Document V3rg4kgD87gMY5kM9md42eaMZ

i, iiQio) (0) . ii ij \ V r I; ril i i< &FG66029 U OS>A, N30SH study ' brain-tumor deaths at Union Carbide facility Following the discovery that 10 em ploye;;! at Union Carbide's Texas City, Tex. plant Itad died of brain tumors, the ' Occui' itional Safety and Health Adminislr.it": i and (he National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health arc conducting an epidemiological study of K,()()()-10,000 present and former workers at the plant. The investigation resulted . from a worker's complaint last November, alleging an abnormal incidence of brain tumors among personnel in the company's chemical-shipping area. OS HA inspectors visited the plant on Dec. 13, 1978, and Jan. 8, 1979, and reported last week that examination of Carbide's medical records revealed 11 brain-tumor cases, including 10 deaths. Nine of the workers had died of a form of cancer called glioblastoma multiform: the living worker is believed to have glioblasto ma. The other employee died from meningio ma, another type of brain tumor. I According to OSHA Administrator ; Eula Bingham, "The total number of / brain tumors so far would appear to be I higher than expected for a plant popula tion tlii.f size." At the start of the investi- | gniion. which is expected to take about a I year, vinyl chloride monomer is the IcadI ing suspect. While VCM is most common- , ly associated with angiosarcoma, a form of liver cancer, several studies have linked it to glioblastoma. Sanford Lciringwell, a NIOSH medical officer who is heading (he epidemiological study, cites a 1976 study by Richard Waxweiler published by the New York Academy of Sciences, and a later study by Italian researcher Cesare M.iltoni that showed an incidence of Another type of brain tumor in rats expos'd to VCM. A study supported by the MCA also recognized an incidence of giiubl.(stoma among the workers exposed to VCM in its sample. Carbide says that the affected workers were exposed to VCM in 1950-1965, but evidence at this point is far from conclu sive. j.cllingwcli says that other chemicals in use at the plant, including ethylene oxide and acrylonitrile, are possible causes i of brain tumors and will be examined. It is also possible, he points out, that thenumber of glioblastomas could turn out not to be excessive for a plant with approx imately 2,000 employees. In the period since 1941, there have been 455 known deaths of Carbide employees at Texas City, although all 10 in which brain tumors were listed as the cause occurred in'the' years between 1962 apd 1978. Shock Waves: Even the tcrouiva Itfflc to VCM has sent tremors through the vinyl industry. On February. 13, Union Carbide -"WC: X^/l 4 4 V# i Vvi-.-wh* i k. - -- - - . lawsiHi ssti&mcr.-jj plant manager Damon L. Engle sent a letter to employees at Texas City appris ing them of the brainrcnnccr eases. A similar letter was given to employees at Pharmaceutical producer Syntex C agreed Inst week to settle out of corn pending lawsuits wiih Svntcx si; <,.-h nnd Industrial hio-i-st . .-i> Carbide's S. Charleston, W.Va., facility, (HIT) conncctcu vita .\\ "> and other VCM manufacturers were informed of. the findings at Carbide. A cicncics in testin'- S'.n ex's it;; drug. n.\;;r > Dow Chemical statement cautions against *1 he acri.vi.iS. : t . . , hasty correlation of the deaths with VCM. Dow says that mortality studies conducted to set 11,1 ;l of which Si.:, m i . > : recently at Freeport, Tex., and last ycar-at 1BT, S575.DI)!) ,i,>,n ...... its Phuptcminc, La., VCM facilities failed from Syniex's ii-.--.i- , c "to show any indication of a similar situa- - exchange, the lawsuit.- .ou!>, es tion. Both studies showed no deaths from The arrangement is slid sulica brain tumors among VCM workers." approval. The joint OSHA-NIOSH investigation The settlement lend beneiV.s team is gathering data. As a result of . action lawsuit ph.ietiifs. whn-e findings to date, OSHA is also investigat in 1976 and later consolidated i., . ing a "compliance complaint" at Monsan court in New York, -lilegcd :h;tl i. to's operations in Texas City and says that deficient in performing nnd r,.pen,m it is possible that other plantt will also be rat study of Syniex's Naprosyn a.;," checked, though none has been identified. The suits also or. ' .hat Syncs - Davis Laync, area director of OSHA's or should have ta.iv. i riant the . Houston office saya "We are just begin dcftcicnei'.','., .... a. i the pr., ning to turn the leaves, and it all depends Syniex's securities were a:uiiciai. on what turns up." ^ flated because of alleged!'' aii.it representations and .missions stciui from the comp,.ay's statements StsuC;3r'stooard $K's 2-yOr- i stock split naproxen. In addition. on Get. 15. i the Food and Dni- Viiiiinslr.uii'n posed withdraw, it. , ..I of ;... en's new dr- .. .i- t.-c .. Stauffer Chemical's board last week of the all." rd > >; . -v ia il'c i - approved a two-for-onc stock-split propos bv Hii i.u s., al that they will present to shareholders on Syntex' i . ' . nim; n - April 18 for final approval. The move is ment to nv, id ... f nsc;- ' t the latest in a string of stock-split propos trial, which u . me nir svic; als by such chemical companies as Du and executive, -o-v. iiiiii in : Pont, Mobil Corp., SmithKiinc, and Car rooms thou mu. - 1 > .IV .IV.'* 1*.| lisle Corp., (OF, Feb. 14, p. 10). company aij.iir-. i v. rivj in H. Barclay Morley, Stauffer's chair ease. and. in c : ;ci ii` wer- in i.u* man. said the proposed split would help denied nil .,i!cj .1 nm . impi 'jvr c u. bring the stock price, which was around As of Juiv 'i. )' - N. me v-o S40/sh:irc last week, down to a level that sales oi ii.i|.n i would be more attractive and aifordablc to the lisc.;I ve.it 'I. lu ' 1. investors. inllnrnmatoi y m r . i., k -lei, d; .5' The proposal calls for boosting Stauf countries, is ,i ........ i *i-'".)iki it- ,n . r fer's authorization for shares to 70 million human pharma,n: i'l|V U' N, from the present 30 million. Right now Nalco ( hem l . i"' p *n*ni . ; there are about 21.9 million shares nv, note; tli.u. .is , 1 '. '! 1 sell outstanding, ami the largest shareholder Synlex aeice., . > .1 'HU i he * among the board of directors. Christian de maker tiled m..." ' . d . in v me ; Dampierre, owns fewer than 2%. the settlement , . suits in Ne"' 5 > The board also said that, if the share approved. Am id $ i !> iiiii.ixMi holders approve the proposal, the hoard ment under ih- ; . ii enl leu.is. 7 will consider boosting the scconil-t|iiarier says, wiii he c. `-*iin* 1 ii)0 ;.* dividend by IOTi. to 27.5cVsharc alter the for disenni inm . , i tinir. set : split. The move would be in line with the Naleo in l')7>, Company's policy of raising dividends to offset the ctfects of inflation. Stauffer has Synte.x. me.i the study of i . . v'JS u a.. c n in t.uc ii**.' split its stock two for one twice in the submitted it . v ... i.ilc * '*' past--in April 1957 and in May, 1976. far has had no . c , ... > iron . i > n o---cai wwtt'FfUminrv 18, '97V