal portal hyper* tension following chronic arsenic intoxication. Gastroenterology *2: 177, 1972 14. Morris JS. Schmid M, Newman S, ei al: Arsenic and noneirrhotic portal hypertension. Gastroenterology ftfi:K6-94.1974 - 15. Knnllc J, Forster I-. Rocssncr A. el al: Die mchi-zirrhmische portale Fibrose (hcpamporiale Sklcrosc) nach chronischer Arsenvergiftuog. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 9990J-908. 1974 16 Roth F: Arsen-Leber-Tumoren: (Hamangiaendotheliam). Z Krebsforsch6l:4A8-503. 1957 17. I.ilis R. Daum S. Anderson HA. el al: Prevalence of disease among vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride workers. Ann NY Acad Sci fin pressl ID. Adam YG. Htivos AG. Hajdu SI: Malignuni vascular tumors of liver. Ann Surg t75-.375.ltO. 1972 19. Blumenreld TA. Fleming ID, Johnson WW: Juvenile hemangioen dothelioma of the liver: report of a case and review of the literature. Cancer 24:*53-*57. l%9 20. Visfeldt J. Poulsen H: On the histopxiMogy of liver and liver tumours in thorium-dioxide pntiems. Actii Pathol Microbiol Scand |A| 80: 97-108, 1972 21. da Silva Horta J: Late lesions in man caused by collodial thorium diox ide (Ihorolrasil: a new case of sarcoma of the liver 22 years after the infection. Arch Pm hoi 02:401-41K, i*>y> 22. Krgclson W. Kim II. (Kpiriii J. ct id: Hernnngiocmlolhclial smemna of liver from chronic arsenic intoxication hy Fowler's solmlon. Cancer 21:514-522.1968 23. Var.ty A: Formes cliniciues et pathogenic de la maladie de Burnt. Ann Gasirocniernl Hcptilol 10:227-240, 1974 24. Boyer JL. Gupta KPS. Biswas SK. et al: Idiopathic portal hyper- tension: compirison with the portal hypertension nf cirrhosis and exirahcpniic portal vein obstruction. Ann intern Med 60:41-ftR, 1907 25. Rnmalingaswami V. Naynk NC: Liver disease in India. Progr Liver Dis3.222-2.15,1970 2ft, Mikkclsen WP, Kdmondson HA. Peters RL, ct al: Extra-ami inlrahepatic portal hypertension without cirrhosis (hepnio-porial sclerosis). Ann Surg 162:602-620.I%5 27. Numano F. KaKu K. Kitla T. et al: Banli-like syndrome induced hy estrogen and cholesterol. Acta Heputospienol iStutlg) |ft:77-85. 1969 28. Bcnhamou JP. Guillemot R. Tricot R, et al: Hypertension portnle esscnticlle. Prcssc Med 70:2397-2399,1962 29. Basu AK. Aikat BK: Tropical Splenomegaly. London. Butterworths. 1963 .10. Williams R. Pursonson A, Somers K, et al: Ponal hypertension in idiopathic tropical splenomegaly. Lancet 1:329-333. 1966 31. Lemaigre G. Achour H: Aspects anatomiques de la rateet du foie dans les spkinomegalie diles cirrhopenes. Ann Gastroenterol Hepatol 10: 241-258. 1974 32. Suzuki T: Monibus Banii as a definite morbid entity. Acta Haematol Jap 26:820-831.198.1 A \) ( i I ] i I ' j fI j ` I I I i ' ; HODGKIN'S DISEASE, TONSILLECTOMY AND FAMILY SIZE Nancy Gutensohn, S.M., Frederic k P. Li, M.D., Ralph E. Johnson, M.D., and Philip Cole, M.D. Abstract The association of tonsillectomy and Hodgkin's disease was investigated by comparison of 136 young adult patients with their 315 siblings and 78 spouses. On the basis of a case-spouse comparison, the risk ratio'of Hodgkin's disease among tonsillectomized persons was 3.1 (1,5 to 7.7', 95 per cent con fidence limits); on the basis of a case-sibling com parison it was 1.4 (0.8-2.6). The case-sibling analysis wasirepeated according to sibship size, and increased risk j of disease was associated with tonsillec- t TT was reported that young adults with a history of tonsillectomy have about three times the risk of de velopment of Htxlgkin's disease as non-tonsilleclomizcd persons.1 This observation is consistent with an infectious agent as suggested by epidemiologic, histologic and clini cal features of the disease in this age group.* However, -subsequent studies.'1 * (hough conflicting, generally have not supported this finding. Tonsillecionty rates are direct ly correlated with socioeconomic status,9-,n and Hodgkin's disease may also Ire.1 ''* Thus, the reported association, even if real, may lie noncausal and cannot lie assessed ade quately unless sixioeconomic slams is closely controlled. Ibis study of Htxlgkin's disease uses two cnni|Kirison groups, siblings and spouses, to coiiiro) s<k incmnnmk status in childliotKl and adult hood. jes|x tiively. From (he Depnumem of Epidemiology. Harvard School of Public Health, the Epidemiology ;md Radiation branches. National Cancer imliluie. U S. Public Health Service, and the Jowl Center for Radiation Thera py and the Department of Radiation Therapy. Harvard Medical School (ad dress reprint requests to Dr. Cole al the Department of Epidemiology. Har vard Schoolof Public Health, 677 Huntington A ve. Boston, MA02II5). Supported by a training grant (5 TOI CA 05225) from'lhe National Cancer Institute, U S. Public Health Service, and an award (PRA 1)5) from the American Cancer Society. tomy only within the 37 sibships of size two. A similar variation of risk ratio with sibship size was found in data from a prior study. The range of the association implies that the relation between tonsillectomy and Hodgkin's disease either is noncausal or is complex and modified by family size. Risk of Hodgkin's dis ease was found to increase as sibship size decreased, suggesting that a cause ot Hodgkin s dis ease is correlated with childhood social class. (N Engl J Med 292:22-25, 1975) Methods In December, 1972, all living white persons diagnosed by bi opsy between the ages of) 5 and 44 as having Hodgkin's disease, and being followed at that time, were identified from the rec ords of the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy, Harvard Medical School. The Center treats patients at six hospitals in Greater Boston. F.ighiy-one per cent of the cases were diagnosed in MWiB or later. All 137 patients were sent a questionnaire regarding llieir own, their spouse's and their siblings' histories of tonsillec tomy and appendectomy. All but 19 responded after two mail ings. F.ach subject was then telephoned to verify the information nr to obtain information (min iidihcsjxindcnts. This procedure resulted in 100 percent response. When a patient was uncertain uixHit information concerning a sibling or sjjouse, that person or annihbr i dative was questioned. One patieni gave unreliable in formation and was excluded. Two control groops were assembled. One < onsisled of all 31 / living siblings of die ]>alictus. The other consisted of the 40 wives and 32 husbands of the 78 married patients. Since controls were matched to cases for factors that might correlate with tonsillec tomy. matched analyses were used in all comparisons. For easespouse matched |>airs, the tonsillectomy history of cacti patient was compared with that of the spouse. For case-sibling matched sets, each patient was compared wit hall living siblings. The method of Miettinen11 and its extension for a varying control to case ratio14 were used to obtain the maximum-likelihood estimate oi the risk ratio. The risk ratio expresses the risk of Hodgkin's dis- i T BSM BlBBi of Occupational Medicine IVI August 1974 Vol. 16 No. 8 Mortality Study of Workers in the Manufacture of Vinyl Chloride and its Polymers* Irving R. Tabershaw, M.D. and William R. Gaffey, Ph.D. Animal studies have shown that inhalation of vinyl chloride produces in rats angiosarcoma of (he liver as well as cancers of I he lung, kidney, skin and other sites. Although workers in occupations involving exposure to vinyl chloride have been found to have an increased risk of hemangiosarco'ma, no excess ol other cancers has so far been reported. This historical prospective mortality study of 6184 men who had at least one year of occupational exftosure to vinyl chloride before Dwmber 11, 1V72, demonstrated that earners of the digestive system (primarily angiosarcoma), respiratory system, brain, and canters of unknown site, as well as lym phomas, occurred more often than expected in those members of the study population with the greatest estimated exposure. The mortality from other cancers was lower than that of the general male population, with the exception of cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx. There was an excess of these cancers, which however was inversely related to estimated exposure. The explanation for the latter finding is not apparent. The other maior findings of the study are: (1) The overall mortality of the study population was ap proximately 75% of what would be expected in a comparable population of U.S. males; (2) No cause of death showed a statistically significant excess over what would be expected in a comparable U.S. male population; and. (3) No deaths identified as angiosarcoma of the liver were found other than those previously identified. This is the first epidemiological study, which suggests that in humans vinyl chloride may also be associated with cancer of multiple sites. Drs Tabershaw and Galley are Irom Tabershaw-Cooper Associates. Inc.. Suite 100. 6000 Executive fllvd . Ko< kvillr. Ml) JOBS/ * IIh' >i on wtw li tins iv|x<(1 is baser! w,i |I -n ms diKlim lli'' |Hiiyiiirii/dli<m of vinyl (lilornli C tf'iiiisls Assoi i.i'ion o|i|xxli'il l>y a 1 "tii|ianii*s i-riKiigHf III llv syn .mil jilfiiirmleiril in IIh ii M'kill liy Mm Manirtjr Iuiiiim Journal of Occupational Medictre/Vol. 16, No. 6/August 1974 509 vrd Vinyl < hloride in its in.mtif.u turn and pnfyrnm/Jbnn has fx-en idnntifind as a narcotizing agent,' as a liver toxin.2 5 and as a vasospastic agent producing a specific occupational disease, acroosteolysis.4 Recently, vinyl chloride has been incriminated a* a carcinogen producing in a group of workers engaged in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride a rare fatal liver tumor, hemangiosarcoma.' Large doses of the chemical in rats reportedly produced cancer of the skin, lung and other organs* Unpublished but public in formation7 indicates that inhalation ex periments with rats in doses easily reached in manufacturing operations produces in addition to angiosarcoma of the liver, skin, kidney and other malignant lesions. The present study, however, was not restricted to the conditions and sites suggested by the above investigations, but concerned itself with the entire spec trum of causes of death, to the extent permitted by the size of the study group. The objectives of the study were- (1) To compare the mortality of individuals who have worked in vinyl chloride plants with that of the general population; (2) To compare mortality patterns within the population of vinyl chloride workers, based upon estimated occupational exposure; and (3) To com pare mortality among vinyl chloride workers with the mortality of other oc cupational groups The study population consisted of in dividuals from 33 plants who had worked for at least one year in a job in volving exposure to vinyl chloride before December 31, 1972. and included retired and terminated as well as active workers For each such worker the date of birth and an employment history were obtained, and the vital status of the worker as of December 31, 1972, was ascertained For ihose found to have died, those death certificates that were available were obtained and the cause of death determined. The observed mor tality was compared with that of the United States male population. li.MlM Ill.trlv those | >1 nrliii i ng tinmonomer, this determination < ould lie made on the basis of |<>li titles. Usually, however, exposure was a function of both job tide and the location of the job in iho plant, so that the assessment of ex posure had to be made on a case-bycase basis by plant officials Data were collected for as far back in time as complete records were kept. In most cases this covered the entire history of the plant. In others, records were kept for a fixed period such as a decade. In a few, records were kept for different periods, depending on whether the worker had died on the job or had left employment. In most plants it was impossible to quantify, exposure. However, industrial hygiene and safely personnel in each plant were able to identify certain jobs and locations as involving the highest exposures in the plant, and Jo classify other exposures as medium or lowrelative to the "high" represented by the jobs with the greatest exposure. Con sequently, each exposed job in a worker's history was scored 1, 2, or 3 to indicate low, medium or high estimated exposure. This gross classification has two maior failings, as a result of the subjective nature of the estimates The first is that the scores represent estimated relative exposure within a given plant It is therefore possible that, in objective terms, a "high" score in one plant corresponds to a "medium'' or even "low" score in another. The second is that the scores usually do not take into account changes in exposure over time. A worker with long service may. therefore have had jobs in the remote past which involved "low" exposure relative to other jobs at that time, but which might be "high" in comparison with Current exposures in the same job. This subjective classification is therefore of questionable validity in characterizing Iho exposure of a given worker. For epidemiological purposes, however, those who have high -srorrs ran reasonably be expected, on the average, to luve It.tri the gie.Uesi exposure, while those with low vorrs will have had tin* least, even though tfie true exposure in each group may vary considerably from fierson in person. The estimalod exposure history of each worker was summarized by calculating an Exposure Index (El). This was done by multiplying the number of months on each job by the exposure score, totaling these overall exposed jobs, and dividing by the total number of monlhs of ex posure. Follow-up of Study Population A follow-up procedure was instituted for those who had left employment and whose vital status could not be deter mined at the local plant, using direct mail follow-up and retail credit bureau investigations. Table 1 shows the vital status of the population as of December 31, 1972. Follow-up is 85% complete. Those who were not found were bom (and began their exposure) about ten years before the group on which follow up was complete, and had about half the duration of employment in exposed jobs with a slightly higher El. Although there appears to be nothing very unusual alrout this group in terms of work history and exposure, it is nevertheless true lhat their exposures took place further back in time than that of the group suc cessfully traced It is therefore possible that their mortality, after a substantial laient period, might show a somewhat different pattern from lhat of the traced group All of the subsequent analysis is con cerned with the 7128 workers on whom follow-up was complete. Table 2 shows their distribution by duration of exposed employment and the year in which that employment began. Although almost half the study group first entered ex posed employment in 1960 or later, there are nevertheless 854 workers with 20 years nr more exposure, and 1640 with 15 years or more. Table 3 shows the relationship between duration of ex posure and El There dtx'S not ap|waf to be a close relationship between the El Data Collection In each plant, data were collected for each worker stated by the plant management to have been employed for at least one year in a job involving ex posure to vinyl chloride. In some plants. 510 Numhtf Ptrttflt TabU 1. -- Fallw-up Status af 1334 Vinyl ChlnrUa Worktrt. TrtM 83S4 100.0 aa 6776 80.8 Uata-- 352 1256 4.2 ISO Otath CmmcrtM M '*. 321 92.7 24 73 Mortality Study of Workers in Manufacture of Vinyl CMoride/Tabershaw, Gaffey Z i9 tI8 Z 8 ^irilA and the duration of exposure, that is workers with a higher El do not differ substantially in duration of exposure from those with a lower El One im plication is that in assessing the relation ship between mortality and exposure, both duration and level of exposure can be examined separately, as well as in combination. Calculation of Risk of Death The risk of death is expressed as a Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR), which is the ratio of the number of observed deaths in the study population lo the number of deaths to be expected in a comparable population of U S. males. SMR's were calculated for overall mortality and for 33 major cause groups. Table 4 shows observed and expected deaths, and the SMR, for each of these causes for the total study group In calculating the SMR's for specific causes, the 24 deaths for which no certificates were found were assumed to have the same cause distribution as those for which cortificalcs were available. In Ihe standard population, each SMR would be equal to 100. Therefore, the statistical significance of the deviation of each SMR in the study population from the expected value of 100 was tested 8 A singly dagger indicates those SMR's which differed significantly from 100 at the 5% level, that is, which had a probability of .05 or less of occurring by <hance A double dagger indicates those which were significant at the 1% level. SMR's based on fewer than five ob served cases were not tested for significance. Table 5 shows the same SMR's for workers with an Exposure Index below 1.5 versus those at 1.5 or above. The dividing point of 1.5 represents a level halfway between "low" and "medium." Table 6 shows similar results for workers with less than five years ex Takla 2. -- DistributiM of Hootla it Expos* Eaftayiftiat by Yiar Hi Nhicb Eipowii l|M, tor 712ft Vinyl Chtortot tftorktra with Complttad follaaMip. r bp. SlnM 193039 194049 1950 59 196049 1970 71 total total 35 104$ 1962 3366 715 7121 <U 2 135 389 1714 715 2955 60-119 4 93 257 1442 120-179 1 119 383 195 itoalbt if Etomra 180-239 240-299 loom 4 6 13 151 277 237 C31 282 M0419 5 34 I79C CM TOC 9C5 250 II ItalMaa 2 20 17 M 19 posure versus those with five years or more. In order to examine the possible in teraction between duration and level of exposure, the study population was divided into four groups on the basis of both El (low vs high) and duration of ex posure (short vs long) using the same dichotomization as Tables 5 and 6. Table 7 shows the results for short ver sus long exposure in the low El group, and Table 8 shows the same comparison in the high El group. In each of the above tables, deaths for which certificates had not been received were assumed to be distributed as a uniform percentage of all causes. The cause specific SMR's were therefore ad justed upward by a percentage which varied in each subgroup Results of Analysis The overall mortality of Ihe study population is statistically significantly lower than that of the US male population There were 352 observed deaths compared with 467 expected, for an SMR of 75. Table 4 shows that no specific cause of death was statistically significantly greater than expected. Several, par ticularly. heart disease, accidents and "other diseases" not detailed in the tables, were significantly below (heir ex pected values When the study population is divided according to intensity and duration of exposure (Tables 5 and 6) and com binations of these measurements (Tables 7 and 8) three major patterns emerge. For malignant neoplasms as a whole, the SMR increases with increasing ex posure, whether measured by level, duration, or both. In the high exposure group with 5 years or more exposure (Table 8) there are 36 observed cases and 2611 expected. For cardiovascular -- renal diseases as a group, there are also increases in the SMR with increasing exposure, but the numbers.oT observed cases remain less than expected, the differences being statistically significant in all groups ex cept the high exposure, long duration group in Table 8. For all other causes, there are no con sistent relationships with exposure. Within the malignant neoplasms, the largest (although not statistically) significant SMR is in cancers of the buc cal cavity and pharynx, with five ob served, 2 84 expected, and an SMR of 189 However, Tables 5 to 8 show that all these cases have Exposure Indexes below 15 and four out of the five have less than five years exposure. Table 10 is a listing of these deaths with age at death, duration of exposure, and cause as slated on the death certificate. Cancer of the digestive system shows CipoMra Mu 101.4 1.5+ UatoOM TaWa 2. -- tto. nd % ti 712ft Vinyl ChtorMa Worhari by Mwths al Eipou4 EnptoyoiMt and Eipoura todti. Tafit No % <M No 1 0119 No % ICaatlu at Etawara 120179 No * 1IOIW No % 240299 No % 300399 No 5 4032 (100) 3057 (100) 1715 (43) 1240 441) 1125 (28) $71 (22) 402 (10) 299 (10) 404 (10) 310 (12) 247 (7) 291 (10) 92 (2) 159 (5) 39 7121 (100) 2919 (41) I78C (29) 97 (IC) 790 (II) 9C9 (8) 211 (4) H041I No f 11 (0) 2) (1) 31 0) Baton 39 It (1) Journal of Occupational Modicine/Vol. 16. No. 8/August 1974 511 r--- Table 4. -- Observed Oeatbiitiperted Oeaths and Standardited ktertallly Ratteo la Vinyl Chloride Werkera. Caw at Dwtk nit* IC.D. Number M MM OhtCip 3S2/467.2I Tuberculosis (0014)19) Tuberculosis of respiratory system <001 OOS) 1/5.71 1/5 34 u Mahfnant neoplasms <140205) Mslicncnt nwpttsms. boctel etvtti ind pharyni (140141) V Malipiant neoplasm*. tfipstiv* organs and peritoneum (150159) Milijnent neoplasms. respiratory system (160-164) Mtlipunt neoplasms. |*mtl ortans (170179) I. Mslicnint neoplasms, ttiMry ot(as 08Q-181) Milirtnt neoplasms, olber and unspecified sites (190-199) leukemit end iteuhemis (204) lymphomas (200-203. 205) Diabetes mellites (2(0) 79/77 16 5/2.84 19/21 67 25/23.93 3/3.55 1/3.60 17/11 75 3/3.77 6*06 mu : Meier csrdmrasculir end renit drseeses 030-334, 400468. 592-594) c Vascular lesions allectin| CMS (330-334) RMeunwtic lever 4 chronic rheumatic heart dis. (400402, 410416) 1 Arteriosclerotic heart disease (420) Nonrheumatic endocarditis (421, 422) { Hypertensive heart disease (440-443) Other hypertensive disease (444447) Chrenic 1 unspecified nephritis ( rend sclerosis (592 594) 155/207.46 13/24.48 5/6.87 121/137 33 lff.58 3/9.33 3/2(0 0/4.27 tnttuoiua ind pneumonia (480493) Ulcer of stomich end duodenum (540, 541) Appendicitis (550-553) 5/9.96 2/3.83 0/0.66 Hants ind intestinal obstiuction (560. 56). 570) 1/1 51 Gastritis, duodenitis, enteritis and colitis (543. 571. 572) 1/1.31 Cirrhosis of liver (SSt) 3/15.60 Hyperplasia of predate (610) 0/0.39 Symptoms, senility and )N defined conditions (780-795) 1/7.34 AR other diseases (residual) Motor vehicle accidents (810 835) 21/45.78 17/32.70 Other acddenti (800 802. 840 962) 18/30 64 Sinetdt (963. 970979) Homicidjt <964, 980 985) ; Me. irerken Rest port 16/16.83 1/11.98 7121 77141 SMI' 75 * 19 20 110 189 94 112 91 30 155 8$ 106 120 80 57 * '78 95 16 35 124 0 54 1 56 0 71 82 21 0 15 49 * 56 * 63 * 102 9 `SMR's sdjusled lor deaths with cause unknown. Sifnihciiit at 51 level. dSifnificant at 1% level. no excess in the study population as a whole. However, in those workers with an El of 1.5 or higher, there are 12 ob served cases where 9.14 are expected {Tahir 5) In the subgroup of the above workers with five years or more ex posure, there are 11 observed cases and 7.47 expected Respiratory cancer shows a slight ex cess in the total group, and a similar pat tern for different exposure categories, with 13 observed versus I0.2R expected when the Exposure Index is 1.5 or higher, and 12 observed versus 8.50 ex pected when, in addition, the duration of exposure is five years or more. 512 Malignant neoplasms of other and un specified sites show an excess in the total group, and an increase wilh both level and duration of exposure {Tables 5 and ft) The relationship with exposure is more pronounced, since those with ex posures of less lhan five years have fewer cases than expected The lymphomas, although occurring at about the expected rate when the whole group is considered, are concentrated almosl entirely in the high exposure, tong duration group. In that category there are four cases observed and 1.84 expecled. Cancers of the genital and urinary organs, and leukemia, have fewer cases than expected. The number of cases is loo small to examine any trends. Discussion the favorable overall mortality of the study population is a phenomenon com monly observed in working populations. Standardized Mortality Ratios in the low 80's and below have been found9 10 Even in occupalions with well defined hazards which cause an increased risk from a specific cause, the overall mor tality may still be favorable because of the low risk from other major causes of death, frequently in the cardiovascular -- renal category 11 Mortality Study of Workers in Manufacture of Vinyl Chloride/Tabershaw, Gaffey A i VRD t 0 0 2 ? i m 3 . wa Tibi* 5. -- Obwrwd Dd8tfc*xp*ctW (talks and Standardind Mortality Ratio* in Vinyl CUoridd Workart, ky Estimated Laval f Eiposvrt. Cause of Death utth LC.fi. IU. Cl 1.5 Cl 1.6 Oboftep SMR* ObeXip SMI' M Cnhi Tuberculous 1001019) Tubereukitis ot respnatmy system (001-008) Malignant neoplasms (140-205) Malignant neoplasms, buccal cavity and pharyu (140148) Malignant neoplasms, digestive organs and peritoneum (150 159) Malignant neoplasms, respiratory system (160-164) Malignant neoplasms, genital organs (W0179) Malignant neoplasms, urinary organs (190181) Malignant neoplasms, oilier and unspecified sites (190-199) leukemia and aleukemia (204) lymphomas (200203. 205) 111/370.33 0/3.38 0/316 37/44 28 6/1.62 7/12.60 11/13.56 2/2 30 "* 1/2.07 9/6.57 1/2.16 1/3.48 70 0 0 90 330 60 86 93 51 146 49 3t 157/196.68 0/2.33 0/2.18 41/32.67 0/1.21 12/914 13/1026 1/1.43 0/t 52 8/4.52 2/1.57 5/2.54 10 * 0 0 134 0 141 " 135 75 0 190 136 212 Diabetes meiiilus (260) Major cardiovascular and renal ditusas (330-334, 400-468. 692-694) Vascular lesions aftecting CHS (330 334) Rheumatic lever 4 chrome rheumatic heart dil (400402, 410416) Arteriosdtiolft hemt disuse (420) Noftfheumaiie endocarditis (421, 422) Hypertensive heart disuse (440-443) Other hypertensive disuse (444 447) Chronic 4 unspecified nephritis 4 renal sclerosis (692 694) 5/3.65 84/120 11 7/14.42 3/3.98 48/7894 0/4.20 1/6.48 1/1.52 0/2.50 146 75 52 * 80 92 0 19 70 0 2/2 65 69/86 99 6/1006 in 85 51/58 05 1/2.89 2/3.86 2/1 07 0/1.77 81 85 + 64 75 95 38 56 201 0 InRueiui sod pneumonia (480493) 5/5 80 92 0/4 13 0 Uker el stomach and duodenum (540. 541) 1/2.21 48 1/160 68 Appendicitis (660-553) 0/0.39 0 0/027 0 Hernia and intestinal obstruction (540, 661. 570) 0/018 0 14)63 171 Gastritis, duodenitis, enteritis and colitis (543, 571, 572) 0/076 0 1/0 65 196 Cirrhosis of liver (681) 2/0.90 23 1/6 64 16 Hyperpluii of prostate (610) Symptoms, senility anfl rtldefmed conditions (760-795) All other diseases (residual) Motor vehicle accidents (810 835) Other accidents (800 802. 840962) 0/0.25 0/4 22 14/31.90 8/19 08 11/1783 0 0 68 7 45 * 66 1 04)14 1/3 09 6/1589 9/13 46 6/12.67 0 34 41 72 50 * Suicide (963 970 979) 9.6 73 98 7/7.02 107 Homicide <964. 980 966) 0/6 96 0 1/4.94 21 No of arktrs Perto*-yeri 8032 45354 3067 32106 'SMfi'j adiusted for deiths with cwm unknown (Significant it 5% level l$ign<hcant it 11 level In view of these facts, SMR's which are higher lhan expected may be worthy of attention even if they are not statistically significant. This is especially true in the present study since the num ber ol deaths from many causes is quite small, and even a relatively high SMR may not reach statistical significance If, in addition, a particular cause shows a consistent pattern of increase with exposure or estimated exposure, the findings are |>ariicularly interesting By these criteria, mortality from digestive cancer, respiratory cancer, can cer of other and unspecified sites, and lymphomas, appear to be related to ex posure as defined in this study In view of the association between vinyl chloride exposure and angiosar coma of the liver, the? digestive chncers were examined further to see what con tribution angiosarcoma made to (he ob served mortality paltern. Of the 19 digestive cancers, seven were liver cancers, of which two were angiosarcomas ac cording to (he death certificate However, among angiosar coma deaths in vinyl chloride workers identified by other investigators, there were six which occurred in the present study population during the study l>eriod They were all found in the course of the study Table 11 shows these cases with (he cause of death as given on the death certificate. Nole that one case was certified as cirrhosis, and was so considered throughout this study, since the validity of comparisons with population data required that cause of death be determined only from in formation on the death certificaie. The other five were correctly classified as Journal of Occupational Medicine/Vol. 16, No. 6/August 1974 513 VRD 0 m 0 1 4 6 5T TsM 6. -- Obscmd DeithSiEipected Deaths end Standardized Mortality Ratios in Vinyl Chloride Workers by Duration of Eiposed Employment. Cjum ef Death arith LC.O. Ro. < M months i. 60 menths Obs/Eia SMI* ObsAap SMI* IH (HID 94/140.53 17 * 251/379.30 76 * Tuberculosis (001-019} Tuberculosis ot respiratory system <001-008) Malignant neoplasms (140-705) Malignant neoplasms, buccal cavity and pharyni (140 146) Malignant neoplasms, digestive organs and peritoneum (150 159) Malignant neoplasms, respiratory system (160 164) Malignant neoplasms, genilal organs (1701)9) Malignant neoplasms, urinary organs (160 181) Malignant neoelasms. other and unspecified sites <190 1991 leukemia and aleukemia (704) lymphomas (700703, 205) Diabetes mellitus (760) Motor cardiovascular and tenal diseases (330 334, 400460. 592594) Vasculai lesions affecting CHS (330 334) ffheumatic lever 6 chronic rheumatic hear! dis (400-407, 410-416) Arteriosclerotic heart disease (470) Nnnrheumafie nndocetdilis <471. 477) Hypeilensiw hemt disease (440443) Otbm hypertensive disease (444 447) Chronic t unspecified nephritis & renal sclerosis (592 594) 0/2.73 0/2.07 13/19.96 4/0 70 2/5 26 3/5 5? 0/0 99 04)83 7/3 4D 1/1 25 1/2.01 2/1.80 28/5145 ift.97 in.39 21/37 54 0/1 79 1/74? 04) 79 0/1.55 0 0 78 688 46 65 0 0 71 96 60 134 65* 81 101 78 * 0 49 0 0 0/3 55 0/3 33 66*7.61 1/7 16 17/1656 21/18 51 3/2.76 1/2.79 15/823 2/7 53 5'4 97 5/4.54 125/157 39 9/18 71 3/4 53 96/105 39 1/5 35 7/7 01 3/1 82 0/2.76 0 0 116 47 106 116 U? 37 187 81 126 113 81 * 49* 68 96 20 30 170 0 Inhuenis and pneumonia (480-493) 3/2 93 123 2/7 09 79 lllcei el stomach and duodenum (540. 541) Appendicitis (550 553) 1/1 07 04) 74 11? 1/2.78 0 0/043 37 0 Hernia and intestinal obstruction (560. 561. 570) 0/04? 0 1/1.10 93 Gastritis, duodenitis, enteritis and colitis (543. 571. 577) 1/0 40 301 04).92 0 Cirrtmsis at liver (581) 1/4 49 26 2/11.18 18 Hypoplasia o< prostate (610) 0/0.07 0 04).33 0 Symptoms senility and Ill-defined conditions (780 795) All other diseases (residual) 1/2 28 4/1197 53 0/5.09 40 16/26 34 0 63 * Motor vehicle accidents (810 835) Other accidents (800107. 840 96?) 10/16 14 7/12.94 75 65 * 7/16 65 10/17.82 43* 68 1 Suicide (963. 970 9791 6*34 114 10/10 78 100 Homicide (964. 960 985) 1/5.80 20 0/6.20 0 He. e( Mirkors Person-years 7955 34291 4134 43240 SMI's adiusted Inr deaths with cause unknown ' Significant at it level Significant at level 514 Mortality Study of Workers in Manufacture of Vinyl Chloride/Tabershaw, Galfey 99t m 00$ m A T*W 7. -- Observed DeathtiipecUd DeiUts and Stindirdiifd Mortality Katios in Viayt CNotidt Workers *iUt Eipesute Indicet Into* 1.5, by Duration at Eiposad EiBpltymtht Cause si Death with I C O. be. U ClUSM Tuberculosis (001019) Tuberculosis of respiratory system (0010081 Malignant neoplasms (HO205) Malignant neoplasms, buccal cavity and phatyna (140 KB) Malignant neoplasms, digestive organs and peritoneum (ISO-159> Malignant neoplasms, inspiratory system (160 164) Malignant neoplasms, genual organs (170 179) Malignant neoplasms, unnaty organs (ISO 18)) Malignent Kopiismt other and unspecilied sites (190-199) Leukoma and aleukemia (204) Lymphoma (200 209. 206) Diabetes melhtut (260) Maioi caidiovescular and renal diseases (330 334. 400468, 692 694) Vascular lesions affecting CNS (330 3341 Rheumatic lever 8 chronic rheumatic heart dis. (400 402, 410 416) Arlenosderolic heart ditaest (420) Nonrheumalic endocarditis (421.422) Hypertensive Smart disease (440 443) Other hypertensive disease (44444?) Chronic t unspecified nephritis t tenet sclerosis ($92 694) Influent! and pneumonia (460 493) Ulcer at stomach and duodenum (640 641) Appendicitis 1660 663) Hfrnu md inteslintl obstruction (560. 561. 570) ' . Gastritis, duodenitis, enteritis and colitis (643, 571. 672) Cirrhosis of liver (681) Hyperplasia of prostaie (610) Symptoms, senility and ill-defined conditions (780 796) All other diseases (residual) Motor vehicle accidents (810 836) Other accidents (800 802. 840962) Suicide (963. 970 979) Homicrdc (964 , 980-986) M* of Wethers Parsea-years < 80 Months Cspesure Obtsp SMfl* S6A9.23 0/141 0/1 31 1/12 86 4/046 1/3 43 2/3 66 0/0 68 0/066 1/097 0/079 0/1 26 2/116 21/33 38 2/3.93 2/1.SO 16/21 14 0/1 18 1/1.68 0/0.60 0/097 3/1.86 0/0 68 0/016 0/0 27 0/026 1/2 80 OlO.OS 0/1 43 4/7.45 3/9.87 3/7 98 3/4.08 0/3 55 63* 0 0 73 1036 34 65 0 0 120 0 0 203 73 * 59 155 88 0 74 0 0 188 0 0 0 0 42 0 0 63 35 44 86 0 1716 21418 60 Month* lipowri ObfcCip SMfl* 132/llt J8 0/1.97 0/1 85 29/3146 1/117 6/908 9/10.00 2/1 62 1/1.63 6/4 43 1/1 40 1/223 n3 SO 63/86 82 5/10 51 1/2 49 52/67 87 0/3 02 0/3 90 1/1.02 0/1.63 2/3 95 1/1 53 0/0 24 0/9361 0/0 51 1/6 09 0/0 20 0/2 79 10/12.92 5i9 22 6/9 85 6/6 66 0/3 43 73* 0 0 95 88 68 93 127 67 187 73 46 124 75* 49 * 41 93 0 0 101 0 53 67 0 0 0 16 0 0 79 56 63 109 0- 211? 23920 ' SMR's adjusted lai deaths with cause unknown ^Significant at it level. ^Significant il It level Journal of Occupational Medione/Yol 16. No. 8/Augusl 1974 515 im iJ Z 0 0 J AHA TiMo t -- Observed Dutta/tuMClM OMtbs and Standacdliad Mortality RiIJm la Vinyl CMorMo Kforkort oil* Eipesure Mkts ol t.S or firoetor, by OwraWnn Esptsnd Employment Cent M Dertb with LCD. He. AN Cwm Tuberculosis (001019) Tuberculosis cd letoiritery system (001 008) Mikcnant neoplasms (140 209) Miliynent neopiasms. bueeal cavity and pharyni (140140) Malipiint neoplasms. (bmtrw orpni and perrtonaum (I901S9) Matifnaot neoplasms. respiratory system (140164) Uiilifiant neoplasms. (emlal ot|m (1)01)9) Maiipint neootiims. urinirr orpns (ISO 181) Matifnant neoplasms. other and onspedhed sites (190199) leuketrHi and aleukemia (204) lymphomas (200 201 209) Oiabetts mellilus (260) Major cardiwasciitir and renal diseases (330-314. 400-468. 692-594) Vascular batons sttectinf CNS (330334) Rheumatic (aver 8 chronic rheumatic heart dis (400-402. 410-416) Arleriosderoiic heart distise (420) Nonrheomatic endocarditis (421. 422) Hypertensive heort disease (140-443) Other hypertensive disease (444-44)) Chronic 4 unspecified nephritis 4 renil sclerosis (692 594) Infineon ond pneumonia (410 493) Ulcer ol slomsch and duodenum (540. 541) Appendicitis (550-553) i' Hernia end tntestinil obstruction (560. 561. 5)0) ' CastrHis, duodenitis, enteritis and colitis <543. 5)1. 5)2) Cirrhosis of liver (581) Hypeiplesie of prostate (610) Symptoms, senility tn4 ill-deRned conditions ()|Q)95) tn other diseases (residual) Motor vehicle accidents (810-835) Other accidents (800-802. 840-962) Suicide (963. 970-979) Homicide (964. 980 986) e M Months Espnsuro Obi/Eif SMB* JM7.M 79 041 76 0/0)1 0 0 5/6.57 0/0.23 1/10 1/1.79 041.29 04)?6 1/1.18 1/0 44 14)71 96 0 76 71 0 0 107 288 178 04)61 7/16 54 in v 04)12 5/10 41 04)57 0/076 04)27 0/0.54 0 54 4 135 0 61 + 0 0 0 0 0/099 0 1/035 362 0/0.08 0 04)14 0 1/0.14 904 0/1.56 0 04)01 0 1/0.80 158 0/4.02 0 7/6.05 146 4/4.73 107 3/7.40 158 1/2.18 58 No. Mothers PmeMi-Voar! 1240 12821 1M Months Etpesort OhsAip 8Mt* 1JM47.81 II + 0/1.57 0/148 0 0 36/2611 04)99 11/7.47 12/8 50 1/3 41 0/1.26 7/3 61 1/1 13 4/1.84 2/2 04 141 0 151 144 73 0 204 90 222 IDO 62/70.46 4/819 2/2 04 46/47.65 1/2.32 2/3.10 241.81 0/1.23 90 50 100 98 44 66 253 0 0/3.13 0 0/1.25 0 04) 19 14749 0 m 0/0 4! 0 1/5.08 20 0/013 0 0/230 6/11.88 0 51 * 2/7.43 28 2/7.96 26 4/4 62 88 0/2 76 0 1817 19305 SMR s adjusted for deaths with cause unknown i StpriSearrl at 5% level *Si|ni6eanl at It level 516 Mortality Study of Workers in Manufacture of Vinyl Chloride/Tabershaw, Gaffey [ 1 TaMo 9_____ 01bat Mall|MDdi (190-199, I.C.D.) i VDM Epidemiotoiy Study Population. study e. vu 3700 2096 3946 4433 4600 7279 7300 7371 7306 6769 5246 2850 4778 4786 5783 7301 Age at Death 3a 48 67 43 54 61 57 44 58 53 52 67 64 54 61 69 55 In. ti>m( CM W CfM* 186 50 69 64 81 51 271 211 249 216 239 Ml 193 300 318 166 133 Widespread metastatic rneiaaoma <1 n) Malignant melanoma <1 back Malignant iMltnoffli with widespread metistases Braia tumor tcarciaoma) (8 mot) Meningitis and pneumonitis (5 whs) tpendymome. taidh eaiiid brain (2 nw. post-op craniotomy) Astrocytoma, malignant-left ceiebril hemisphere U yi) Carcinoma ot the brain AlterlOKkiMii Pneumonia due to static congestion Brain tumor, glioblastoma mulliiornw (18 moi.) Brain lomor, maliinaat (2 mot ) Brain tumor, malignant Thyroid carcinoma with metastasaa Carciaamalosts CarcMoma lerttbral body Lipotarcoma with metaatatis (3 aim ) Carcinomatosis, primary region not known (Past history, rheumatoid arthritis myocardial infarction) Cardiac arrest (1 hr.) Rmpuilory arrest and ctrebrai hypoua (2 days) Widespread metastatic earqnoma 42 mot ) Genaraluod matastasis undiltarenliated (7 mot.) Squamous ceil carcinoma, primary site undetermined Metastatic carcinoma ot abdomen Critical site undetermined (PMnodiry emphysema) Carcinomatosis (4 mot ) Primary site undetermined Autepsr yes ne no yes N AO no yes y no !** no iI Journal of Occupational Medicine/Vol. 16, No. 8/August 1974 f h 517 89H0108 Mb llVf'f ( .HIM'*, lull only I Wl I W*'f' S| H ' f f I* < I IV .Iligius.Uf 1)111,1 II tlw>r> h.nl ini'll nn angios-urout.is, ll*' numlxor of deaths < Lv-sihod as rirrhosis m this study would. Ii.ivt' rln ri'.iMil hy oiH*. ,mii tin' number classjfictl as digestive e ant er woukl have dec teased by five 'Iho pattern of cluralion and intensity of exposure in these five rases was such lhaf if they had not born prpsenl there would have heen rv relationship between exposure and digestive i jnfw. The mortality pattern in (his cause group is therefore attributable in angiosarcomas of the liver lhr other rausn group worlh further investigation is rancor of oihrr and unsppfifirxJ stir's, holh because ri is a heterogeneous category am I because il sopnis, unlike the olhor cancers, lo be nior<' related lo duration than in love) of exposures Table 9 shows a list of (hr specific causes included in (his category, which is essentially brain cancer and generalized cancer with primary site unknown. About 40% of the observed Heaths were due to brain cancer In the general male populaiion, about 22% of this category is due to brain cancer, so that not only is the mortality from cancer of other and unspecified sites excessive, but brain rancor is overrepresented within the cah'gory The possibility exists based on the lc k of specificity of sortie of the listed causes that sme of the brain rancors were not pnmafy, but metaslases from another unidentified site such as the lung The1 cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx are difficult to explain because of their occurrence in the low exposure, short exposure group It is possible that this is a chance occurrence, that ex posures to other substances were in volved, or that thp mouth and pharynx may be peculiarly susrpptihle because of the gaseous nature of the chemical Possible Biases in Ihe Calculation of Risk There are two maior potential sources of bias in the study The first is that the follow-up rate is lower.than is desirable Tbe second is that observations of workers with long exposures follower! hy a king latent period are not adequately represented, so that the power of the study to defect causes of death associated with king exposure and long latency is impaired Populations with such characteristics exist .and TlMo 14. Millfiunt Neeplaimi of Buccal Cas4ly and Rbaryni (I40-I4S, I,C O.) in KM Epldnl#lefj Study Populillon. St*oy it. *tArt DtriN Mm. (ipttM Chh n (M Aotapsy 3003 3431 3001 7365 31 S6 37 54 3354 63 49 30 71 40 26 . Coremomo ol lip with mrtisl4U to luni ond ntek (5 yr) Pulmonjry edema (50 min.) Pulmontry metjstose* (Corctnomi. epidermoid. toneve end mandible) Mtinitiic iquemovt cell ea. ptimiry leewn palate Atetedesie due lo metastnn to medtittrnum (4 mot.) Mtrttiple malttnant Mtrtam to brain, liver 6 medittttmm <| yr.) Adeno crcinomi ef natal phnryni (2 yo I Mattiee hemorrheye into tracheo tic* Stetui post Urynto phenmiedomy, left rodiil neck dnseclim Well dinerenliated keratmirinf squamous cell carcnrani ol left pyirtwm sinus (mo*.) no no yes yos y Tlbl 11. -- Inirourcoin* Deaths in VCM Ep)4em'wio||i Study Population. ilofty No. A|e *t Doath os. Eiposod Cmso as Ginn Mapsy 4250 4255 3765 D03 7376 73*5 54 60 <5 38 52 43 203 Cirrhosis of liver (sev woeks) 281 flleeding from hepatoma (3 days) (Itennecs cirrhosis) 167 Antiouieomi r). lobl ot liver <10 mos) 174 \iver failure 0 mo) Cancer at livrr. primary (15 mos) 238 Cl'diac timpanade and massive left hemothorax (min.) Widely metastatic ancosarcoma oi live' <a mos.) 214 Hepitic failure Primary carcinoma liver yes yes y yti should be investigated References I. tester I). Creentjerg LA. Adams WR Elferls of single and repealed exposures of humans and rats to vinyl chloride Am Ind Hyf> Assoc I 24 2ftS-7S. 19ft i 2 Marsleller HI. LcTIxsch WK Muller K. el ab IChronic toxic liver lesions in I lie I'VC (iXllyviflV'l chloride) --- [lrorlur ing workers | Dlsth Mvrf Wtxhomchi 982111-14. I'l't X Kramer CC,. Mijtchk'r )l the r nr relation of ilinir.il and environmental rnr-asurnrn nfs lor workers exposed In vinyl < hlondr Am Ind Uvk Ascii / 13 19 M> 1972 4 Dodson VN Dmm.in fit). Whiiehmise \VM, el at Or i upalirtnal ai rnosleoly sis III A clinical study Arch fnviron Hlth 22 HI-91. 1971 1 Creer h |l.. [ohnson MM Angiosarr om.i of liver in the manulac tun* of polyvinyl C klonde I Occur Med 1ft r>(Ml, 1974 ft Vmta f't. Bigmti A. C.uputo A Onceogenic response of rat skin, lungs, and bones in vinyl chloride. Cane er Res 31 5 lh-22. 1971 7 Occupational Safety and Health Ad ministration Occupational haft-tv ancf Health Standards Emergenc v Temporary Sundard for tx|xisure to Vinyl Chloride Federal Register 19,,(ft71 12 142-44. April S. 1974 H C.hiang CL Standard error o! ihe age.ldiusled death rale, ViiaI Slatrsfirs Specia/ Riyuim 47 f 19ftt) |,p 2?S 7Ht 9 IlnydlW ( me i <> A ( oog-lerm mortality stodv ol steelworkers, t Methodology I Or<illl Mr<1 If 2J9 tit), I'liU If) lalwcshawfConper Assoi Mies. |n< , un pulilislx-d II Redmond C K Cmr c o A. Hoyd |VV. Rush IIW long-term mortality slurly of sl<-elw')ikers IV Mortality from malignant neoplasms among roke oven workers / Ocn/p Med I4ft21-A29, 1972 518 Mortality Study of Workers in Manufacture of Vinyl CMoride/Tabershaw, Gaffey As VRD 0 0 0 2 0 H 6 H VKD 00020H660 Flynt Kennedy To (GEL-DWG) ,* Date */3/75 Fpm from the 79th National AICkE Meeting la Houston given on March 19 1975P on "Industrial Health Aspects of Vinyl Chloride/ Polyvinyl Chloride t la one ce: ACE vrd To J. A. DeBernardi R. T. Ferrell R. D. Gamblin D. H. Sanders T. R. Prater W. R,, Finch V. Porchey P. G. Batson F. E. Linstead/R Date 3/25/75 rK E. Bailey Attached are copies of some of the papers presented at the 79th National AIChE Meeting in Houston on March 19 on the subject: "Industrial Health Aspects of Vinyl Chloride/Polyvinyl lkm Enc PEP Control of Vinyl Chloride Emissions in Distribution Operations M. E. Sutherland and R. N. Wheeler, Jr. Union Carbide Corporation, South Charleston, West Virginia Copy for: (GEL-DWC) 6' MS Control of vinyl chloride emissions in vinyl chlo ride riionomcr transportation operations is a diffi cult problem. The primary control objective is to protect the health of employees and the general pub lic from damage by excessive vinyl chloride expo sure. With this objective in mind, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a stan dard for workers. This standard will be followed by regulations from the Environmental Protection Ad ministration. the Department of Transportation, and the Coast Guard. The OSHA permissible exposure limits of one part (>er million by volume for workers and the rumored EPA limit of 90 parts per billion by volume for plant fence-line concentration are hard to conceive in an industrial environment. Gauging a tank car with a slip tube releases several pounds of vinyl chloride to the atmosphere. One pound of vinyl chloride raises the concentration of 6 MMCF of air to one part per million or 70 MMCF of air to 90 parts per billion. While the subjects of safe vinyl chloride concentration and the health problem resulting from vinyl chloride exposure may be de batable, governmental regulations in regard to worker aid public exposure are here to stay. There are no easy solutions to emission control; thus, the scope of this discussion is limited to a brief review of vinyl chloride transportation operations, defining some major problems, and proposing some ways of approaching the solution to those problems. Vinyl chloride distribution facilities generally consist of large storage tanks such as refrigerated spheres or buried tanks located at some distance from the production facility, smaller horizontal storage vessels located in or adjacent to the produc tion facility, pipelines, shipping containers, and shipping container loading or unloading facilities. Some vinyl chloride monomer is moved by tanker, by truck, and by barge but, in the main, vinyl chlo ride is transferred from producer to user via tank cars or pipelines. Figure 1 shows a flow sheet of a representative vinyl chloride distribution system. The VCM pro ducer transfers the product from plant to a storage sphere from which tank cars, trucks, or ships are loaded.. The shipping containers and the storage tanks are pressured by the vapor pressure of vinyl chloride contained. Theoretically, a tank car con taining only vinyl chloride gas can be loaded without venting. On a more practical basis, these contain ers are vented either to the air or back to the stor age tank from which ultimately some inert gases must be released. The loaded tank car is then valved in, loading hoses are removed, and the car is moved via the railroad to the consumer. At the consumer, unloading hoses are attached, pressure in the car is raised above that generated by ambient temperature with vapors from a vinyl chloride va porizer, and the car contents are pumped to a stor age tank. At the end of the unloading operation, the 1 E99H8ZBBB >JMI\ Vent Compressor Process FIGURE 1 VINYL CHLORIDE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM pressure in the car is reduced by a compressor to 1 to 5-lb. gauge. The car is valvcd in and the hoses removed. The consumer's system is also pressured by (he vapor pressure of vinyl chloride,' but again nme venting of inert gases is required. For nor mal. distributiem operations, major emissions result from slip-tube gt.uging of the tank car, removal of loading and vent hoses, and any venting required to maintain the storage tank pressures at the pressure of skfurotod vinyl chloride vapor. Vapor compres sion and condensation are often used for tank cool ing. The presence of large amounts of uncondens able gases would preclude the operation of such a cooling system. The plant usually has a remote vent stack or a flare for handling these vents. Formerly, when equipment maintenance was re quired, the item was emptied of liquid vinyl chlo ride if possible, the pressure released to & vent 9ystem or to the air, and the equipment purged with inert pas to remove the contained vinyl chloride gas. *1116 inert gas was then removed by a thorough airing of the equipment. On completion of the maintenance work, the equipment was purged with inert gas fol lowed by displacement of the inert gas with vinyl chloride. Gases released were vented to a flare slack or simply released to the ambient air. Main tenance work on a tank car could result in release of 500 pounds of VCM while a simple pump repair might release 1 to 10 pounds. Design of storage systems often stressed vapor conservation for oper ational emission*, hut only rarely was provision made to control emissions, resulting from mainte nance work. The various governmental safety regulations will require changes in distribution equipment and oper ations to control vinyl chloride monomer emissions. Reducing emissions`to achieve the permissible lev els of exposure required is arduous, expensive, and time-consuming. A thorough detailed discussion would require more time than is available; there fore, only certain useful items will be covered. Gauging devices that permit no product emission must be installed on tank cars, tank trucks, and barge tanks. A common past practice in loading shipping vessel was to pull the slip tube out to the desired liquid level and open the valve slightly. When the vessel was filled to the desired level, the spurting of liquid was readily visible to the loader from a distance, and loading was terminated. This procedure also took care of any air or other noncondensable gases that might be in the car. As a result of the OSHA regulation, various ventilation hoods and sight-flow indicators are being used in loading and unloading operations. A gauging device that has worked well on tank cars is a float that ii magnetically coupled to a tape system in a pipe iso lated from the product. In the event of a failure os' the mechanical tape system, it can be removed for repair without emptying the car. The tape sightglass simply protects the tape assembly from the weather. The tank can be gauged by reading the tape and measuring the tank temperature. Adapta tion of this or similar devices to all shipping con tainers is the most direct approach to control of gauging emissions. Tank car size is being limited to 25, 500 gallons for all new cars in vinyl chloride service. The car must either be insulated or have steel safety shields on the end* of the car to reduce the possibility of tank punctures in derailments. Cars that are not in sulated or do not have the safety shield must be switched individually by engine in the rail yards. Major industry use of a poorly-designed. 38,000gallon tank car for vinyl chloride transport has caused much of the railroad transportation hasard and the resulting regulations. These cars with their six-wheel trucks were unable to round a normal railroad curve properly. As a result, they derailed frequently, especially when empty. The couplings often did not match properly with other cars in switching; thus, in switching and train make-up, the coupler missed connection and the tank car was punctured when it struck die car being coupled, limitations on car sir.e and handling procedures are highly regressive steps and fail to directly approach , the .problems of proper tank car design and of fail ure by the railroads to maintain their road beds. For an industry changing to 30, 000-gallon reactors, the proper tank car for minimum emissions is the 48, 000-gallon tank car equipped with float gauging and insulation. In requiring die small tank car, the Department of Transportation has reduced some of the danger of the individual accident at the risk of increasing the cost of transportation and of increas ing the frequency of accidents by requiring more tank cars for vinyl chloride transportation. Pipelines offer the ultimate potential reduction in emissions for VCM distribution, but pipelines car rying suspected carcinogens will be subject to a new set of rules. Above-ground pipelines can be proper ly labeled and monitored regularly for leaks. Emer gency procedures could be instituted quickly before any leak became significant. Buried pipelines will require above-ground warning signs, a foolproof system for leak monitoring, and cathodic protection. The 4nly foolproof system for leak monitoring in a buried^pipeline appears to be a pipeline within a pipei&fe. The outside pipeline would provide the basis for leak detection and disposition. In either the above-ground or buried pipeline, the number of flanges, valves, and pumps should be rmnim*edN while provisions for prompt isolation of leaking sec tions and disposition of their contents must be planned with great care. In-plant pipelines impose a little or no regulatory problems, but the likelihood of getting a permit to install a vinyl chloride pipe h--4 line on public property appears remote. -s*. Ws Vinvl chloride scavenging systems will need to be installed or expanded so that each pipeline, heat exchanger, pump, tank, or tank car can be stripped of vinyl chloride liquid or vapor in the event of fail ure, prior to maintenance work, or prior to routine disassembly. Figure 2 shows a flow sheet of such a system. Where there is access to a plant monomer recovery system, an additional compressor, a con denser, and a collection tank are not needed. In re mote facilities, this scaivenging system could con sist of a small compressor, such as the Corken built by Pump Service Company. This compressor requires 30 horsepower and will pump 40 to 54 ACFM from 0 to 105 pounds without lubrication. If the compressor discharge system has the ability to absorb heat, then the coiidenseris unnecessary. This compressor has been used to evacuate unload ing hoses, tank cars, and other equipment at a tank- car unloading station. The compressor maybe dis charged into the liquid vinyl chloride transfer pipe line without cooling if the system has adequate heat dissipation capacity. In an emergency, it has been simply discharged into an empty tank car. When such a scavenging compressor is used intermittent ly, provision must be made to keep it from filling up with liquid vinyl chloride. On this installation, electric heaters were installed in the compressor suction trap to vaporize any liquid that collected during the out-of-service time. Activation of the heaters for a preset time is required before the compressor will start. The scavenging system must be designed to fit the operation involved. The most important criteria to consider in such a design is to be sure all eventualities requiring scavenging have been considered, and to be sure that air is ex cluded from such a system. ftPUag A YIMTl- CMLMIPC SCA VENCiWG SYSTEM 3 riCUKE 1 SOl.VENTVrHTSCKUPWIHC.STSTCM S m y rn a AH Inert gas purging of equipment that has been scavenged of its available vinyl chloride monomer is necessary to reduce the explosion hazard and to remove the last traces of vinyl chloride monomer. A tank-car unloading hose that has been scavenged contains several tenths of a pound of vinyl chloride. A tank car contains several hundred pounds. This material has to be removed and the VCM concentra tion in the equipment reduced. One tank-car shop has already notified owners it will not accept tank cars for servicing containing more than 25 ppm VCM. Depending on the equipment configuration, it may be swept out by blowing inert gas through the system or it may be diluted by alternately pressur ing the tank with inert gas and venting it down. In any case, sweeping tho last traces of vinyl chloride out of equipment prior to maintenance generates a large volume of inert gas contaminated with vinyl chloride. A rule of thumb for the pressurizing and venting technique is IS to 20 cubic feet of inert gas per cubic foot of vessel capacity. The inert gas must then be removed by airing, if vessel entry is required. When maintenance work is complete, the process must be reversed with inert gas purging out the air and then vinyl chloride purging out the inert gases. Maintenance of distribution facilities and transportation equipment will require a supply of inert gas and the equipment to dispose of the VCM contaminated inert gas. Refrigerated solvent scrubbing of inert gas streams, as shown in Figure 3, represents the most reliable and economical means of removing vinyl chloride from inert gas. The choice of solvent is largely a matter of which ones are readily available, the conditions chosen for stripping the dissolved vinyl chloride from the rich solvent, .and limiting the loss of solvent with the vent gas stream. Sol vents >that have been used successfully are acetone, meth)|l ethyl ketone, ethylene dichloride, butyl ace tate, bmd heptyl butyl ketone. Absorber tempera tures of 0 to -2C#C are effective. To keep equip ment sizes down, a solvent scrubber is normally operated under pressure in conjunction with the vinyl chloride scavenging system. Vinyl chloride recovery efficiencies of 99. 5% are readily obtained. Solvent rates of 4 pounds per pound of gas at 100 psig and 10*C yield essentially vinyl -chloride rfree vent gas. Refrigerated vent coolers are useful only where the volume of inerts is very low or more efficient recovery equipment is not available. Figure 4 shows an inert gas purge system that operates in conjunc tion with a large refrigeration system to rid a stor age sphere of Inert gases. This unit requires two horsepower to cool inert gases to -29*C and dis charge heat at 6*C. The inert gas discharged to the air contains 13% VCM by volume. The storage sphere using this unit is remote from other opera tions and receives little or no operating supervision. In this case, the amount of vent gas is essentially insignificant and. due to remoteness, no personnel exposure is involved; thus,-a relatively poor system is acceptable. Decontamination of vent gases by other methods. vr.M *- Ik.m <; noumx 4 rrrgiCEPATED vrnt system such as carbon adsorption or incineration followed by scrubbing the incinerated gas with water, are be ing considered by many companies. In the case of carbon adsorption, the technology is not fully de fined and proven in practice. Operation of the ad sorbers is cyclic, requiring more operating labor; the formation of polymer and peroxides on the car bon could be problems. Incineration or flare stacks are widely used for disposal of flammables, and should be used as a final cleanup technique for even solvent-scrubbed vent gases. Use of incineration to dispose of relatively large amounts of vinyl chlor ide would entail removal of the hydrogen chloride generated by water scrubbing and subsequent dis posal of acid formed. Disposal of quantities of salt, muratic acid, or hydrogen chloride is a pollution problem not lightly considered by EPA. Monitoring of vinyl chloride concentrations in distribution operations is necessary to determine sources of emissions and to protect personnel and the public from excessive exposure to vinyl chloride in their breathing air. For general troubleshooting and survey work, one of the most, adaptable instru ments is the Century Organic Vapor Analyzer with or without the chromatographic column attachment. This instrument is portable and is direct reading in terms of organic vapor. If there is a question as to whether the organic vapor is vinyl chloride, then the chromatographic column attachment has value. In addition to locating leaking pump seals, valves, and other fixed equipment, it should be used to carefully check each loaded tank car or other shipping con tainer for leakage prior to shipment. Admittedly, a shipping container can develop a leak in transit but, in most cases, the container was leaking when shipped since this was the last time the container's mechanical equipment was operated. For large, fixed distribution facilities, a fixed area monitor with alarms, such as the multipoint automatic chro matograph, is valuable. Fixed distribution facili ties are usually remote from plant operations and may not even be manned full time. This lack of supervision plus the potential for massive VCM re leases makes automatic detection a primary protec tive device. The pictured automatic chromatograph 4 / fB.WJ 9 m i0 Z 0 0 0 Q H Manual VCM monitoring with a portable organic vapor (If tec to b Automatic chromatograph for fixed installation VCM monitoring analyst 19 points within a remote vinyl chloride tank -ca^; unloading and storage system every 40 minutes, and will sound an alarm if a preset con centration is exceeded. Automatic.analyzers, un fortunately, provide more data than can be readily assimilated by the operating supervisor; therefore, a data processing system is worthwhile. These sys tems compile and correlate results so that problems, other then emergencies, can be identified. Regardless of the technique or the equipment for monitoring, it should be done frequently and thor oughly. The monitoring data should be carefully evaluated and kept on file for up to 30 years, if per sonnel exposure is involved. If the evaluation iden tifies a problem, then prompt action must be taken. Monitoring provides the basis for demonstrating compliance to governmental regulations and, as such, is required. In addition, it is the means by which equipment is improved, faulty work practices are corrected, emergency situations are controlled, problems are identified and, above all, personnel are protected from excessive exposure to vinyl chloride. Monitoring is the means one uses to see the situation and, as such, it is the most important action to be taken in the control of vinyl chloride emissions. Timely data from monitoring, though expensive in terms of equipment, is less costly than using yesterday's data on today's problems. 5 Automation is the final approach to control of personnel exposure to vinyl chloride. Regardless of the system design, thq potential for personnel ex posure to vinyl chloride exists; thus, removal of personnel from that operation via automation re duces hazards as well as cost. Vinyl chloride stor age tank areas may be barricaded and never entered in normal operations. Tank-car unloading or load ing can be designed so that the enly human interven tion is the unloading hose coupling or uncoupling. Equipment for these kinds of operations are valves with position indicators, pipeline flow indicators, remote-operated pumps, remote-control valves, and programmed controllers. The pictured vinyl cnloride sphere with attendant pumps, refrigeration equipment, and pipelines is operated entirely by re mote control from a central control room. The tank car unloading system requi res manual hookup and disconnections of the unloading hoses and operation of the shutoff valves on the car and at the hose ends. All other operations are controlled from a control building. 'Die foregoing discussion is intended to show some of the ways to reduce vinyl chloride emissions and control personnel exposure to VCM in distribution operations. No implications of gove rnment&i ap proval for the techniques involved should be drawn. While the various procedures will lead to minimum J VCM storage sphere equipped with remote-controlled valves and pumps i. 1 w exposure to vinyl chloride, the ability to meet the** various regulations is not implied through use of thV*" same. In controlling vinyl chloride emissions and reducing personnel exposures, interaction of regu lations and goals from OSHA, EPA, DOT. and the Coast Guard must be considered; i, e. . ventilation of the work space may please OSHA while creating EPA problems. The only sure thing concerning vinyl chloride regulations is that they are here to stay and the latitude available to the vinyl chloride monomer and polymer industry, with regard to em ployee safety and to plant procedures, will be mini mal. Pictures were made available by Union Carbide Corporation. The authors M. E. Sutherland joined Union Carbide Corpora tion in 1942 upon receiving his B.S.Ch.E. Degree from West Virginia University. He has spent most of his career in the production of vinyl chloride mon omer and resins and has held a number of supervi sory positions in these operations. Since 1969 he has been associated with die Chemicals and Plastics Safety Group and presently holds the position of Process Safety Program Manager. R. N. Wheeler, Jr.. Assistant Production Man ager for Vinyl Resins at Union Carbide Corporation, is a graduate chemical engineer from Virginia Poly technic Institute. Mr. Wheeler has been associated with vinyl resins manufacture for thirty years and has represented Union Carbide Corporation in vari ous aspects of the vinyl chloride health problem. 6 899HBiB00 Copy iox'.f (pEL-DWC) tyttS CONTROL methods for vinyl chloride in monomer manufacturing AND TANK CAR AND SHIP LOADING Z. G. Bell, Jr., J. Lafleur, R. Lynch, and G. Work PPG Industries, Inc. 15Vinyl chloride is manufactured in plants in the United States TO SERVE THE NATION'S DEMAND ESTIMATED AT 5.6 BILLION POUNDS IN 1974. PPG Industries, Inc. manufactures vinyl chloride in two facilities. The PRODUCTION OF VINYL CHLORIDE STARTED AT OUR LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA, PLANT IN 1967; AND THE CARIBE PLANT NEAR PONCE, PUERTO RlCO, STARTED OPERATING IN 1971. PPG DOES NOT CONVERT ANY OF ITS MONOMER TO HOMO POLYMERS OR COPOLYMERS OF VINYL CHLORIDE. iJ lN VIEW OF HEALTH HAZARDS THAT HAVE BEEN DEFINED AS ARISING FROM THE TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF VINYL CHLORIDE; PPG WOULD LIKE TO DESCRIBE FOR POSSIBLE USE BY OTHERS TWO PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING VINYL CHLORIDE CONTRIBUTING TO IMPROVED VINYL CHLORIDE CONFINEMENT AND PERSONNEL EXPOSURE CONTROL. The first OF these PROCEDURES involves sample collection and ANALYSES. In OUR PROCESS; QUALITY CONTROL SAMPLE COLLECTION IS ACHIEVED FROM DIFFERENT POINTS IN THE SYSTEM BY ATTACHING THE SAMPLE BOMB TO A SMALL FITTING IN A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM (SLIDES L 2 AND 3). THE SAMPLE BOMB IS INSTALLED VERTICALLY IN THE SYSTEM WITH ITS STAND LEG FITTING IN THE 69 9 M m 0 0 'U H A -2- top position. This prevents overfilling and bomb overpressurization. To ASSURE THAT THE BOMB IS INSERTED PROPERLY, THE BOMB FITTINGS ARE OF DIFFERENT SIZES. THE SAMPLE COLLECTION LINES ARE SMALL DIAMETER STAINLESS STEEL TUBING. VALVES ARE LOCATED AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE SAMPLE BOMB CONNECTIONS TO MINIMIZE THE QUANTITY OF VINYL CHLORIDE THAT WOULD BE VENTED. THE SMALL AMOUNT OF VINYL CHLORIDE TRAPPED BETWEEN THE VALVES IS RELEASED TO A REMOTE LOCATION AND THE TUBING BETWEEN THE VALVES IS THEN PURGED WITH NITROGEN. The STORAGE OF SAMPLE BOMBS WITHIN THE MAIN OR PLANT LABORATORIES IS PROHIBITED, AND ALTHOUGH THESE SAMPLE BOMBS WERE CAPPED BETWEEN USE, A STORAGE RACK OR CABINET IS PROVIDED, AS SHOWN IN SLIDES 4. ALL VINYL CHLORIDE BOMBS MUST BE STORED IN THESE CABINETS WHILE NOT IN USE, AND ALL ANALYSES OF SAMPLES MUST BE ACCOMPLISHED WITHIN A LABORATORY Ahood (Slide 6), flexible line is installed on the gas chromatograph V DISCHARGE THAT DIRECTS THE PURGE FROM THE GAS CHROMATOGRAPH BACK INTO THE LABORATORY HOOD (SLIDE 6), - After the analysis, there is from 600 to 700 ml. of vinyl chloride REMAINING IN THE BOMB. THE SAMPLE BOMBS ARE CAPPED AND RETURNED TO THE PLANT WHERE THE BOMB AND ITS RESIDUAL CONTENTS ARE INSERTED DURING THE NEXT SAMPLE COLLECTION ROUND. THIS PROCEDURE RETURNS THE UNUSED VINYL CHLORIDE TO THE PROCESS. THE BOMB VALVE INTEGRITY IS CHECKED PERIODIC ALLY using a Century organic vapor analyzer. All laboratory hoods WHERE VINYL CHLORIDE IS USED OR ANALYZED HAVE BEEN CHECKED FOR ADEQUATE APTURE VELOCITY. A BAFFLE HAS BEEN INSTALLED ACROSS THE FRONT LIP OF THE HOOD TO PREVENT ANY VINYL CHLORIDE VAPORS, WHICH ARE HEAVIER THAN AIR, FROM EXITING THE HOOD (SLIDE 7). THE LEVELS OF VINYL CHLORIDE ARE ROUT INELY MONITORED. The second procedure to be presented involves the loading of vinyl CHLORIDE INTO TANK TRUCKS, TANK CARS, BARGES, OR SHIPS. THE OXYGEN CONTENT OF EMPTY TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES IS DETERMINED PRIOR TO LOADING. The oxygen analyzer is vented remotely (Slide S). In tank car and tank TRUCK LOADING, THERE ARE EQUALIZING LINES FOR THE DISPLACEMENT OF THE VEHICLE VAPOR CONTENT. THE VAPOR SPACE MATERIAL IS EQUALIZED WITH THE STORAGE TANK FROM WHICH THE VEHICLE IS BEING LOADED (SLIDES 9 AND 10). There are a number of ways to determine when a tank car or tank truck is full. The vinyl chloride may be scale loaded or a flow meter may be used. A magnetic level indicator is used by some producers. Many manufacturers use a gauge rod to determine when a tank car is full, and this a potential exposure source unless special precautions are taken. Exposure may be prevented by the use of a quick disconnect hose for the TANK CAR GAUGE ROD. A BULL'S EYE IS PROVIDED ON THE HOSE OUTLET FOR DETERMINING WHEN THE TANK CAR IS FULL (SLIDE H AND 12), THIS BULL'S EYE ARRANGEMENT IS ONLY NEEDED WHEN AN OPEN GAUGING DEVICE IS IN USE. The FINAL PROBLEM FOR TANK CAR OR TANK TRUCK LOADING IS THE CLEARING OF THE LOADING HOSE AND SPOOL PIECE SO THAT THE HOSE MAY BE DISCONNECTED WITHOUT ALLOWING EXPOSURE. THE LIQUID IN THE LOADING HOSE IS PUSHED (WITH NITROGEN) INTO THE TANK CAR (SLIDE 13). THE LOADING LINE IS THEN, NITROGEN PURGED FOR REMOVAL OF VINYL CHLORIDE VAPORS BEFORE THE LOADING im iB lB B fU P A -1\ - r HOSE IS DISCONNECTED (SLIDE M) , In TANK TRUCK LOADING OPERATIONS, THE LIQUID IN THE SPOOL PIECE RETURNS TO THE ACCUMULATOR THROUGH A SPRINGLOADED CHECK VALVE. A NITROGEN PURGE IS USED TO DISPLACE ALL OF THE VINYL CHLORIDE VAPORS FROM THE SPOOL PIECE TO THE ACCUMULATOR. The LOADING OF SHIPS NND BARGES INVOLVES MOST OF THE SAME CONFINE MENT PROBLEMS AS TANK CAR AND TANK TRUCK LOADING. THE LOADING OF SHIPS OR BARGES WITH HIGH INERTS PRESENT CAUSES SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS WHEN THE VAPOR SPACE IS EQUALIZED BACK TO THE STORAGE TANK, A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN THE INSTALLATION OF AN EQUALIZER LINE CONNECTING THE DOCK SIDE SPHERE VAPOR SPACE WITH THE STORAGE TANKS IN THE' PROCESS AREA. A COMPRESSOR HAS BEEN INSTALLED TO RETURN THE CONTENTS OF THE SPHERE VAPOR SPACES TO THE PROCESS. THE VINYL CHLORIDE IS RECOVERED IN THE PROCESS AND THE INERTS LEAVE WITH THE BYPRODUCT HCL STREAM. THEREFORE, THE INERTS FROM SHIPS OR BARGES DO NOT CAUSE VINYL CHLORIDE TO BE VENTED. j V There are some routine equipment clearing procedures that are FOLLOWED SO THAT OPERATOR EXPOSURE TO VINYL CHLORIDE IS WITHIN THE PROPOSED OSHA STANDARD. SLIDES 15 AND 16 SHOW A SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN INSTALLED THAT WILL PREVENT EXPOSURES WHEN IT IS NECESSARY TO CHANGE VINYL CHLORIDE POLISHING FILTER ELEMENTS. PUMPS THAT NEED REPAIRS MUST BE CLEARED OF VINYL CHLORIDE. SLIDES 17 AND 18 SHOW THE METHOD USED IN CLEARING PUMPS. THE VENT PURGE STREAMS FROM CLEARING EQUIPMENT CAN BE SENT TO THE INCINERATORS OR COMPRESSED AND RETURNED TO THE PROCESS. aha - 5- In the foregoing, examples of operating modifications that are APPLICABLE AND PRACTICAL IN MINIMIZING EXPOSURES HAVE BEEN PRESENTED. IT IS OUR OPINION THAT SOME OF THESE MAY BE HELPFUL TO OTHERS. !1 V Slice tie?-. 1 2 T j H 5 b 7 8 y 10 11 12 13 M 15 lb 17 18 LIST OF SLIDES Description Sample Bomb Sample Point Figure Actual Sample Point Inside View of Bomb Cabinet Analyzing Samples * Gas Chromatograph Lad Hood Oxygen Analyzer Figure of Loading Operation Picture of Equalizer Manifold Gauge Rod Connection Bull's Eye Pushing Liquid Out of Loading Hose Nitrogen Purging Loading Hose Figure of Filter Picture of Filter Figure of Pump Picture of Pump U 9 H 0 1 0 0 0 <UU VINYL CHLORIDE CH2=CHC1 APPENDIX Ale Copy for: (GEL-DWC) CLW /' A Since vinyl chloride (chloroethene, CH2=CHC1) is a gas at room temperature and pressure, the common route of toxic exposure is by inhalation. As with many liquified gases, contact of the shin or eyes with escaping compressed vinyl chloride can produce freezing and frostbite. (Torkelson et al, 1961). Vinyl chloride has long been considered to be very low in toxicity by acute inhalation. Lehmann and Flury (1938) summarized the literature and reported work by Schauman who considered vinyl chloride to be a candidate surgical anesthetic. Schauman reported little pathological changes even after repeated exposure to anesthetic concentra tions. Further work on the anesthetic potential of vinyl chloride indicated that vinyl chloride was unsafe for use as a surgical anesthetic in dogs and that because cf its flammability, poor efficacy and its ability to cause cardiac irregularities at anesthetic concentrations vinyl chloride was not suitable for use as an anesthetic in humans. Despite the early reports ascribing lov; toxicity to vinyl chloride, injury during the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins was reported as early as 1949. Significantly this report came from Europe where production of PVC ; in Europe preceded U. S. production by several years and ]_ today the quantity produced in Europe still exceeds U. S. V* production by about two fold. In 1949, Tribuhk et al reported numerous effects in PVC workers in what by today's standards must be considered as primitive production facilities. These authors found a "considerable number of cases of hepatitis among workers" but were more concerned with other hepatotoxic chemicals such as chlorinated diphenyl and chlorinated naphthylene (Kolowax (sic) ) than they .were v:ith vinyl chloride. As a result of two deaths in Canada, the acute inhalation toxicity of vinyl chloride v:as studied by Mastromattoo et al (1960) who reported that exposure of mice, rats, and guinea pigs to 10, 20, and 30 volume percent vinyl chloride caused the following mortality: -2- NUMBER OF DEATHS IN DIFFERENT GROUPS OF FIVE MICE, RATS AND GUINEA PIGS EXPOSED FOR THIRTY MINUTES TO VARYING CONCENTRA- TIONS OF VINYL CHLORIDE IN AIR Vinyl chloride concentration (percent by volume in air) Mice Laboratory animal Rats Guinea pigs Total 10 0/5 0/5 0/5 0/15 20 1/5 0/5 0/5 1/15 30 5/5 5/5 1/5* 11/15 40 ---- 2/5* 2/5 * A delayed death occurred within 24 hours following exposure. Some pulmonary hyperemia and engorgement was observed by these investigators, but liver and kidney injury were remarkably low. Deaths were due to narcosis._ The first report of studies to determine the effect of long-term repeated exposure (6 months) were summarized by Torkelson, Oyen and Rowe (1961) as follows: "Repeated exposures of laboratory animals to several concen trations of vinyl chloride in air were conducted to determine the chronic toxicity of this material towards animals in order to assess the hazard to humans. Vinyl chloride was found to have a slight capacity to cause liver and kidney injury on repeated exposures- Male and female rats showed micropathological changes after repeated daily 7-hour exposures at 500 ppm for 4.5 months. Repeated 7-hour exposures; at 200 ppm for six months resulted in micropathological changes in the livers of rabbits and statistically significant increases in the average weight of the livers of male and female rats but no detectable changes in dogs and guinea pigs. Repeated 7-hour exposures at 100 ppm resulted in slight increases in the average weight of rat livers, the other species were not affected. All species studied tolerated repeated daily 7-hour exposures to 50 ppm for six months with no detectable injury. Repeated daily 1-hour exposures at 200 and 100 ppm of vinyl chloride were without effect, longer exposures caused a slight increase in liver weight. VJHr-010 2 0146 76 -3- The standard for evaluating regular daily 7 to 8-hour exposures may be defined as the concentration below which practically all analytical results must fall. The value of 100 ppm is suggested as this standard for vinyl chloride, with a timeweighted average for all exposures not to exceed 50 ppm." Lester, Greenberg, and Adams (1963) took exception to the conclusion of Torkelson et al (1961) that 50 ppm should be a maximum time weighted average exposure for workers. On the basis of 3 months exposure of rats to 2 volume percent and 19 days to 5 volume percent, they concluded that 500 ppm was acceptable as a TLV despite minor changes which they observed in rat livers and which they considered "were within the normal range and were not pathologic in nature." Since 1949 numerous articles describing conditions and problems in PVC production plants have appeared particularly in the Eastern European literature. Filatova and Gronsberg (1957), Gabor et al (1962), Suciu et al (1563), Gabor et al (1964), Grigorescu and Toba (1964), Antonyuzhenko (1968), and Kudryavtseva (1970), have all described the effects of apparently gross chronic exposure. These papers and abstracts are difficult to interpret since there are generally inadequate descriptions of the exposure conditions and analysis of the workroom air, so no dose-response relationship can be determined. The injuries and effects described by the authors are not con sistent with the levels of exposures claimed by the authors nor are the levels of exposure consistent with past cr even present-day chemical technology. Furthermore, mixtures of chemicals are involved making it impossible to ascribe the effect to any one of them. I For example, Suciu et al (1963) (through Translation) described nervous disorders including euphoria with whistling and laughing, incoordination and dizziness similar to alcohol intoxication. However, Suciu et al ascribes these results to exposure of the order of 5.5 mg/m3 (2 ppm v/v) which is not consistent with other publications which indicate these effects will be apparent only if concentrations greatly exceed 10,000 to 20,000 ppm v/v. Therefore, the following conclusions by the authors can be construed as being the result of massive and apparently repeated exposures: 1. Vinyl chloride and the vinyl monomers possess a narcotic action and produce, depending upon con centration, in addition to characteristic neurologic manifestation, a state of euphoria (12%), followed by a state of inebriation similar to that of alcohol intoxication. In certain cases narcosis can appear. After leaving the working environment, a state of somnolence (45%) persists, with hypersomnia. VRD W 020M 677 -4- Vinyl chloride acts on the skin and produces a sensation of formication and of heat. 2. After repeated exposure, a neurologic asthenia sets in in which somnolence predominates. 3. After a variable period of time, dyspeptic disturbances are added to the neurologic manifestations; these are at first not characteristic; they are in the form of epigastric pains (16%), swelling, discomfort, feeling of heaviness in the right hypochondrium (7%) or the left (5%) with anorexia, particularly for fats. In 30.2% of the cases, congentive hepatomegaly appears, which may mimic toxic hepatitis without jaundice; some cases may become chronic. In 6% of the cases, the hepatomegaly is accompanied by splenomegaly. The proteinogram and the aldolases are the most sensitive tests and show changes similar to those of acute hepatitis: increase in a-globulins and of the 6- and y-globulins? the thymol test, Greenstedt's reaction and the zinc sulfate test are positive only in few of the cases. 4. After 3 years of exposure in 9% of the cases a syndrome typical of ulcer without radiologic changes becomes manifest. 5. In 6% of the cases the Raynaud syndrome has appeared, particularly among the young men. Plethysmography shows in half of the cases an inhibition of the vasomotor centers. 6. In addition, allergic dermatitis in 4.4% of the cases, and scleroderma in 3.6%, has been observed. 7. The clinical and laboratory findings are of great importance in occupational pathology because in numerous cases diseases appear in man that cannot be reproduced in the animal (Raynaud's syndrome and scleroderma). " The sudden and frequent appearance of these mani-- festations in the PVC division of several plants, and in certain divisions in normal individuals who are still relatively young, and their disappearance in the majority of the cases after the institution of protective measures and change of work, have shown us decisively that vinyl chloride and the vinyl monomers have played a part in the production of these mani festations. (End of author's summary). -5- In 1967, reports appeared in the literature describing a condition known as acroosteolysis in workmen engaged in polymerization of vinyl chloride to polyvinyl chloride. Harris and Adams (1967) reported on two cases in Europe. Wilson et al (1967), reported on 37 cases in the B. P. Goodrich Company. Jiihe et al (1973) described a syndrome consisting of (arranged in decreasing order of occurrence) thrombopenia, splenomegaly, liver damage, obstruction of ventillation, circulatory obstruction, and skin and bone alteration. As a result of this problem, the University of Michigan in 1967 was retained by the Manufacturing Chemists Association to investigate acroosteolysis in sponsoring American companies. The results of a large scale epidemiological study of workers then currently employed in vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride production were reported in three publications by this group (Dinman et al, (1971) Cook et al, (1971) and Dodson et al, (1971)) Dinman et al summarized the study as follows: "An epidemiological study was performed covering 5,011 employees with 21,510 man-years experience in various phases of vinyl chloride (VC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manu facturing in 32 plants throughout the United States and Canada. The total number of definitive cases of acroosteolysis (AOL) was 25? 16 other individuals were under suspicion. This condition is clearly associated with the hand cleaning of polymerizers. Workers engaged in other phases of VC or PVC manufacturing do not appear to be at risk of developing AOL. The importance of Raynaud's phenomenon as a con comitant of AOL is emphasized. Several statistical approaches for rapid medical survey are suggested. Acroosteolysis appears to be a systemic rather than local disease. Presently, neither the etiological agent nor its portal of entry is known." Cook et al describes the polyvinyl chloride production process in considerable detail. They concluded that although no etiological agent could be identified, "There appeared to be a correlation between the extent of degassing prior to entry into the reactor" and the incidence of acroosteolysis. Mutchler and Kramer presented a paper at the 1968 Gordon Research Conference which was subsequently published (1972), which reported on "The Correlation of Clinical and Environ mental Measurements for Workers Exposed to Vinyl Chloride". The authors drew the following conclusion: "Our findings suggest that repeated exposure to vinyl chloride at TWA levels of 300 ppm or above for a working lifetime together with a very low level of vinylidene chloride may result in slight changes in certain physiologic and clinical laboratory parameters. The possibility of some impairment in VRD 0002014679 ! liver function tests must be considered, even though no overt clinical disease was evident in any of the individuals studied. We shall continue our study, but suggest that similar studies to help clarify the effects of this material be performed for other worker populations exposed to vinyl chloride alone." P. L. Viola, in an attempt to produce acroosteolysis in animals, exposed rats 4 hours per day, 5 days per week to 30,000 ppm (3%) vinyl chloride vapor. (Viola, March, 1970). In his first report on the results of 12 months exposure, he described metaplastic changes in the bones which he con sidered similar to^the human disease acroosteolysis. He made no mention of having observed cancer in these animals until the Tenth International Cancer Congress in May, 1970. In the abstracts of this meeting, (Viola, 1970), and sub sequently in May, 1971, Viola, Bigotti and Caputo (1971) reported tumors of the skin, lungs and bones occurring first after 10 months of exposure. The authors summarized this work as follows: "Rats (Ar/IRE Wistar strain) exposed for 12 months to vapors of vinyl chloride developed tumors of the skin, lungs, and bones. The cutaneous tumors, which always appeared in the area in which submaxillary and parotid glands are located, have been histologically recognized as epidermoid carcinomas, papillomas, and mucoepidermoid carcinomas. The morphological characteristics of lung tumors, which occurred in a lower percentage, were mainly of the adenocarcinoma type, with the exception of a single epidermoid tumor originating from the epithelial covering cells. In a minor number of rats, a large proliferation of cartilaginous tissue diagnosed as osteochondroma developed in the metacarpal and metatarsal regions of the four limbs." This report by Viola et al is apparently the earliest publication in which carcinogenic activity has been ascribed to vinyl chloride in man or animals. Although there were obvious deficiencies in Viola's study, such as his very impure sample, the presence of food and bedding in the exposure chamber, the excessive exposure concentration as well as in the statistical evaluation and interpretation of the lesions, the report was of serious concern and resulted in additional animal and epidemiological studies which are currently underway in Italy (Maltoni, 1974; Maltoni and Lefemine, 1974) and the U. S. (Keplinger et al, 1974). On January 22-23, 1974, the B. F. Goodrich Company notified its employees, NIOSH, the Kentucky State Department of Labor, and the public, that three workers had died of angiosarcomas of the liver. The case reports of the first subject has been published by Creech and Johnson (1974). The subject, a 36 year old male, was hospitalized January 5, 1970 and subsequently succumbed September 27, 1971. He had worked in PVC production vRrw m m s ? from November 1955 until his illness. The history, clinical course and pathologic findings are consistent with the others who died of angiosarcoma. The work of Maltoni and Lefemine (1974) has been reported publicly at the OSHA hearing, Washington, D.C., February 15, 1974, and included in the 1974 publication of the Second Inter national Symposium on Cancer Detection and Prevention, Bologna, Italy, April 9-12, 1973. In these studies groups of rats as well as mice and hamsters have been exposed to concentrations of 10,000 to 50 ppm vinyl chloride vapor. Maltoni and Lefemine (1974) reported carcinomas of the Zymbal glands, nephroblastoma and angiosarcomas of the livers of rats at concentrations of 250 ppm to 10,000 ppm but not at 50 ppm. Subsequent unpublished information (August 31, 1974) reported "1 liver angiosarcoma, 1 extrahepatic angiosarcoma and 1 nephroblastoma, in three animals of the first experiment, exposed to 50 ppm of VC for 1 year, and surviving 135 weeks from the beginning of the treat ment." The authors conclude that "a dose--response relationship clearly emerges, as far as angiosarcomas and nephroblastomas are concerned, in the lower dose ranges: from 500 ppm to 50 ppm for angiosarcomas, and from 250 ppm to 50 ppm for nephroblastomas. A comparison of the results available at the present moment in rats exposed for 12 months and 4 months (BT1 and BT3 experiments) shows that the neoplastic response, as far as angiosarcomas and nephroblastomas are concerned, is affected by the length of exposure to VC." In their experiment BT3 Maltoni and Lefemine reported possible in utero production of angiosarcomas in offspring of pregnant rats exposed to 10,000 and 6,000 ppm. Keplinger et al (1974) in a study sponsored by American companies have confirmed the findings of Maltoni and Lefemine. In this study groups of 100 rats, mice and hamsters of each sex are being exposed seven hours per day, five days per week to either 2,500, 200 or 50 ppm vinyl chloride monomer. After seven months of exposure angiosarcoma and lung adenomas have been observed in mice at all exposure levels. Although the data are preliminary in nature and require confirmation, angiosarcomas were apparently also observed in rats at 2,500 and 200 ppm and in a single hamster at 2,500 ppm. This study is still in progress and will not be completed until 1976 or 1977. Epidemiological studies on U. S. workers have been conducted by Tabershaw-Cooper Associates for the Manufacturing Chemists Association. The summary of this study is as follows: 1. This historical prospective mortality study of 0384 men who had at least one year of occupational exposure to vinyl chloride before December 31, 1972, demonstrated that cancers of the digestive system (primarily angio sarcoma) , respiratory system, brain, and cancers of unknown 8- - site, as well as lymphomas, occurred more often than expected in those members of the study population with the greatest estimated exposure. The mortality from other cancers was lower than that of the general male population, with the exception of cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx. The explanation for the latter finding is not apparant. The other major findings of the study are: (1) The overall mortality of the study population was approximately 75% of what would be expected in a comparable population of U.S. males; (2) No cause of death showed a statistically significant excess over what would be expected in a com parable U.S. male population; and, (3) No deaths identified as angiosarcoma of the liver were found other than those previously identified. This is the first epidemiological study which suggests that in humans vinyl chloride may also be associated with cancer of multiple sites. Vinyl chloride is tentatively assigned to Appendix A/c, "Substances awaiting reassignment of TLV because of recently discovered carcinogenicity. Prepared for the Use of The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist Threshold Limit Committee. T. R. Torkelson January, 1975 u n m a n <TA Patty, F. A., W. P. Yant and C. P. Waite* Acute response of guinea pigs to vapors of some new commercial organic compounds V. Vinyl Chloride, U.S. Public Health Reports 5, 19G3-I971* Abstract only. 1930. Lehman, K. B., and.F. Flury;'* Toxicology and hygiene of . industrial solvents. 1938. As translated by Eleanor King and Henry F. Smyth, Jr. 1941. Tribukh, S. L., II. P. Tikhomirova, S. V. Levin and L* A. Kozlov. Working conditions and measures for their sanitation in the production and utilization of vinyl chloride plastic. Arg Sanit 1, 38-45. Translation from Russian. 1949. Filatova, V. S. and E. Sh. Gronsberg. Sanitary hygienic conditions of work in the production of polyvinyl chloride resins and measures of improvement. Giegiena i Sanit 22 (1), 38-42. Abstract only. 1957. Mastromatteo, E., A. M. Fisher, H. Christie, and H. Danziger. Acute inhalation toxicity of vinyl chloride to laboratory animals. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 21 (5), 394-398. 1960. Torkelson, T. R., F. Oyen, and V. K. Rowe. The toxicity of vinyl chloride as determined by repeated exposure of laboratory animal*?. American TTulustridl Hygiene Association Journal, A a (sj , 1961. Gabor, S., M. Lecca-Radu, and I. Manta. Certain biochemical indexes of the blood in workers exposed to toxic substances j(benzene, chlorobenzene, vinyl chloride). Prom. Toksikol. i Klinika Prof. Zabolevanii Khizn. Etiol. Sb. 221-223. Abstract jjoril'y. 1962. Lester, D., L. A. Greenberg, and W. R. Adams. Effects of single and repeated exposures of humans and rats to vinyl chloride. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 2, 265-275. 1963. Suciu, I., I. Drejman and M. Valaskai. Investigations of the diseases produced by vinyl chloride. Medicina Interna (Bucharest), XV(3), 967-970, Romanian Article and translation. 1963._ Gabor, S., M. Radu, II. Preda, S. Abrudean, L. Ivanof, 2. Anea, and C. ValnezJ;ay. Biochemical changes in workers occupied in vinyl chloride synthesis and polymerization. Igiena Bucharest 13(5), 409-413. Abstract only. 1964. Grigorescu, I* and G. Toba. Vinyl chloride; industrial toxicologic aspects. Rev- Chin. 17(8), 499-501. Abstract only. 1966. ^ H9H0Z000 Harris, D. K. and W. G. F. Adans. Acroosteolysis occurring in men engaged in the polymerization of vinyl chloride. Brit. Med. Journal, 556'7, 712-714. Abstract only. 1967. Wilson, R. if., W. E. McCormick, C. F. Tatum, and J. L. Creech. Occupational`Acroosteolysis, report of 31 cases. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 201(8), 577-581; 1967. Antonyuzhenko, V. A. Occupational poisoning by vinyl chloride. GIG TR Prof Sabol 12(3), 50-52. Abstract only. 196B. Kudryavtseva, O. F. Characteristics of electrocardio graphic changes in patients v/ith vinyl chloride poisoning. GIG TR Prof Zabol 14(8), 54-56. Abstract only. 1970. Viola, P. L. Pathology of vinyl chloride. Medicina del Lavoro, 61(3), March, 1970. Translated from the Italian. 1970. Dinman, B. D., W. A. Cook, W. M. Whitehouse, H. J. Magnuson, and T. Ditcheck. Occupational Acroosteolysis: I. An Epidemiological Study. Archives of Environmental Health, /// 6 j- /3, 1571. Cook, W. A., P. M. Giever, B. D. Dinman, and II. J. Magnuson. Occupational Acroosteolysis: II. An Industrial Hygiene Study. Archives of Environmental Health, 2, 74-82. 1971. Dodson, V. N. , B. D. Dinman, W. M. Whitehouse, A. II. M. Nasr, and II. J. Magnuson. Occupational Acroosteolysis: III. A clinical study. Archives of Environmental Health, 22, 83-91. 1971. Viola, P. L., A. Bigotti, and A. Caputo. Oncogenic response of rat skin, lungs, and bones to vinyl chloride. Cancer Research, 31, 516-522.. 1971. Kramer, C. G., and J. E. Mutchler. The correlation of clinical and environmental measurements for workers exposed to vinyl chloride. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 33(1), 19-30, 1971. Juhe, S., C. E. Lange, G. Stein, and G. Veltman. Uber die sogenannte Vinylchlorid-ICrankhoit. Dtsch. mod. Wschr. 98, 2034-2037. (German with English translation). 1973. Maltoni, C. Occupational Carcinogenis. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Cancer Detection and Prevention, Bologna, April 9-12, 1973. Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam. 1974. Maltoni, C. and G. Lefemine. The potential of the planned experiment in the prediction of the risk of ambient carcinogens. An example: vinyl chloride. Lincei-Rendiconte Della Classe di Science, Tesiche, Mathmatische Naturalo, 56, 1-11 with English Translation. 1974. Maltoni, C. and G. Lefemine. Carcinogenic Bio Assays of Vinyl Chloride: Current Results. Unpublished Data. August 31, 1974. Creech, J. L. and M. N. Johnson. Angiosarcoma of Liver in the Manufacture of Polyvinyl Chloride. Journal of Occupa tional Medicine, 16(3), 150-151. 1974. Tabershaw, I. R., W. R. Gaffey. Mortality Study of Workers in the Manufacture of Vinyl Chloride and its Polymers. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 16(8), 508-518. 1974. Keplinger, M. L., J. W. Goode, D. E. Gordon and J. C. Calandra. Interim results of exposure of rats, hamsters and mice to vinyl chloride. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Working Group. Toxicity of Vinyl Chloride and Polyvinyl Chloride. May 10-11, 1974 In Preparation. 1974. Kl => 09 ~,%y ENVIRONMENTAL VINYL CHLORIDE MONITORING Presented By: John Knowles George D. Clayton & Associates 25711 Southfield Southfield, Michigan At: AICHE Meeting Houston, Texas March, 1975 VRD 0 9 2 0 1 4 686 ENVIRONMENTAL VINYL CHLORIDE MONITORING Early in 1974 it was reported to OSHA chat several deaths due to angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer, may have been caused by occupational exposure to vinyl chloride (VC). As a result of this an emergency temporary standard was implemented lowering the permissible ceiling concentration to which Industrial workers could be exposed from 500 to 50 ppm. Ongoing toxicological research demonstrated that liver cancer could be induced in mice at exposure levels as low as 50 ppm. A permanent standard was established limiting occupational exposure to one ppm averaged over any eight-hour period and a ceiling of five ppm averaged over not more than 15 minutes. In addition an "action level" of 0,5 ppm was set. The permanent standard requires that all employee exposure levels be determined either by area or personnel sampling. If the exposures of work ers are maintained below the action level no routine monitoring i]s required, if between the action level and the permissible V limits, monitoring must be at least quarterly and if above the permissible limits at least monthly. It is the intent of this discussion to review methods avail able to conduct monitoring of employee exposures within the work place. In addition, procedures and techniques for monitoring emissions from industrial operations are presented and discussed. Obviously, the simplest way to conduct a survey is by using some sort of direct-reading instrument, that is, an instrument which is capable of sampling a volume of air, performing a quan titative analysis and displaying the result. The advantages of using such a system include* 1 a) immediate estimations of the concentration of the contaminant, permitting on-site evaluations; b) provision of permanent four-hour records of contaminant concentrations; c) attachment of alarm system to instruments to warn work ers of build-up of hazardous situations; d) reduction of number of manual tests; e) reduction of number of laboratory analyses; f) provision of more convincing evidence for presentation at hearings and litigation proceedings; g) reduced cost of obtaining individual results. However, the majority of these systems measure some physical property of the contaminant being studied and consequently are plrone to interferences. Before using results obtained with a direct-reading instrument supplementary data should be obtained relating to possible interferences. Calibration of any directreading instrument is an absolute necessity - the frequency of the calibration depends on the instrument in question and the degree of accuracy required. The main application of such instruments is in area moni toring, that is, in monitoring the concentration of VC in a given area at a given instant in time. Personnel monitoring imposes limitations on the sampling procedures and is dealt with later. There are many principles of operation which have been used in direct-re ading instruments for VC. The ones discussed below are those with the highest applicability. im ia m a am l- 3 Combustion Conductivity fa q a If vinyl chloride Is heated In air at 1000C it will decompose to CO2 and HCl. By bubbling the HC1 Into pure water a change in conductivity will be produced which can be measured. The method <S O' 00 Is very rapid, taking only about thirty seconds. Interferences are common since any substance which changes the conductivity of the sample solution will interfere. How ever, if this technique is used in a plant where interferences are known to be low or can be compensated for the method can pro vide a rapid means of analysis. In all instruments using conductance as the measured parameter temperature variation becomes a very Important consideration and corrections should be made accordingly (2% per degree centigrade). Flame Ionization Detectors (F.I.D.) If an organic molecule is burned in a small flame, carbon ions are produced. By applying a potential across the flame and meas uring the current produced the concentration of the organic mole- i \:ules can be measured. This is the principle of operation used in F.I.D.'s. As with the conductivity method above the analysis, while being extremely fast, is only useful for an atmosphere known to contain only VC since any organic compound will produce some response in the detector. Infrared Analysis Vinyl chloride absorbs I.R. radiation due to the movement in its chemical bonds, the amount of absorption being dependent upon the concentration of the compound in the sample cell. This method is not entirely specific as interfering substances may 1 -4- commonly be present. As the spectra are additive the contribu tion by an unsuspected minor component can be overlooked, leading to incorrect data. Due to design limitations, with the best cur rently available instrumentation an accuracy of +10% is the best that can be obtained practically with this method. In general only about two minutes are required for analysis although additional time may be required to change samples. With a long path length sensitivities of 0.7 ppm can be expected. Gas Chromatography (G.C.) This procedure physically separates components of a mixture by passing them through a column containing an inert substance coated with an organic silicone oil. Each component will be absorbed by the stationary liquid and desorbed by the carrier gas stream in a unique manner. Over the length of the column the adsorption-desorption process is repeated many times resulting in a separation of the "different components as they are eluted fcrom the column. If the emerging gas stream is made part of the fuel supply for an F.I.D. the compounds can be measured by the response they produce. The signal produced Is amplified and used to produce a peak on a strip chart recorder^. The concentration of the compound is proportional to the peak area. Rugged, battery-operated, portable gas chromatographs have been refined to the point where they may now be considered prac tical for many field study applications. ^ These instruments come complete with gas sampling valve, rechargeable batteries, appropriate columns and self-contained 5 supplies of gases which provide 8 to 20 hours of operation de pendent on the flowrates and must be recharged using high pres sure gas regulators. The retention times of the compounds of analytical interest must be determined In the laboratory for a given type of column, as is true for the laboratory type chroma tographs. Although Interferences can result from other compounds having similar retention times (these can often be removed by changing the column conditions) the primary advantage of the method in the present consideration is its ability to determine vinyl chloride concentrations in the presence of many other compounds. The sensitivity of the method is excellent and extends down into the ppb range, For continuous monitoring the major disadvantage is the time involved in the analysis, which Is approximately 30 minutes. The four above methods are the basis for the majority of direct-reading instruments used for vinyl chloride determinations. J|ls stated earlier results obtained using these techniques are i ^nly meaningful when used in conjunction with results obtained using more specific sampling and analysis techniques. The method of choice for vinyl chloride analysis is gas _ chromatography. This is relatively fast and provides the accuracy required by the OSHA standard. * The standard VC concentration for the gas chromatograph can be prepared in two ways. 1) By injecting the 5.0 ml of pure vinyl chloride into 10 liters of air in a Tedlar bag. This gives a 500 ppm VC standard. VRD 000 20 14 6 9 I G 2 ) By ^dissolving 1 ml of vinyl chloride in 10 ml CS2 (cone. = 255.6 jig/ml). Further dilution prepared as necessary, usually a 1:10 series to desired Jower level. Five milliliters or 5 nl respectively of the above standards are injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with a column packed with 107. SE 30 on 80/100 mesh chromosorb (other columns can be used) with a column temperature of about 60. The limit of detection for each injection is of the order of 100 picograms which gives a detection limit of around 10 ppb in air (5 ml injection volume) which is well below the level specified in the OS 11A standard. Samples for analyses can be collected either by grab or inte grated sampling methods. In grab sampling a gas collection device of known volume under measured conditions of temperature and pressure is used. The sample is collected over a period of sev eral seconds up to one or two minutes maximum. ; A wide variety of collection devices is used to obtain grab samples. These include vacuum flasks, vacuum bottles, gas- or V 1iquid-disp1acement type collectors, glass bottles, syringes and plastic bags. The temperature and pressure at the time of sam pling must be recorded to permit the reporting of analytical data under standard conditions, typically 25C and 760 mm of mercury for in-plant samples. The grab sampling method is useful only for determining instan taneous vinyl chloride levels and is best used for determining VC levels in regions suspected of being out of compliance. In instances where the atmosphere to be sampled remains relative'y constant with time, grab samples will represent the VRD 9002011692 - 7- averagc air concentrations. However, where the atmospheric con centration varies appreciably in accordance with processing operations and other factors, a sufficient number of samples must be taken to determine the average concentration of the contami nant tinder each of the relevant processing or ambient conditions. Grab samples have the primary advantage over most other methods of sampling in that the collection efficiency is 100 percent. Once the sample is collected a portion (usually 5 or 10 ml) can he removed with a gas syringe and injected into the gas chro matograph. By suitable choice of column conditions the vinyl chloride peak can be obtained free of interference effects and the concentrations of vinyl chloride calculated accurately. If other substances are known to be present in the atmosphere, such infor mation should be submitted with the sample as they may cause interferences. For the same reason it is also a good idea if possible to submit a sample of the bulk materials used in the pirocess for the purpose of identifying all atmospheric contam- ) ifrants which may be collected along with the vinyl chloride. When sampling atmospheres which have variable concentrations of a contaminant (such as vinyl chloride), for evaluation of personnel exposures and time-weighted average Concentration levels, the use of an integrated sampling method is required. In this method ambient air is drawn over an adsorbing medium (or through an absorbing medium) ac a fixed rate for a known period of time. The large volumes sampled by this method lead to increased sensitivity in the overall procedure. Analysis of the adsorbed vinyl chloride collected by this method produces an estimate of the average concentration of the VC in the sampled air volume. VRO #002014693 8 Basically Che integrated sampling method requires the following components: 1) A sampling pump; A 2) An adsorptive material capable of trapping all of the VC passed over it during the sampling period. 3) A desorption mechanism to remove quantitatively all the VC from the adsorbant at a later time to permit analysis. Any pumps used must be calibrated before use to ensure that the air flow measurement is accurate. In addition, if used for per sonnel sampling, they should be light enough that they are comfort able to wear without interference with the employee's job. The adsorbing material most commonly used for organic vapor is activated charcoal. The capacity of a charcoal tube at any given flowrate is proportional to the surface area of the char coal and the affinity of the substance being sampled for the charcoal of a given mesh size. i V- Commercially produced tubes containing 100 and 50 milligrams of activated charcoal in the front and back-up sections, respec tively, have been available for several years. Desorption of the organic vapors adsorbed in these tubes by carbon disulfide fol lowed by gas chromatographic analysis has formed the basis of the NIOSH procedure for organic vapors. We have found that this method is ineffective in collecting VC at the normal flowrate of 1 1pm. The operational NIOSH pro cedure for VC presently in general use recommends a sampling rate of 50 ml/minute for a volume of no more than 5.0 liters (giving a detection limit of less than 3 ppb in air). In order to utilize the 1 1pm sampling rate typically used to sample for organic vapors with charcoal tubes, we have tm iH 0 0 0 9 developed a larger sampling tube. This is an 8-nun (I.D.) glass tube which contains two sectlons>of 900 mg each, of 20/50 mesh activated coconut charcoal. (Pittsburgh Activated Carbon). Each section has a breakthrough capacity of approximately 170 mg VC compared with 20 mg for the commercially available tube. Five and 50 ppm gas mixtures have been sampled at 1.0 liter/minute for up to two hours with no evidence of breakthrough. Water can cause an interference to the method by displacing VC from the charcoal. If conditions of high humidity are encoun tered sampling using the larger capacity tube becomes a neces sity. After sampling is complete both sections of the tube are de sorbed separately using carbon disulfide. If it is found that the back-up section of the tube contains significant amounts of VC there is a good chance that all the VC sampled has not been adsorbed onto the charcoal, ! If possible the desorption and the gas chromatographic analysis should be performed immediately upon completion of sampling. We have found that migration of the VC occurs within the tube leading to high VC values in the backup section. There is also some evi dence that polymerization may occur on the activated surface if the samples are left too long after sampling. Both the above phenomena can be avoided by immediately refrigerating the sam ples upon completion of the sampling. It has been shown that with these precautions a recovery of 957. of the sampled VC can be attained within 48 hours of collection. Ambient Air Surveillance The most logical extension of concern for exposure to VC beyond the workplace is in the ambient air quality downwind from s m im a e gha - 10- an operation discharging VC to the atmosphere. The determination of the concentration of a specific pollu tant, such as VC, in the ambient air over a given area Ls a complex problem. Many factors such as local topographical dif ferences, atmospheric chemical reactions, fluctuating emission rates from various sources and variable meteorological conditions cause spatial and temporal influences in air quality. This spacetime dependence of air quality must be dealt with on a quantitative basis in order to acquire statistically reliable data of air quality and to meet ambient measurement objectives. Specific guidelines for ambient VC sampling have been issued recently by the U.S. EPA. Minimum site locations are specified and a sampling schedule is provided. These guidelines are intended for source monitoring only and are to be used in the "interim" until the state-of-the-art of VC sampling is improved. The EPA guidelines regarding ambient sampling in monitoring YC state that sampling sites should be selected downwind and In i dhe plume of atmospheric emissions from the plant. Samples should be collected only in areas where local residents or neighboring industries would be exposed. They specify that grab samples should be used to the maximum degree possible; however, the shorter the sampling period the larger the variation in concentration values becomes. This leads to poor precision in mean concentration for areas of high variance as the- grab sampling data have little quan titative value and can be in no way related to long term exposure. The basic integrated sampling method dealt with above can be adapted for use in both ambient and stack sampling by enlarging the size of the adsorbent tube (two, 6.5 g charcoal beds). Sampling with these tubes for a minimum of one hour is at present VRD $**2*1U 96 11 the most accurate method of determining long term exposures. Optimum sampling rates for these tubes must be determined# gen erally a maximum rate of 1 1pm is recommended. Background ambi ent concentrations arc obtained by simultaneous sampling upwind of the plant. Although many of the sources of VC emissions to the atmos phere are fugitive in nature several major sources emit meas urable quantities of VC. Measurement of such emissions can be used to document material losses, as an aid for designing and as a means of testing control equipment, as well as determining compliance with regulations. Samples are usually collected in triplicate for each stack condition. The sample time is normally 30 minutes but if the operation is cyclic in nature it should be extended to include at least one complete cycle. The sampling train normally consists of a probe, adsorption tube, flow meter and pump, however, if stack conditions are such fchat moisture or other condensate collects in the sampling hose in front of the charcoal tube, a dry trap should be included in the train. Any condensate collected in this trap should be treated as part of the sample and analyzed accordingly.