Document MJDraxnqnBn0GR0bmDa5m3bk7

"1 INTERNAL CORRESPONDENCE CHEMICALS AND PLASTICS COMPANY SVR Chief Operators/Operators SVR Shift Prod. Supervs. Tim-fftviffy Texas City Plant DATE P. O, BOX TEXAS CITY, TEXAS T7 590 December 10, 1976 COPY TO Mr. J. B. Leverton Mr. F. S. Provenzano SUBJECT Watchful Eyes For VCM Plants 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 W. A. Mazzoiini WAM/st Attachment UCC 093764 Vo')r " * . ". Board seeks to cut vinyl chloride spills By HAHOIJ) SCARLETT PhI Kavimuseat Writer I he Texas Air Control Board is look ing lor ways lo reduce plant upsets that, over the past 18 months, spilled an esti mated 234,000 pounds of cancer-linked vmvl chloride Into the air around the Houston area. A tabulation by the ,tfr hoard's region al office in Houston showed id accidental releases of vinyl chloride 1 VC) were re ported oy the companies responsible he mpen May 31,197S. and .Nov. 3. By far the largest single "unscheduled i .'.lease'* wa^ an e*.tim:i <'d 1 IK*.000 pounds , < VC front the Oyst.-r CreeK plant of the tJ;. * C'hemu al Co. It occurred in a to rn n.nii' period on July J7.1975. The plant is n--n Freeport. The next largest \C releases -- both ficuti the Union Carbide Corp. plant at Texas City -- wem I'j.tKKl poiu.<ls last ,1'Uy 16 ami la.oun pounds on Sep*. H. All thiee plant breakdowns resulted from power failures, the companies re ported. Lloyd Stewart, air board regional supervisor, said the accidental releases are r.ot considered any real threat to public health. `*1 think there would have to be some thing much larger than anything we've seen yet to mem a public warning," he said. To pul the 18-month accidental re leases of 231,000 pounds Into perspective, VC specialist Jim iarr of the air board staff pointed out that VC emissions dur ing normal plant osxr.it ions in the Hous ton area in 3974 toialed an estimated 2t>,9kO,OAO pounds. Nevertheless, Siewari said, the air boa'(I regional office is working on ccrreciire me-sales to tut down on acciden tal releases He siid these effons center on pre venting upw<i btfare they happen and, if they do occur, on developing systems of trapping or destroying the leaking VC gas before it escapes from a plant. Such controls could include scrubbers. Incineration flares or channeling of the escaping VC Into holding tanks. The air board staffers said Union Car bide Is now working on a holding tank, while Dow has Improved its 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 federal regulations ouw 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 sdll 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 bearing, one medical specialist for the company said he believes the danger threshhold for prolonged exposure is about 36 PPM. He added that he would not be concerned afoul brief population exposures up to 300 PPM. No downwind sampling was conducted during the three large releases at Union Carbide and Dow. However. Tarr estimated ihrough computer modeling that ihe maximum public exposure from the Dow upset was 20 or 30 PPM for a period of 10 in Ui minulo* UCC 093765