Document LMaq5aLddOwBOjvVqXOGbX8d

INTERNAL CORRESPONDENCE UC 149- Z CHEMICALS AND PLASTICS TO (NAME) SVR Chief Operators/Operators cCOoMmPpAaNnYy SVR Shift Prod. Supervs. Texas City Plant DATE P. O. SOX 471, TEXAS CITY, TEXAS 77590 December 10, 1976 Mr. J. B. Leverton Mr. F. S. Provenzano subject Watchful Eyes For VCM -------- Attached is an article from The Houston Post of November 19, 1976. Be advised that of the 48,000 pounds of VCM released at Texas City, only 1,000 pounds came from the Solvent Vinyl Resins Unit. HOWEVER: This article does indicate that VCM releases will "make the papers" and will result in increased attention from regulatory agencies. Your continued efforts and vigilance is requested to ensure that the SVR Unit maintains its good record regarding massive releases of VCM. Thank you WAM/st Attachment Vv. a. taazzorrni UCC 091975 il'jVu ) wmib Board seeks to cut vinyl chloride spills By BAROIJ) SCAKI.RTT P*sf Kovlnonwat Writer 'I he Texas Air Control Board is look ing for ways to reduce plant upsets that, over the past IB months, spilled an esti mated 234.0UG pounds of cancer-linked vinyl chloride into the air around the Houston area. A tabulation by the :ir board's region al office in Houston showed S3 accidental i-ieases of .my! chloride I VC) were re ported by the companies responsible botween May 3t. W!5. and Nov. a. By far the largest .single "unsrheiiuled i vlearf" was an o-mru-ed HW.OftO pounds - f VC from the Oyster Cieek plant of the flow Ciiemtr al Co. 11 occurred in a i:> nur.m- period on July 17. 1375. The plant i.sn-ii Kn-epiii-t The next largest \C releases - both hom the Union Carbide Corp. plant at Texas City - u-ic 2.3,1)01) pounds last .(tty in ami '. 'Hi11 pounds on Sep' v-l. All thiee plant breakdowns resulted front power failures, the companies re ported. Lloyd Stewart, air board regional supervisor, said the accidental releases are not considered any real threat to public health. "I think there would have to be some thmg much larger than anything we've seen yet to men! a public warning," he said. 'io pui the lk-montb accidental re leases of 234,0(10 pounds into perspective, VC specialist Jim lore of the air board staff pointed out that VC emissions dur ing normal plant oper-ilkins in the Hous ton area m 19J4 t.-itaied an estimated 2b,3KO,OOG pounds. Nevertheless, Slew-art said, the air boa-d regional office is working on cor rective mo-soies to i.u) down on acciden tal releases He said ihesp effoiis cenler on pre venting upts lie) arc they happen and, il they do ocl-ui , on developing systems of trapping or destroying the leaking VC gas beta e it escapes from a plant. Such controls could include scrubbers, incineration flares or channeling of the escaping VC into holding tanks. TTw air board staffers said Union Car bide Is now working on a holding tank, while Dow has improved lls electrical system to reduce the chances of future power failures. Tarr pointed out that a new Ship Channel VC plant, recently licensed for construction by the Diamond Shamrock Corp., will have a complete standby power system. A basic raw material for plastics production, VC has caused fatal liver cancers in plant workers exposed to comparatively high levels of VC for many years. Recently adopted lederal regulations nuw limit VC exposure among plant workers to an average 1 part per million (PPM) over an eight-hour period. However, the minimum safe exposure to VC is sdil somewhat in dispute, and some inconclusive studies have indicated the gas may cause birth defects and genetic damage in surrounding popula tions. At the Diamond Shamrock permit hearing, one medical specialist for the company said he believes the danget threshhold for prolonged exposure is about 36 PPM. He added that he would not be concerned about brief population exposures up to 500 PPM. No downwind sampling was condoned during the three large releases at Union Carbide and Dow. However. Tarr eMimated through computer modeling that the maximum public exposure from the Dow upset was 20 or 30 PPM for a period of 10 to Ij minutes UCC 091976