Document RKv7vZ2OzwmqM4OMwwyZ2M7E

PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT BRK-87 TMtOONwor,)votoctnmniMr. fcc cmsonot wny amwk MIMUtlM COMMMCMO OO June 23, 1988 Ms. Judy Spencer Legal Section Industrial Commission of Ohio 246 North High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 OD 31741-22 Bosiljka Grade General Motors Corporation Dear Ms. Spencer: On May 3, 1988, an unannounced visit was made to the plant of General Motors Corporation, Inland Division, Euclid Plant, 20001 Euclid Avenue, Euclid, Ohio 44!17, to check conditions under which the claimant had worked. There are approximately 1,360 employees at this location where automotive interior trim is manufactured. According to records, the claimant's experience with General Motors is as follows: April 19, 1976. Hired as a sewing machine operator. February 3, 1987. Assembler Major. May 20, 1987. Last Workday. In brief, the claimant's duties consisted of operating sewing machines for approximately eleven years with General Motors. She also performed sewing for prior employers for about two years. During her tenure with General Motors the claimant recurrently sewed three main types of materials referred to as cloth or prima cloth, vinyl, and leather. Prima cloth reportedly produces more airborne dust during handling and sewing than the vinyl and leather. Prima cloth is a synthetic automotive upholstery fabric that consists of over 95 percent polyester, approximately 2.5 percent hydroxyethyl cellulose and a sulfunated polyester, and less than 2 percent disperse dyes. The dyes are Disperse Yellow 86, Disperse Red 91, and Disperse Blues 27, 60, and 77. There are no specifically established allowable limits for inhalation exposure to these materials. i I > L. | y' Cleveland District Office 815 W. Superior Ave. Seventh Floor, Room 785 Cleveland, OH 44113-1897 (216) 622-3655 %' * (2) Please see enclosures for toxicological information pertaining to polyesters. These abstracts were obtained from Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, 3rd Revised Edition, and Hamilton and Hardy's Industrial Toxicology, Fourth Edition. Also enclosed are abstracts for hydroxyethyl cellulose that were obtained from Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology. According to their vendors and material safety data sheet (MSD5), hydroxyethyl cellulose and sulfunated polyester are "non-ha2ardous." Also enclosed is an abstract entitled "Dyes and Dyestuffs" that was obtained from the Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. International Labor Office, Geneva. Additional toxicological information pertaining to disperse dyes has been requested from the division's Resource Center, and any relevant information will be included with this report. Disperse dyes "may be in any of three clearly defined chemical classes: (a) nitroarylamine; (b) a20 and (c) anthraquinone, and almost all contain amino or substituted amino groups but no solubill2ing sulfonic acid groups. They are water insoluble dyes introduced as a dispersion or colloidal suspension in water and are absorbed by the fiber after which they may remain untreated or be aftertreated (diazotized) to produce the final color." Source: The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Tenth Edition. A second material sewed by the claimant and referred to as "vinyl" consists of the following ingredients: Polyvinyl chloride - 40% Mixed C7 to C.. phthalate esters - 29% Polyester fibers and polyester polyurethane foam Calcium carbonate - 4.4% Various insoluble pigments - 3.1% Alumina trihydrate - 2.1% Antimony trioxide - 1.7% Mixed barium, cadmium, and zinc phenates - 1.2% 18.5% The various pigments used for the vinyl includes the following: Titanium dioxide Carbon black Iron oxide red Iron oxide yellow Ultra-marine blue Phthalocyanine blue Phthalocyanine green Quinacridone violet Quinacridone red Chromophthal red 3B (Anthraquinoid) Irgazin yellow (Isoindolinone) Orange GR (Perinone) Pyrazalone red Chromopthal scarlet R (azo) 3 (3) According to Hamilton and Hardy*s Industrial Toxicology. Fourth Edition, "The vinyl group of plastics include polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used in floor tiles, ducts, waterproof clothing and upholstery, insulations, and piping. In all of these applications the finished plastic has been found to be without injurious properties." Likewise, "Physiologically, the phthalates represent one of the lowest toxicity classes used in industry. Commonly, they have not presented dermal problems, are not absorbed through the skin, and are not appreciably hazardous by inhalation." Source: Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology. Third Revised Edition. Please see enclosure pertaining to polyesters and "Polyurethane Foams." This latter abstract was obtained from Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, Third Revised Edition. Also enclosed are documentations for "Calcium Carbonate," "Antimony and Compounds," "Barium," "Cadmium and Compounds," "Titanium Dioxide," "Carbon Black," and "Iron Oxide." These documentations were obtained from the Documentation of TLV's and BEI' s. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Toxicological information for alumina trihydrate, zinc phenate. and the remaining pigments has been requested from the division's Resource Center, and any relevant information will be enclosed. A third material sewed by the claimant was upholstery leather. This material consists of the following: INGREDIENTS PERCENT Moisture Collagen or cowhide Fish, vegetable, or mineral oils Protein intermediates (from flours) Chromic oxide (C^O^) Aqueous extracts ofJbarks,woods,leaves, Inorganic salts (NaC1,CaS0.) Biocide etc. 7-13 55-65 5-15 trace 3-6 0-15 3-8 trace According to information provided, the leather was dyed with one or more combinations of thirteen acid dyes, six direct dyes, and one Mordant Brown dye. Trace amounts of pigments may also be found in the leather. Information pertaining to inhalation exposure to dyed leather dust has been reqi -?ted from the division's Resource Center, and any relevant data will be enclosed with this report. H (4) During the undersign's visit to the General Motor's Euclid Avenue plant, sewing operations allegedly similar to those performed by the claimant were observed. The sewing machine operators appeared to have low-level breathing zone exposures to prima cloth dust, very low-level exposures to airborne vinyl fabric dust, and little, if any, exposure to airborne leather dust. However, very low-level exposures to leather dust probably occurs sporadically. According to a representative of the leather supplier, formaldehyde has never been used in their product, and the odor from the leather that the claimant was exposed to is reportedly from the fish, vegetable, and mineral oils and the aqueous extracts of barks, woods, leaves, etc. The odor was said t > be a desired property of their leather product. The exposure to "fumes" that is mentioned by the claimant in the claim file includes a substance that occasionally remains on the vinyl fabric inadvertently when received from the supplier. The claimant referred to this substance as formaldehyde; however, the supplier's representative st'ted that the chemical was methyl ethyl ketone and not formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is listed as an agent that may cause occupational asthma; methyl ethyl ketone is not. Documentations are enclosed for "Methyl Ethyl Ketone" and "Formaldehyde." These documentations were obtained from the Documentation of TLV's and BEI's, ACGIH. In summary, the claimant was employed by General Motors Corporation for approximately eleven years as a sewing machine operator. During most of this time she recurrently sewed three main types of automotive upholstery materials referred to as prima cloth, vinyl, and leather. She appears to have had exposures to low-level airborne concentrations of dyed prima cloth dusts, very low-level exposures to airborne colored vinyl fabric dusts, and probably some sporadic very low-level airborne concentrations of dyed leather dusts during her tenure. Although the claimant alleges exposure to formaldehyde, the upholstery material suppliers' representatives deny having used formaldehyde in their products. In one particular case i> (5) mentioned by the claimant, involving the vinyl fabric, the alleged offending exposure was from methyl ethyl ketone vapors and not formaldehyde, according to the fabric manufacturer's representative. The odors observed by the claimant while sewing leather were reportedly from its fish, vegetable, and mineral oils as well as from the aqueous extracts of barks, woods, leaves, etc. Sincerely RJS/vw Enclosures Ronald J. Sherman Industrial Hygienist Cuchd fbvt RECORDS CERTIFICATION I, the undersigned, an employee of the Bureau of Workers* Compensation, do hereby certify that the microfilm images on this reel of microfilm or microfiche are complete and accurate reproductions of the original records of ehe tY <VEaJ es accumulated during the regular course of business, and that it is the established procedure of this department to microfilm its records for permanent file and to dispose- of the original records after microfilm reproductions have jutii r-c.du. Date