Document MJK4rLgbLKgd8z9Q7ZXOv7yOx

Ii SHELL OIL COMPaN I 1 'O f III J <o (MEMORANDUM OF MEETING) 0*rt FE3RUARY 26, 1974 mo MANACER, INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE HEAD OFFICE FEB 2 7 5374 JU4,,CT MCA MEETINC ON VINYL CHLORIDE MEDICAL DlPCJ.OS On February 19 and 20, Che MCA Technical Task Group on Vinyl Chloride mec. The meecings on che 19ch were of che Work Practices Task Force and of che Research Coordinators. The full group mec on February 20. Work Practices Task Force The group attempted to write a recommended work practice for concrol of vinyl chloride monomer exposure in polyvinyl chloride operations. We were quite explicit that this meant the resin activities only and was not applicable to monomer production activities. The rationale behind chis was chat a second work practices document for monomer would subsequently be wriccen. The cwo documents would be compatible. However, it was considered imporcanc to assure chac in che presencacions to NXOSH and OSHA chat there were essential differences between monomer and polymer operations. A draft was completed of a work practices documenc, and a small subcommittee comprising of Z. G. Bell of PPG Industries, R. N. Wheeler of Union Carbide, Kayo Smith of Air Products, and myself was formed to redo che draft in an acceptable format. The subcommittee mec for three hours on February 20. A copy of chac draft has been sene to Mr. Reynolds; one copy is appended to che original of chis memorandum. Highlights of che draft include a proposal for exemption of resins which contain less chan 0.1Z free vinyl chloride monomer. The committee also decided not to recommend a threshold level for VCM. This is based on che definition of a threshold level which implies chat it is a level below which no danger is assumed to exist. Rather, che committee adopted che concept of a "working level" which implies an interim version which is both related to current knowledge and technical feasibility. The working level also implies chac it is a current target and chac it will be changed as new information and methodologies become available. On chis basis che work practices- documenc contains a suggested working level of SO ppm as che time-weighted average. Research Coordinators The Research Coordinators mec on February 19, 1974. (The Work Practices Task Force adjourned so chac che RCs could meet.) It was moved and seconded to recommend that Mayo Smith be added to che seven Research Coordinators. This was done on che basis that he represents induscry on che NIOSH Ad Hoc Committee. A number of the members present then detailed information on cases of cancer and ocher illnesses in their planes. Ben Zwicker of B. F. Coodrich Company identified cwo additional cases. These are che ones chat had been reported in che Wall Street Journal on chac day. One was a 1964 death in f# BFG40514 aoi-711 T000TCSZ 2 which che autopsy prococol had mentioned angiosarcoma, buc the death cercificace did hoc so scace. This was a worker born in 1912 and wha died ac age 22. He had had 11 years experience in monomer .manufaccuring primarily wich very liccle polymer experience, and according to Zwicker, almost no tank-cleaning activities. He subsequently had nine years of bagging and warehousing resins. The monomer process ac che plant was the acetylene/ hydrochloric acid process. S. F. Coodrich has a sixth known case of a worker who is still alive. He had shown a slight elevation in one of che liver function tests in Che SMA-12. The man's physician was suspicious, ordered a biopsy, and the angiosarcoma was confirmed, (in a subsequent discussion wich Dr. Falk of CDC I learned chac some 15 operators who had shown abnormal liver function tests on an SMA-12 repeat were given liver scans. This worker was che first scanned, shoved a positive finding, and underwent a laparotomy. Dr. Falk seated chac as of February 2d, no ocher positive scans were found.) This worker had been with BFC for 13 years. He was born in 1928, was a polymer operator, and did clean reaccors. He has had liccle exposure co vinylidene chloride. R. N. Wheeler of Union Carbide chen stated thac UCC vs notifying NIOSH chat chey had discovered a case of angiosarcoma of che liver in a worker in their Souch Charleston, West Virginia plane. This man had had surgery for gall scones, and an angiosarcoma was found during che process of che operation. The man died in 1968. He had had 13 years service with Carbide and did not clean reaction vessels buc did work in solution polymers and dispersion resins operations. Wheeler also indicated chac Carbide has completed che study of over 900 medical records in che South Charleston^ plant (which had started operations in 1935) and was still looking'for cancer. Excepc for the one just deed, cnere were no ocher workers with either confirmed or suspicious angiosarcoma. Wheeler felt chac this search of work records would also include employees who may have been exposed buc were not picked up by che Tabershaw-Cooper epidemiologic study since chey were not' originally identified by Che corporation as vinyl chloride workers. Dr. David Dufficld of IC1 chen reported on a death in one of cheir employees. The man, age 71, died in December 1972. He had worked on che autoclaves from 1946 Co 1966 when he retired. Dr. Duffield docs not know whether che man cleaned reaccors buc felt chac it was likely. Diagnosis of che angiosarcoma was made ac che postmortem examination in January 1973. Dr. Rinehart of Ethyl indicated chac in cheir Louisville boctle- manufaccuring plant a worker died on December 28, 1973, and on che basis of che autopsy, cause of dcach was cancer of che gall bladder with mecasteses co che liver. The man was born in 1922 and had been employed ac Ethyl for three years. Dr. Rinehart had no information as co other work history. Ni CfT CO oH- *1 o BFG40515 301:712