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32 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Tuesday, June 25,1974
Debating Health vs. Jobs
Plastics Industry Mobilizes to Thwart Tough Rules on Handling Vinyl Chloride
By Walter Mohotro ' '
atone could cause the polyvinyl chloride
staff Bvtmir / Th* wall stnmt journal
powder ir ream to release trapped quant!
WASHINGTON - A* tee federal govern- ties of raw vinyl chloride gas. meat move* clow to adapting stringent Inst week the Society of Ute Plastics In controls over hsiamng of the ubtqiatotia lir dustry, a trade group,- asserted that-aufttdustrlal chemical vinyl chloride, Tuamifao dent tectssAOfy doem't exist to meat 1
turera who uae It are motolllxlng to try ter proposed atandarti and warned that much of
show that the controls eotlld prove economi the vinyl and polyvinyl chloride Industry
cally dtaaatroua.
might have to dose if the standard goes into
The rules would be utterly unworkable, effect. The society predicted that l. million
the compeniee any, and Industry would lose Jobe and "at least MB btlUcn'' In sales and
an essential manufacturing- material. In production could be loot
consequence, they add, makers of plastic Ralph Harding Jr., president of the sod
pipe, auto parts, phonograph records and ety, said that the proposed standard "Is many man products would be drtvea to the technologically Infeasible to achieve, even
wall. And, they contend, thousands of Jobe with the highly sophisticated methods of in-
would vanish.
plant central that have been developed by
This gloomy picture la likely to dominate Labor Department hearings, beginning today, an planned standards for eliminating the espoam of plaatlcnfndustry workara to the chemical, which la suspected of causing
the Industry over the yean. If the proposed 'no-detectable-level' standard Is adopted, the vtnyi chloride and polyvinyl chloride resin producing Industries will be farad to close down Immediately."
Exposure to vinyl cMoehtei * gas, ha* The Labor end Hoaith View
hash linked by researchers to It cases of a A millibar ct UbnHAkA and ffffnpattfin-
rare liver cancer, nglneerrnme .amtaig al-health experts are expected to digjute the
workers handling it in the U.8, end other society's claim at the heartnga. They con
countries; fat it of these cases, death re tend that It la pnaWhla to meet the standard
sisted. h sddlttoa, angiosarcoma has re without ftminy tin tiriurliy
cently bee* biamad lor the death id two But hanh pradtettmm an ********* la
+rrn)lnjiii la pints.
many of the more than 1M letters frotn pias-
thlorldu, the- pnwdsaed derivative ot vlnyl- tioeftrme already on Ole with the Labor De-
i lihnlde gee, llwtl b fakvlaaiail Mrs mde rangeotptastleprcteclafTWo athmliMiS
Norn aaglneeraoina have bean diacc among people bvlng In the vicinity of plaaan
tens. MCA Records Inc. contended that If
the standards farced PVC production to end. ,
"our tndunhy would be forced, out of tnad>
ness."
The National Association of Home Build-
era said the standards cook! drtve the rising
coats of housing wen higher by forcing
builders to abandon economical PVC boua-
ing components. It warned teat such a de
velopment could mean "sorely needed hous
ing would be beyond the reach of an In*
createigiy large segment of tee public."
Norton Co,'s plastics and synthetics divi
sion, which makes tubing for medical vises,
warned that if the new rules curbed supplies
of PVC, desperately needed equipment used
In kidney dialyrta and heart surgery might
became unavailable. And Granttevill*Co. of
Granitevllle, 8.C-, a maker of Bro-ietardaot
tents and tent material, called PVC "tee
moat important component'1 in Its products.
What's mere, Arthur Culbertson, a Flor
ida plastics executive, and Oerakl Kessler,
an officer of an Ohio plastics company,
urged modlflcatloo at the proposed stan
dards an the gruunte teat they themselves
had had long personal exposure to vhtyl
chloride without iU etteela
Moat id the latter mltoa acknowledged
the need to protect workara from tea pond
bQUy id Beer cancer. But (toy urged, daisy
In ier--leg such haste leatrlcdona, both,to
give adantlata time kw further research and
to allow the tntehaame tef phase In tea new
dUNWtommlte "
r - <'*
aeeded orr vjnyt chlorlda, most contend that patheOo view cf tee dangsrs id death fromvtnyi- chlfwlde Jameson (tone, of (ton*
imposed a
nmtttef werkmef eapeeuri to ileaI juMmIiH gas te port* pm- mHfemteiSrilf fete
lam than theoakapse-of fewr 1
Almaat ail the lattan earns Irani ossrs of
polyvteyttokgklBi osPVC, andact
- - ns--
.-we .- -wek IdLA -e^i--e -a . u .. ,s --
Pleatica Ins,, .fct. Qdunihin. Wa alifij "Wa emUtmia to belmpreasad withtea oons-
pailacn ef tee TMew of deetto amnally due to atdik prompted by lea* id Jobs, vetv
mm PVC. m must cases, sue tee l> engMaeruoma deetto worktortdn that; Mr auppUara of FVC over OS yean ot PVC preductioe.''
ttf
W.nw p^i^^^towraeto
bam meeker fean-.feok ,td mgltemfrltoto -- 1 mao<-wtdab)hMMf
oee Mamvtnga.1*
At A'&Krtafe totems* of Loans Crepe.
doom tor the Soveraldoaonniaiimthat main
vinyl chloride gas or
polyvinyl
chloride powder or nafit and tor moat el
the hopukwda ef plmke dial "thru potyvlnyt
chloride into ptaatte producta,.^-,
i.
Wti, * GhMMt maker o* BfeJten* BSadot-rliib fcidlnpkbon, wrote--that-**T ywwn ago, at the depth id the deprneelun, t
Martuan-w-imuMtaM, huamete which hag, grows luMjhlw o wa do approximately it: million worth of btirtnaaa and employ over
The Stendard wtadd raqWra that moot M paopUi1' H-femnew rules an imposed,
operations in the prpdUOUon of vtnyt ctolcr- to add, "we'd-be back- to a anemaan bo
ide and pctyvlnyl chlorite. which emplcja neseoverraghL"-
<
an mUmatad SJBO woekars. ftp ikaakiiWidhi One Hon, rnaroni Tilm mikfil Ins.,
closed off.' legalated are
which makes plaattatrim tor aeoaral Wg
can be ramtnllad by TChtiletton
auto- makwa, warned .that the new rules
other hm0km*b jtrhWli
could cut <ft its eg>pty <4 PVC natna, end
of pients timdng pulyvley) produsta, which are said: to employ tg> (h
TOtHOb-werkars, would be aubjeeud to Wmilar atirlngeol meliieaiiiu rules tf thcaeapw-
ing Its {adduction and oaudng tt In rim laws aha by Detroit for failure to fuMD' atgipiy contracts- The-- Bra; an offtchr' wrote; "would undoubtedly be forced Into banks
hvtcy."
't*
Hubbard Aptartee, e heahetete .roes*
petty hr Coated, Iflto.. wrote to declare that it contort female te buatoasa lfPVC sup-
pttee wars tenanted bacauae Its hooey la
add te FfO bottles aad. rises bottles a
cares as a natdtdf tfsodwefe teertage.
te teoh ttaay te tto tettwa'eoafmid
that PTC Is already te tenet supply, highly vareatUa and aheotutoy nionmary for a va
riety of important oase.
apokeatnen Urn Ilia record Indutey far*
slated that the plastic la vital to its opera.
UCC 093832